Glasgow Kelvin’s own intrepid Community Learning & Development team are on the conference circuit at this time of year, sharing their own practice and gleaning best practice examples from other practitioners. The first of these was the CELCIS Education Conference.
Speakers, including John Swinney, MSP, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, highlighted the fundamental impact of trusted relationships and the need for a multi-disciplinary collaborative approach to improve outcomes for Looked After children and young people.
Aligning College policy to that of the Scottish Government in raising attainment for care experienced young people, Fiona Templeton, ably assisted by students Leah Cairns and Caitlyn Strain, presented at the Conference. Fiona will also be joined by Maggie Murphy in delivering to the Holyrood Conference’s ‘Improving Attainment for Looked After Children’ event at the end of May.
Leah and Caitlyn have already been exemplary in sharing their own learning journeys and are a real testament to the positive impact which the partnership approach of the Transitions to Learning and Work programme can have on the lives of young people in challenging circumstances.
Leah said;
“Having that time in Transitions, to figure out what I wanted to do and having the support from the youth workers helped me go forward in Further Education. For me, it was more important to work on my soft skills like confidence building and self-esteem.
Caitlyn added;
“Having that routine and actually learning was important because I hadn’t been attending school. The youth workers helped me feel more relaxed and I knew with the lecturers I could get my qualifications.”
We wish them both luck in completing their HNC Working with Communities course and continuing on their positive journeys.
The photos are of the CELCIS event in the historic Trades Hall in Glasgow and include our fabulous hard-working students, Leah and Caitlyn.
