Responding to the Big Society: flexible curriculum development for the community sector

1. Responding to the Big Society: flexible curriculum development for the community sector Sari Sirkia-Weaver (Canterbury District Community Alliance) Sharon Perera(Kent & Medway Lifelong Learning Network) Philip Moore (Avante Partnership) Sofia Vougioukalou (Canterbury Christ Church University) Nichola Van DerVilt(Canterbury Sure Start & Family Action)

2. The problem • ‘Big Society’: new role for charities, community and voluntary groups; social cohesion • Financial crisis, disruption of social institutions • Service delivery for the needs of health and social care sector • Lack of frameworks, benchmarks and infrastructure in voluntary sector A solution: Co-development of new degree Voluntary Sector Impact Analysis Foundation Degree in Volunteering • Bridging the gap between employers, volunteers and educators • Promotion of work based learning • Measuring impact of voluntary sector

3. Knowledge exchange Accredited courses/CPD • Learners • Volunteers • Employees • Civil society orgs. • Public/private sector • Higher/ Further education institutions Skills Need/Demand Knowledge/ Expertise Benefits Student recruitment; Partnerships Workforce development; Productivity Employability Access Community engagement

4. Sari Sirkia Weaver Manager HomeStart Canterbury and Coastal/ vice chair of Canterbury District Community Alliance C.D.C.A. Canterbury District Community Alliance the mission : “To represent, enable and strengthen the Civil Society Organisations so that we can work more effectively in partnership and achieve our shared aims “

5. The Big Society • Promoting social action • Empowering local communities • Opening up public sector contracts “Government wants to invest in a new programme of strategic interventions which help Civil Society organisations to modernise and become more efficient & more entrepreneurial in order to take advantage of the opportunities ahead “ “The Government wants to encourage better connections both among civil society organisations and with public and private sectors –THE POTENTIAL TRANSFER OF SKILLS HAS HARDLY BEEN TAPPED “

6. The CSOs Civil Society Organisations Voluntary and Community SectorThe Third sector…. The Charitable sector • 171,071 organisations • Total income £35,5 billion • Paid workforce 668,000 • Number of people formally volunteering 20,4 million

7. Vysiadeveloped from the need for CDCA to create an almanac / overview of the CSOs in Canterbury District: Numbers of: • CSO organisation • Paid staff • Volunteers • Levels of funding • Number of services users • The impact on the service users

8. The benefits of Vy.S.I.A. to CSOs • Gives CSO added credibility in the increasingly competitive world • Staff and volunteers will acquire higher level of skills sustainability • Group of trained research volunteers can carry out research for organisations giving CSO an additional local resource • Volunteering as a stepping stone into employment • On going relationships with Christ Church University

9. The Challenges • To deliver the “Big Society” CSO will need to supportto recruit, train and support increasing numbers of volunteers. • Increased demand on CSO services owing to the cuts in public sector and changes in benefits systems? • Can the CSO compete with private sector providers? • Vital the CSO is able to measure impact and outcomes • New organisational models: social enterprise and community interest companies (co-operatives and mutual societies?) • Health: GP based commissioning • CSO role: to supplement -not replace - public sector services!

10. Philip Moore Volunteering and Community Engagement Manager Project: A work project to scope the feasibility of developing the use of volunteers within the Avante Partnership

11. Stage 1 With Supervisor, building a set of questions for an initial interview survey of Care Home Managers Aims: • to find out current level of volunteering in 10 out of 17 care homes • to ascertain future needs and opportunities.   • to gauge the level of interest and support in volunteer development Results were informative and encouraging....

12. Stage 2 Based on Stage 1, survey questionnaire (21 Qs) created to provide quantitative data with opportunity for qualitative comment • Sent to all 17 care homes for completion • Guided to break-down questionnaire information into more detailed data • Data, current and future, on gender, individual and group volunteering, range of roles and opportunities • Data, current and future, on safeguarding, selection, training, placement, supervision, policies and procedures

13. Stage 3 .Collection and analysis of the data • Collection and data placed on Excel worksheets in numerical and graphic form • Linkages and correlations made for as much information as possible • Information used to present evidence to Senior Management and Board of Trustees • Information was of great value in agreement to invest in Volunteer development for the future • Volunteering and Community Engagement become an important part of company strategy and a new full-time post created

14. Work-based Learning in Higher Education Sharon Perera Workforce Development Manager Kent and Medway Lifelong Learning Network S.R.Perera@greenwich.ac.uk

15. Kent and Medway Lifelong Learning Network Priorities for 2009/10: Focus on • Progression of work-based learners • Embedding of projects and achieving impact • Sustainability The F.D. in Volunteering project presented the opportunity to achieve our objectives

16. Non-traditional Routes into Higher Education

17. Developing Work-based Learning Routes into Higher Education

18. Faculty of Health & Social Care Dr Sofia Vougioukalou Senior Lecturer, Knowledge Transfer Service Evaluation and Development

19. SEDGService Development and Evaluation Group • Programme evaluation • Audits • Community engagement • Organisational development • Social enterprise, new business model • Curriculum development

20. Voluntary Sector Impact Analysis • The review and development of the regional voluntary sector with staff from CCCU and the CDCA • Eventual production of a local almanac • Training volunteers in research methodology for health and social care • Volunteers develop research projects within their organisations in partnership with supervisors from CCCU

21. Methodology • Out-reach events • Evening lectures • Research methods workshops • Mentoring schemes • Monthly steering committee meetings with members of CDCA, CCC and CCCU • An end-of-year project award competition • Conference participation • Dissemination plan Volunteers as evaluators of • their organisation • F.D.V. modules

22. Foundation Degree in Volunteering • Work-based learning & academic taught modules • CCCU sites: Canterbury, Broadstairs, Medway • 240 HL credits (Certificate: 120 HL credits) • Core modules: Social Context of Health and Illness Personal, academic and workplace development Law and ethics in health practice Critiquing research methods, research project • Specialist modules: Volunteering 1 & 2 Person-centred approaches for people with a learning disability Working with long term mental health problems Enabling well-being in dementia care The challenge of adolescence

23. Communityengagement and knowledgeexchange • New model for flexible curriculum development • Co-development of evaluative practice • Benefits for CSOs, volunteers, HEIs • Culture of critical reflection in public bodies and charities • Shared learning and shared growth • Knowledge enfranchisement • Developing a sense of responsibility and a sense of shared ownership and connected citizenship

24. Nichola Van DerVilt Voluntary Post Natal Depression Peer Supporter 2010

25. Enabling women marginalised by Post Natal Depression (PND) to access appropriate services

26. Development

27. Learning new skills

29. Dissemination

30. The Future

31. Scattering the Seeds

32. My Future now looks brighter Plus the lives of countless women & their families Thank you Vy.S.I.A.

33. Acknowledgements Canterbury Christ Church University Core team: Adrian Adams, Antonio Sama, Katy Russ Research assistants: Manuela Thomae, Maria Summerson Supervisors: Mary McDonald, Agnes Gulyas, Nancy Clark, Judith Nabb Canterbury District Community Alliance Simone Field, Alex Krutnik Canterbury City Council Helen Carter Volunteers

34. Thank you for listening, any further questions? s.vougioukalou@canterbury.ac.uk