Helping Others to Learn

Helping Others to Learn

The course gives participants the skills and confidence they need to support the learning of others. It develops the specific skills relating to mentoring and coaching, that people with a learning difficulty can often find difficult, such as listening, guiding and empathising. It helps with analysis and decision-making and gives participants an awareness and appreciation of their own knowledge and abilities.

How is the course run?

The course is delivered by a tutor experienced with people with learning disabilities. We advise that the host organisation provide a workshop assistant who is familiar with the needs of the participants to support the sessions.

Participants are encouraged and supported by one-to-one feedback from a tutor, giving the course an informal feel. This creates a feeling of camaraderie amongst the participants and a healthy momentum for the course.  The course assesses each participant’s needs, both in terms of personal and professional development and also finding the best format for information to be delivered in.

Course outline

The optimum size of the group would be 8-12 participants.

Course length – 12 sessions at 2.5 hours each

Module 1: weeks 1-4, Understanding the importance of helping others to learn.

Module 2: weeks 5-7, Understanding how to help a learner to identify what to achieve.

Module 3:  weeks 8-10, Understanding effective ways to help a learner.

Module 4: weeks 11-12, Understanding how to improve your own skills for helping others to learn.

The programme can be run in a variety of settings. For example the pilot programme was run in a creative arts setting delivered in partnership with Action Space. The next programme is being delivered in partnership with Haringey Shed, in a dramatic arts setting.

ActionSpace

ActionSpace is a leading visual arts organisation for people with learning difficulties and uses the visual arts to significantly enhance the quality of life of Londoners with learning difficulties.

Their Helping Others to Learn course focussed on mentoring volunteers in the making of self portraits from clay and paper mache.

“Since the end of the course I have continued to work with some of the participants in our weekly studio projects and have really felt that the confidence the mentor trainees have gained continually shines through.” 
Lisa Brown, Course Tutor

“The participants were introduced to a very new way of thinking, a very new way of working and a lot of new ideas – but they more than rose to the challenge.”
Sheryll Catto, Director, Action Space

“Listening to our Graduate Mentors speak of the confidence, momentum and impetus it has clearly already given them, said it all for me.” 
Angus Anderson, Chairman, Action Space

Haringey shed

Haringey shed is an inclusive theatre company giving all young people and children, irrespective of ability or disability, race, religion or class the opportunity to shine in a professional theatrical environment.

Their Helping others to Learn course focussed on mentoring volunteers in stories and storytelling.

This course has been designed by Attend Academy and Kathleen Froud to allow the flexibility that enables us to run the course in many different contexts. If you would like to find out how this course can be tailored to meet the needs of your clients, email academy@attend.org.uk or call 0845 4500285

Cost

£3950 for 8 learners (plus £200 for each additional learner)