Community Learning and Development Plan 2021-24 - Year 2 Update Report
Perth and Kinross Council · 28 August 2024
Back to Learning and Families Committee — 28 August 2024 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
Page 1
PERTH AND KINROSS COUNCIL LEARNING AND FAMILIES COMMITTEE 28 AUGUST 2024 PERTH AND KINROSS COMMUNITY LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2021-24 - YEAR 2 UPDATE REPORT Report by Elaine Ritchie, Strategic Lead - Housing & Communities (Report No. 24/238) 1. PURPOSE 1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide Committee with an update on Community Learning and Development (CLD) work completed in year 2 of the CLD Plan, April 2023 to March 2024. 2. RECOMMENDATIONS 2.1 It is recommended that Committee: Notes the progress made in delivering Year 2 of the Statutory Community Learning and Development Plan, the outcome of the Education Scotland Progress Visit and plans for the new CLD Plan 2024-2027. 3. STRUCTURE OF REPORT 3.1 This report is structured over the following sections: Section 4: Background/Main Issues Section 5: CLD Plan Year 2 Performance Report Section 6: Areas for Improvement Section 7: Education Scotland Progress Visit Section 8: CLD Plan 2024-2027 Section 9: Independent Review of CLD Section 10: Conclusion Appendices 4. BACKGROUND / MAIN ISSUES 4.1 Community Learning and Development (CLD) provides individual, family and group learning in community settings, in ways which enable and equip people to improve their lives. 4.2 Education Scotland holds the statutory inspection and regulatory role for CLD in Scotland. The regulatory framework includes The Requirements for Community Learning and Development (Scotland) Regulations 2013, the Strategic Guidance for Community Planning Partnerships: Community
Page 2
Learning and Development (2012) and Section 2 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980. 4.3 Under the 2013 Regulations, Councils must identify the CLD needs of target individuals and groups within their Local Authority Area and prepare and publish a 3-year CLD Plan setting out strategic aims for CLD services delivered by all Community Planning Partners. This Plan sets out the commitments of Perth & Kinross Council (PKC), its partners in the Community Planning Partnership (CPP) and wider CLD agencies to deliver CLD which enables better outcomes for all and tackles stubborn inequality. 4.4 PKC has a statutory duty to coordinate and produce a CLD Plan which contributes to achieving the objectives of the CPP to address inequalities. The CLD approach is founded on working alongside people and communities to improve their lives. It uses early intervention and prevention to address the root causes, not just the symptoms, of inequality. It is about building strong, resilient, influential and inclusive communities, and improving life chances for everyone through learning, employability, personal development and active citizenship. 4.5 The Plan is a strategic framework for all Council services and wider CLD delivery partners. Within PKC CLD is delivered by a range of core teams embedded in key services and overseen by the Community Learning and Development Leadership Group. The group comprises of Service Managers and Senior Team Leaders from PKC services delivering community work plus key partners, Perth and Kinross Association of Voluntary Service (PKAVS), Live Active Leisure (LAL) and Culture Perth and Kinross (CPK). 4.6 The CLD Strategic Plan covers the period October 2021-September 2024. The Year 2 Action Plan was produced in line with the new Council Corporate Objectives and covers the period April 2023 to March 2024. 5. CLD PLAN YEAR 2 PERFORMANCE REPORT 5.1 Key Achievements from Year 2 Enabling our children and young people to achieve their full potential. 5.1.1 CLD functions and partner organisations provide a range of projects, activities and targeted interventions to support vulnerable children and young people. CLD supports parents to increase their parenting skills and confidence, including access to accredited training. Young people are supported to develop their digital skills, participate in youth achievement awards and move into positive destinations. 5.1.2 The Parenting and Family Learning Team delivered 59 Peep groups, which included 336 Children and 312 Parents/carers. This included 47 male carers. 81 of the families had English as an additional language, 6 parents and 31 children who had an Additional Support Need (ASN). These groups helped parents develop their parenting skills and confidence, improving outcomes for
Page 3
their children with 94% of parents reporting increased confidence in dealing with their child’s anxiety. 5.1.3 3 Fear-Less Groups have been delivered and 20 parents have completed the programme. 90% of parents attending the first two groups reported an increase in confidence in dealing with their child’s anxiety. 90% of parents reported an improvement in their child’s overall wellbeing since participating in the programme. 80% of parents attending the group reported positive changes in their families overall wellbeing since attending the fear-less triple p group. One parent highlighted the change, “There is less shouting and calmer responses to difficult situations. There is more talking about emotions and strategies to deal with them.” 5.1.4 During the Summer of 2023 a range of play opportunities were provided to children and their families in Davie Park, Rattray, North and South Inch, Perth, MacRostie Park, Crieff and Aberfeldy. Over 1,069 children attended with their families. Feedback from families highlighted that these sessions supported the health and wellbeing of the whole family. Families reported they were able to take part in games, learn new activities, play with other families and form new friendships. Activities were free and helped enable positive social interaction and routines during the school holiday periods. 5.1.5 Schools, community groups and Services for Young People (SfYP) enabled 467 young people to achieve a variety of youth work awards. These awards help young people develop their wider skills and confidence outside of formal education. 5.1.6 909 children and young people were referred to the Community Link Worker Service for individual support. 136 groups were also delivered, providing a positive impact to pupil’s sense of health and wellbeing and increasing school engagement and participation. 5.1.7 Using a CLD approach the Inclusion Service Community Learning Assistants (CLA) provided support to primary aged children to help improve participation in learning with a focus on health and wellbeing. In the academic year 2023- 2024, the CLA team supported over 300 primary school children, leading to improvements in self-regulation, communication and relationship skills, and participation in learning. The CLAs also delivered 146 group sessions for 845 pupils, focusing on health, wellbeing, relationships, and self-regulation, which enhanced communication skills, social interactions, readiness to learn, and a reduction in negative incidents affecting learning. 5.2 Tackling poverty 5.2.1 The primary purpose of CLD is to target inequalities and support the most vulnerable individuals, families and communities. CLD actively supports community projects addressing food insecurity and providing welcoming spaces and activities for those most in need. Community groups have benefited from a range of PKC led community grants programmes targeting socio economic inequalities and building community capacity and resilience.
Page 4
5.2.2 The Parenting and Family Learning Team Delivered 20 Eat Well Play Well groups which included 90 children and 80 parents/carers. This included 13 male carers. 12 of the families had English as an additional language. 15 parents and 17 children had an ASN. Sessions were tailored to accommodate family's needs. Evaluations highlighted the positive impact for families attending the programme. 5.2.3 The Good Food Fund aimed to take a more dignified approach to tackling food insecurity and supported 25 different projects across Perth and Kinross tackling food insecurity, promoting healthy and sustainable food, and building community food knowledge, skills, and resources. The development of a Perth and Kinross wide Community Food Network including foodbanks, larders, community food / cooking projects and community growing initiatives continued, with groups looking to identify ways to collaborate and take a collective approach to tackling food insecurity. 5.2.4 94 community groups provided a Warm Welcome Project over the winter of 23/24, providing activities and warm home packs for local people to address the cost-of-living pressures and social isolation. 4511 people benefited from this with 33,743 attendances at warm spaces and 1837 warm packs distributed. In addition, 104 community groups benefitted from Community Investment Funding (CIF) to deliver projects in their communities to address cost of living issues. 5.3 Developing a resilient, stronger and greener local economy 5.3.1 CLD functions have provided a range of accredited learning opportunities for adults seeking to improve their literacy, digital or language skills. Apprenticeships, volunteering and work experience opportunities are also offered by CLD functions alongside employability support programmes, helping those furthest from the job market to improve their skills and confidence. 5.3.2 901 adult learners achieved their learning outcomes, including SQA qualifications in Communication and Numeracy, Food Hygiene, Employability, Life Skills and English for Speakers of other Languages (ESOL). This included supporting 233 refugees and adults seeking asylum with some progressing onto Perth University of Highlands and Islands (UHI) courses. Adult learning opportunities are delivered by PKC Community Learning and Development Team and the Adult Learning Partnership, which includes Church Action for the Homeless (CATH) and Perth UHI. 5.3.3 Services for Young People (SfYP) offer intensive ESOL and youth work support to newly arrived CASA (Children Alone Seeking Asylum) young people who arrive in the care of Perth and Kinross Council. When a new CASA young person arrives and to give them the Best Start to Life in Perth and Kinross SfYP provide diverse, nurturing, and barrier-free support to improve their English and their personal and social development. In line with the Promise, once a young person has been supported into a positive destination such as college or school, SfYP offer ongoing personal, social, and study support until their 26th birthday. Within the reporting period of April
Page 5
2023-March 2024, 49 young people arrived in Perth and SfYP supported 11 young people to move on to college and 2 more young people started a school placement. 1 Dynamic Youth Award was achieved with 9 awards pending. 8 young people are on track to achieve Duke of Edinburgh sectional certificates. 5 young people have gained First Aid certificate. 2 young people have moved into employment. 5.4 Support and promote physical and mental wellbeing. 5.4.1 Mental wellbeing of children, young people and adults continues to be a key area of work for CLD functions. Providing counselling to children, young people and adults, promoting good physical and mental health and providing a range of activities for individuals and families to participate in are all key to supporting our communities. 5.4.2 A range of third sector Mental Health Providers continue to be commissioned across Perth and Kinross by the HSCP and Education and Learning. Mindspace offer counselling to adults and young people, peer support, a recovery college and tailored services for young people aged 8 – 18. Mindspace, along with Place2Be and Lifelink continue to deliver the Counselling in Schools programme. The Neuk provides a one stop, crisis centre dealing with all realms of mental health and staff are involved in delivering Suicide intervention and Prevention Training (SIPPS) across Perth and Kinross. The Lighthouse Service continues to deliver Mental Health support and promotion of Mental Wellbeing to Young People across Perth and Kinross. This service works closely with other 3rd sector organisations as well as statutory services to ensure a collaborative response. 5.4.3 The Speakeasy programme and stand-alone sessions were delivered to support parents in communicating with children and young people with regards to relationships and sexual health. Speakeasy is an 8-week programme and 4 parents successfully completed the programme. 20% of parents are more confident talking to their child/young person about sex and relationships. Participants were asked to what extent they agreed or disagreed with various statements before and after they completed the course. 3 strongly agreed and 1 agreed with the statement “I want to talk with my children openly about sex & relationships” on completion of Speakeasy. This changed from simply agreeing or being unsure before the programme. 1 person disagreed with the statement “I feel able to talk with my children about sex & relationships” before taking part. At the end all 4 participants agreed or strongly agreed. This suggests that the course provided information to support conversations at home. 5.5 Work in partnership with communities. 5.5.1 CLD plays a key role in working alongside communities to improve their outcomes, promoting volunteering, supporting groups to access grant funding, involving tenants in decision making and helping communities to manage their own physical assets.
Page 6
5.5.2 PKC worked with 31 community groups to explore opportunities for groups to manage or own their own buildings. These included Blairgowrie and Rattray Development Trust who have taken a lease to manage public toilets in the town and a new group which has been formed to manage Dunning Town Hall. 5.5.3 There was continued increase in demand for support for Digital Inclusion within the tenant population. In partnership with LEAD Scotland the Tenant Participation Team engaged with 84 learners with tuition and access to a device. Referrals for this support have come from various sources including Housing teams and third sector organisations. A dedicated worker provides weekly digital support in older persons housing through 1:1 support, group work and working in partnership with Saints in the Community to deliver a digital memories project. 56 tenants have received support across 81 different sessions. Feedback shows that tenants who have engaged in digital inclusion support have used their skills to access mypkc, community organisations, Universal Credit and other PKC services to improve social, financial and digital inclusion. The support provided for digital inclusion was recently recognised as best practice at the Tenant Participation Advisory Service (TPAS) for how the Team has removed the barriers to digital engagement. 5.5.4 The tenant led Housing’s Estate Based Initiatives Project allows tenants to identify specific projects which they feel would improve the community where they live, with a particular focus on the environment and safety. In the reporting period 98 projects were identified throughout Perth & Kinross with a total spend of £197K. Neighbourhood improvements have ranged from small maintenance projects to larger works including new bin stores in central areas. 5.5.5 118 environmental improvement groups were supported to help maintain the core path network, open spaces and carry out local litter picks. Annual funding was provided to bloom groups to help them improve the appearance of their towns and villages by public displays of flowers and plants. 206 greenspace sites are now co-managed with volunteer groups. 5.5.6 41 community groups received £226K of funding from the Participatory Budgeting Green Living Fund for local projects addressing climate change and cost of living issues. 2050 people voted for their preferred projects and successful groups were invited to 2 High Street to hear the results announced and receive their funding. 6. AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT 6.1 CLD functions collect and utilise a significant amount of data relating to our communities and although this data is utilised to help shape individual service provision it is not always shared across service areas to help identify areas of highest needs. CLD will now make greater use of PowerBi and locality profiles to identify inequality issues in communities and target resources appropriately.
Page 7
6.2 CLD functions manage and distribute a significant amount of grant funding to communities across Perth and Kinross. These grants are promoted on different parts of the PKC website and have different formats for application forms, monitoring and evaluation. To make the process easier for groups applying and for Council Officers to manage, a single on-line portal is being developed, which will have a standard application process covering the range of funding opportunities available. 6.3 Alongside other PKC staff, CLD staff have access to a wide range of high- quality training and development opportunities. CLD functions will engage with their 3rd sector partners to widen access to training and development for their staff and volunteers. This will enable community groups to access PKC training and learning will help build their skills, capacity and sustainability and better meet the needs of their communities. 7. EDUCATION SCOTLAND PROGRESS VISIT FEEDBACK 7.1 In April 2024 Education Scotland visited Perth and Kinross to assess our progress in delivering the CLD Plan 2021-2024. During the 3-day visit the inspection team met with senior managers, the CLD Leadership Group and a wide range of community groups, young people, learners and families. Feedback from the visit was overwhelmingly positive: CLD services are making good progress in delivering the CLD Plan, with no concerns raised. CLD services are clearly targeting and working with the most vulnerable people in Perth and Kinross. The new PKC Leadership structure will have a positive impact on the leadership and governance of CLD. There was good evidence on how services use data, such as locality profiles to target areas of need. Staff are provided with positive learning opportunities which help their development. Staff feel well supported by senior officers. The Peep programme was identified as an example of excellent practice and will be shared across Scotland. The Green Living Fund and Community Investment Fund are good examples of enabling communities to develop local solutions which address local problems. 7.2 The following areas were suggested as improvement actions for us to consider when developing the new CLD Plan 2024-2027: Raising awareness of the CLD Plan amongst a wider range of partners. Ensuring young people and community group are included in the planning of CLD and identifying priorities. CLD Action Plan to include measurable targets and outcomes. Extending our internal training offer to include staff and volunteers from partner organisations.
Page 8
8. CLD PLAN 2024-2027 8.1 Work has now begun to produce the next iteration of the CLD Plan, covering 2024-2027. This will require extensive engagement with partners to identify priorities and actions. Consultation will include: Workshops with the Stronger Communities Networks Workshops with thematic partnerships, including the Youth Work Partnership, Equalities Forum, Adult Learning Partnership and Good Food Network. Staff engagement sessions. 8.2 The plan will need to reflect the priorities of both the Local Outcomes Improvement Plan and the PKC Corporate Plan. The draft plan will be presented to Learning and Families Committee in October 2024. 9. INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF CLD 9.1 In July 2024 Scottish Government published their independent review of CLD, conducted by Kate Still, Scotland Chair of the National Lottery Communities Fund. The scope of the review focussed on lifelong learning and considered ‘the extent to which CLD is currently delivering desired outcomes and how it is placed to contribute towards an education system that is fit for the future.’ 9.2 The review concluded that CLD can be highly effective in helping some of Scotland’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged people to identify and address many of the barriers they face in their day to-day lives, often at an early enough stage to prevent those barriers growing in scale or number. By doing so, CLD is making a critical contribution in meeting those challenges at a wider, societal level. 9.3 The report makes a number of recommendations with regards the future of CLD which include – CoSLA and the Scottish Government need to reconsider current arrangements supporting CLD policy and delivery. The Scottish Government working alongside New Scots partners, Colleges and Local Authorities needs to take immediate action to tackle the current crisis in ESOL. Wherever possible, funding should be part of core budgets rather than project related. The full report can be viewed at - https://www.gov.scot/groups/community- learning-and-development-cld-independent-review/ 10. CONCLUSION 10.1 This report sets out progress made in delivering Year 2 of the Statutory Community Learning and Development Plan, outcomes from the Education Scotland Progress Visit and plans for writing the new CLD Plan 2024-2027.
Page 9
Author Name Designation Contact Details David Stokoe Service Manager Community Learning and Development 01738 475000 ComCommitteeReports@pkc.gov.uk Approved Name Designation Date Elaine Ritchie Strategic Lead - Housing and Communities 12 August 2024 Appendices Appendix 1 - Community Learning and Development Action Plan April 2023 – March 2024 Appendix 2 - Community Learning and Development Performance Measures Year 2 April 2023 – March 2024 Appendix 3 - Community Learning and Development Progress Visit Report – 11 June 2024 Appendix 4 - Community Learning and Development Partnership
Page 10
ANNEX 1. IMPLICATIONS, ASSESSMENTS, CONSULTATION AND COMMUNICATION Strategic Implications Yes / None Community Plan / Single Outcome Agreement Yes Corporate Plan Yes Resource Implications Financial None Workforce None Asset Management (land, property, IST) None Assessments Equality Impact Assessment None Strategic Environmental Assessment None Sustainability (community, economic, environmental) None Legal and Governance None Risk None Consultation Internal None External None Communication Communications Plan None 1. Strategic Implications Community Plan/Single Outcome Agreement 1.1 This report supports all of the priorities within the Community Plan 2022-27. (i) Reducing Poverty (including child poverty, fuel poverty and food poverty) (ii) Mental and physical wellbeing (iii) Digital participation (iv) Skills, learning and development (v) Employability Corporate Plan 1.2 This report supports the objectives within the draft new Corporate Plan:- (i) Children and young people grow up safe, respected, well-educated, and confident in their ability to realise their full potential; (ii) People and businesses are increasingly able to prosper in a local economy which support low carbon ambitions and offers opportunities for all; (iii) People can achieve their best physical and mental health and have access to quality care and support when they need it; (iv) Communities are resilient and physically, digital and socially connected; (v) Perth and Kinross is a safe and vibrant place, mitigating the impact of climate and environmental change for this and future generations.
Page 11
2. Resource Implications Financial 2.1 None. Workforce 2.2 None. Asset Management (land, property, IT) 2.3 None. 3. Assessments Equality Impact Assessment 3.1 Under the Equality Act 2010, the Council is required to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between equality groups. Carrying out Equality Impact Assessments for plans and policies allows the Council to demonstrate that it is meeting these duties. 3.2 This section should reflect that the proposals have been considered under the Corporate Equalities Impact Assessment process (EqIA) with the following outcome: Assessed as not relevant for the purposes of EqIA. Strategic Environmental Assessment 3.3 The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 places a duty on the Council to identify and assess the environmental consequences of its proposals. 3.4 The proposals have been considered under the Act and no further action is required as it does not qualify as a PPS as defined by the Act and is therefore exempt. Sustainability 3.5 Not applicable. Legal and Governance 3.6 Not applicable. Risk 3.7 Not applicable.
Page 12
4. Consultation Internal 4.1 None. External 4.2 None. 5. Communication 5.1 None. 2. BACKGROUND PAPERS 2.1 None.