North Holmwood Project
Surrey Lifelong Learning Partnership is always on the look out for creative ways to encourage people into learning. When Community Learning Adviser, Rebecca Court heard about a Train To Gain offer targeting NEETs (young people who are not in education, employment or training) and volunteers, she contacted the National Trust in February 2009 to ask for a meeting with Matthew Tyler-Jones, the regional volunteering manager. With Gareth Owen from V-Involved and Andrew Humphreys from Nescot College, they discussed ways of offering NEET young people an opportunity to volunteer in some of the most beautiful parts of Surrey whilst engaging in activities which would lead to a qualification. This would be a step towards employment, possibly in areas where these young people might not have thought of looking for work previously.
Around the same time, National Trust wardens, Mark Betson and Paul Redsell were wondering how best to generate enthusiasm and interest in the beauty and opportunities for outdoor activites on North Holmwood Project. They knew they wanted residents from around North Holmwood to enjoy and appreciate what they have on their doorstep. And they knew how good it would feel if the whole community got together for healthy walks or cycle rides.
To begin to align these two agendas, Matthew Tyler-Jones called a meeting bringing these and other partners together. It was important to also inform those involved in the Links Partnership as well as the Links Partnership Sub-Group for Informal Adult Learning. With Sonia Hubbard of Surrey CVS Network and her colleagues in Mole Valley a decision was made to use funding from Natural England to hold an event on 20th March 2010 at North Holmwood Common. This would be to raise awareness of North Holmwood and attract newcomers to the world of volunteering. The volunteers would be offered taster sessions in various activities such as bush craft, land-based work and ground maintenance. These could lead on to courses offered by Nescot.
A lot of work will need to be done before the 20th March but with so many partners actively engaged and working in partnership, the hope is that North Holmwood Common will become a focus for family recreation, purposeful activity and work opportunities.
K'Nex Cars Come to West Hill School
The busy shoppers at Tesco in North Leatherhead had no inkling of the purposeful activity just down the road from the superstore on Saturday 5th December 2009.
West Hill School lies down a long, narrow driveway and that morning, parents of pupils at this special needs school were participating in a K’nex event with their children, led by Gary Johnson of Planet K’nex.
Pauline Guppy from Surrey County Council Family Learning organised the event and the funding for it to give parents the opportunity to work with their children within the school environment on a project that was fun but required concentration, coordination and patience on all sides.
The parents and their children started off making small, basic vehicles to get the hang of the project and then progressed on to creating a motorised version. In the school hall there was a calm but purposeful air as the vehicles began to take shape and were then lined up ready for a race. There were strict guidelines to adhere to during the race : no one could get away with a gentle nudge to make their creation go faster.
Gary explained carefully how the choice of wheel size would affect how fast the vehicle would go and demonstrated how putting the larger wheels by the motor allowed a greater distance to be covered with each rotation. Some hasty amendments were made to the design of the cars and then a further challenge was issued: each car had to have a driver and the driver had to have a seat belt. The instructions were clear and precise and the participants followed them to the letter. There were specific materials that had to be used for safety features which did not include elastic bands or shoelaces!
Andy MacFarlane, Assistant Head and Director of Specialism at West Hill made sure that there was a photo for each parent and child team as proof of their teamwork and cooperation. These will be displayed as evidence of yet another action-packed event that the school has been able to organise to enhance the learning opportunities of their pupils.
Activities like this offer an informal opportunity for parents to experience first-hand the environment in which their children operate and a chance to meet staff and other parents in a relaxed setting. And with Gary’s guidance and support the K’nex equipment offered a great learning activity and a day to remember.
