The Community Learning Team would like to thank all our providers, tutors and partners for their work over the last year.

We hope you have a peaceful Christmas and best wishes for the new year.

Mark, Alison, Alex and Charlotte

Thatcham’s mayor opened the Creative Communities second annual art exhibition in July, which showed the fantastic work produced by their adult learners across all their courses in 2022-23.

The course programmes included Art and Craft, Making with Maths and Art for Wellbeing which were delivered in local care homes and day centres. There were also parent courses in the Family Hubs that focused on developing mental health and wellbeing.

All courses have been developed in close partnership with the Community Learning team, Adult Social Care and Sovereign Housing Association and the impact has been impressive in terms of reducing isolation, developing confidence, and widening friendship groups.

Creative communities also deliver a range of art and craft courses to the wider community. Click here to see their full programme.

Did you know that maths is a fantastic way to keep the brain alert? We often take up a language or a musical instrument to stay mentally agile but working with numbers is equally as effective.

The Creative Communities team is combining maths with art to encourage adults to develop their numeracy skills in a fun, creative environment.

Entitled ‘Making and Creating with Maths; this new programme will focus on using ratios for colour mixing, geometry to break objects down into basic shapes,  looking at perspective and vanishing points, measuring, estimating, accuracy and weighing in ceramics. 

The courses include the use of a variety of maths equipment like compasses and protractors, which many people have not used since their school days, which spark lots of reminiscence and conversations of the past.  

Maths is often seen as a challenge with many people believing they are no good at numbers. This is often the result of bad school experiences, low confidence and a general acceptance that poor maths skills are fine in life. Funded by Multiply, Creative Communities will be working with community groups, primary schools and care settings to deliver the new programme in the 2023-24 academic year.  

For further information on ‘Making and Creating with Maths’ contact: 07871 643685 or email via the website.

The Central Family Hub in Thatcham successfully delivered a Toddler Peep Play and Learn course that focused on the importance of play in a child’s early development. The 5-week course provided a range of play opportunities for learners to share with their children and to increase the parent’s own confidence and self-esteem.

The ideas and activities were affordable and could be used at home, such as junk modelling with empty boxes and sensory play using cornflour and ice!

At the end of the course parents were able to recognise how different types of play and  activities can support the various stages in a child’s pre-school development.  

Parents said: "I now have lots of ideas for play and to develop the different ways of learning like communication, singing songs and repetitive words, mark making and messy play. Got so many new ideas and simple ideas for play with items we already have at home. I can recognise how play is aiding different ways of learning"

"The course has shown my child ways to show his creative side and his adventurous side by using new toys and puzzles"

To contact Central Family Hub click here

Connecting Communities in Berkshire (CCB) are a local charity and provider of adult learning opportunities that aim to strengthen local communities with a strong focus on rural areas.

In 2024 CCB will be celebrating 50 years of working across Berkshire by hosting the 21^st Century Community Halls Conference on Thursday, 25^th January at Beech Hill Memorial Hall.

The event will be of particular interest to any volunteers involved with running a village hall or parish/town council, and management committee members responsible for running local community buildings. The day will include an update on CCB’s exciting 21^st Century Community Halls project, funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, a chance to enjoy lunch and network with the learning aspect of the conference focusing on exploring and explaining Low Carbon technology that can improve our buildings carbon footprint whilst saving money.

For further details and to book your place please click here.

To contact CCB click here.

Not being able to read is lonely.  The stigma that surrounds reading difficulty as an adult can be so powerful that you don’t share the truth with anyone. 

Read Easy’s mission is to open conversation about this challenge and support adults learning to read with one-to-one coaching. The group was set up  to support local adults in West Berkshire at the beginning of 2023 and they are making great progress in working with local partners to identify and connect with adults across the community.

Read Easy West Berkshire’s Team Leader Mark Ingvorsen says those who struggle to read should not feel embarrassed about coming forward and asking for help: “There are lots of different reasons why people don’t learn to read in childhood.  For some it may have been a lack of support from their own family or school, for others it may have been undiagnosed dyslexia.  But people should not feel ashamed or embarrassed about it.  We are friendly, welcoming, and here to help.”

The one-to-one coaching is delivered by trained volunteers.  Coaches and readers meet twice a week at approved local venues, or online, to work for just half an hour at a time through a structured, phonics-based reading programme called Turning Pages.  Achievement and progress is recognised at five key stages during the course.

One aspirant reader recently said, “It was great to receive a certificate recognising what I have achieved to date. This charity is very important and has helped me so much.  I would encourage people to take that first step and contact Read Easy to see how they can help them."

Click here for more information 

Berkshire School of English and Educafe offer flexible ESOL courses online and in person, welcoming learners at all levels throughout the year.

From beginners to advanced, participants can join general classes or opt for tailored courses, including Driving Theory Test, Business Communication, English for Work, Bookkeeping, and English in Everyday Maths.

Their commitment is to provide accessible and personalized English language education for diverse needs and preferences.

Click here for more information about Berkshire School of English and here to contact Educafe.

Back in the summer - and at the height of the heatwave, Graft Thames Valley were invited to deliver  Multiply training to refugees housed in a hotel in West Berkshire. 

These learners were about to leave hotel support after several years  and were supported through the transition by Graft's Making Savings workshop which helped them to understand basic budgeting, together with some specific advice around social tariffs and price comparison websites.

Learners also received support on the day from The Department of Work and Pensions and The Home Office.

Graft CEO Hazel Wright said "it was a great pleasure to deliver support this group of learners.  Training was supported by interpreter services - which was a new challenge for Graft and something we would like to repeat with other groups.  Many of these learners are now permanently housed in our area and we are delighted to be providing continued support to a number of them.  It was a great pleasure to work alongside DWP and The Home Office to provide a considered and joined-up programme for this group."

Click here for more information about GRAFT

The Mulberry Garden is a new horticultural work skills project  for adults with a learning disability based at Mencap in Enborne Gate, Newbury.

The work that their trainees do is therapeutic in many ways: sensory, social, interactive, a sense of self, of responsibility, as well as learning new skills and doing real work.  

The Mulberry Garden is open 9.30am to 2.30pm, Monday to Friday and they offer full day sessions or half day sessions.

For more information about this project click here

Delivered by Adviza the National Careers Service (NCS) provides information, advice and guidance to adults aged 19plus across the Berkshire region.

This free service will enable adults to explore their career options, identify training needs and develop job search and application skills. The service can be on a 1-1 basis, in small locally based groups or delivered on-line. There is also the opportunity to invite NCS advisers to provide a customised session with your learners at the course venue which can be flexible around the learner’s needs and requirements.

The National Careers Service is open to all adults regardless of background, education level and employment status. Participants do not need to be on universal credit or accessing other support services. All sessions are delivered by qualified advisers with experience in developing employability skills, have up to date knowledge of the job market and good links to local employers

For more information or to make an appointment contact Katie Foreman, Adviza Account Manager, or go to the NCS website.

The Community Learning Partnership brings together West Berkshire based learning providers and community organisations to provide a high quality, accessible, safe and varied community learning programmes for adults and families across the district.

Members include adult and family learning providers, local apprenticeship and training organisations, funding bodies and local communities groups and services. The Community Learning Partnership is open to any organisation involved in the delivery of post 19 education and training within West Berkshire.

If you'd like to become a member, please complete the online registration form.

The next Partnership meeting will take place on Wednesday 13^th March 2024 -at Shaw House, Newbury.