Community Learning and Development - A year of Community Learning and Development 2023 to 2024

Community Learning and Development (CLD) supports primarily disadvantaged or vulnerable groups and individuals of all ages to engage in learning, with a focus on bringing about change in their lives and communities. CLD activity has a strong focus on early intervention, prevention and tackling inequalities. (Education Scotland)

Our team consists of Community Learning and Development Workers, Community Learning Assistants, ESOL and Literacies Workers, and Community Council Officers. We cover Perth and Kinross and work in locality teams divided into 5 areas: Perth City, Eastern Perthshire, Highland Perthshire, Strathearn and Strathallan, and Kinross-shire, Almond and Earn.

Key priorities that we have been focusing on in 2023 to 2024 and are highlighted in our Perth and Kinross Community Learning and Development Plan (2021 to 2024) (PDF, 3 MB) are Poverty; Mental and Physical Wellbeing; Employability and Adult Learning; and Digital Participation.

The CLD values that we practice are:

• self-determination - respecting the individual and valuing the right of people to make their own choices
• inclusion - valuing equality of both opportunity and outcome, and challenging discriminatory practice
• empowerment - increasing the ability of individuals and groups to influence issues that affect them and their communities through individual and/or collective action
• working collaboratively - maximising collaborative working relationships in partnerships between the many agencies which contribute to CLD, including collaborative work with participants, learners and communities
• promotion of learning as a lifelong activity - ensuring that individuals are aware of a range of learning opportunities and can access relevant options at any stage of their life.

These values have been identified by the CLD Standards Council.