About the Project

Aims & Objectives

• Develop innovative ways to engage disadvantaged and marginalised people from pockets of severe deprivation and poorest neighbourhoods of Redbridge and widen participation by attracting “hard to reach” learners.
• Work in partnership with other local neighbourhood renewal initiatives and community and voluntary organisations such as Mildmay Neighbourhood Learning Centre, Hainault Forest Community Association and Loxford Sure Start, Redbridge Community and Voluntary Service and other organisations to meet the needs and aspiration of their communities
• Provide high quality embedded IAG services
• Develop a community-based, Essential Skills programme including ICT supported learning facility, skills for life and capacity building for community and voluntary organisations
• Continue to work in partnership with other ACL, FE and voluntary     sector providers to improve neighbourhood progression information and opportunities.

Summary of our Activities

The project is based on learning activities:-

1) Designed to widen employability opportunities.

a)  Workshops on introduction to working in the community teaching sector.
b)  Introduction to Delivering Learning (C&G 7302) courses with progression to accredited teacher training qualifications at RIAE or other institutions
c)  Adult Learner literacy/numeracy/ESOL Support (C&G 9295) for community workers in partnership with Havering College.
d)  Employability Skills Training courses

2)  Designed to meet the needs identified through existing partners including Redbridge Community and Voluntary Service and RIAE community learning initiatives.  These are mainly ICT based and embedded basic skills courses based on 10-12 weeks long regular sessions per term running throughout the year.

3)  Informal learning activities integrated with outreach and IAG designed to widen participation will be offered. These are exciting centres and community-based activities supported by short taster sessions in ICT, targeting marginalized learners.  These will be used as progression and stepping-stones into further learning and training.

4)  Informal learning activities designed to promote skills and knowledge related to social and economic issues.
 
5) Customised on site training for small community, voluntary and grass root organisations as part of capacity building and future sustainability.
top

The BIT Department & NLDC

The Department covers two main curriculum areas i.e. Business and computing skills. All our courses are designed to help beginners as well as those wishing to improve or specialise their knowledge and skill necessary to succeed in the world of business and e-commerce.

Our success in generating NLDC funding opportunities enable us to work in partnership with local voluntary and community organisations. This ensures the continuation of community based provision and extends social inclusion & community regeneration by taking learners experiences into the community. This success coupled with the introduction of new innovative courses in the core provision enable us to attract more than 600 new learners in 2004/5. This has been acknowledged by ALI’s April 2005 inspection report which awarded the IT provision as outstanding with Grade 1.
top

What the Inspectors Said about BIT Department

“Teaching and learning are particularly effective on ICT courses. Seventy-five per cent of the lessons that the inspectors observed were good or better. Teaching is very well planned and delivered. In most lessons, schemes of work are thorough and lesson plans contain very useful and varied activities to capture and maintain learners’ interest and greatly support their learning. Tutors have highly effective strategies to challenge and extend the more able learners and to support those who are less able. They also use very appropriate, topical and relevant examples to reinforce learning. Tutors offer very good individual support.”

“Curriculum leadership and management are outstanding. RIAE gives a very clear strategic direction to all ICT staff, who are fully committed to implementing positive changes and are fully involved in this process. The curriculum manager has introduced and excellent quality improvement process which involves all of the tutors. Throughout the year, RIAE analyses and reviews all aspects of the department, including the quality improvement process itself. RIAE carefully analyses the results of lesson observations, course evaluations, and a review of the self-assessment report. From this process, departmental and individual action plans are developed alongside the setting of targets and benchmarks. This also leads to the identification of staff training needs, the development of new courses and the sharing of good practice. RIAE and its staff share a positive ethos on improving the quality of teaching and learning and standards of teaching and learning, have greatly improved though these approaches.”
top

The BIT Team

Dawit Asress         - Curriculum Manager
Margaret Smith     - Teaching and Learning Advisor
Val Gilchrist          - Teaching and Learning Advisor (since March -06)
Ayo Balogun           - Community Co-ordinator
And more than 16 part time tutors
top

2005/06 NLDC Provision

Summary of work done so far

The ICT have successfully secure funding for the 2005/6 (August 05-July 06) community based ICT courses from the LSC London East for the third year.
top

Venues
We are currently running courses at the following venues

• Mildmay Neighbourhood Learning Centre
• Hainault Forest Community Association-community
• South Woodford Library
• Fullwell Cross Library
• Keith Axon Library
• The Lighthouse Centre
• Wanstead Library

Courses
Courses taking place in these centres range from;

• Basic computing
• Using the Internet
• Introduction to Word Processing
• Digital camera for fun
• Photoshop
• Introduction to Spreadsheet
• Community Website-Learners at Hainault who have developed the NLDC Website
• City & Guilds Certificate in Adult Learner Support 9295 in partnership with Havering College - Basic Skills Centre for Excellence
• Introduction to Delivery Learning City & Guilds 7302
• Teaching Training Workshops
• Volunteers Training Workshop

At present we have 81 courses running around the Borough targeting at least 190 new learners and 110 progression students for the year.
top

Information & Advice Sessions
Information & Advice sessions together with enrolments have been taking place at the Mildmay Centre all year round at the start of each term.
This aim is to get the learners in to the right courses and level as well as sign post them to other organisation if addition help is needed for example help in find work or other training.
top

Teaching Training Workshops
Four Teaching Training workshops set up aimed especially at graduates from abroad as well as from the UK who want to go into teaching in the UK (took place on 16th September& 23rd September 05 and 10th February & 24th February 06).
These workshop were facilitated by two guest speaker Baden Prince RETAS Adviser/Project Manager and Maria Kerrigan.
top

Introduction to delivering learning (City & Guilds 7302)
This is a 15 week programme of which will tend to run two in the academic year, the first in October and the second in March.
The October intake we had 7 learners who completed the course and passed and currently have 11 Learners who have just started for the March intake.
The course is usually run on a Friday from 10.00-1.0pm.
top

Somali Women’s Group
Somali Group-Contact from the Redbridge Refugee Forum requested for ESOL & IT course at the Mildmay Neighbourhood Learning Centre as well as provision for crèche places.
This has been arranged for a Wednesday which started in October 05 to continue till the end of June 05
We currently have 22 women attending this course and therefore had to be split into two groups. The groups are being taught by a Somali Speaking Tutor.

The marketing of the project has been done by meeting with the various community groups and organisation in the borough seeking their consensus on what ICT courses to put on and where.
Thus computing courses set up specifically for Loxford Sure Start Parents and Somali Women’s group.

Simple and easy to understand flyers and Leaflets are distributed to all the libraries in the borough, One stop shop in Ilford, Community Groups/Organisations., Published in the Redbridge CVS newsletter.
top

Relative links: