Link to homepage

Contact

Site design by TangentBuild by Infinite Eye

Search

Renfrewshire Council -Supporting New Scots in Renfrewshire

Employability & Welfare
Image for Renfrewshire Council -Supporting New Scots in Renfrewshire
Lead Organisation:
Renfrewshire Council
Theme:
Award Amount:
£17,500.00

Our original proposal was to support refugees and people seeking asylum to build their confidence in using everyday English and to reduce social isolation by:

  • Delivering 2 groups in Renfrewshire each week that would offer opportunities for refugees and people seeking asylum to practise their language skills in a community context.
  • Providing a mix of activities which were based in the community learning centres in Erskine and Johnstone coupled with opportunities to travel round the Renfrewshire area using public transport visiting places of local interest.
  • Supporting the group with 2 experienced community workers and a volunteer.
  • Signposting to relevant support agencies as required.
  • Promoting understanding of Scottish life, language and culture.
New Scots reached
77

Key Information

In common with many areas across Scotland, demand for ESOL for our New Scots has population far outstripped supply, with most learners only having access to one session per week.

To support our ESOL learners we ran weekly groups in Johnstone and Erskine where refugees and people seeking asylum could come along to build their confidence in using everyday English and reduce social isolation by taking part in a range of activities.

To provide opportunities for non-English speakers to build confidence in using English by practice speaking and listening skills in a non-formal groupwork setting in the community.

To bring people from Renfrewshire’s ethnically diverse communities together to encourage social inclusion and mutual understanding though the shared group work experience.

To encourage learners to access a range of community activities and signpost to relevant support agencies as appropriate.

Key Information

Partnership

Renfrewshire Council Resettlement Team, The Mears Group, Renfrewshire Affordable Credit Alliance.

Geographical reach

Renfrewshire

Dates

June 2023 – Nov 2023

Target Groups

Adult refugees and people seeking asylum with little or no English.

Project Type

Community and Social Connections

Situation

The programme objectives were:

  • to provide opportunities for non-English speakers to build confidence in using English by practice speaking and listening skills in a non-formal groupwork setting and out in the community.
  • To bring people from Renfrewshire’s ethnically diverse communities together to encourage social inclusion and mutual understanding though the shared group work experience.
  • To encourage learners to access a range of community activities and signpost to relevant support agencies as appropriate.

Involvement of New Scots in project

New Scots were integral to the design and delivery of the project, from choosing the weekly activities and discussion themes to helping plan and prepare the lunches, the learners were at the heart of shaping their groups. Two participants even joined our services as volunteers.

Impact

We engaged with 77 New Scots and delivered 52 sessions in total.

Overall, our groups were well attended and everyone taking part, both learners and staff, felt that they were a valuable learning experience and more importantly they were a safe and welcoming space in the week where everyone could relax, connect with others, share experiences and laugh.

Using lunch as an integral part of the sessions proved very successful. It highlighted the effectiveness of sharing food in bringing people together.

Everyone quickly relaxed and chatted more as the focus was on the food rather than on them. It provided the opportunities to talk about their home countries, the foods they enjoyed and to explore the similarities in dishes and mealtime customs around the world when the meal was finished everyone worked together quickly to clear the table and wash up, which accelerated the cohesiveness of the group.

Two of our ESOL learners were particularly involved in establishing the group in Erskine, encouraging people to come each week and helping everyone to feel welcome and included. They were extremely supportive of staff and have now joined our team as volunteers.

Some of our feedback :

I met new people. I was learning new things. It felt so nice to have each of us from a different culture eating at the same table. We were conversing in English at the same time.

The group is very welcoming. It is a good way to improve my English and I feel involved in the community. The food is marvellous every week. 5-star chefs!

We helped prepare food. We sat at the dinner table and arranged everything after we were done. We finished conversation and questions helped us learn English.

I feel safe in Scotland and want to stay here. My grandson, Matthew enjoyed playing scrabble. I have enjoyed all the activities, learning about Renfrewshire, and meeting new friends. It helped me to know new people in a different nationality and to improve my English languages.

Challenges encountered

We met with several issues and challenges but by holding the needs and wellbeing of the learners at the heart of the project, these were managed with creativity and a flexible approach.

Navigating the multiple languages at every sessions was a steep learning curve at the beginning as most of the participants had at best a very basic grasp of English. Everyone worked together to overcome this using technology (especially Google Translate), pictures, mime and gesture.

We were also able to occasionally bring in some additional staff with Ukrainian and Arabic language skills to help with translation. Having food as the focus of the sessions meant staff had to source suitable cooking equipment cutlery and crockery, organise food shopping and delivery, prepare ingredients in advance and be mindful of cultural and religious dietary requirements.

The constant movement of the asylum-seeking population meant numbers fluctuated from week to week making planning difficult for our Erskine group.

Staff based their planning on having higher numbers and ensured that any excess food was distributed amongst the group at the end of the session to be taken back to the hotels.

Sadly, there were a small number of people outside one of the hotels protesting against asylum seekers being housed in the area. Staff were careful to create a warm and safe space within the community centre and have handled queries from the general public with discretion.

The groups were promoted solely through the relevant housing association and Renfrewshire Council’s resettlement team and with no external outreach.

Solutions

Whether it is discovering each other’s language, culture, history, food, music or sport, these groups will encourage our refugees and  asylum seekers to come together with some of our local learners on a weekly basis to learn and have fun, share experiences, uncover commonalities, and celebrate difference.

The positive aspects of taking on a new approach (innovative)/How the project has expanded on existing examples of good practice (good practice)

Overall, our groups were well attended and everyone taking part, both learners and staff, felt that they were a valuable learning experience and more importantly they were a safe and welcoming space in the week where everyone could relax, connect with others, share experiences and laugh.

  • Changing the focus of the groups from travel to food proved very successful in several ways. It highlighted the effectiveness of sharing food in bringing people together. The learners quickly relaxed and chatted more as the focus was on the food rather than on them. It provided the opportunities to talk about their home countries, the foods they enjoyed and to explore the similarities in dishes and mealtime customs around the world   When the meal was finished everyone worked together quickly to clear the table and wash up, which accelerated the cohesiveness of the group.

 

  • Two of our ESOL learners were particularly involved in establishing the group in Erskine, encouraging people to come each week and helping everyone to feel welcome and included. They were extremely supportive of staff and have now joined our team as volunteers.

 

  • Feedback from the project has shown that learners would like to continue with the groups and we are planning to run more sessions between January and March 2024. We will not be able to offer lunches, but we will be able to introduce a variety of activities that will support people’s language skills as well as building positive networks of support.

Reflections

In 2023, Renfrewshire saw a dramatic increase in the number of refugees and people seeking asylum from across the world arriving and needing support especially since setting up the Welcome Hub at Glasgow Airport for people fleeing the war in Ukraine.

Many of our participants were being housed in hotel accommodation and they identified their priorities were for a safe space to connect with others and activities that would support their wellbeing.

Each week, the groups planned, prepared and shared lunch which not only meant people were meeting and and chatting, but also provided an opportunity for doing some of the everyday tasks that reflect “normal” life such as cooking, setting the table and of course, washing up.

They had great fun using word games, building vocabulary though competitive Scrabble tournaments and practised speaking and listening with discussions ranging from local history to folklore and traditions from around the world.

We invited input from the Renfrewshire Affordable Credit Alliance who ran fun and informative sessions on managing money and avoiding unlicensed lending, gave information on education, employability and health partners and even had a local barber offer free haircuts.

Further Information

Keywords

ESOL, Renfrewshire

Contact

Contact:
Clare James

Address:
Renfrewshire Council – Adult and Family Learning Service
Adult and Family Learning Area Office,
West Johnstone Shared Campus,
Beith Road, Johnstone
PA5 0BB

Telephone:
0141 487 1847

Email:
clare.james@renfrewshire.gov.uk

Back to The Projects

Project Partners