Adult Learners’ Week in Cumbria highlighted the value of learning across the county, with over 200 events and over 1700 participants taking part in activities, a diverse range of organisations got involved.

Family history drop in session

Adult Learners’ Week in Cumbria highlighted the value of learning across the county, with over 200 events and over 1700 participants taking part in activities, a diverse range of organisations got involved.

Here are some of the highlights:

• The inaugural Cumbrian Adult Learners’ Week Photography competition, was a great success with 73 entrants from across the county. Debbie Whitfield from Carlisle, won the Great Outdoors award for her photo entitled ‘Fast flowing fountain,’ which was taken during the November floods. Jonathan Pettrie from Kendal, won the Magic of Learning award for his photo ‘Mudskipper Jack goes crabbing’. Two centres who work with learners with learning disabilities encouraged their computer classes to enter the competition and a special presentation was held in Barrow to which parents and carers were invited.
  
• The Listen Up! Giving Learners a Voice: Adult Learners’ Week and PCDL Partnership conference, organised in partnership with Cumbria Adult Education, Cumbria CVS, University of Cumbria and Cumbria Higher Learning provided an excellent networking opportunity for key organisations across the region to discuss and raise awareness of lifelong learning. Adult Learners’ Week Award nominees were also presented with their certificates at the event.
  
• Cumbria County Council Family Learning used the week to highlight the range of courses on offer. Visiting a variety of locations from infants’ schools to libraries and the Civic Centre in Carlisle, tasters sessions attracted over 100 people to activities that included Family Literacy, Reading, ICT, Maths, Art & Craft, Language & Play and Story stacks.
• Information, advice and guidance was a theme for a variety of events ranging from informal drop in advice sessions linked to coffee mornings in libraries and Adult Education centres to more formal events like the Futures 4 Me Carlisle which attracted 150 adults. Over 30 exhibitors ranging from employers, colleges, universities, training providers, voluntary groups and the city council showcased the learning, training and employment opportunities in the area.
• Shap, a small rural community held an open day and information session at their local co-op.
  

Learning at Work Day

Learning at Work Day events took place at Pirelli Tyres, Sealy Beds Ltd, Carlisle City Council and Kendal College to name a few.

• Pirelli Tyres used a health and fitness theme to engage over 50 people in their activities which included stress buster sessions, Indian head and shoulder massage, reflexology and pilates. While Sealy Beds held a skills at work day in conjunction with the local Adult Education centre offer.
• Carlisle City Council used the week to launch the new ‘Tech zone’ computer suite for staff based at an outlying depot without access to individual computers. Additionally the County Council used the day to launch e-learning across the authority with a new intranet based site for courses as well as providing taster activities such as French, Shiatsu and Wire and bead accessories.
  
• Cumbria Care ran a series of 17 ‘Test the Teams’ learning events at their Cumbria Care work bases across the county in Whitehaven, Workington, Barrow, Ulverston, Walney and Carlisle. The sessions were used to promote the opportunities for learners to enrol on First Step courses, Skills for Life and to meet the tutors. Over 150 people attended the events, and courses in Literacy and Numeracy are now being delivered across the organisation.

Learning in Libraries

• Several events were run in libraries across the county to celebrate Cultural Diversity Weekend. Carlisle Library started the week with a display about Europe and food from different European countries, while one of the language specialist schools ran an internationally themed event, displaying menus, recipes, posters and holiday diaries from language classes, multi cultural work from arts classes and a patchwork quilt of knitted flags designed and made by the Knit Something Fab class.
• Kendal library held a multi cultural storystack session, and silver surfer events, while Whitehaven and Workington Library both held multi – cultural story time sessions.
• The libraries used the link with Local History week to have local displays, offer introductory sessions to use www.ancestry.com, hold local history walks, talks and quizzes as well as a chance to meet a local historian. One library held reminiscence sessions called ‘Sweet Memories’ and a century of shopping in Barrow which were very well attended. The centenary of the Wellington Pit disaster in Whitehaven was also used as a link.
  
• Established events like reading groups, homework club, and storyrhyme time were also a great way to promote learning opportunities to parents and their children.
• Two of the main libraries at Maryport and Workington ran a ‘Credit Union Credit Crunch’ drop in session which included practical information and advice from CAB, Age Concern, Impact housing, Job centre, Connexions and the pension service. Other libraries had drop in sessions with partners like lip reading providers, Caritas care and Deafvision.

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

Contact the Adult Learners’ Week Coordinators in Cumbria: Gill Mitchell, email: gill.mitchell@cumbriacc.gov.uk, tel: 01229 891450 Sue Doyle, email: sue.doyle@cumbriacc.gov.uk , tel: 01228 606321