Need for the project

As a part of our grant application, the Big Lottery fund asked us:

Why is there a need for your project and how have you identified this need?

We responded as follows:

Research

Although the City and County of Swansea has universal provision for primary education from 3 upwards, and an extensive programme of adult education, there is little opportunity for children and adults to learn together as a family, other than in specialist fields such as family literacy and family numeracy.

Research from NIACE (the leading UK research body in this field) does show, however, that family learning is one of the most effective forms of education. Not only do both the children and adults learn new skills and knowledge, but also:

1. Family learning encourages families to work and play together more at home.

2. Family learning can attract hard-to-reach learners, such as parents who have received no formal education since they left school.

3. Family learning enables grandparents to become involved in their grandchildren's education.

4. Family learning can be very effective in helping to involve fathers more in their children's education.

5. Family learning in a community setting can increase cooperation between local families, and strengthen community links.

6. Family learning helps both children and adults to develop a love of lifelong learning.

7. Family learning can be an effective way of signposting adults into other educational and community activities.

Existing provision

We have researched the existing provision of family learning in Swansea, and are confident that the proposed Family Building Club will complement rather than compete with the small number of alternative providers of family learning. This is confirmed by the Family Learning Service of the City and County of Swansea.

We have also researched the provision of building-related skills training. Although a few organisations, such as Swansea College, do provide courses in this area, their take up is only a very small proportion of the population of Swansea. Furthermore, the existing provision is not able to help children to learn basic building-related skills. We are therefore confident that the proposed Family Building Club will complement rather than compete with the existing provision in this area.

Gaps in family learning provision

One of the organisers of the proposed Family Building Club project was MD of educational charity XLWales from 1996 to 2004, where he set up a Family Technology Centre in the centre of Swansea attracting 14,000 visits from family members each year. Many of the families attending lived in economically deprived areas of Swansea.

Since the closure of that centre in 2003, there has been a major gap in the provision of family learning in Swansea, particularly at weekends and in school holidays from September to May, when demand from families is at its highest.

This is also apparent when the provision for family learning in Swansea is compared to that in English cities of a similar size. Thanks in part to the work of Campaign For Learning (which does not receive funding to operate in Wales), families in English cities have significantly higher levels of family learning provision. This is demonstrated by the thousands of events run in England for "Family Learning Week" every October.

Consultation

In the early stages of planning the project, we consulted with and received enthusiastic support from:

1. Our own members, many of whom are parents or grandparents of children aged 3 to 11.

2. Penlan Methodist Church.

3. The Lifelong Learning Service of the City and County of Swansea.

A more extensive consultation programme is now taking place, prior to the submission of the full application to the Big Lottery Fund. The aims of this consultation programme are:

1. To ensure that the project best meets the needs of families in the three locations.

2. To ensure that the project complements other community education programmes in Swansea.

We have written to the following organisations to ask for their comments and suggestions on the proposal:

City and County of Swansea (Family Learning Service)

Communities First Team in Penlan

NIACE

Campaign for Learning

Barnados

Environment Centre

XLWales

Oystermouth Primary School

Arfryn Primary School

Gwrosydd Primary School

Brynhyfryd Junior School

Mumbles Development Trust

Swansea College

Institute of Civil Engineering

Construction Industry Training Board

We will also be holding public meetings to consult with:

Local residents in Mumbles

Local residents in Penlan

Local residents in Brynhyfryd

Once all the consultation is complete, we will make the changes needed to this full application arising out of the consultation process, and submit the application.