Religion, faith and belief - all for one and one for all
Leicester College<,in partnership with St Phillips Centre<, have developed this project to help integrate issues of religion, belief and diversity into the curriculum. The project will focus on two areas in particular, construction and hospitality.The project will engender an appreciation of religions/beliefs, celebrate diversity and to understand the economic and business benefits which diversity brings. This is a vital aspect of the project because it will help to equip the students for their future careers. The project will also challenge areas of prejudice and stereotyping perpetuated by extremist and racist groups, by developing the critical thinking of learners and staff and provide a safe space for staff and learners to talk about and address topical issues such as honour-based violence and forced marriage
All for One & One for All involves tutorials, exhibitions, visits and trips to places of worship. The project is supported by Leicester College’s multi-faith chaplaincy service.
About Leicester College:
Leicester College is one of the largest in the UK with more than 28,800 learners studying with us on a wide range of courses, from many backgrounds and with different ambitions and aspirations.
We are committed to enriching the lives of all members of the community and to creating new opportunities for them. This is reflected in our mission statement: “To deliver a wide range of high quality learning experiences to support the diverse communities we serve and the personal, social and economic development of individuals and enterprises.”
<Key facts and figures
- More than 28,800 learners study with us.
- We offer hundreds of courses from entry level to university level.
- We provide training for thousands of local and national companies.
- The College has three state-of-the-art city centre campuses and runs courses in more than 80 community venues.
- In 2011, Ofsted found that the College is outstanding at meeting the needs of learners, employers and the wider community.
- 830 learners are studying university-level courses.
- 6,350 learners studied Skills for Life courses.
- 805 learners went on to Higher Education after studying at Leicester College.
- We have 555 learners aged 14-16 years, and 5,370 learners aged 16-18 years.
- We are proud that our learners reflect the diversity of the local population:We employ 1,500 people.
- 4,200 learners have a learning difficulty and/or disability.
- 36% are from black and minority ethnic groups.
- 42% are from areas of disadvantage.
- 4,910 learners are taking ESOLdefinition programmes.
Project Launch
The project launched on the 9th of December 2013, with an interactive exhibition on forced marriage created by 'STRIVE'. The exhibition was one of two that will be held at the College. The exhibition hoped to challenge and question learners knowledge and understanding of forced marriage and raise awareness of the issues.
On the 13th of Decemeber, Riaz Ravat (St Phillips centre) began delivery of one of the six planned tutorials around faith and belief. This first session was delivered to learners aged 16-19 from Construction. Faith practioners from five different faiths worked with the group to discuss faith and answer any questions learners may have about religion and belief. The tutorial contextualised faith in relation to the construction industry and areas of employment.
Learners commented:
"You get to ask questions which you wouldnt know who to ask , especially in construction"
"Getting an opinion from people of different beliefs was interesting"
"I enjoyed asking questions to religious practioners"
For details of how the project developedclick the links below< |
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Tutorial sessions<Gurdwara visit <Tutorial at St Philips Centre<STRIVE Exhibition/Forced Marriage<Chef and Spice visit<Construction visit to places of worship<Visits to: Golden Mile, National Arboretum and National Holocaust Centre<Equality and Diversity Conference 2014<All for One -One for All Final Project Film<<What went well? The project was very well recieved by the learners that took part and the curriculum staff invovled. They appreciated the oppourtunity and often commented how they would never normally get to take part and be involved in such a rich and diverse experience. Many learners commented that it had changed their views about particular faiths and also that it helped them to understand the differences between certain faiths. Learners also commented that they felt that it was nice to have the oppourtunity to dicuss non belief in an environment that was welcoming and non judgemental. Learners also appreciated having the space to air any views and questions about current topical issues about faith. Staff in the curriculum areas that we worked with made fantastic external links to local businesses that they would utilise in the future for work experience and demonstrations. Curriculum staff also commented that the project helped them to see how they could embed equality and diversity into the curriculum in the future. The project helped us communicate to learners, the economic benefits of having knowledge about diverse groups in relation to gaining employment. What lessons did we learn? We learnt that it was a lot more beneficial to instigate change by having a long term project over a short term one. We found that due to the length of the project, we were really able to change views and opinions, it really was a journey for staff and student alike. We also found that it was really important to have consistent technical staff on board and supporting the project. We hadnt realised how much help we would need in creating the film or what that would even entail. We learnt that we shoudnt make assumptions about the resources we have avaiable to us also. I had a bit of a battle in securing funding for the subtitles for the film, which is something I assumed we would already have in place but did'nt. What would we do differently? If we were to do the project again we would definately add more experiences to the programme. Not all learners were able to go to the same visits and we relised after a number of the trips that they would also be beneficial to other learners in the other groups regardless of curriculum area. We were not able to consult with learners in the way that we had hoped. We set up steering group meetings but they were poorly attended. I think we would have contact with learners earlier on in the project andd make this contact a lot more direct i.e. we would go into sessions to explain the project and not rely on tutors to do so. We could use those session to recruit learners for the steering groups.
What will we do to sustain the project? We will retrive core elements of the project and integrate them into our current enrichment programme. We plan to try to access a small amount of funding from our Student Union to run some of the trips to places such as the Holocaust Memorial Centre and the Arboretum. Curriculum areas will be utilising the external contacts to plan work experience for current learners. Chaplains from our Multi Faith team have also expressed their interest in delivering similar tutorials to those in the project during the College interfaith week in November. We also hope to offer tutorials out to learners during their personal and professional development sessions over the year using the project as an example of good practice.
What advice would we give to other providers? Clarify your vision; why, what, impact and meaning. Articulate the ethical and economic case for diversity. Aim to change hearts and minds. We found it highly useful to create partnerships with employers and communities, and used contacts and knowledge that staff had of what was out there and how we could get these groups invovled. We held regular meetings during the intial stages to get our staff on board, and make it relevant to the curriculum areas. It helped to keep the areas involved and up to date with how the project was developing on the whole and not just in relation to their own area. We used the time when we met with key staff in the areas to identify opportunities to integrate the project into the curriculum, and put it into context. We found it very useful to make links with other providers and share good practice. Talking to other organisations helps you gauge where you are at in realtion to your project, and how you can improve what you are doing. |
| Type of learning:General FEdefinition college | Lead provider(s): Leicester College |
| Theme(s): | Region: East Midlands |
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| Summary: | |
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Leicester College in partnership with St Philip’s Centre will challenge areas of prejudice and stereotyping perpetuated by extremist and racist groups, by developing the critical thinking of learners and staff. The project will focus on the curriculum areas of construction and hospitality, engendering appreciation of religion/beliefs, celebrating diversity, and providing a safe space for staff and learners to talk about and address topical issues such as honour-based violence and forced marriage. "The creation of this material by Leicester College has been financed by the Skills Funding Agency Equality and Diversity Innovation Fund 2013/14. Copyright in this material is vested in the Crown but it is made freely available through an Open Government Licence. This licence enables you to use and adapt the material but you must attribute [Insert your organisation’s name] as the creator and include details of the licence. Full details of the licence are available at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/<" |
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Contact<Julie Sharma Email: [email protected] < Tel. 01162242240 ext 4279/2081 or Riaz Ravat at the St Philips Centre Email: [email protected]< |
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| Please find resources created during the project attached below |
@LeicesterColl
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| booklet cover.PNG | 28.01 KB |
| Leicester College Workbook - ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALLV3.pdf | 560.92 KB |
| NIACE postcard 1.pdf | 528.17 KB |
| NIACE postcard 2.pdf | 576.68 KB |
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