Delivering Outcomes in Community Learning and Development
Current issues for outcome-focussed practice in youth work
Learning Connections is part of the Education and Lifelong Learning Directorate of the Scottish Government. It carries responsibility for supporting the development and implementation of policy and practice in relation to Community Learning and Development ( CLD).
This report is one of three separate reports written as part of the outcome-focussed practice support programme funded by the Scottish Government and delivered to Community Learning and Development Partnerships ( CLDPs) from November 2007 to May 2008. The support programme was instigated by Learning Connections in the recognition that, against a backdrop of a national context for outcome-based practice, some CLDPs still face challenges in embedding an outcomes focus into their work and that effective outcome-focussed practice in CLD is inconsistent across Scotland.
The programme was delivered by a consortium of YouthLink Scotland, Linked Work And Training Trust ( LWTT) and Avanté Consulting, led by the Scottish Community Development Centre ( SCDC).
The reports concentrate on each of the three national priorities for community learning and development - achievement through learning for adults, achievement through learning for young people and achievement through building community capacity. Each report sets out the current context for each area of work, the key challenges and issues facing strategists, managers and practitioners and recommendations for developing effective outcome-focussed practice.
The content of the reports reflects the dialogue between participants at the workshops held throughout the support programme as part of the regional seminars and as part of the local support programme. The recommendations contain some additional reflective commentary by the support agencies - the Scottish Community Development Centre, YouthLink Scotland, Linked Work and Training Trust and Avanté Consulting.
The reports are intended to be used by strategic managers and champions of CLD to reflect on practice, facilitate continued dialogue at a local level and to develop a strategic approach to supporting outcome-focussed practice in CLD.