UNISON ULearn 2015

UNISON – the learning union Summer 2015

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4 UNISON ULEARN MAGAZINE Editor Martin Moriarty Design & print www.design-mill.co.uk Cover photo Jess Hurd/reportdigital.co.uk Published by UNISON Learning and Organising Services

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To find out more about UNISON and how to join contact UNISONdirect on 0800 0 857 857 Textphone users FREEPHONE call 0800 0 967 968 Lines open from 6am – midnight Monday to Friday, 9am – 4pm Saturday Visit our website www.unison.org.uk Follow us on twitter @unisonlearning

Welcome Welcome to the 2015 edition of Ulearn. We hope you will find lots of stories and ideas inside to inspire you to guiding even more of your members to all the different ways they can develop their potential by learning through UNISON. “‘We are able to offer real, concrete improvements to our members’ lives through learning”

cONtENtS

4 Power of the ULR 6 Scotland workshops 8 Learning agreements 10 apprenticeships 12 Informal learning 14 Functional Skills 16 Return to Learn/ Women’s Lives 18 Schools staff 20 talent for care 22 Police staff 24 Digital inclusion 26 eSOL 28 Social care 30 Dyslexia 32 Staff profiles 34 Resources

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s you will see, and as many of you will know already, our member learning offer has really taken off, with many of the free one-day workshops so popular that they are over-subscribed within days of the details being circulated. the workshops have already helped hundreds of members improve many aspects of their lives: learning better coping strategies for stress or improving your computer skills does not only pay off at work! and our longer courses, such as Return to Learn and Women’s Lives, continue to help both individual members and the branches they are part of, as many people are still joining UNISON specifically to take part in those programmes, and some are then volunteering to take on the role of ULR and other roles because they want others to share the positive

experiences they have had.

In these difficult times throughout the public sector, it has been hard to win the pay and conditions improvements all our members deserve, but with the help of the Union Learning Fund and the dedication of our ULRs, we are able to offer real, concrete improvements to people’s lives through learning. Long may that last.

Sue highton, Chair of the Development and Organisation Committee of UNISON’s National Executive Council

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Jess Hurd/reportdigital.co.uk

Helping members change their lives

“What you do gives the lie to the argument that there is no point in joining the union” Roger McKenzie

More than 70 learning activists tried new resources and shared good practice at this year’s ‘Power of the ULR’ event.

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NISON learning reps are changing their members’ lives through learning, Assistant General Secretary Roger McKenzie told participants when he welcomed them all to the ULR seminar at UNISON Centre in February.

“What you do gives the lie 4

U LEARN SUMMER 2015

to the argument that there is no point in joining the union and getting involved: when I travel around the country, I hear real stories about people being able to read a bedtime story to their child for the first time because of the work you do,” Roger said.

Organised around the theme

‘Creating a culture of learning: the power of the ULR’, the event allowed the 70-plus participants to try UNISON’s new Voting Matters Learning Resource, take part in a stressbusting taster session from the Staying Strong workshop and either learn some sign language or improve their

pOWER Of thE ULR

DMU + SBc = AOk

UNISON’s De Montfort University (DMU) Branch has already signed up more than 280 people to take part in the Six Book challenge, which it launched on campus with a poetry ‘flahsmob’ in January. to kick off what promises to be another successful year running the challenge at DMU, a 70-strong group of staff, academics, students and visitors came together to perform tony Walsh’s poem Until you try, which appropriately finishes with the line: “try passion, try living, try reading.”

Dubbed One voice Leicester, the event was the brainchild of UNISON’s andrew Jennison, who has recently stepped down as a ULR after enrolling hundreds of co-workers on the challenge over the past five years.

When andrew was awarded a British empire Medal for services to lifelong learning last year, DMU vice-chancellor and Professor of english Dominic Shellard commented: “Staff and students at DMU could not be more proud that he has been recognised in this way.”

the British Council. Learning and Organising Services (LAOS) is making hard copies available (see pp32-33).

Zoe Clayton explained how The Open University continues to offer free courses that can improve how people develop, including the Access modules (formerly Openings) and OpenLearn,

PHOTO: LEICESTER dE MONTFORT UNIVERSITY/REdPIX

dementia awareness at hour-long workshops.

East Midlands Regional Learning development Organiser Gavin McCann explained how the region was working in tandem with education consultant Chris donkin on a successful roll-out of Get On at Work, helping members and potential members gain access to Functional Skills checks, with a particular focus on the voluntary sector.

“We support this because of the many benefits it offers: it helps members improve their skills, it’s a fantastic way of being visible and promoting what UNISON is all about, it opens doors to workplaces that have resisted in the past, and it is a fantastic tool to help organising and recruitment,” Gavin said.

In all, 10 Get On at Work events have involved more than 230 people taking 330-plus skills checks (many took more than one test), with 89 people (over one-third of participants) progressing to further study as a result, Chris revealed.

Unionlearn Policy Officer Kirsi Kekki introduced the new unionlearn interactive online workbook on English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), which UNISON and other unions helped unionlearn draft with

the online learning portal with OU course materials.

An OpenLearn Learner Guide 10-hour course to help ULRS get to grips with the portal so they can advise members about what would be best for them will go live this summer, after a successful pilot earlier this year. n SUMMER 2015 U LEARN

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Jess Hurd/reportdigital.co.uk

“We hope the booklet will raise the profile of learning among members”

What’s not to like?

Whether you want to build your confidence on the internet, conquer your paperwork, put yourself in a better position when applying for a new job or deal with dementia, there is a free UNISON course for you.

U

NISON Scotland has put together its very first membership learning programme, running 20 one-day courses from Dumfries in the south to Inverness in the north to help members brush up existing skills and develop new ones.

“Usually we put together a learning programme with specific employers, and we will continue to do that with the support of the Scottish Union Learning Fund,” explains Regional Learning Development 6

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Organiser (Lowlands and Uplands) Kevin Duguid.

“This is the first time we have put together a scheduled programme of learning for members in Scotland, and we hope the booklet will raise the profile of learning among members and potential members in the whole of the region.”

The programme includes the four popular and effective one-day courses that comprise the member learning offer and are all free to UNISON members:

Kevin Duguid

Money matters

ULRs can apply for up to £250 to help ‘Kickstart’ any learning activity or event. We are particularly keen to work with women in health and social care, young people, school support staff, personal assistants, workers from diverse backgrounds and workers with below Level 2 qualifications.

Funding over £250 is also available for larger projects, through the ‘Moving On’ programme.

MEMBER LEARNING OffER

The programme also includes the three-hour stress management workshop Staying Strong (Inverness in July) and courses for members who want to become active on learning, health and safety, equality or as stewards.

It also promotes the pioneering Return to Learn programme, designed for

thE UNION MAkES US SING!

UNISON Singers, the Birmingham Branch group that was formed before the popular BBc show The Choir began screening, helped the branch win the Learning at Work award at the UNISON West Midlands Regional awards in November.

Because the members always reflect on the material they are working on, there is an informal learning component to what they do, explains Branch ULF coordinator Donald Mccombie.

“When we performed on Martin Luther King Day, we sang songs that people had not realised came from the civil rights struggle, so by choosing them, you open up a history book,” he says.

UNISON Singers is open to everyone – including members who might not believe they can sing before they join.

“Because singing is good for you per se, we open our group to anybody, based on the principle that everybody can sing – even people who don’t think they can,” Donald says.

“It’s all about enjoying the power of singing together, singing in unison and in UNISON!”

members who have been away from learning for a long time, and Women’s Lives, which is aimed at women who want to take up new learning opportunities.

“The great thing about

PHOTO: BRIAN SHERIdAN

● Your Skills, Your Future, which helps participants identify the skills they already have and the new ones they want and need – running in Glasgow in June, Edinburgh in September and dumfries in October; ● Making the Most of the Internet, which shows participants how to do more online – running in Edinburgh in June and Inverness in September; ● dealing With Paperwork, which covers speedreading, report-writing and time-management – running in Glasgow in May, Edinburgh in October and Inverness in November; ● dementia Awareness, which helps members who live or work with people with dementia – running in Edinburgh in May, Inverness in June and Glasgow in September.

putting a programme together in a booklet is that organisers and activists can use it to show what we offer members on learning at any events that they take part in,” Kevin says. n SUMMER 2015 U LEARN

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Bury Council apprentices take a skills check with the help of UNISON lead ULR Roger Pakeman (back row, first left).

Laying foundations for growth UNISON branches across the country signed nine separate learning agreements last year, and have been building on those firm foundations ever since.

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ury Local Government Branch has been actively expanding its lifelong learning programme since it reached a new learning agreement with the north-west local authority last year to place staff development at the top of the council agenda.

UNISON branch secretary Steve Morton signed the agreement with Chief Executive Mike Kelly, Council Leader Mike Connolly and 8

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Councillor Trevor Holt, Chair of Human Resources, at a special event last summer.

Since then, the branch has extended its involvement with learning at the council through a range of events, including running a skills check for apprentices at the authority and delivering an IT drop-in session for care staff.

Branch Education Officer Roger Pakeman got together with unionlearn National Apprenticeship Project

“It’s great that UNISON could come here to be on hand to help” Jean Foster

Officer Mark Rowe to offer the skills check to council apprentices in March 2015.

Using unionlearn’s Value My Skills cards and interactive whiteboard computer programme Wordwall, Roger

For more info on free UNISON courses www.unison.org. uk/for-members/ unison-learning/ learning-for-you/ skills-for-life/

Learning agreements

and Mark encouraged the apprentices to identify what skills they needed to develop and how they could progress their roles in the future.

Following the skills check, the branch took some of the apprentices to a mentoring event at The Manchester College, where they joined some of their counterparts from the Salford Royal and Pennine Acute NHS Trusts and Manchester City and Bolton councils.

The branch ran its IT dropin centre for care staff at older people’s facility The Grundy Centre in December 2014, with the support of Regional Learning Development Organiser Steve Swift.

Roger and ULRs Jean Foster and Sarah Tattersall brought iPads with them to show staff how to use tablets to access the internet, to help prepare them for the arrival of digital wage slips.

“There’s a real need for digital inclusion work among care staff for older people, particularly as they will soon be accessing their wage slips online,” Jean said afterwards.

“It’s great that UNISON could come here to be on hand to help and to provide tablets for us to use: I know the staff enjoyed it and found it useful – and as this service is my work area, I want to do a lot more drop-ins.” n

Development deals in the NHS

Two NHS Trusts in the East Midlands signed learning agreements with UNISON in the autumn.

Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust became the first Trust in the country to launch the NHS Employers’ Learning for Life campaign by signing a partnership agreement with the unions on site last October.

Learning for Life is the development initiative run by the NHS Social Partnership Forum, which brings together unions, employers and other key stakeholders to discuss the workforce implications of health sector policy.

Only a few weeks later, Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust signed a Learning for Life agreement with UNISON and its partner unions on site in December 2014.

“The new Learning and Education Group created by the learning agreement will help UNISON and our partner unions work more closely with management to offer learning opportunities for the people who need them the most,” says Kettering Branch Secretary Ian Kelly.

“Despite the vital contribution they make to the delivery of high quality patient care, it is the support staff who are too often overlooked when it comes to training.”

Both Trusts committed in the agreements to giving ULRs reasonable time off to carry out their duties in recognition of their crucial role in spreading the word about workplace learning opportunities to their co-workers at the hospitals.

And both Trusts also agreed to set up joint management-union committees to oversee the development of workplace learning: the Chesterfield agreement created a Workforce Planning Development Steering Group, similar to Kettering’s Learning and Education Group. Both are scheduled to review their first 12 months in operation later this year.

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ALL PHOTOS: Jess Hurd/reportdigital.co.uk

The Eastern Region’s pioneering project has helped UNISON improve many public sector Apprenticeships and recruit new young members since it was launched four years ago.

Renewing Apprenticeships in East Anglia

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roject Worker Craig Young may have retired earlier this year, but the Eastern Region apprenticeships project he has steered for the past four years is pressing ahead now that Learning and Organising Services, Eastern Region and Health Education East of England are jointly funding a successor post to build on his successes.

Securing apprenticeship agreements has been crucial, says Craig. Local authority successes included Suffolk Coastal, Waveney District, Forest Heath and St Edmundsbury, where Craig was working as a gardener.

In the health sector, James Paget in Great Yarmouth and The Queen Elizabeth

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Hospital in King’s Lynn also signed agreements.

“As the project went on, I found that the workplaces where we had agreements were the ones where the workforce was well-informed about apprentices, where they welcomed them and everything worked,” he says.

“But the important thing is that the agreement is not a tick-box exercise for the employers or the unions but one where there is some commitment to take the work forward.”

Craig is proud to have been part of a positive and relevant project, which has helped organisations renew the way they work. “We have helped open people’s minds that apprentices need care and

attention when they arrive in the workplace, which has helped change the culture in those workplaces,” he says.

Know your rights!

Many apprentices studying at Hartlepool College have raised concerns about issues in the workplace

For more info on Apprenticeships www.unison. org.uk/about/ our-organisation/ member-groups/ young-members/ key-issues/ apprenticeships/ home/

AppRENtIcEShIpS

Former NhS apprentice Craig Elvin (left) has now taken on the role of young members’ officer in his branch.

SOWING SEEDS IN SOUth LONDON

“Securing apprenticeship agreements has been crucial to the success of the project” cRaIg yOUNg

and have joined UNISON after a joint presentation earlier this year by Local Organiser Vikki Garratty and Young Members Regional Chair Andrew Anderson (a former apprentice himself).

“I wanted to make the apprentices aware of their rights, so I updated a PowerPoint presentation a colleague used for a similar session at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation

Using the Union Learning Fund, UNISON has joined forces with Health education South London (HeSL) to jointly fund an apprentice project worker who can begin promoting high-quality NHS apprenticeships in that part of the capital, where progress has been slower than in other parts of the country to date.

“One of the main reasons that my project has been located in South London is that it is one of the areas of the country where apprenticeship take-up by employers and employees has been the lowest,” explains Project Worker Kirsty Marsh-Hyde, who divides her time between HeSL’s office in Bloomsbury and UNISON centre nearby.

One of the key reasons for low take-up is that the National Minimum Wage for apprentices, which currently stands at £2.73/hour, is low in any part of the country but simply not viable for a young person to live on in the capital. the other major contributory factor is that many hospitals in South London are struggling on a number of fronts in the current climate. “at a time like this, venturing into fairly uncharted territory, like establishing a quality apprenticeship scheme, seems easy to put on the bottom of the priority list,” Kirsty says.

“What we hope to achieve with this project is to work with trusts and UNISON branches to move apprenticeships up their priority lists – and there has been some encouraging success even in the initial months.”

Trust and created a 34-page workbook for them to work their way through in the session,” Vikki explains.

“It started some really interesting debates about how they have been treated

in the schools, hospitals and companies where they work. The feedback was really good and some of them joined UNISON immediately afterwards and others have joined since.” n SUMMER 2015 U LEARN

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EMILY BENEFER

Hospital learning that stretches the members UNISON members at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn are seizing a wide range of learning opportunities provided by the branch.

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erhaps unsurprisingly in a health branch, demand has been huge for UNISON’s free oneday dementia Awareness workshop, with almost 350 people taking the course last year, and dementia lead nurse Alison Webb joining the union because she was so impressed with the branch’s work on the issue.

Earlier this year, Alison joined Branch Secretary darren Barber at a one-day discussion on how to further improve the dementia workshop with tutors from The Open University (OU) and staff from Learning and Organising Services (LAOS).

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Working with her dementia team colleagues, Alison then helped organise a UNISON conference on dementia to coincide with dementia Awareness Week in May, to build on the success of a similar event last year.

Because the dementia Awareness workshops have proved so successful, the OU has now offered to run its advanced, 50-hour dementia course for staff at the Trust, and 10 UNISON members will be trained as dementia champions this autumn.

But informal learning has proved equally compelling to staff at the Trust. Last

“It was an amazing atmosphere in the room, with people joining together to help one another” gaIL SaMUeL

summer, UNISON member Gail Samuel began delivering a sewing class that became so popular it had to be run twice a week to accommodate demand, and now more than 30 staff are currently improving their needle and thread work at the sessions.

Gail was keen both to share her craft expertise and use the skills gained during her Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (PTLLS) qualification.

“The first session in July gave me the opportunity not only to help my colleagues by passing on my creative skills, but also to put my PTLLS qualification

Members of the Queen Elizabeth hospital King’s Lynn Branch have many learning options to choose from, including yoga (left) or learning to sew with gail Samuel, pictured below with Branch Secretary Darren Barber.

into practice,” Gail says.

“It was an amazing atmosphere in the room, with people joining together to chat and help one another, as one of my aims was to encourage peer learning.”

With participants enthusing about the packed classes, word spread to management at the Trust, who were so impressed they emailed the branch to let them know.

“We received an email from a manager congratulating us for boosting people’s confidence and their morale through the sewing class and putting on record what a positive effect it was having on the workplace at a difficult time for the NHS,” darren says.

The branch is also offering yoga classes, which are delivered in the social club at the hospital twice a week by a tutor from a local sports centre. And with the help of a Spanish nurse (and UNISON member), the branch has

recently started running Spanish language classes every Friday lunchtime, with tapas provided for learners.

UNISON Eastern Regional Manager Sasha Pearce even joined in when she visited.

UNISON is able to call on its seven-strong team of ULRs to help spread the word about learning (there are 16 learning reps in all from health unions onsite). darren has also been quick to identify potential new activists among the growing band of apprentices at the Trust: former apprentice Craig Elvin, who works in the medical equipment library, has taken on the role of young members’ officer, and helped organise a tour of Parliament and UNISON Centre for current apprentices earlier this year. darren himself admits he didn’t help himself when he was at school and had no qualifications when he joined the Trust as a porter.

“I realised then that I needed a better education, so I applied myself, but it was hard to see what I needed to do to kick on, hard to find the pathways: I want to do something for anyone in a similar position, which is why learning is my passion,” he says. ● If you want to run a Dementia awareness course, please email e.lipscombe@unison.co.uk n

ORGANISING

INcLUSIvE LEARNING pROJEct Our achievements April-December 2014 ● trained 85 ULRs ● delivered 918 English initial assessments and 869 maths initial assessments ● helped 428 learners complete ICT courses ● engaged 2,316 in informal adult/ community learning ● supported 1,760 learners on FE programmes ● supported 336 apprentices ● organised 480 dissemination events ● signed nine learning agreements

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Nigel Tissington

Nottingham City Branch Secretary Christina Sanna (centre) and Hannah Slade celebrate the Branch of the Year award with some of the other branch officers.

Building the branch through learning Nottingham City Branch has successfully integrated learning into the mainstream of its work, chalking up a string of successes that helped it claim the East Midlands Branch of the Year award in January.

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ed by Branch Secretary Christina Sanna, Lifelong Learning Coordinator Hannah Slade and the 13-strong ULR team, Nottingham City’s learning and organising offensive has both reached out to new workplaces and enthused

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existing members.

“Because we are a large branch with many workplaces, we can’t have ULRs everywhere, but we can make sure all our stewards are aware of what learning is going on, so they can signpost people to courses if there isn’t an active

“Hannah has offered excellent advice in respect of reaching out to potential learners” Andy Hedgecock

ULR,” Hannah explains.

“The ULRs we do have, and the number is increasing rapidly, are some of the most dedicated and motivated people I’ve ever met. Their passion and enthusiasm for promoting learning and supporting our members has

EASt MIDLANDS

provided a strong foundation for our work over the past year.”

Functional Skills has been a key area of achievement, with Community and Voluntary Sector Organiser Mick Moreton working with independent consultant Chris donkin to provide 160-plus Functional Skills assessments in five community and voluntary sector workplaces.

“Mick has done an amazing job going out to workplaces we wouldn’t normally be able to get into with a really proactive approach on Functional Skills that employers want to take up,” says Hannah.

“It’s been a fantastic way to support our members and talk to the employers about UNISON and what we can offer.”

The branch has also secured Functional Skills training for Nottingham City Council (NCC) workers, after persuading councillors of the benefits of helping staff improve their maths and English.

“Hannah has enabled us to build an effective and rewarding partnership between the union and the council’s corporate development team,” says NCC Corporate development Consultant Andy Hedgecock.

The branch has successfully promoted distance learning opportunities through The Skills Network, enrolling 50plus learners, with another

MAyANk IS MOtORING At cIty tRANSpORt

Leicester city ULR Mayank Pandit won an excellence and dedication award at UNISON’s east Midlands regional awards in January. after Mayank enrolled 40 colleagues at Leicester city transport on the Six Book challenge last Mayank collects his exc ellence award from UNISON year, his workplace was President Lucia McKeever chosen to host a visit from world-famous author and former SaS soldier andy McNab. “Due to security reasons, we were not allowed to do any publicity before the event, which proved to be the icing on the cake as it created an element of suspense,” Mayank says.

Learning has not only helped the branch recruit new members as a result of the SBc success and andy McNab visit: the workplace now has a steward – the only other workplace rep alongside Mayank. “this shows how learning creates a buzz within the workplace, which changes people’s perceptions of the union so people can come forward to play an active part,” says RLDO gavin Mccann.

20 on the waiting list, and has already signed up more than 80 people for this year’s Six Book Challenge.

For this year’s Learning At Work Week, Hannah and the team are planning to do something a little different from previous years.

“We have tended to focus events on our main office in

the past but this year we are working with the Learning and development Team and IT to take a roadshow around different workplaces, showcasing everything both UNISON and the city council can offer and making sure that all these opportunities reach our members,” Hannah says. n SUMMER 2015 U LEARN

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“By the next time I saw them, they were a completely different set of women – confident, and outgoing”

Jess Hurd/reportdigital.co.uk

Jenny Griffin

Wales women catch the learning bug A group of members in Wales who enrolled on UNISON’s pioneering Return to Learn programme last year have literally changed their lives after completing the course.

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hen Area Organiser Jenny Griffin first met the latest Return to Learn group of South Wales members (who all happened to be women), they were not very confident about what they were going to be doing over the next nine months on the course.

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“The first time I met them on the information evening, they were very quiet, really shy, unsure if the course was really for them,” Jenny recalls.

“By the next time I saw them on the residential weekend we organised, they were a completely different set of women – confident, outgoing,

Find out more about learning through UNISON at: www.unison.org. uk/for-members/ unison-learning/ learning-for-you/

every one of them with a story to tell about the next steps they were going to take.”

Of the nine people on the weekend, every single one of them said they wanted to join the Cymru/Wales women’s committee, three of them had already enrolled on the women’s development

Return to Learn/Women’s Lives

weekend and three more wanted to be active as ULRs or workplace reps.

Mel Heitkamp, who is studying to be a midwife, joined UNISON specifically so she could take part in Return to Learn – and the maths part of the course stood her in very good stead when she had to take a maths test online before starting her latest OU course SDK125 Life Sciences.

“Thanks to the numbers and percentages work we did within our Return to Learn course, I received 100 per cent in the mathematical component of the test, which I was surprised and delighted to receive,” Mel says.

“I have since started the module and I am finding the maths much easier than I would have without the input of our tutor Marilyn Thomas.”

Another member, who had also joined in order to enrol on Return to Learn told Jenny at the residential weekend that the course had given her the confidence not only to speak to her manager about some workplace issues that needed addressing but also to apply for an internal promotion that she would never have considered before.

Another member of the group, who works at Cardiff University, admitted to Jenny on the first information evening that she was not sure that

Giving something back

UNISON members in Yorkshire and Humberside are becoming active in the union after positive experiences on the latest Return to Learn programmes in Hull, Leeds and Sheffield and Women’s Lives courses in Doncaster and York.

“We look at running Return to Learn and Women’s Lives in different parts of what is a large region to give more members the opportunity to access the programmes,” explains Regional Organiser Keith Williamson.

“So we were pleased to be able to run a very well-attended Return to Learn course in Hull this year, after trying to organise something there for a few years without success.”

More than 40 members took part in the latest programmes, more than half of them from local government branches, more than two dozen from health branches, three from higher education and individuals from the police and justice, community and voluntary and energy sectors.

“What we have found over the years is that many people who have benefited from the courses – both in terms of the content and the confidence they gain from them – want to give something back and come forward to become activists,” Keith says.

This year, Keith and his colleague Catharyn Lawrence, a TUC tutor who was at the time a UNISON project worker in Leeds, identified several participants on the residential weekends of both programmes who have since signed up as ULRs.

the course was suitable for her; but on the residential weekend, she said that it had in fact been perfect, particularly in terms of boosting her confidence in her own abilities.

“They were all truly

inspirational and back in their workplaces they are promoting not only Return to Learn but also UNISON learning in general to their colleagues – they have definitely caught the learning bug!” Jenny says. n SUMMER 2015 U LEARN

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MARCUS ROSE

The school stars shine bright UNISON runs development days, online resources and even an annual campaign day to help school support staff gain recognition and access progression in their careers.

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ozens of Teaching Assistants, administrators, cooks, cleaners, caretakers and others from all over Wales discussed ways of meeting the challenges facing schools staff at last year’s Cymru/Wales School Support Staff Conference in Cardiff Bay. Organised by the union’s School Support Staff Forum, the event was sponsored

by The Open University (OU), which also ran a set

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of workshops on open educational resources that proved very popular with participants.

The workshops discussed the free smartphone app Our Story, which classroom assistants can use in the Foundation Phase, as well as online resources such as OpenLearn, OpenLearn Cymru and FutureLearn.

“The OU workshops were massively oversubscribed and delegates were really excited about the accessibility and

Stars In Our Schools will be held on Friday 27 November 2015 across the UK. Find out more at: www.starsinour schools.uk

relevance of free OpenLearn units and FutureLearn courses to them,” says Jess Turner, UNISON regional organiser for school support staff.

Other topics covered at the event included the consultation on the registration of school support staff in Wales; what staff should do if they face a criminal accusation through their work; and how to take part in UNISON’s nationwide Stars In Our Schools campaign day.

SchOOLS StAff

A few weeks after the conference, UNISON Cymru/ Wales helped celebrate the contribution of schools support staff to their workplaces and communities by organising events all over Wales including coffee mornings, tea parties and superhero assemblies as part of the Stars In Our Schools campaign.

ONLINE RESOURCE RE-LAUNChED UNISON has re-designed and re-launched its pioneering online development resource for schools staff, Skills For Schools.

Originally launched in 2006, the site has helped schools staff improve their skills and develop their careers with a mix of useful information about job roles, training opportunities and real-life case studies of UNISON members who have themselves developed their careers.

It also includes an interactive career planner to help staff who wish to move on identify what steps to take next.

The site is dedicated to the memory of Mary Myles, who pioneered the original site while she was working for Learning and Organising Services and played a key role in the re-launch before she died last year. n

AND WE’RE fEELING GOOD!

Schools staff in essex took part in a celebration of the work they do at a one-day event organised during spring term halfterm put together by UNISON education Officer Jane Shepherd and eastern Regional Organiser tracey Sparkes.

“We had a good mix of teaching assistants, Learning Support assistants, administrators and Ict technicians – 15 people in all – and they gelled straight away,” tracey says. as well as bringing in a guest speaker to talk about dealing with challenging behaviour in the classroom and the playground, tracey and Jane organised a small-group session for participants to discuss case studies based on real-life incidents. “they really enjoyed that session,” tracey recalls. “after they discussed the case studies in their groups, we went through their answers with them and made suggestions about other approaches to try, because there is often no right or wrong answer in these situations.”

Feedback from the day was positive, with participants saying they had enjoyed the opportunity of meeting each other and sharing their experiences of working in schools.

“Because a lot of schools staff are not valued as highly as the teaching staff in many schools, we wanted participants to leave the day feeling positive, feeling valued and having learned something – and that is what happened,” tracey says. tracey would like to build on the pilot by running similar but shorter sessions for schools staff in other counties across the region.

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Health Education England

Getting a better deal for NHS support staff UNISON learning reps can help NHS support staff get the training and development they need and deserve by encouraging employers to sign the new Talent for Care local partnership pledge.

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HS employers and unions can now show their commitment to working together to develop support staff (in Bands 1-4 and equivalents) by signing the new Talent for Care local partnership pledge, unveiled in March.

Taking the pledge means employers and unions are creating real progression opportunities for porters, healthcare assistants, receptionists, administrators, cleaners and many others whose development needs have been overlooked for decades.

Although support staff make 20

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up around 40 per cent of the 1.7 million workers in the NHS and are responsible for roughly 60 per cent of direct patient contact, they are only allocated less than 5 per cent of the overall training budget.

The local partnership pledge was unveiled at the joint launch of two new initiatives that both aim to transform the opportunities available to support staff, Talent for Care and Widening Participation: It Matters.

“To improve patient care, employers need to get the best out of their whole workforce and that will require concerted action at every level

“To improve patient care, employers need to get the best out of their whole workforce” Helga Pile

Download everything you need to promote the pledge from: bit.ly/1Inm1QU

SUppORt StAff

Left: health group National Officer helga Pile (front row, left) gives a thumbs-up to the new local partnership pledge alongside representatives from the National Skills Academy for health, NhS Employers, Skills for health, health Education England and staff reps.

UNISON Bridges to Learning is addressing the lack of development opportunities for health and social care assistants with its programme of continuous Professional Development (cPD) events and workshops as well as shorter ‘lunch and learn’ sessions.

In the past two years, the Northern Regionbased project has held two successful cPD conferences for health and social care assistants (and is planning another for early 2016) and cPD events for health and social care administrators, social workers and occupational therapists (Ots) and Ot support staff. the partnership also organises around 25 one-day taster workshops every year, which are usually at the Open University (OU) and delivered by lecturers from the OU or the Workers’ educational association. the lunch and learn sessions, which usually feature an OU lecturer discussing a topical issue in health and social care, attract both senior and support staff, explains Director anne Hansen.

“We have had senior divisional managers and consultants come to these sessions and learn alongside porters, domestics and healthcare assistants, which is fantastic,” she says. “after talking to each other during the session, they all realise how much everyone is contributing: the porters would always have recognised the consultants, but not always the other way round, and that is breaking down some barriers and the impact is incredible when they go back on the wards.”

SUMMER 2015 U LEARN

PHOTOS: SASA SEVIC

across the NHS,” says Health Group National Officer Helga Pile, who spoke at the launch.

“UNISON welcomes the clear recognition that real change can only be delivered when employers work in partnership with their local trade unions.”

Talent for Care is a strategic framework for the development of the healthcare support workforce that was put together by Health Education England (HEE), with the support of the national Social Partnership Forum.

HEE, which took over many of the functions of the old Strategic Health Authorities when they were closed two years ago, also runs the Widening Participation programme, which aims to ensure staff receive high quality training that equips them to provide high quality care as part of its brief to increase equality and diversity within the NHS workforce. n

BUILDING BRIDGES

21

Learning Coordinator Jenny Brown (centre) celebrates learners’ achievements with Supt.

Dave Hill (third left). Norma Clarke (first right), the ULF Project Administrator, also attended.

Nigel Tissington

Police can we have some more?

Northamptonshire Police Branch is helping dozens of its members develop new skills to cope with change and also growing new activists at the same time.

W

hen Northamptonshire Police Branch Learning Coordinator Jenny Brown organised a celebration event in the autumn, she ended up having to print out 180 separate certificates because learning has become so popular.

“Fifty-six learners completed European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) Level 2; another 56 took NCC Adult Learning taster courses; 20 finished Skills Network

22

U LEARN SUMMER 2015

distance learning courses; 13 attended the lunch and learn sessions with UNISON’s Equalities Officer; and because we had some redundancies last year we set up one-to-one careers advice sessions for people and one-to-one interview skills/CV-writing sessions for 12 people,” she recalls.

“That ended up with a lot of certificates to print out – I was buried under certificates!”

The celebration event was when the Force’s

“It was really great to see the impact that support from the employer made on the branch’s learning initiatives” Norma Clarke

learning and development lead, Superintendent Dave Hill, signed a learning agreement with UNISON. “This learning agreement with our UNISON colleagues is an excellent example of how we can work together to manage the needs of today while developing our thinking and skills to enable us to tackle the changing needs of the future,” he said.

Branch Secretary Peter Lake and Supt. Hill have also issued a joint call to

ULR pROfILES

BLAckpOOL ILLUMINAtION

Jane eyre, Bev Herring and Danielle Perrett, the new team of learning reps at Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde Health Branch, are beginning to develop a workplace learning programme at the Blackpool teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation trust that is already proving popular.

Jane herself originally trained as a ULR seven years ago, but no learning programme got up and running in the branch at the time and she ended up concentrating on her role as a steward and LgBt steward, as well as sitting on the agenda for change panel.

But a branch visit from Regional Learning Development Organiser Steve Swift last year reignited Jane’s interest, and encouraged Bev and Danielle to get involved as well. “after the visit from Steve last year, we attended a regional event in chester and we all felt so inspired, we said, ‘Let’s take this forward,’ and it has all taken off from there,” says Jane. after enrolling on the ULR Stage One course at UNISON centre earlier this year, the team organised four of UNISON’s Dementia awareness free oneday workshops for members in February, March and april, which all filled up extremely quickly, plus the stress management workshop Staying Strong in april and Facing change together in May. the team is also organising a taster session for a new Photography for Beginners course and other activities during this year’s adult Learners’ Week in June. “the ULR role is the union role I enjoy most,” Jane says.

SUMMER 2015 U LEARN

JESS HURd/REPORTdIGITAL.CO.UK

managers to allow staff time off to take part in UNISON learning, wherever possible.

As well as helping members improve their prospects of moving up the career ladder in the Force or finding a new job outside it, the branch’s learning offer is also helping people lead happier and healthier lives at home, with distance learning courses through The Skills Network on subjects such as mental health, dementia and nutrition proving popular.

Learning has definitely changed what people think about the union, Jenny says.

“We have had quite a few people tell our stewards the reason they were joining was because they could see the union was not just somewhere to go when you’re in trouble but can provide you with skills you wouldn’t get otherwise,” she says.

The branch has also identified new activists as a result of the learning activity.

“Arlene Thompson contacted me after doing the ECdL course to say she wanted to be a ULR, and after she went on the course said she wanted to become a steward as well,” Jenny says.

“And one of Arlene’s colleagues who joined in order to do the ECdL course, then went on to do a Skills Network course and is now becoming our Welfare Officer.” n

23

Getting Hyndburn online Hyndburn Local Government Branch’s Digital Inclusion project is taking learning out into the community.

W

hen Hyndburn learning rep Louise Evans was asked how many learners she wanted to engage through the branch’s Digital Inclusion project last year, she replied between 50 and 75.

Within just a few months, the project had reached more than 100 – and the numbers have not stopped rising since.

The Digital Inclusion project, which was launched last October with the help of UNISON’s Inclusive Learning Fund and financial backing from branch funds, is helping local authority staff and members of the community alike unlock 24

U LEARN SUMMER 2015

“We have started running workshops on social media and healthy living” the secrets of online life.

With the support of Zak Hussain and Karen Gregory (two of the branch’s 31 digital champions), Louise has been taking latptops and mobile wi-fi into local community centres, delivering dropin sessions to help people develop their internet skills.

“We have been running sessions in community centres, and we have started running workshops on particular issues such as social media and healthy living,” Louise explains.

“Next, we are planning to take the project into allotments, where we can sit on a bench with the laptops and our mobile wi-fi and help

Louise Evans

people research their plants on a nice day, if we’re lucky!”

Securing the support of local councillors helped the project hit the ground running last year, Louise says.

Keep up to date with UNISON learning news by following us on Twitter @unisonlearning

LOcAL GOvERNMENt

LEADING IN LEEDS

through its ever-expanding learning programme, Leeds Local government Branch is helping prepare staff facing the threat of redundancy in the wake of public spending cuts. the branch’s learning work is led by Joint trade Union committee coordinators Donna Padget and Julie Butterfield, who have put in a massive amount of hard work since they took over their roles 18 months ago. “the project has a small learning room onsite, but the main wonderful resource is Donna and Julie and the team of ULRs,” according to tUc tutor catharyn Lawrence (who was seconded as a learning project worker to the branch until recently).

Like the majority of local authorities, Leeds city council is set to make hundreds of staff redundant over the coming year, which is why the branch is working hard to identify training opportunities for members and potential members, especially those whose jobs are under threat.

By using their knowledge and skills to identify free training opportunities, such as UNISON’s one-day workshops for members and a wide range of courses from e-learning provider tribal, Donna and Julie have calculated they have secured tens of thousands of pounds worth of learning for their colleagues.

“We have worked out that we have delivered courses for Leeds city council staff that have been worth around £100,000 since we took over,” Julie says.

SUMMER 2015 U LEARN

PHOTOS: JESS HURd/REPORTdIGITAL.CO.UK

“We had a lot of buyin from local councillors from an early stage, which helped get the project off the ground,” she says. So much so that, when the branch organised a ‘pie and PC’ evening at Hyndburn Homes, two supportive councillors and the Mayor of Blackburn all attended.

The project is also helping to strengthen the branch, with the ULR team set to grow to a five-strong unit with the imminent addition of digital champions Karen and Zak. Already this year, dozens of members have taken part in the branch’s free one-day workshops dementia Awareness, Facing Change Together and Your Skills, Your Future.

The series kicked off with nine people attending the dementia Awareness workshop, run by The Open University in February, where they were able to learn more about the condition and take part in activities that brought home how difficult dementia is to live with.

“The feedback was absolutely fantastic and a couple of people who attended now want to become dementia champions, so we are looking into that,” says Louise. n

25

Emily Murphy

“They used to be shy, but now they say Hi”

“It’s been so easy in terms of communication with UNISON and the college” Alessandra Merryweather

Support staff at Stoke Mandeville Hospital have seized the chance provided by UNISON to enrol on courses in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL).

U

NISON is helping porters, catering, domestic and maintenance staff and other support staff employed by Sodexo at Stoke Mandeville Hospital improve their communications on heavily-

26

U LEARN SUMMER 2015

subscribed courses in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL).

After identifying the need for ESOL classes at the Trust, UNISON Learning and Workforce Development Officer Emma Lipscombe

Keep up to date with UNISON learning news by following us on Twitter @unisonlearning

ESOL

staff who would like to attend.

“It’s been so easy in terms of communication with UNISON and the college: everyone has worked together to provide learning for those who need it,” Alessandra says.

“Helen is a great teacher, she really gets the best out of people: she has asked for copies of commonly used forms so she can adapt things for the class as practice – having someone tailoring things for the groups has been invaluable.”

It’s easy to see how learners have grown in confidence, Alessandra says. “When I pass staff, I can see that their

confidence has grown as they are much more likely to stop and say, ‘Hi, how are you?’ whereas before they may have been more shy in case they were asked a question.”

The learners themselves are keen to continue their development. “It has been a very good course, it has really helped me with my language in work,” says Yu Lian Philips, one of many domestic assistants who enrolled on the course.

“Before I didn’t always understand what people were saying but now I do, which helps on the ward: I have really liked it and would like to learn more.” n PHOTO: NEIL TURNER

contacted Aylesbury College to see what they could do.

The college agreed to deliver a 21-hour ESOL course onsite to make it easier for staff to study, and Emma worked with UNISON Area Organiser Natalie Platts to negotiate paid release for 50 per cent of the course time, with sessions organised around shift changes so people could either stay an extra hour or arrive an hour early to study.

With 40 people signalling they were interested in the course, Learning and development Manager Alessandra Merryweather organised an afternoon of assessments at the hospital in the autumn, which UNISON promoted, to help tutor Helen Gillespie group the students according to their different English skills levels.

“There was a real buzz as people came in to meet Helen, get assessed and register: I think people felt really excited and confident as everyone knew Alessandra, who was coordinating everything,” says Emma.

The first group of 15 finished in december, the second in March and the third is due to finish in June.

Management have been fully supportive of the courses, with everyone working together to ensure cover for

NEtWORkING IN thE SOUth WESt

UNISON learning reps from across the South West all pledged to organise activities during this year's Festival of Learning at a very successful ULR network day in the union's taunton office in February.

Feedback was so positive that the region has already organised a follow-up network day for the autumn.

SUMMER 2015 U LEARN

27

PAUL BOX/reportdigital.co.uk

UNISON’s learning expertise is opening doors at a number of social care organisations in Scotland.

Building through learning in social care

U

NISON Scotland's learning and development partnership with Glasgowbased social care charity The Mungo Foundation (TMF) is creating opportunities for staff to gain new skills and expertise that improve their work with service users and their families and helping the union gain dozens of new members at the organisation.

“At The Mungo Foundation, we regard learning as a continuous personal journey that is an opportunity for our staff to maximise their potential and be all they can be,” explains the Head of Assurance and Improvement Alexandria Brysland.

After positive discussions between Alexandria

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U LEARN SUMMER 2015

and Regional Learning Development Organiser Kevin Duguid, UNISON helped arrange free autism awareness training courses last year.

The sessions were so successful, running six times with 96 staff, that they were followed by a writing and record-keeping course for 60 staff last November.

Running the courses has not only helped staff gain or improve skills they need in their day-to-day work: UNISON has also recruited around 30 new members at the charity, thanks to TMF inviting a UNISON representative to attend the Orientation and Ready for Work sessions for all new starts.

Building on the success with TMF, Kevin is expanding

“The feedback from staff about the autism awareness course was really positive” Kevin Duguid

the union’s learning work in the community and voluntary sector.

“At Cornerstone, which works with vulnerable adults and children all over Scotland, we provided a British Sign Language course for 12 learners last October, and now have access to staff through training and induction,” Kevin says.

“We also ran a dyslexia awareness course in December for staff at Mears Care in Lanarkshire, who deliver care in the home for elderly people – an organisation where we have very few members at the moment but we are starting to build a positive relationship with the employer.” n

SOcIAL cARE

tAkING cARE Of cARE WORkERS

PHOTOS: JESS HURd/REPORTdIGITAL.CO.UK

UNISON cymru-Wales has run two successful pilot projects with organisations in the social care sector to help staff improve their skills, deliver better care and get more out of the appraisal process. the first is a Welsh language and social care course, to help staff who may not be native speakers improve communications with people in residential and social care who may be reverting to Welsh as they grow older or become affected by dementia. the 20-hour pilot was run at a care home in Port talbot that had not had a relationship with UNISON before. the second pilot aims to help staff better understand and take part in the appraisal process, and has also recently finished at the community Lives consortium, which is a Swansea-based domiciliary care provider for adults with learning disabilities.

ULRs keep on learning!

Once you have trained as a learning rep, we can help you further develop your skills.

U

LRs can expand their skills and knowledge through the development opportunities we provide, such as dyslexia awareness, discussion leaders, mentoring skills, confidence building and so on, which are run in the regions (or nationally when there is enough demand).

If you would like to register your interest in any of these or have ideas for training that would help you in your role, drop davinder an email at: d.sandhu@unison.co.uk.

do remember to look on ULRnet for e-learning topics to develop your skills: http:// learning.unison.org.uk If you are not registered on this site, email Emma at: e.lipscombe@ unison.co.uk n SUMMER 2015 U LEARN

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“Becoming a ULR is the best thing I’ve done”

Jess Hurd/reportdigital.co.uk

Di Coombes used to struggle with paperwork because of her dyslexia. Now she has not only become a learning rep, she is a dyslexia champion as well.

“It was very tiring going back to basics but it was one of the best courses I have ever done” Di Coombes

W

hen care worker Di Coombes was completing her NVQ Level 2 portfolio a few years ago, she ran into serious problems with the crossreferencing that was required.

“It was so difficult: working with all the numbers and figures was physically impossible for me and I thought about giving up because I was struggling so much and learning should be fun,” she recalls.

But with the help of her assessor, she worked out a way to get through, and when she completed the qualification, she spoke 30

U LEARN SUMMER 2015

about her experience to her manager, who recommended a full dyslexia assessment, which the council funded.

The assessment itself wasn’t much fun, as it forced Di to work on issues that she had developed strategies to avoid (like most people with dyslexia). “It was an all-time low, two and a half hours doing different tests back in your real problem areas,” she recalls.

But the end result was positive as the council installed Dragon speech recognition software on her computer, which has proved to be enormously valuable.

There was also a happy

ending to another worrying situation for Di: after making some mistakes in her work that were rooted in her dyslexia, she faced a disciplinary hearing under the ‘three strikes and you’re out’ rule.

With the support of her UNISON rep, Di explained the problems she was still facing that could not be solved by computer software (such as printed text on white paper), and together they saved her job.

Not only that: they also persuaded the human

Dyslexia

resources department to send Di on the five-day one-to-one Davis Dyslexia Correction Programme, paid for by the local authority.

The pioneering course, originally developed in the USA

by Ron Davis, who himself has dyslexia, is pretty full-on.

“On the course you do things like model the alphabet in clay and make those letters into words and images, which is really good because we think in pictures – it was very tiring going back to basics but it was one of the best courses I have ever done,” Di says.

It was around that time that Di first met Hertfordshire County Council Branch Education Officer Pat Kohler.

“When Pat originally suggested I become a ULR, I thought it would be too much on top of my work, where I help people with learning disabilities, take them to meetings with social work professionals and appointments with doctors and run whole shifts as senior

To find out more about dyslexia resources and training, contact Emma Lipscombe e.lipscombe@ unison.co.uk

support worker – it’s very busy and quite intense!” she says.

But last year, Di decided that she needed a new challenge and got back in touch with Pat to take on the new role.

“Becoming a learning rep is the best thing I have done, because I can pass on my knowledge and experience to other people having problems the way I was,” Di says.

After completing her ULR training last year, Di helped organise three courses during Adult Learners’ Week (ALW) including a British Sign Language (BSL) taster that was so popular that she organised a full 12-week BSL course this year.

For ALW this year, Di is organising more tasters, including one on creative writing that she hopes to extend into a full course if it proves popular.

She is also getting her teeth into a new role as dyslexia champion at work. “I will be able to meet people with dyslexia and talk them through what is available out there and what support they can get from their employers,” she explains.

“It feels good not to be putting my dyslexia away in a cupboard any more, thanks to doing all the things I have achieved in the past year through UNISON, which have made a vast difference to my confidence.” n

Your online learning area UNISON has developed an online learning area which hosts short (30-minute) courses for activists and members such as the New Stewards e-note, and Coping with Care, which deals with health needs in schools. And we are adding new courses all the time!

The site also hosts ULRnet, our forum and resource area for ULRs to share ideas and access resources including learning surveys and publications.

To access all these resources, all you need to do is create your account at http://learning. unison.org.uk/ (there are full instructions, including a how-to video, on the site).

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31

Meet the people

Jess Hurd/reportdigital.co.uk

New members of UNISON’s lifelong learning team around the country talk about what they are doing to help promote learning opportunities for members.

Siobhan Brown Regional Learning Development Organiser, South West Region How long have you been in post? Six months.

What does the job involve?

The main function of my role is to help branches recruit ULRs in the workplace and then help those ULRs roll out our membership education programmes. I also help branches draw up learning agreements and find funding for learning events or courses, and I also do some tutoring.

What is the most difficult aspect of the job?

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U LEARN SUMMER 2015

We still don’t have enough ULRs in the South West to spread the good news about our education programme, so my aim is to recruit more to help spread our message more comprehensively across the region. We have great courses, and money to supply those courses, but if you don’t have enough ULRs on the ground talking to members and potential members on a daily basis, it’s hard to get people onto courses that would be great for them.

What is the best aspect?

When you are tutoring a group of members, the most exciting aspect of the role is that you see their confidence growing and they become enthused to make some decisions about changes in their lives: the tutoring side is where you see all your hard work come to fruition.

If you could enrol on any course, what would it be? I would like to do some more development around mentoring and coaching skills so I can support our activists even more.

“When you can see the impact you are having, that is the absolutely greatest part of the job!”

Jenny Griffin

Jenny Griffin Area organiser (part-time), Cymru/Wales Region How long have you been in post? One year.

What does the job involve?

We ran UNISON’s Your Skills, Your Future workshop in January specifically for the branch at the University of South Wales, and have been inundated with requests from members to join our Making the Most of the Internet course.

We have run Return to Learn in Cardiff and Gwent with a really inspirational group of women and we are now setting up new Return to Learn groups in North Wales, where we have

Staff profiles

What’s the most difficult part of the job? Trying to be savvy about what I am able to provide: you want to try to please everybody and I want to get involved in everything but resources are limited and so is my time.

What is the best part?

Seeing the women on our recent Return to Learn course grow in confidence was inspirational. When you can see the impact you are having, that is the absolutely greatest part of the job!

If you could enrol on any course, what would it be?

Although I use the internet everyday, I am not the hottest on Twitter and other social media, so it would be Making the Most of the Internet!

Kirsty Marsh-Hyde Apprentice project worker, UNISON National Centre

Jess Hurd/reportdigital.co.uk

struggled to run the course in the past. I am also distributing the titles we have received by being part of World Book Night to help promote the Six Book Challenge, which 13 branches are running across Wales.

“The best bit is knowing that you are part of something that is valuable” Kirsty Marsh-Hyde

How long have you been in post?

Six months.

What does the job involve? Trying to promote high-quality Apprenticeships in the South London health sector by talking to NHS Trusts, GPs and other health providers about taking on apprentices, and what that means in terms of good practice on pay and conditions. I talk to UNISON branches to make sure the apprentices are on their radar and about getting these young members active; and I meet apprentices themselves to find out about their training and to encourage them to join – and become active in – UNISON. What’s the most difficult aspect? I work across two organisations, Health Education South London

and UNISON, and trying to work efficiently when you are at different offices using different software and different logins can be a challenge: it’s amazing how much more efficient you can be going to the same office using the same systems every day.

What’s the best aspect?

The best bit is knowing that you are part of something that is valuable: without these roles, a lot of the young workforce would be at much greater risk of being exploited.

If you could enrol on any course, what would it be?

I would like to take a further negotiating course, as there is always more you could learn from senior union people who have been part of really serious negotiations! n SUMMER 2015 U LEARN

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11007_Dyslexia booklet:Layout 1

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Page 1

dyslexia in our own words

Revised December 2009

UNISON BRANCH GUIDE TO

Lifelong Learning

Your rights as an

apprentice

18677-Lifelong_adviser.indd 1

01/12/2009 15:23

Get active round learning Download or order these publications and many more resources from the UNISON website: www.unison.org.uk Become a ULR: what’s Not to Like? New leaflet to promote the ULR role that folds out to a workplace poster.

Ref ACT226. A Polish version of this leaflet is also available, Ref ACT244. To order, email LearningAndOrganising@ unison.co.uk ULR handbook Short guide setting out your rights as a ULR, how to get started and what’s available for members. Stock no. 2345. download or order from the UNISON Online Catalogue 34

U LEARN SUMMER 2015

Branch guide to Lifelong Learning Check out how to tackle inequality, boost your members’ confidence and skills and build your branch in the process! Stock no. 2098. download or order from the UNISON Online Catalogue Learning for Everyone Toolkit to engage members and organise informal learning at work. download from http://bit.ly/1m1Pzc8 Developing and Supporting Activists Branch guide on buddying and mentoring

the UNISON Online Catalogue is at: www.unison.org. uk/onlinecatalogue

workplace reps with tips for encouraging reps to get active. Stock no. 2883. download or order from the UNISON Online Catalogue Dyslexia: In Our Own words Better understand dyslexia, support members and organise around the

Take the next steps… l This leaflet folds out into a poster for your noticeboard at work. l If you feel inspired by the stories in this leaflet and want to discuss what the role would involve in your workplace, contact your local branch. l Alternatively, you can contact your Regional Learning and Development Organiser (RLDO) or Regional Education Officer (REO): to find their name and number, phone UNISONdirect on 0800 0857 857. l It’s easy to join the 1.3 million public service workers who are already members of the UK’s largest public service union. Member ship UNISON’s valuable support gives you – and probably costs less at work than you think.

rep three

Hints and Tips for

Job

RETU LEARRN N

TO

Available to UNISON members in the

TAMWORTH AREA

your Rights as an Apprentice Find out what an Apprenticeship is, what they offer and what apprentices are entitled to. Stock no. 3496. download or order from the UNISON Online Catalogue training the Next generation: Developing Apprentices in UNISON Guide to UNISON’s work to promote and support apprentices. Ref ACT225. To order, email LearningAndOrganising@ unison.co.uk

what’s not to like?

It feels great to help your coll eag develop at wor ues k

A FREE course to get you back into learning

son.org.uk

issue in your branch. Stock no. ACT185. To order, email LearningAndOrganising@ unison.co.uk

Become a ULR:

Stock No: ACT227

at: You can sign up online ays-to-join/ www.joinunison.org/w You can call us free on: 0800 0857 857 r of Or you can talk to a membe tee. your local branch commit

discovered “Many ULRs havethe joys of or re-discovered SON courses” learning on UNI

Getting a

Jess Hurd/re

Bri

Jess Hurd/reportdig ital.co.

I became a union learning Wolverham

RESOURcES

www.design-mill.co.uk

l Any UNISON mem interested in learn ber who is ing and enjoy helping people s can learning rep (ULR become a union ). You don’t need to be involved in the branch already. l ULRs help their colleagues identify the skills they need to move on and help them sort out off to train; loans things like time or any additional , grants and funding; support they (eg, for dysle need xia). l Many ULRs have discovered (or re-discovered) the themselves throu joys of learning gh a union cours such as Retur e n to Learn and want to help others follow in their footsteps. l ULRs are close ly involved with branch reps. other Learn way of encouragi ing is a great involved in the ng members to get branch and to recruit new members to UNISON as well. l We provide excel you started as lent training to get a ULR, and you pick up ideas and support from can of our branch, all regional and national resources, includ ing our online forum ULRnet. l ULRs have a statu reasonable time tory right to role (which also off to undertake their covers their own time to train).

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hints and tips for getting a Job Pocket-sized booklet with tips on job-hunting, writing applications forms and CVs and interview skills. To order copies, email LearningAndOrganising@ unison.co.uk Change your Life with UNISON Learning Quick guide to lifelong learning opportunities for UNISON members. Stock no. 2576. download or order from the UNISON Online Catalogue ESOL toolkit: English for Life and work Interactive self-study module for union reps on building awareness of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and developing learning

opportunities in the workplace.

Ref ACT241. To order, email LearningAndOrganising@ unison.co.uk or download from http://bit.ly/1FJN8lP Making Every Penny Count: Money Matters toolkit for ULRs New numeracy toolkit for ULRs, available from June 2015. To order, email LearningAndOrganising@ unison.co.uk Ready Steady Read!

New toolkit to help ULRs encourage reading in the workplace, available from July 2015. To order, email LearningAndOrganising@ unison.co.uk Return to Learn and women’s Lives Awardwinning courses to help members develop new learning skills and get back into education and training.

For more details, contact your Regional Education Officer.

SUMMER 2015 U LEARN

35

To find out more and how to join contact: UNISONdirect TELEPHONE 0800 0 857 857 textphone users FREEPHONE 0800 0 967 968 Lines open 6am – midnight Monday to Friday: 9am – 4pm Saturday Visit our website www.unison.org.uk Follow us on twitter: @unisonlearning ULearn 2015 is also available online at: www.bit.ly/1JCC6j2 Stock No: ACT 245