John Galt, Education Officer CLD, reflects on a recent wee blether hosted by Education Scotland and the CLD Standards Council
The Power of Communities in Education Recovery: Wednesday 5th August
One of our recent ‘Wee Blethers’ focused on what we’re learning about our communities across Scotland during the Covid-19 crisis and what messages that gives us for education recovery. The session was co-facilitated by the CLD Standards Council for Scotland and attracted an interesting mix of practitioners from education establishments, local authorities, community learning and development, third sector organisations and the Scottish Government.
The picture is a complex one. We heard that there is clear evidence that existing inequalities in communities across Scotland are being exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis. We also heard though about the many examples of positive community-led responses to the crisis, often based on a strong understanding of what is needed locally, and organised around the knowledge and skills in the community to meet those needs.
We discussed the ‘power of communities’ and what a ‘resilient community’ looks like; how engaging with local communities can help to shape the curriculum – e.g. through approaches like Participatory Budgeting or by strengthening youth work and school partnerships; and the key role that community learning and development can play in supporting community-led activities and education recovery. Check out this link for more details https://share.wakelet.com/doc/2AvJL8-Gczc88TAJFyBEK
