Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council’s Neighbourhoods and Learning Service coordinated activities for Adult Learners’ Week in the area this year.

Learners from Blackburn with Darwen receive their certificates from the Mayor

Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council’s Neighbourhoods and Learning Service coordinated activities for Adult Learners’ Week in the area this year.

The service decided on a mix of activities ranging from taster sessions and celebrations to dramas delivered by groups of learners.

Here are some of the highlights:

• An award ceremony to celebrate the achievements of all the individuals and groups who were nominated for an Adult Learners’ Week Award. Nominees included The Ivy Street Men's group who meet regularly and are now running their own allotment, and the Women’s Development Group who went from a family learning course and are now studying childcare at Blackburn College.
• A Creative Learners’ Workshop was held at Banktop Neighbourhood Learning Centre, Blackburn. The learners helped to create a piece of community art work that was displayed in the centre, and using clay modeling to create a series of self portraits.
  
• Learners had fun learning about mendhi and tried it out painting each other’s hands. ‘Helping hands’ Mehndi workshop.
  
• ‘Fun with numbers’ events were held at the Little Harwood children’s centre and Roe Lee Park Primary School with activities for parents and children. Taster session for adults included , ‘refresh your skills in maths, can you help your children more than you think?’ which aimed to increase confidence with numbers and identify learning gaps.
• Groups of learners took the opportunity to show off their skills by putting on three drama performances during the week. The groups had worked on the performances throughout the year and this was a real opportunity to show the range of activities on offer in the area, and how fun learning can be.
  
• Tracing family ancestry and an introduction to volunteering were on offer at Blackburn Central Library, while the Neighbourhoods and Learning Service worked with the Corporate Workforce Development team, Capita and the unions to coordinate events for Learning at Work Day, giving staff the opportunity to complete their literacy or numeracy test in a day.

To find out more about the activities that took place in the North West visit our event diary.

Contact the Adult Learners’ Week Coordinator in Blackburn with Darwen: Ibrahim Mayat, email: ibrahim.mayat@blackburn.gov.uk, tel: 01254 585544