101 – 13 THREE CASE STUDIES – IDENTIFYING AND RESPONDING TO NEEDS AND WANTS

Community Learning Development Resource 101 – 13

THREE CASE STUDIES – IDENTIFYING AND RESPONDING TO NEEDS AND WANTS

 

SUMMARY

Three case studies from Community Learning practice, to prompt activities with workers, during which they can:

• Identify learner needs and wants
• Explore the ways in which these might be assessed
• Plan how to respond
• Reflect on and review the issues to be addressed by workers and agencies, within these processes

The activity works best if a case study can prompt ideas from workers from a variety of agencies – each bringing a different perspective to the table. If each case study can be circulated around a number of small groups the ideas become shared, discussed, reviewed and added to.

The resource includes lists in relation to each Case Study, of the needs and wants, and worker/agency responses.

A list of questions and reflective prompts about the practical issues, together with a fourth case study, are also provided.

 

CASE STUDY ONE – IDENTIFIED NEEDS AND WANTS

• Income or improved income
• Better housing – personal problems due to the environment etc
• Support from social services
• Improve self-confidence and self-image self-esteem – lose weight
• To overcome depression
• Good childcare – support for children – parenting skills – needs to keep children with her
• Needs to feel safe
• Encouragement to take up training opportunities
• Support from neighbours – someone to talk to
• Networks in which to socialise – social interaction to develop communication skills – talking with other mums
• Information about benefits
• She needs success and to feel successful about herself
• Improved social skills
• Basic skills support
• Home Start – family under stress – healthy eating course and confidence building course?
• Both partners have needs.

CASE STUDY ONE – RESPONSES

• Health education – GP – doctor
• Work with her consent – with GP, Social Worker, local intermediaries, and other members of her family
• Welfare rights – CAB – benefits check to maximise income and family funding
• Raise awareness of benefits available and job opportunities
• Provide support – joined up, with a lead professional or intermediary – social services lead? Family services referral
• If children are at risk what involvement is there with agencies at present – build on these links?
• Encouraged to go to mother and toddler group, to help build social skills and social interaction
• Break from children via family centre
• Employability skills job skills for self and partner –talk with her regarding previous employment –find out why husband doesn’t work
• Encourage contact with the Benefits Agency
• Family learning opportunities around health and beauty
• Counselling and ongoing support
• Confidence building
• Home Start – volunteer in the home and somebody to accompany her to groups
• Talk about joining clubs and hobbies – signpost and go along for support, if needed – e.g., for DIY skills.
• First – a community development worker to befriend, encourage and support – befriending scheme
• Crèche and learning events in local library – reading for pleasure – child interest
• Local women’s group
• Free access to local healthy living centre or sports centre
• Intervention without an agenda – one-to-one – relationship building
• Key is building trust and confidence possibly through the children — don’t rush in
• Participation in local projects and activities – for example mother and toddler group, Cook and Eat Project, learning group
• Ask what would she like to do and what her interests are
• Provide time and space for her and her partner
• Identify her partners interests and try to engage him and raise his aspirations – work with her partner to establish their needs
• Health visitor to encourage healthy eating
• Find a way to support her long-term training in learning needs
• Role of agencies – stick or carrot?
• One opening or opportunity could make a big impression.

 

 CASE STUDY TWO

 

Five local unemployed/part-time employed women, aged 55-62 years, sit together in the local social club on a social housing estate, and talk about the bad reputation the estate has in the local town and press, being unfair – about the lack of activities and facilities for residents of all ages and about nobody listening or doing anything about it.

• What are the needs and wants?
• What responses might be made?

 

CASE STUDY TWO – IDENTIFIED NEEDS AND WANTS

• Want to improve the reputation of the area  – raise the profile of the estate – we need to find out what is wrong and why is there such a poor opinion of the estate

• Need to find out what is good and how it can be made a better – don’t want to move – they are comfortable living in the area but how can they make it a better place – can we build on what they’ve got

• We need help – too much about the estate is out of our control and down to other agencies like the local council and services – we can only do so much and we need advice and we need support

• We need to escape from the bad publicity and improve our media image

• More activities for all and more facilities for all

• Someone to take action – an organised group – a tenants association could be a recognised voice – do we have one already – or do we need help to do this – to create a legal entity, which has recognition outside the estate

• Someone to listen – need to gain a voice

• We need either local community activists – or community workers to give advice and work with us

CASE STUDY TWO – RESPONSES

• Organise a meeting or events to discuss the way forward in the social club – talk with the social club committee and ask for help with activities and help with advertising posters – provide taster activities.

• Tap into existing social facilities for festive carfts events/ workshops and other events and local history.

• Consider what low-cost activities can be started, like parents and toddlers group and sports activities

• Find out what is good about the estate in and find out what people think – what do people who want to live here, want?

• Engage with the parish council or the local council and work with local groups, to make connections with the estate and any initiative to improve

• The social club exists – encourage an increase what they might do – daytime?

• Develop an action plan to engage the whole community around reputation, communication and activities – we need to become proactive

• Agencies need to be brought together to see what can be done – local council, services and providers, voluntary agencies and elected representatives – we need to have an action plan for neighbourhood renewal

• We need to encourage people to work together to improve their community – having the social club could provide activities to broaden horizons and to draw people in and talk about what is important to the community and what should be done – structure and carry out practical community appraisal activities

• We need to bring in expertise from outside and use whatever support services and facilities can be made available – but we need the control to be with the people

 

• We need to identify the issues and conservative important to the community and we need to do this mainly by conversation and word of mouth – we need to build up a network of people who want to do something about the estate and want to work together to achieve changes

• Form community groups including a women’s group – form residents groups – develop the skills to talk with those who hold the purse strings

• Asking people what they want – finishes up with a lot of ideas but no way of moving forward we must be careful not to raise expectations and not be in the position of saying we can do things but then finding we can’t.

• Visit other estates and talk with other people involved in action and neighbourhood renewal and find out how they turned their estates round

• Inform the press – build relationship with the media – provide good stories – those that focus on good things happening on the estate.

• Set up a project to involve the residents e.g. recycling

 

CASE STUDY THREE

The head of the local primary school talks negatively about the parents of the children who come from the poorer part of her school catchment – that they don’t come to parents evenings, none of them are active in the PTA, they don’t respond to leaflets and school newsletters, are generally not supportive of the school and can be a problem when there are issues about any of their children.

• What are the needs and wants?
• What responses might be made

 

CASE STUDY THREE – IDENTIFIED NEEDS AND WANTS

• The needs and wants of both the head-teacher and the parents

• The head wants more support from parents and them to be interested in their child’s education and the school, and the children to behave better – parents to sort it

• The head wants to improve educational attainment, have a good OfSTED report, achieve good standards of behaviour and widen the responsibility for pupils learning to parents

• The head is not encouraging parents to join with her and needs to find out much more about the local people and the local culture – it is not just a question educating the parents.

• Are the newsletters accessible – are they suitable for people who may have basic skills needs?

• What prevents the parents attending the parents’ evenings?  Is a new way of involving them needed?

• The parents needs:  the head to be more understanding and welcoming; not to be treated as second-class citizens; the head should stop picking on their children, and the school should be sorting out the behaviour problems

• Need a more welcoming environment and the skills of front-line staff, including teachers, in relation to parents who are not confident

• The parents want to be valued, they want their children to do well and they need to understand the value of education and the education system

• PTAs are often controlled by strong motivated and successful individuals, who put off other people

• Can the parents read the school letters?

• Is the school welcoming – have parents had bad experiences when at school is the PTA all about fund raising – does this scare off poorer parents?

• The parents need to feel that school is there to help and support them.

• Do some parents may have difficulty in getting the time or the transport to get to the school for parents meetings – these need to take place more informally within the local community

• The parents lack confidence and skills to engage with the school and may have a poor understanding of what goes on in the school.

 

CASE STUDY THREE – RESPONSES

• Find and develop relevant activities for parents – whatever these might be – explore and experiment – build from small beginnings with concern to include people

• The school to be more approachable – encourage teachers out into the playground and to the school gates

• Develop better two-way communication

• Move meetings and events into the community

• Family learning

• Provide opportunities for parents to engage at their own level, for example provide funds for family learning activities to build parental confidence through activities, and provide opportunities for informal engagement for example displays and reminiscence activities.

• The head and the teachers trained to become more approachable and responsive to differences in their parents

• A parent learning worker and mentors for the children to provide more positive links between the school and families.

• Work to break down the past bad experiences of school—need family activities which bring the parents, children and school together

• One-to-one support for some parents and for their children

• The head becomes more positive and inspirational for the parents and children – more visible, approachable and amenable – this is likely to be picked up by OFSTED and training needs would be identified.

• Offer a ‘Keeping up with the Children’ course in an accessible community venue – find community venues where the school and parents can meet informally

• Arrange contact time other than the evening or when the parents or their children have problems

• Identify issues with parents and find ways of having interactive events which are inclusive and value the presence of parents and their children

• Provide training and support for the parents develop skills and confidence to challenge the head and the school – develop opportunities for their own learning confidence and for them to be successful

• Need to find some intermediaries have an including non-professionals who might be learning champions in relation to school and a learning in general – workers or volunteers needed as intermediaries and who are prepared to listen to and encourage parents.

 

CASE STUDY FOUR (Additional Case Study)

A young woman with two young children comes along to an informal social group at a local community hall, set up by a community learning development worker. After several sessions the young woman talks about doing the short IT course, which the worker is putting on, and wants to give it a go. She completes the six-week beginners course (with crèche) in the village hall, whilst continuing to attend the social group. She appears to gain confidence and talks about doing more learning. Without any warning she stops coming to the group. Later a friend tells the worker that the young woman’s family are all against her learning and have stopped her coming.

• What are the needs and wants?
• What responses might be made?

 

CASE STUDIES – IDENTIFYING THE NEEDS AND RESPONSES – SOME PRACTICAL QUESTIONS ARISING

Prompts to discuss and develop Action Plans in relation to the case studies, and the needs and wants of learners within our work:

• How do we start – in reality, what should come first?

• How do we identify and assess the needs?

• What are the constraints and barriers to be overcome?
• For the learner?
• For the worker?

• How should we plan and respond?

• Who should be involved?

How should workers/agencies be involved – separately, collaboratively, co-operatively, in partnership, through networking?

• Who manages the responses?

• Are we building her individual capacity – for her to gain control of her life and to have life choices?

• How will we know what success is and when success has been achieved?

• How will we know what has worked well and what hasn’t?

• What? – Why? – How? – Priority? – Who  can help? – How do we start? – What do we want the outcomes to be?

 

PROMPTS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

• Is it significant that when groups of workers have worked with each of the three case studies in this resource, the number of different responses has always exceeded the number of identified needs and wants?

• What do the case studies contribute to our understanding of how networking and collaboration should work?