Sheffield Learn Well Live Well Pilot
Evaluation of Sheffield Learn Well Live Well (pilot)
Community Learning in Sheffield has a successful history of partners working together. Sheffield Community Learning Trust (CLT) consists of a strategic body that includes Sheffield College, Northern College, The University of Sheffield, Workers Educational Association, Public Health leads and key community organisations.
Sheffield CLT was instrumental in pulling these partners and initiatives together to design an appropriate model that attempted to integrate a variety of different routes (learning and mental health interventions) for individuals suffering mild to moderate mental health. The intention of the pilot was to build a sustainable structure providing community learning education to improve recovery.
The pilot developed and delivered the model in one specific locality (North East of Sheffield) for the first year where the current infrastructure is strong and well-resourced and contains organisations that currently work with individuals with mild to moderate mental health e.g. in arenas such as social cafes, springboard cafes (MIND) and GP surgeries involved in social prescribing. Here there are strong third sector suppliers / structures that currently have both learning champions and health and wellbeing contracts in this locality.
The North East is the most deprived area in Sheffield; many of its wards are ranked among the 5% most severely deprived in England and has 4 out of the 5 most deprived wards in the city, creating a challenge to educational services when planning and coordinating provision.
Learn Well Live Well (pilot) has included the following:
●A Learning and Wellbeing Co-Ordinator who has driven forward the model and coordinated the united approach bringing professionals delivering mental health interventions and community learning together.
●The Learning Champions for the North East that currently exist with our third sector partners have engaged, assessed support and signposted clients. The pilot has allowed champions and trainers to come together with greater cooperation. The project has widened the referral routes and has built on progression opportunities.
●The activities, workshops and curriculum have been learner responsive and 86% of the curriculum has involved learners in the design/delivery.
● The pilot has had a range of partners including: WEA, Family Learning, SOAR, Mind, Tinder Foundation, Aspiring Communities Together, Waypoint, Sheffield Health and Social Care.
●Workforce development has included: How community learning works, Introduction to mental health services/REP, teaching and learning strategies, mental health first aid, Alcohol Awareness, Drug Awareness.
●We connected with Northern College to provide a Well Being day for two groups of learners who are undertaking ESOL courses. A great day was had by all and the learners have now requested further wellbeing activities.As the day was so successful we are now planning further wellbeing days in connection with the Roma family and Syrian family projects that are currently running in Sheffield. See:
●A facebook page to engage with learners and promote the pilot
What worked well?
●Learner consultation leading to responsive and flexible provision
●Having a mix of both informal community learning courses and courses addressing wellbeing issues
●Community partnerships – working with new, and strengthening existing partners
●Involving partners in decision making
●Including community organisations in workforce development so that more workers are prepared for future involvement.
What we have learned?
●Establishing a working partnership with Health and Social Care proved more difficult than expected.
●We were not able to set up new referral routes from health agencies but worked through existing routes e.g. social cafés, local IAPT worker.
●Using more established connections in the community led to effective provision
●It is difficult to identify learners with mild to moderate wellbeingas assessment scoreshave fluctuated.
●Our flexible approach has enabled learners to feel that they are benefitting in the right way for them.
●Our model has worked well in North East Sheffield but we are aware it may need adapting if we extend to other areas.
What next?
●Extend the pilot area to other parts of the city where a need has been identified, for example South and North Sheffield (currently North East only)
●Develop more partnerships with community health organisations in order to reach more target learners
●Focus more on families with wellbeing issues as this has been successful in the first year
●Employ two Learning Champions (Health), focusing on the completion ofthe well-being assessment with learners, IAG and referrals.
●Create a connection with the Roma family initiative
●Develop more connectivity with other projects, for example the Syrian family resettlement project in Sheffield, as the learners have experienced transitions that have an impact on their well-being.