Dennis and his friends, who were lovingly created by Scraithwood TARA, have now arrived at the Centre for Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Children and Youth with Disabilities in the Obolon District, Kyiv in Ukraine. Read the story so far on our previous post.

In Kyiv they are being distributed to children and baby shelters. The children are very happy with their new friends:

The Treehouse board game cafe hosted an English Language night for Learn for Life students last week. It was a great success and everyone enjoyed playing the games.

We have regular Walk and Talk sessions at Learn for Life where we learn more about Sheffield and have English conversation. Here are some photos from our recent trips, you can see more on our Facebook page here, and Instagram page here.

As a Learn My Way ambassador for Good Things Foundation, we are running an online event on the 22nd June explaining how you can use Learn My Way to help asylum seekers and refugees to gain essential digital skills. You can register here.

We were pleased to welcome the new Lord Mayor to our Trinity SELT Sheffield Open Day in June. Councillor Ross enjoyed meeting some of our students and hearing about the new test centre at Learn for Life.

Thank you to everyone who came by to look around and find out more.

Candidates can now do their B1, A2 and A1 exams for settlement, citizenship and visa purposes every Friday in Sheffield. Find out more here.

We provide digital support to TARA groups in Sheffield as part of our Digital project. We recently discovered that Scraithwood TARA had a craft group that was making toys, socks, and baby clothes for Ukraine. However, they were unsure how to get them there. We told them about all our Ukrainian friends at Learn for Life and said we’d ask them for help. Fast forward to today, and Dennis the dinosaur and his friends have now set off on their journey to Ukraine.

Our Trinity SELT Sheffield Open Day will take place on Thursday 15th June between 10am and 3pm. Those who are working as ESOL practitioners, agents, immigration advisors and in local community groups are all invited to visit our centre. Attendees can drop in at any point in the day to have a look around and join us for refreshments. 

We will also have presentations on SELT exams and delivery, as well as the different services, resources and support that Trinity provides for all ESOL practitioners and learners.  Presentations will take place at 10.30am, 12:00pm, and 2.00pm. 

This event is free of charge, but please reserve a place so that we can plan for catering. Register here.

LEARN FOR LIFE ENTERPRISE ACCREDITED TO THE MATRIX STANDARD

This week we successfully achieved the matrix Standard, demonstrating high quality Information Advice and Guidance services.

The matrix Standard is the international quality standard for organisations that deliver information, advice and/or guidance (IAG), either as their sole purpose or as part of their service offering.

Roger Chapman, Head of the matrix Service for The Growth Company said: “This is a fantastic achievement for Learn for Life Enterprise and I would like to congratulate the team on their success. We believe that at the heart of high-quality advice and support services are strong leadership, excellent service and a focus on continuous improvement, all underpinned by effective use of the resources available. The matrix Standard is designed to benchmark organisations against best practice in these areas. With their accreditation success, Learn for Life Enterprise is working to provide the best possible support to their clients.”

A number of strengths were identified during the assessment, which are detailed below:

– The feeling from learners, staff, volunteers and partners is that Learn for Life is an inspirational place that fulfils a vital role in the area. The overall ethos of the organisation clearly permeates through all managers, staff and volunteers. There is a determination to ensure that service users are given the best and most appropriate support so that they have the best chance of achieving their aims – be they employment, settled status or simply integrating into the local community.  

– Learners feel safe and welcome – for some it is a haven amidst uncertainty and alien cultures. Staff thoroughly enjoy working for the organisation; they feel supported, consulted and believe that it reflects their own values 

– Learners and partners are impressed by the access to IAG and how support is individualised to each learner as one learner commented “They talk to us and help us with any problems that we have.” The development of support for those interested in volunteering provides a great opportunity for people to enhance their CV, gain valuable experience of interacting with the public, help with applications for employment, use their English in new situations and gain confidence 

– Feedback from external partner agencies is extremely positive. They value how the organisation is well-grounded within the communities it serves, demonstrating an excellent level of understanding of and compassion for its service users, enhanced by the “passion” that staff display. They recognise how key facets such as digital skills and employability are expertly woven into provision to provide skills and experiences that service users need to progress.  

– Feedback from service users and learners is complementary about the welcome that they receive, how they are made to feel part of a “family” and how the centre is like its own “small planet”. For many, the organisation is their first port of call when they arrive in Sheffield, and it plays a vital role in helping them to quickly acclimatise and feel supported.

Thank you to all our learners, volunteers, staff and partners who talked to our assessor this week!

Thank you to Sheffield Hallam students for organising the Cultural Foods fundraiser today. Thank you to those who visited, donated, contributed, and to Cafe Indus and Ozmen Extra for their kind donations! Over £100 was raised. If you would like to donate online, you can do so here.