Christmas Shutdown

Adult Learning will be closing on Wednesday 21st December at 1pm and will reopen for classes on Monday 9th January at 9am. Staff would like to wish everyone a merry Christmas and best wishes for a happy and prosperous new year!

AFGHAN ESOL FAMILY LEARNING PROGRAMME

SEAGATE CHURCH TROON

Autumn/Winter 2016

The women and children have enjoyed a varied range of activities and opportunities over the last two terms.

There has been a turnaround in numbers with some of the older children now accessing local nursery provision in Troon, Prestwick and Ayr.  We have welcomed 5 new babies to the group who are settling into the Seagate crèche with their older siblings.

The children have enjoyed playing and learning in the crèche, while their mums get their heads down to focus on their English language skills.  This term we introduced literacy through topics such as time, weather, food and drink and looked at healthy eating using the eatwell plate. 

To encourage community integration we arranged trips to the local library for Bookbug sessions.

Parent and child together crafty sessions allow the mums to have fun and learn together with their children. 

In the run up to Christmas, we all had a messy time making colourful Christmas crackers and stockings which were hung on the wall of the church.  Fruit Santa hats and reindeer biscuits added to the festive theme.  Pastor of Seagate Church, Richard Woods accompanied us on the guitar and the families enjoyed singing along to some of the more popular children’s songs.  Jingle Bells, the firm favourite. 

We are delighted to announce our new joint partnership with the CEMVO (Council of Ethnic Minority Voluntary Sector Organisations) Scotland.  Looking forward to 2017, we will be working with Parveen Khan, the Health and Social Care Officer, to develop exciting new opportunities for this group.  

           

Susan Wilson

Celebration of Learning

On the 24^th September 2016, our adult learners were invited to the University West of Scotland to receive certificates for their achievement and commitment to learning.  Two members of staff from the Adult Learning team presented the learners with their certificates. 

There were stalls where information was available about various Community Learning and Development facilities, such as Youth work, PEEP, Duke of Edinburgh Awards and of course Adult Learning.

It was an enjoyable day where families could take part in organised activities and a light lunch was served to all.  The weather wasn’t nice but this didn’t cause much of a problem, as we were all indoors and nice and dry!

Well done to everyone who received a certificate and we look forward to next year's event.

And we're here!

We are pleased to say that our move to new premises has gone well. Our tutors and students have been making a great effort to keep attending their sessions, using map reading skills and reading bus timetables to get to their new meeting points - we can even create learning opportunities from our relocation! Well done to everyone concerned and thank you for the extra effort put in to make this possible.



We have had a slight hitch with our phone lines but can now be contacted using the freephone number - 0800 3898 320  and can always be contacted using our mobile number - 07907 847870

Anyone looking to speak to us in person will find us in the John Pollock Centre in the Adult Learning Room (previously known as the Flexible Learning Centre) in Mainholm Road, Ayr.

We're on the move!

As many of you will have heard, the Adult Learning team will be moving out of The Learning Shop in August.

We will have a two week shut down from Monday 1st August to get things moved and organised in our new locations. We will be ready and raring to go in the following places from Monday 15th August.

John Pollock Centre

Our new base will be at The John Pollock Centre in Mainholm Road, Ayr where you will find our admin team and most of our tutor/student pairings will also work from here.

Lochside Learning Centre

We will also be working from the computing suite in Lochside Learning Centre, Lochside Road, Ayr where all our computing classes will be held in addition to our literacy job search club.





If you're not sure where these new locations are or how to get there, please ask any member of staff in at The Learning Shop, we have access to online maps and bus timetables to help you.


Please feel free to pop in and visit us when we are in our new locations. You'll find the same friendly faces and, as always, the offer of a cuppa! We'd love to see you!

Gail

Tutor Awards

A joint awards ceremony was recently held in The Learning Shop to celebrate the success of our newest tutors and also the progression of some of our other tutors.

Volunteer Tutor Training Awards

Our latest group of tutors to complete the Volunteer Tutor Training course were awarded their certificates from the Adult Learning team and these were presented to them by Councillor Margaret Toner.

Professional Development Awards

Our current literacy tutors were given an option of working with Ayrshire College tutor Kate Sangster to take their tutoring to a higher level. These tutors worked towards their Professional Development Award (PDA) in Adult Literacies. These awards came from Ayrshire College and were also presented by Councillor Margaret Toner.


The Adult Learning Team would like to thank everyone for their hard work and commitment given in each of these courses and look forward to working with you all in the future.

Congratulations!!

Gail

Congratulations to all!

New Look Blog!

What do you think of our new look?

We've changed the Blog header to reflect our whole service, which operates out of many locations throughout South Ayrshire, mainly in the towns of Ayr, Prestwick, Troon, Maybole and Girvan.

We are a student centred service and, where possible, provide tuition at a time and place which suits everyone concerned.

Tell us your secrets and confessions...!

Do you have a secret? Something you'd like to confess? Or have you ever been asked to keep a secret for someone else?

The Scottish Book Trust are looking for short stories written by students on the theme of "Secrets and Confessions" for their next book.

The stories should be true, about something which has happened to you (but you could change any names if you want to!). They should be no more than 1000 words, but can be a lot less. They can be written as a story, letter, poem, song - any form you like!

Every story entered will be published on the Scottish Book Trust's website and a selection of these will be printed in a free book which will be available later in the year.

Terms and conditions are available on the Scottish Book Trust website here:
http://scottishbooktrust.com/writing/secrets-and-confessions/submit

Fancy giving it a go? You can either e-mail entries directly to the Scottish Book Trust by following the link, or you can pass your story to Gail in The Learning Shop who will do the rest.

Gail

Family Evening in the John Pollock Centre Ayr

What a fantastic evening we all had at the John Pollock Centre Ayr.  On the 24^th February 2016, staff tutors and learners all came together to enjoy a Scottish themed evening.  We also had the company of Greg Cassidy and Arlene Trapp, curriculum managers and Orsyla Dunn, ESOL lecturer from Ayrshire college.

We had plenty to eat, thanks to Joan Samson, Tesco Community Champion who organised the provision of Scottish produces. Campbell the chef at Access to Employment prepared delicious soup followed by haggis neeps and tatties.    We had the pleasure of watching Callum Dunn address the haggis.

There was live Scottish music provided by Ewan Baird and Amy Papiransky .  The dancing was opened up with everyone attempting the Flying Scotsman and after a variety of dances we enjoyed a rest and listened to Julia Britez  recite a poem called the Elephant.  The evening closed with everyone singing Auld Lange Syne.

A big thank you to all who helped and we look forward to seeing you again next year!

Ann Gentilomo 

ESOL Family Learning

Adult Learning has been running a programme in Troon to support some of the families who have recently become residents of Ayrshire. Many of the families are supported through the SEASCAPE housing charity who worked hard to help them integrate and settle in South Ayrshire.    

It’s a mixed level ESOL and ESOL Literacies group.  Some of the ladies have had little or no formal education in their first language.  Some never attended school at all, others left at 11 or 12 years old.   For those who have not learned to read and write in their own language, learning the Roman alphabet is a huge challenge.

There has been great progress made in the short time we have been working together.  Students have shown enthusiasm and determination and most can now write their name and address. Two of them are attending Ayrshire College ESOL classes and it is hoped that others may progress to this in 2016. 

We are grateful to Troon Lighthouse staff for their hospitality and generosity during this pilot phase.  We are moving to Seagate Church in Troon in January where there will be a crèche with qualified child care workers.  This will allow the women to concentrate on their learning, knowing their children are well looked after in the adjacent room.   

We finished off the December teaching term learning about Christmas traditions and singing Carols! 

Susan Wilson