Scottish Union Learning Everyday Skills Event

Scottish Youth Theatre, 105 Brunswick St, Glasgow G1 1TF.
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2020 Scottish Union Learning Everyday Skills Event – Building Effective Pathways to Learning

The 12th annual Scottish Union Learning Everyday Skills Event: Building Effective Pathways to Learning will take place on Thursday, 27 February 2020, from 9.30am to 3pm at the Scottish Youth Theatre, The Old Sheriff Court, 105 Brunswick Street, Glasgow, G11TF.

The Event enables trade unions to raise awareness of Everyday Skills issues in the workplace and share best practice in supporting those with Everyday Skills needs. It is aimed at Union Learning Representatives, Learning Organisers and Tutors.

The 2020 Everyday Skills Event will focus on supporting workers with dyslexia and additional learning requirements. There will also be opportunities to use creative methods to improve mental health through the power of reading and innovative approaches to improve basic maths and numeracy skills.

Guest Speakers to include Duncan Cumming, Chief Executive, Dyslexia Scotwest and Frances Bradley, Learning Services Co-ordinator, Glasgow Life. Participants will be able to attend two of the following three breakout sessions, depending on availability:

Workshop 1: Supporting Dyslexia in the Workplace

Led by Jean Tennant, Dyslexia Scotland Volunteer and freelance Occupational Health Nurse Advisor
Dyslexia is a specific learning difference that affects reading and writing and it is estimated that approximately 10 percent of the population are dyslexic. It occurs independently of intelligence and varies from person to person so that no two people will have the same set of strengths and challenges. Dyslexic people may have difficulty processing and remembering information, which can potentially affect learning and the acquisition of literacy skills and impede their opportunities for promotion in the workplace.
This session will increase your understanding of dyslexia. You will learn how to support dyslexia more effectively and find out about the work of Dyslexia Scotland and opportunities for collaboration. There will be interactive group discussions and practical activities which highlight the challenges faced by workers with dyslexia and examples of good practice.
Led by Paul McLellan and Gillian Molloy, Glasgow Maths Teachers

Workshop 2: Reading and Good Mental Health. Led by Nyla Ahmed Reading Communities Co-ordinator and Gordon Connelly Reader Development Administrator, Scottish Book Trust (SBT)

It is estimated that 1 in 4 people in the UK experience a mental health problem each year and research highlights that reading can increase empathy, improve relationships and reduce the symptoms of depression.

Reading books, particularly fiction, fully engages the mind and imagination. Any activity that possesses meditative qualities in which the brain is fully focused on a single task is proven to reduce stress and enhance relaxation. Getting lost in a good book can be the ultimate form of relaxation.

This session will demonstrate the benefits of reading for pleasure and why this is relevant in the workplace. There will be practical reading participation activities and opportunities to explore links to health and wellbeing. Feedback will also be provided from the reading and mental health partnership pilot with CWU and SBT.

Workshop 3: ‘Maths – It was different in my day’.

"Have you ever said, "I was rubbish at maths," or "it was different in my day"? then this is the session for you. With a focus on understanding, you will learn some new techniques which you can use today in the workplace or tonight when helping with homework!!"

The session will be delivered in an entertaining and relaxed way to help learners brush up on their basic numeracy and maths skills. You will be shown modern methods for example, of carrying out multiplication and division calculations, comparing fractions and working with decimals, and will learn the 17 times table in five minutes! The overall message of the session is that maths can be fun, useful and simple.

There will be opportunities to explore practical activities that can be used with learners in the workplace.

Please note: There are limited places for each session and if one of your two choices are oversubscribed, you will be automatically given a place on one of the remaining sessions.

To attend the Event, please register by Monday 17 February 2020.

Please contact your own trade union to arrange to attend this event. Organisation of attendance and release is by your trade union and is not the responsibility of Scottish Union Learning.

If you have any queries about the event or registration please contact Karina Liptrot at kliptrot@stuc.org.uk