EDIF project

Lou Mycroft's picture

The Identities Programme at The Northern College 2015

Last year, as The EDIF2013-14 Diversity Programme drew to a close, we knew it wasn't over.  Our thinking continued over the summer, and we were delighted to be able to continue the work into 2015.  Here is what we learned from The Identities Project:

IDENTITIES FINAL REPORT 

Screenshot showing the front cover of the final report of The Northern College Identities Programme  (2014/15) one of the Skills Funding Agency/ECU Good Practice fund Projects (2014/15)

“I’m a different teacher now.  I resist the labels; the pigeon-holing; the merging of ‘equality and
diversity’ into something meaningless, about ticking a box.  As Audre Lorde said ‘There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle, because we do not live single-issue lives.’”

Identities Programme participant

burnettk's picture

Keith Burnett

Resource content
Type: 
Document
Author: 
Keith Burnett
Publisher: 
Chichester College
Place: 
Online Module
Year: 
2014
Month: 
September
Day: 
08

One item is LMS - this contains the scorm output for uploading to a vle such as Moodledefinition.

burnettk's picture

Positive about Equality & Diversity

Resource content
Type: 
Document
Author: 
Keith Burnett
Publisher: 
Chichester College
Year: 
2014
Month: 
September
Day: 
09

Zip file of our elearning module

Lorri Garnell's picture

Further Tutor Observers Training

My colleague Sarah Budd and I ran another Challenging Homophobic Langauge and Behaviour Training workshop for a group of 12 Tutor Observers on 27/08/14. This was well received and all staff engaged with the training session, which was aimed at ensuring all language used in the classroom is inclusive and tutors do not assume heterosexuality within groups of students.

The session was interactive and it gave staff the opportunity to speak openly about LGBT issues.

All training materials and handouts were emailed to each staff member, as well as a Tutor Observers checklist for their use during observation sessions.

We aim to offer further training on the next Staff Development Day in October 2014

 

 

angelaw's picture

Feedback from our Learners

Start Living (a Mindful Life): End of course feedback from learners (2014)

“Thoroughly enjoyed the course. Very informative and helpful.”

“The course taught me how to use mindfulness when my mind wanted to punish me for things that happened years ago”

“Fantastic course. I have gained confidence and have come off my medication for anxiety”

“Valuable tools I will have forever. Thank you so much.”

“Nice and friendly atmosphere”

“Thank you for so much positivity and calm. What a fab course!” 

“Excellent course – thanks.”

“Made me want to change”

“Since starting mindfulness I have not been to the doctors!” 

“It is so nice to be able to go out of my front door without worrying about what might happen”

“I found having teachers who have been through issues themselves made the course more meaningful.”

“An alternative way of thinking and helping to cope with thoughts and anxiety”

“After this course I am looking forward to doing more.”

“Made me feel more at peace with myself”

“Well done guys keep up the excellent work in helping others.”

“Very well presented and run as it is on a very easy to deal with level.”

“Knowing it works makes you keep at it.”

“Good to know I am not alone or unusual.”

“Opened my eyes to controlling my mind rather than it controlling me!”

“Found Mark an excellent tutor and really enjoyed sharing ideas.”

“Given me the courage to volunteer and go back into the world.”

“Now recommending mindfulness to other people with depression.”

angelaw's picture

Mindfulness for Recovery - The Project Impact summary figures

Start Living (a Mindful Life)Feedback data analysis.  

This analysis relates to exit feedback questionnaires from learners attending mindfulness courses between January and July 2014.  

     

Percentage of students who declared that they had -

 

Some benefit from the course                                100%

 

Significant benefit from the course                          83%

 

Profound benefit from the course                            22%

 

More positive in outlook                                             94%

 

Less anxious, depressed, stressed                       89%

 

Gained in confidence                                                 87%

 

Ready to take on new challenges                           84%

 

Family and friends noticing improvement              71%

 

Improved coping mechanisms                                93%

 

mindfulmark's picture

The End and The Beginning

Hi once again,
And so it ends - and what a wonderful journey it has been. As Angela and I sit here collating the final outcome statistics and learner comments, we genuinely feel humbled by the whole experience.

Ten months has produced so much; classes which total over a hundred learners a week, two newspaper articles featuring our story, so many wonderful new NIACEdefinition friends and best of all, learners who report that their lives have been literally turned around by Mindfulness.



But we also get the feeling of a new beginning.

As a result of this project, we have now made new links and re-inforced old ones with various partners within the community. For example, links with general practitioners, NHSdefinition recovery teams, York Carers, York Mind, Job Centre Plus and many, many more.

These partners now refer learners to us who need Mindfulness to help with their various mental health difficulties that cannot be met swiftly through the NHS. We are achieving equality objectives because they cannot afford private psychiatric interventions, but are genuinely being turned around through the powers of Mindfulness and also, interaction with like-minded people.

NTNEDI's picture

Master class in lesson planning to deliver EDI within work-based learning

Have just finalised our project page and uploaded all our materials, I hope they are useful to other project members

Natalie 

Lynn Howarth's picture

Film complete - feedback good

The final version of our film has been really well-received by the people who have seen it so far.  I think the direct personal accounts from our trans participants really brought it to life and made it more effective.

The final version is six minutes long, which is longer than we originally intended but it seemed like the minimum length we could get away to include what we feel we needed to.  We thought it would be a shame to have to lose any of it, and anyway six minutes is still short enough that it can easily be incorporated into meetings/staff training etc without people getting bored.  We followed a general pattern which we hope people feel flows logically, where we state some facts and figures, talk about what kinds of things go wrong, then what people have got right and end with the what recommendations can be drawn from all this; some very simple guidance for what to do and what not to do when dealing with trans people. 

One of the questions I received at the conference in Newcastle the other week was along the lines of "okay that's all very well but how do we actually go about carrying out the recommendations" which is a good point.  Well, first of all there is a little bit more detail in the executive summary than appears in the recommendations at the end of the film, but I think to a large extent this is a topic for future research.  Further research could take a similar qualitative, interview approach to explore, for example, what would make a trans person feel that they were "actively welcomed" at a particular location or institution. 

Apprenticeshipswork's picture

4 films about Apprenticeships for people with learning disabilities and employers

4 films about Apprenticeships for people with learning disabilities and employers by Newcastle City Learning and The Twisting Ducks Theatre Company.