A grant of £1,400 from the CAP Fund funded the running costs of specialist literacy tuition and life coaching sessions for ten long-term unemployed people with Dyslexia over sixteen weeks.
Confident Communities delivers holistic education, supporting long-term unemployed people with severe literacy difficulties to improve their quality of life and life chances. They work to address the educational, social and psychological barriers that are faced by this group by tackling the social isolation and exclusion they experience. Participants in the programme were also trained to become volunteer peer mentors who go on to run peer support groups for other members of the local community and make specialist teaching resources tailored to the individual adult learner. Confident Communities’ delivery model focuses on building confidence and social capital through shared experiences, mutual support and by strengthening community bonds.
The work of Confident Communities combines theories from mental health, restorative justice, adult education, motivational training, learning disability and social cohesion. Learners enter a therapeutic environment that conveys respect and empathy towards individuals’ needs and circumstances. They identify dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties and provide specialist literacy tuition, equipment and teaching resources to help difficulties which present significant barriers to learning and employment.
For more information about setting up a fund with the Community Foundation, please contact Katy Green on 0116 262 4804 or email: katy.green@llrcommunityfoundation.org.uk
