Energy in the Home Family Learning Course
Energy in the Home Family Learning Course
Engaging families with energy and sustainable development issues
To develop sustainable development units and resources for Family Learning tutors which:
- provide a real-life context, empowering learners to reduce their energy bills and their impact on the environment through an understanding of energy-related issues
- provide a supported delivery mechanism for Family Learning tutors with little/no sustainable development/energy expertise
- enable learners to enhance their self-confidence and acquire job skills working in the community as energy awareness volunteers
- help and encourage parents and carers to increase the engagement of their children in education
CSE has developed three sustainable development units for Family Learning programmes. The units make up the 'Energy in the Home' module and they include:
- Energy Use and the Environment
- Save Money and Reduce Pollution
- Renewable Energy.
All three units are accredited by the Open College Network (OCN) at level 1 and 2.
CSE has developed learning activities and supporting resources to help Family Learning tutors deliver each of the units. The activities provide opportunities for adults and children to explore energy issues together and to improve literacy and numeracy skills. They support curriculum work covered by pupils in school too.
Pilot courses have been delivered in Bristol and North Somerset to test the learning activities and resources.
Families from Speedwell Nursery School in Bristol take part and help the school achieve Eco-School green flag status
The first unit was delivered in Speedwell Nursery, which helped the school achieve its Eco-School green flag a second time. Parents joined the school's Eco Committee to apply the skills and knowledge they had learnt on the course. The second unit was piloted in Fonthill Primary School, which is also working towards Eco-School status. The Renewable Energy unit was piloted in St Katherine's School, a specialist college for science and technology with particular interest in sustainable energy.
Course participants, Family Learning tutors and school staff have been invited to give feedback on the pilot courses and this has contributed to the development of the final resource package.
The resource package for Family Learning tutors includes:
- background energy information
- session outline
- learning activities
The Energy in the Home Family Learning Course provides resources for tutors and opportunities for learners to use sustainable energy as a vehicle for improving basic skills (numeracy and literacy) and enhancing self-confidence and esteem. Some flexibility in the delivery of the activities is recommended as certain tasks offered will need to be matched to individual learnerís abilities and skills to be developed.
Participating in the courses enabled adults to consider their own and their families' learning opportunities and to increase the level of engagement and achievement of their children in education using sustainable energy as a vehicle.