Blogs
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31Aug2011
Partners and volunteers – the heart of our work to improve lives in Rochdale
Posted by Emily McCoy
As the Leader of Rochdale Council I’m interested in how we can provide support to people which is going to improve their employability in the long term.
Literacy skills are key, helping our residents have the skills, capacity and confidence to make the most of employment opportunities. In 2006 Rochdale launched its literacy policy ‘Literacy Changes Lives’, recognizing literacy as vital to wellbeing and a basic entitlement of residents. This policy has acted as a focus for partnerships aimed at preventing social exclusion due to literacy skills. Our Literacy Entitlement Group provides a chance for partners like schools, libraries, family learning, adult education, local employers, Jobcentre Plus, housing, health and others to share good practice.
We’re proud that in recent years our primary schools have been among the most improved nationally and we’ve had a 50% increase in uptake of adult basic skills courses.
Our partnership approach creates lots of innovative ideas. One of these is Literacy Champions - a community-led programme, where volunteer mentors support others in their community who struggle with literacy. They also act as trusted brokers between residents and relevant services. A wide range of residents receive this support. Referrals come from all over the borough – we even have a waiting list!
Evaluation has shown that improving their literacy skills helps residents in many ways – helping them get jobs, reducing social isolation, lowering truancy and improving family relationships. With National Literacy Trust support, we used SROI to quantify the value of outcomes achieved. We believe that every £1 invested in the Literacy Champions programme generates a SROI of £75.
We are keen to share what we have learnt with others. We’re talking about this at a National Literacy Trust event on 11th October and at the Association of Directors of Children’s Services conference later the same month.
For more information on the National Literacy Trust conference on 11th October click here
Cllr Colin Lambert, Leader Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council
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