Volunteers’ Week Scotland 2021

 This year Volunteers’ Week Scotland is being held on the 1^st – 7^th June. We would like to take this opportunity to say a very big THANK YOU! to all the CLD Volunteers out there.

“During an exceptionally difficult year, people from all corners of the UK have taken the time to volunteer and make a huge difference to people and their communities – just as they do every year.

Volunteers are always active at the heart of every UK community. They are behind many of the services we all rely on. Some have been volunteering online from home, others in person with a local charity or organisation. Their crucial efforts have not stopped, despite the uncertain times we find ourselves in, and will continue as an important part of the nation’s recovery.

That is why on this 37th annual Volunteers’ Week it’s time to say, ‘Thank You Volunteers!’ We want to recognise all of those who have continued delivering vital work as volunteers over the past 12 months but also all those who usually volunteer but have not been able to because of the pandemic.”  (Volunteers’ Week Scotland)

How can YOU become involved in our CLD Volunteers’ Week Campaign?

In this age of social media, and through publications such as ‘What Scotland Learned’ we have been given a small peek into the world of CLD Volunteering, and want to share the impact far and wide. One of the ways we will be doing this is to work in partnership with the CLD Standards Council, and the wider CLD sector to create a #CLDVolunteers2021 Virtual Wave across Scotland. To help us achieve this we ask that you include the #CLDVolunteers2021 to any social media posts during Volunteers’ Week Scotland.

We have also created a Volunteer Virtual Wave Padlet to track the reach of #CLDVolunteers2021. We would encourage you all to also go into the Padlet and track the location of your social media posts and any other Volunteer Thank You events. We’ve included instructions on how to do this in the attached brief ‘How To’ Guide.  Padlet ‘How To’ Guide.docx

If you do not have access to Padlet, then please either tag our team into your social media post, or email Dehra.Macdonald@educationscotland.gov.scot with details of the event and we will ensure it’s placed on the map on your behalf.

Whichever option you chose please try to include the following #s

#VolunteersWeekScotland

#CLDVolunteers2021

#BecauseOfCLD

If you are including photos in your Twitter posts remember you can tag in our Education Scotland CLD Team and the CLD Standards Council without using up any of your characters by tagging them in the photos @edscotCLD and @cldstandards. The attached brief ‘How To’ Guide will explain how to do this. Twitter ‘How To’ Guide.docx

We will be posting a daily ‘Meet the Team’ post sharing the Volunteering experiences of some of our Education Scotland CLD colleagues.

The CLD Standards Council are also keen to highlight some of the fabulous work CLD Volunteers they’ve done.  If you know a volunteer you’d like them to showcase with a CLD Volunteer Practitioner Spotlight feature on their website, please email contact@cldstandardscouncil.org.uk

There are many different ways you can become involved in Volunteers’ Week Scotland 2021. https://volunteersweek.scot have lots of ideas, and free resources on their website. We can’t wait to celebrate all the work your volunteers do as Team CLD!

National STEM Network for CLD Practitioners

Education Scotland, Learning Link Scotland, Youthlink Scotland and Glasgow Science Centre are working in partnership to establish a National STEM Network for CLD Practitioners.

The first meeting will take place on 1^st June at 10am until 11.30 and will focus on highlighting available resources, breakout rooms to meet others, network and share resources on STEM and Climate Change.

We will be seeking practitioners’ views on the value of a STEM Network for CLD and consulting on our proposed aims and objectives, as follows:

• Open to all CLD, cross sector and all organisations (ie. Local Authority, Voluntary sector, Colleges)
• Focus in 2021 on climate change linking to COP26
• Key focus on supporting confidence of CLD Practitioners in STEM
• Increasing understanding that STEM related learning opportunities are everywhere
• Increase knowledge and resources in all areas of STEM- Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths
• Effectively sharing resources and improving CLD practitioners knowledge of available resources
• Peer support role and networking opportunities with STEM focus

Sign up here:

National STEM Network for CLD Practitioners (office.com)

 

Mental Health Awareness Week

Mental Health Awareness Week 2021 (10th – 16th May) saw the Education Scotland CLD team celebrate the impact that CLD has on raising awareness of mental health for learners, families and communities.

Mental Health Awareness Week 2021

As the theme of Mental Health Awareness week was Nature, the Education Scotland CLD team participated in a team walking steps challenge and shared photos of local nature throughout the week.

Over the course of the working week, four members of our team walked over 205,000 steps, enjoyed the time outdoors in all weathers and took some wonderful photos some of which will be at the bottom of this post.

Encouraging others to spend time outdoors and think about mental health, we released a podcast with CLD Talks.

Mental Health Awareness Week with Julie Beckett – CLD Talks (podcast) | Listen Notes

Education Scotland Mental Health Wakelet has been created to share practical, free resources for practitioners, parents, carers & young people:

Mental health & wellbeing : supports for practitioners, parents, carers & young people – Wakelet

Education Scotland are funding a series of mental health webinars for all school staff across Scotland. Sign up info and previous webinar recordings can be found here:

Education Scotland Webinars (place2be.org.uk)

National Numeracy Day is fast approaching (19^th May!) and this week we are highlighting information and resources for supporting parents and carers with children’s numeracy.

Numeracy and Mathematics Glossaries

This glossary has been developed for parents and carers of children and young people in the broad general education in Scottish schools. It provides clear definitions of some of the most commonly used terms in numeracy and mathematics.

https://education.gov.scot/parentzone/learning-at-home/supporting-numeracy/numeracy-and-mathematics-glossary/

Videos to Support Parents with Numeracy and Mathematics Methods and Approaches

The National Parent Forum of Scotland (NPFS) worked in partnership with Count On Us and Education Scotland to create eight ‘Learning Together’ videos.

The videos outline a range of methods and approaches including early numeracy foundations, addition and subtraction, and fractions, decimals and percentages.

https://education.gov.scot/parentzone/learning-at-home/supporting-numeracy/support-for-parents-on-numeracy-and-mathematics-methods-and-approaches/

The Family Maths Toolkit

The Family Maths Toolkit is full of ideas to help parents, families and children aged 13 and under enjoy everyday maths activities together.  The site also offers resources to help educators support family engagement with children’s maths learning.

https://www.familymathstoolkit.org.uk/

I am a Mathematician

We use maths every day, at work, leisure and at home. Parents and carers can play a vital role in reinforcing the importance of maths to their children, promoting a positive attitude towards it and making it a fun activity to do together as a family.  This resource will help parents to support their children’s learning with fun activities to do at home.

https://education.gov.scot/parentzone/Documents/IAmAMathematician270417.pdf

 

Since 2016, Kiltwalk Heroes and the Hunter Foundation have raised almost £20 million for over 2000 Scottish charities. Previously, Kiltwalks were mass participation walking events that raise much-needed funds for Scottish charities and projects. Events were held Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh in Dundee with participants registering for a 6/8 mile ‘wee wander’, 13 mile ‘big stroll’ or 26 mile ‘mighty stride’. Kiltwalkers can raise funds for any charity of their choice and thanks to the generosity of Sir Tom Hunter and The Hunter Foundation, all funds raised will be topped up by 50%.

This year, participants were asked to take part in their own virtual event over the weekend of 23-25 April. They were invited to walk, run, swim, cycle and even boogie their way to raising funds for their chosen charity.

Education Scotland’s CLD Team (and guests) saw the Kiltwalk as an opportunity to not only raise funds for Who Cares? Scotland, it was an invaluable opportunity to engage with colleagues, and feel connected away from screens. On Saturday 24^th April, they climbed hills, visited local landmarks, and managed to walk along the banks of The River Clyde and River Tay. They collectively walked over 100,00 kilometres raising money, with Mary Ann’s four legged heroes clocking up over 38,000 steps each!

Who Cares? Scotland believe that Care Experienced people have the potential to change the world. Who Cares? Scotland’s membership is a care experienced community creating belonging and achieving change in Scotland and the world, as part of a movement of Care Experienced people. They do this in a number of ways including:

• Advocacy for Children and Young People
• Providing support to Corporate Parents
• Policy and Research
• Helpline, counselling service, and life coaching.

The team’s Go fund Me Page will be open until the 3^rd May, please support and donate whatever you can. Thank you everyone for your support, see you all next year!

National partners are collaborating to offer a series of webinars focussed on tools and resources available to complement CLD planning processes.  

The webinars may be of interest to local authority officers, teams, and partners involved in producing CLD plans locally, and will commence in early May.

 Sessions will be hosted on Teams, and will be recorded. To register follow the links below.

 

CONSUL – Tuesday 4^th May, 13:30 – 15:00

In Scotland CONSUL is being used by local authorities for digital participatory budgeting, community engagement and participation – allowing citizens to collaborate on plans and proposals and communicate in an open and transparent environment. The COSLA CONSUL team will offer an introduction to the platform, and offer insight to examples of implementation in a local authority context. Register here.

Place Standard – Thursday 6th May, 13:00 – 14:30

The recent Scottish Government guidance on Community Learning and Development Plans (2021-2024) identifies a range of resources and well-established online tools available to support engagement at a local level, including the Place Standard. In this webinar Place Standard implementation team will highlight key resources available, and showcase recent practice examples. Register here.

 

Embedding youth awards in CLD Planning 2021-24 – Monday May 10^th, 14:00 – 15:30

An opportunity to engage with the Awards Network to consider how to support young people’s achievements through youth awards in their plans. The session will look at: the contributions of participation in youth awards to key priorities – e.g. in education, employability and community involvement; and will include an opportunity to discuss what ambitious outcomes and measures for youth awards might look like. Register here.

 

Simple digital tools for online participation and engagement –Wednesday 12^th May, 09:30 – 11:00

In many places the pandemic has been a catalyst for online delivery of CLD services, resulting in increased digital capacity of practitioners, learners and communities. This session, led by Education Scotland will offer a walkthrough some digital tools to support online participation and engagement including Jam Board, and Microsoft Forms.  Register here.

 

Workforce Development – Tuesday 18^th May, 15:00 – 16:30

This session, led by the CLD Standards Council, will focus on the requirements set out in the Workforce Development component of  CLD Plans Guidance Note (2021-24) with particular reference to: Providing practice placements for CLD students; Recruiting qualified CLD practitioners; and, Supporting the CLD workforce to benefit from engaging with the CLD Standards Council through registered membership.  Register here.

 

The meeting consisted of a representative from, Colleges, Early Years, high schools, primary schools and CLD. Colleagues shared their experiences of working in challenging circumstances caused by Covid-19. Key messages shared were the commitment of education colleagues to supporting learners and students, genuine interest in wellbeing, support and improving the learning experiences whilst constrained due to Covid-19 restrictions. Even though the group worked across very different areas they all agreed that among the challenges there has been a lot to celebrate in the last 12 months in relation to the dedication and commitment of staff.

The CLD representative Jennifer Nicol from East Renfrewshire was asked to share her experiences of facilitating adult learning opportunities in advance of the meeting and she highlighted areas such as prioritising wellbeing, access to resources and information requirements. Jennifer highlighted that many learners face multiple barriers including low levels of language and literacy, digital exclusion and isolation. Learning and support was adapted to be inclusive dependent on learners’ skills, equipment and confidence. Connecting Scotland was highlighted as playing a key role with staff accessing training as Digital Champions whilst offering tremendous support to learners through the provision of equipment, connectivity and learning.

Positive relationships with the community have been strengthened with learning continuing to be offered, including partnerships with local Colleges which have allowed qualifications to be completed during lockdown. CLD staff have been creative, resourceful, enthusiastic and dedicated to maintaining links with the community whilst learning has been a lifeline for so many people during this difficult time.

The First Minister extended her thanks to all CLD services across Scotland and the hope is that more opportunities will take place for education sectors to come together to share experiences and network in the future.

Photo from FM’s Twitter feed.

 

At times over the last 12 months we will all have felt changes in our mental health and witnessed changes from those around us.

SAMH (The Scottish Association for Mental Health) has a range of information and publications to help you support your own mental health and those around you by increasing knowledge, understanding and highlighting positive coping mechanisms. There are also a range of supports and services available at national level if you experience levels of distress.

Depression
When does low mood become depression?
We all feel low sometimes, but these feelings may become a problem if they’re interfering with your life, don’t go away after a few weeks or keep coming back.
SAMH’s information covers what you need to know: samh.org.uk/depression

Anxiety
Anxiety is something we can all experience at times. It’s okay to feel this way but it’s important to remember that there’s lots of things we can do to look after ourselves.
SAMH’s information guide covers what can help reduce anxiety to a manageable level: samh.org.uk/documents/SAMH_Understanding_Anxiety.pdf

Stress
Stress is a normal part of life, but sometimes it can become overwhelming and difficult to cope with.
SAMH’s resource explains what might cause it and how it can affect you. It includes information about ways you can help yourself and how to get support: samh.org.uk/stress

5 Ways to Better Wellbeing
We all have mental health, just as we have physical health, and it’s important that we take the time to look after it.
Evidence suggests there are five ways to improve our mental wellbeing:
• Be active
• Connect
• Learn
• Give
• Take notice
Find out more: samh.org.uk/documents/5ways_Leaflet_digital.pdf

Anger
We all feel angry at times – it’s part of being human. But anger becomes a problem when it gets out of control and harms you or others. SAMH’s resource is full of practical suggestions as well as info on support available for you and your loved ones: samh.org.uk/anger

National Distress Brief Intervention Service
Since June 2020 third sector partners have been working closely with NHS24 to provide a national Distress Brief Intervention (DBI) service. By calling 111 and accessing the NHS24 mental health hub any adult age 16 and over in Scotland has access to this service. The DBI programme is built on the vision of connected compassionate support with the national programme consisting of two parts, with part 1 supported by NHS24 to help ease any individual. If further support is required they are referred to the DBI service with a promise of contact within the next 24 hours to start providing support.
Part 2 is provided by commissioned and trained third sector staff who contact the person and provide problem solving support, wellness and distress management planning, supported connections and signposting. Support is offered for up to 14 days.
Call NHS24 on 111 to access this service.