A north-east college has teamed up with a charity on a new partnership programme delivering family learning in a bid to tackle child poverty.
North East Scotland College (NESCol) and Aberdeen Foyer have launched Foyer Families, which builds on a pilot scheme carried out at NESCol’s Fraserburgh campus.
The course, which has been funded by the Scottish Funding Council’s Tackling Child Poverty Fund, it will run at its Aberdeen city site and seeks to support parents with young children by developing their personal confidence and helping them to gain accredited qualifications as well as helping them learn how to further support a child’s learning and play.
Aberdeen Foyer is currently looking for families to take part in the programme, with parents of children aged 0-12 who are looking to develop their confidence and gain accredited qualification encouraged to join.
The scheme is carried out online and IT equipment can also be provided to those who need it.
Leona McDermid, chief executive at Aberdeen Foyer said: “1 in 5 families in Scotland are living in poverty and the pandemic is only exacerbating this. Developed with input from parents themselves,
Foyer Families offers parents and carers a safe supportive space to identify and set in motion goals that can alleviate their immediate situations whilst improving confidence to move into further learning and employment that benefit the whole family.
“The Foyer greatly values working with NESCol to develop Foyer Families, opening up a different way of accessing and experiencing accredited learning in the community and supporting parents to make their own routes out of poverty.”
Duncan Abernethy, director of business development at NESCol, added: “Partnership working is vital to the work the College does in supporting the communities we serve and we’re delighted to be collaborating with Aberdeen Foyer and the Scottish Funding Council to deliver this initiative.
“The circumstances of the past year have been incredibly challenging and the impact on many families has been significant. Providing tailored support on a local level will help individuals and families take the first steps towards a brighter future.”
Anyone interested in taking part is asked to contact Aberdeen Foyer on 07880 031878 or email bryanm@aberdeenfoyer.com
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