By Tommy Jarvis, Learning City Manager, Bristol Learning City Partnership
Bristol is a vibrant and diverse city with an international reputation for innovation and success. There is a thriving arts scene, twosuccessful universities and a highly educated and skilled workforce. Bristol has one of the highest GDP’s per capita in the UK, and contributes Åí12.6 billion to the national economy.
However, many citizens struggle with a lack of affordability and sit below the poverty line. There are concentrations of significant deprivation, with 42 areas amongst the most deprived in the UK and more than 23 percent of children living in poverty. The rise in house prices is 13 percent higher than the national average and there is an increasing shortage of affordable housing. There are also significant challenges in health, education and employment.
For some, Bristol is a great place to learn, with local schools now exceeding the national average for attainment in secondary education. However, not everyone is achieving their potential; attainment varies from over 90 percent in some areas to only 35 percent in others. The city has two world class universities, but in some wards only 5% of young people attend university compared with 83 percent in others. The Learning City Partnership (LCP) was set up to ensure all citizens can benefit from the city’s success by implementing initiatives aimed at reducing inequality in education.
The Learning City Partnership Board, chaired by the elected Mayor, was established at the beginning of 2015 and is made up of leaders from across the city’s public, private and education sectors. The role of the board is to plan strategically, maximise resources and encourage innovation in learning. To support the partnership’s strategic aims, Bristol City Council’s constitution was amended in the summer of 2015 to allow the Mayor to make decisions about education at the LCP Board.
Three LCP challenge groups have been formed: Learning in Education, Learning for Work and Learning in the Community. Learning for Work focuses on supporting citizens into work and ensuring the local workforce is skilled and diverse. Learning in Education focuses on raising the attainment of all students through formal learning in early years, school, college and university. Learning in the Community encourages a culture in communities where learning is accessible and valued by everyone. As well as delivering projects, these three groups help the LCP board to focus on how they can help improve learning in all aspects of the city and help to concentrate on the areas that need it the most.
A number of significant partnership initiatives have been set up in the last two years to deliver our Learning City vision. The University of the West of England and the University of Bristol, in partnership with South Bristol Youth are aiming to increase university attendance in some of the most deprived areas of the city. The Futurequest programme with work with students to help address the barriers to higher education. This programme will dovetail with the University of Bristol innovative Scholars programme, which in its second year will provide university places on a reduced offer to those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
To deliver on the Mayor’s pledge to provide a quality experience of work for every student in the city, the Bristol WORKS programme is working with businesses and educators to deliver a clear offer to students.
To support the work of the Partnership, Learning City Ambassadors have been recruited to share their passion for learning and education. Their role is to facilitate and promote accessible learning opportunities across Bristol and help others achieve their full potential by sharing personal experiences and knowledge. There are currently over 160 Ambassadors in the city, spanning a wide cross-section of the community. Learning Ambassadors provide a valuable insight into attitudes towards learning.
Learning City aims to promote learning in all its forms hosting a number of events throughout the year to draw attention to power of learning. In 2017 Learning City hosted its first Learning at Work Week promoting conventional and unconventional learning in the workplace. The week featured classes in creative writing, restorative approaches and laughter yoga. All classes were open to the public and supported by Learning City partners. The event aimed to show that learning can be fun, accessible and have many positive benefits.
Learning City aims to remove inequality in learning and education and to promote the power of learning to change lives, open doors, improve well-being and help people live longer, healthier lives. Through the WORKS programme, Bristol Learning City is seeking to create a skilled and local workforce that can respond to changes in the future labour market. Learning brings communities together, creating dynamic places for us to live, work and play. Through the work of Learning City we hope to encourage people to enjoy the positive impacts of a life-time of learning.
In September 2017 Bristol Learning City will be receiving an award from UNESCO to highlight the progress we have made over the last three years. There is much more to be done and with the continued support of our partners we are in a much better place to deliver our vision – a city where your life chances are not limited to where you live.