A Learning Charter for Belfast

Putting people at the heart of learning

Belfast a Learning City

Focusing on Life Inequalities

A Learning Charter for BelfastPutting people at the heart of learning

Belfast a Learning City

Focusing on Life Inequalities

Belfast is a city where learning is valued in all its formsand promoted as a force for improved personal, social,civic and economic change in the city.

All citizens of Belfast have equal access to LifelongLearning opportunities, creating conditions for a betterquality of life for everyone in the city.

Our Vision

Foreword by Belfast Strategic Partnership Co-Chairs 5

Introduction by the Chairperson of the Lifelong Learning Thematic Group 6

Lifelong Learning Thematic Group: Key areas of work 8

A Strategic Framework for Lifelong Learning in Belfast 9

The Learning Charter for Belfast 12

Belfast Works - a key demonstration of the Learning Charter in practice 14

Communications Plan 16

Research 17

Making a Difference 17

Leadership and Governance 18

Links across the Belfast Strategic Partnership 19

Appendices 22

Appendix 1: Belfast Strategic Partnership (BSP) 23

Appendix 2: BSP – Central Priority 24

Contact Details 25

Contents

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“…all learning activity undertakenthroughout life with the aim ofimproving knowledge, skills andcompetence within a personal,civic, social and/or employment related perspective.”

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As Belfast Strategic Partnership (BSP) Co-Chairs we are delighted to launch thisstrategy document ‘Belfast a Learning City,produced by the BSP’s Lifelong LearningThematic Group.

We believe Lifelong Learning plays a powerfulrole in creating a more equal, just andinclusive society and we endorse the vision ofBelfast as a Learning City for all citizens.

Learning is much more than a route toemployment, and it is significant that thisstrategy is built on the EU definition oflearning which is:

“…all learning activity undertaken throughout life with the aim of improvingknowledge, skills and competence within a personal, civic, social and/or employmentrelated perspective.”

Lifelong Learning can transform cities andcitizens in many ways. Cities with a stronglearning imperative have proven to be moresuccessful in economic, social and culturalterms. Learning helps harness and foster astronger sense of belonging for citizens inBelfast, and builds community cohesion. Itfosters ownership and loyalty to the city itself.

We endorse the vision of Belfast as a LearningCity for citizens of all ages and from all socialand cultural backgrounds. We wish to raisethe aspirations of citizens and in particularthose of our citizens who face multiplebarriers in accessing learning, whether theseare caused by poor health, lack of confidence,childcare access, poor support networks, orthrough poverty, racism, prejudice anddiscrimination. Lifelong Learning needs to betailored to the needs of all.

In raising aspirations, by removing barriers and increasing opportunities for learning we will also build and strengthen resilience withinthe city, a key goal across all BSP work.

We welcome the development of the LearningCharter which underpins the aspirations andactions needed to develop Belfast as a Learning City.

We will ask our partners in BSP to sign up to this Charter and thereby commit to a set ofguiding principles and actions which will establish Belfast as a city with a strong and vibrant culture of learning.

We will build on the partnerships that exist across the city, and we will harness our collective knowledge, experience, skills, creativity and resources to achieve our vision.

Everyone will have a part to play.

Dr Eddie RooneyChief Executive OfficerPublic Health AgencyCo-Chair, Belfast Strategic Partnership

Suzanne WylieChief Executive OfficerBelfast City CouncilCo-Chair, Belfast Strategic Partnership

Dr Michael McBrideChief Executive OfficerBelfast Health and Social Care TrustCo-Chair, Belfast Strategic Partnership

Foreword by Belfast Strategic Partnership Co-Chairs

From work carried out by the LifelongLearning Thematic Group and other BSPthematic areas, we also know that:

• There is a commitment by centralgovernment to Lifelong Learning acrossseven government departments and 20separate strategies, all contained in thecurrent Programme for Government but nosingle focus to harness those efforts andalign them to Lifelong Learning objectivesand targets for the city.

• There is a wide range of programmes andinitiatives in operation across Belfast but noshared outcomes. Also, inconsistencies inthe collection of monitoring informationmake it impossible to conclusively mapLifelong Learning provision, uptake ofservices and therefore to measure collectiveimpact across the city.

• Almost a fifth of Belfast residents have noqualifications and projections indicate that50% of future jobs will require degree levelor higher qualifications, yet many graduatesare currently under-employed in low leveljobs. This skills mismatch needs to beaddressed for Belfast both to remain a keyeconomic driver for the region and toreduce inequality across the city.

Based on our work and research, we believethat we can better address the needs ofBelfast citizens and deliver better outcomesfor the city through a targeted, focused andcollaborative approach to Lifelong Learning.

A key demonstration of this approach will bethe establishment of the Learning Charter forBelfast, which will be a working testament toplanning agreed approaches across the cityinvolving all key stakeholders.

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Lifelong Learning Thematic Group

It is my pleasure on behalf of the BelfastStrategic Partnership's (BSP’s) LifelongLearning Thematic Group to introduce ‘Belfasta Learning City’ in which we set out our visionof Belfast where learning is used as a positiveforce to expand and enhance life chances forall citizens of all ages in Belfast.

We believe that Belfast already has the keyelements to become a centre of learningexcellence and this strategy and BSP have acrucial role to play in creating the conditionsneeded to make this a reality.

We recognise the importance of addressingeconomic disadvantage through learningdevelopments both in accessing the labourmarket and as a mechanism for progression atthe workplace, but equally we championlearning as a tool for life to increase citizensconfidence, resilience and sense of belonging,and to strengthen community cohesion acrossthe city. A BSP ‘Have Your Say Belfast’ 2012survey indicated that 23% of respondentsidentified the need to have greater levels ofconfidence in order to help them feel betterabout themselves.

There are significant challenges to theimplementation of this strategy, we know thatthere are many good examples of qualitylearning opportunities across the city and weknow that a significant proportion of theBelfast population is not reaping the rewardsof what Belfast's learning environment has tooffer; there are deep and persistentinequalities in the city and many areas haveexperienced high levels of poverty andstubborn deprivation with little or no changeover the last number of decades.

Introduction

We also call for a new strategic alliance to beformed to agree shared outcomes and establisha ‘Belfast Works’ approach as a key example ofhow the Learning Charter can work in practice.This new approach will entail a targetedcitywide employability and personal supportprogramme for those groups experiencingmultiple barriers in accessing the labour market.

We believe this new strategic and joined upapproach will positively impact upon the heathinequalities that are being experienced by asignificant proportion of the Belfast population.

‘Belfast a Learning City’ can shape a positiveproactive agenda for change in tacklinginequality across the city and can act as acatalyst across central government lines anddemonstrably shine as an example of strategiccollaborative planning for the region and widerafield.

We encourage you all to help shape ‘Belfast aLearning City’ and sign up to the LearningCharter. Share this with your colleagues, friendsand other organisations, who can help build abetter future for Belfast. Your active support isinvaluable.

Finally I would like to thank my fellow ThematicGroup members for their dedication andcommitment to the work of the LifelongLearning strand of the Belfast StrategicPartnership and look forward to your continuedinvolvement.

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Danny PowerChairperson Belfast Strategic Partnership Lifelong Learning Thematic Group

Lifelong Learning Thematic Group

Over a two year period we have identified four key areas of work as our focus to ensuring we realise the vision of ‘Belfast a Learning City’.

To use the StrategicFramework todevelop the

Learning Charter for Belfast,

which sets out the objectives

and related actionsneeded to

establish Belfast as a Learning City.

To develop ‘BelfastWorks’ as a keydemonstration

of how the LearningCharter can work

in practice - atargeted citywideemployability andpersonal supportprogramme for those groupsexperiencing

multiple barriers in accessing thelabour market.

To develop aCommunications Plan with clear,consistent and

positive messages,which will support

and promote Belfast as a

Learning City and highlight the

importance ofLifelong Learning

for all citizens of Belfast.

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To develop a Strategic

Framework forLifelong Learning

in Belfast withunderpinning values, ethics

and principles.

key areas of work

We have developed a Strategic Framework forLifelong Learning in Belfast based on the EUdefinition of Lifelong Learning which is

This EU definition also providesus with the following values,ethics and principles thatunderpin the StrategicFramework:

• valuing all forms of learning

• Creating a learning culture

• Facilitating access to learning opportunities

• Acquiring and updating all kinds of abilities, interests, knowledge and qualifications

• Striving for excellence

• Partnership working

• Insight into the demand for learning

• Adequate resourcing.

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A Strategic Framework forLifelong Learning in Belfast

“…all learning activityundertaken throughout lifewith the aim of improvingknowledge, skills andcompetence within a personal,civic, social and/or employmentrelated perspective.”

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1 To create a learning culture for the city ofBelfast that recognises and values all forms of learning

2 To develop an inclusive, innovative andstrategic approach to Lifelong Learningthrough partnership working, whichmaximises the reach and impact of all available resources

3 To promote collaborative working betweenkey stakeholders to ensure equality ofaccess to Lifelong Learning opportunitiesand to inform excellence in the design anddevelopment of Lifelong Learning provision

4 To realign current and future skills provisionwith northern Ireland’s economic needs.

These objectives form the pillars of theLearning Charter, set out below, and are the key drivers for ‘Belfast a Learning City’.

Changing the way we work together

Our partners in BSP have endorsed ‘Belfast a Learning City’ and have committed to itsvision and guiding principles. All partners areneeded to make the vision a reality, bothindividually through organisational activities,and collectively through enhancedcooperation and collaboration, “…changingthe way we work together” as outlined in theBSP mission. A demonstration ofthis commitment will be signing up to theLearning Charter for Belfast.

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Accessibility andexcellence in provision

Matching skills witheconomic needs

Strategic Objectives

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A learning culture for all forms of learning

A Strategic Framework for

Lifelong Learning in Belfast

Partnership working forbest reach and impact

Through collaboration, all organisations in the city which provide opportunities for learning can maximise the investment they make and promote Belfast as a Learning City for all.

The Learning Charter sets out the basis for this collaboration, with a set of key principles and related actions which underpin a learning culture, and we ask organisations to pledge their

commitment to the key principles and related actions set out below.

The Learning Charter will provide an opportunity to create a binding agreement for key partners and providers across Belfast, with clear principles for provision, engagement, access, and commitment to:

Creating clear pathways for entry and progression routes for learners

Creating easier access for learners at all levels and across all ages

Promoting best practice in Lifelong Learning, fostering connectivity, debate and knowledge sharing

Influencing policy and practice

Addressing economic disadvantage through advocating for the Living Wage and creation of real jobs.

We are committed to signing up to the following guiding principles and related actions.

This Learning Charter has been drawn up to ensure that all organisations involved in delivering Lifelong Learning across the city can sign up to a set of guiding principles and related actions to establish Belfast as a Learning City.

The Learning Charter for Belfast

1 Creating a learning culture for the city of Belfast that recognisesand values all forms of learning

• Ensuring learning is for all citizens of all age groups, with equality of access and availability across the city

• Creating and adopting a common brand and messaging aroundlearning in the city

• Recognising and promoting all forms of learning within our organisations

• Developing and supporting local learning ambassadors

• Disseminating information and good practice case studies to increase effective learning

• Developing a set of shared frameworks on pathways to learning

• Promoting resilience through Lifelong Learning.

2 Developing an inclusive, innovative and strategic approach toLifelong Learning through partnership working which maximisesthe reach and impact of all available resources

• Developing and participating in a Belfast Learning City Forum which values mutual respect and meaningful collaboration

• Developing and updating website information on Lifelong Learning opportunities in Belfast

• Using available research and highlighting any gaps

• Promoting where technology can enhance Lifelong Learning

• Sharing research and other evidence in a central e-library for Belfast.

3 Promoting collaborative working between key stakeholders thatensures equality of access to Lifelong Learning opportunities andinforms excellence in the design and development of Lifelong Learning provision

• Identifying, developing and working towards shared quality standards

• Increasing diversity among learners, promoting inclusion

• Ensuring that support for transition stages for learners is built into learning provision

• Creating listening and reflection loops with learners to shape and enhance our services

• Engaging with learners to increase and refine responses to their needs

• Promoting best practice in Lifelong Learning

• Fostering connectivity, debate and knowledge sharing.

4 Realigning current and future skills with Northern Ireland’s economic needs

• Contributing effectively to the economic and social success of the city

• Listening to employers on their needs for recruitment and in work support

• Addressing the needs of those with no or low skills or qualifications

• Assisting the under-employed to achieve their potential

• Sharing targets and outcomes

• Connecting with and influencing government and the private sector on the specific needs of Belfast

• Promoting continued workplace learning and upskilling

• Connecting with and influencing educators on current and future northern Ireland economic needs

• Advocating for the Living Wage and the creation of real jobs.

Signed DateOrganisation/On behalf of

Focusing on Life Inequalities

I/We endorse and commit to the above and herewith will undertake to actively participate in helping to make Belfast a Learning City for all.

The Lifelong Learning Thematic Groupconsidered the Glasgow Works model as apotential model for application in Belfast. Thegroup investigated the development ofGlasgow Works to gain an overview and ananalysis of its strategic and operationalstructures and key lessons for possibleapplication in Belfast.

The key learning summary from Glasgow Works highlighted:

• A new step change approach to funding,coordinating and prioritising is essential

• This approach is not just about employmentbut pathways for those in priority groups(e.g. Black and Minority Ethnic groups, over50s, young people, long-term unemployed)

• An emphasis on Lifelong Learning, skills andpersonal circumstances with a more flexible,coordinated and person centred approach

• City targets are essential along withsubdivision to area targets and specificgroup targets

• Robust central monitoring and tracking

• Coordination, buy-in and collaborationacross sectors and agencies and fromstrategic to local delivery

• A key concentration on health

• A specific concentration on engagementwith employers.

There will be four distinct elements:

• Direct employment

• Placements provided

• A continuum of distinct entry points and progression routes

• Social and personal support programmes /interventions.

We aim to secure commitment for:

• Belfast City Council to lead on anIntegrated Economic Strategy, and anEmployability and Skills Strategy for Belfast,and to incorporate the Belfast Workscomponent within these strategies

• BSP partners to provide placements andemployment opportunities for the specifictarget groups in the Belfast Works initiative

• Ensuring that target groups are involved in developing the Belfast Works initiative in Belfast

• A new partnership between health andemployability services.

We aim to develop a new and innovative approachto addressing the employability and skills needs ofthose groups experiencing multiple barriers inaccessing the labour market in Belfast, within asupportive non-threatening context.

Belfast Works – a Key Demonstration of the Learning Charter in Practice

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Four Distinct Elements

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A continuum of distinct entry points and progression routes

Social and personal supportprogrammes /interventions

Directemployment

Placementsprovided

“My teacher was like a mentor to me. She gave me confidence to do somethingdifferent and taught me the importanceof not limiting my aspirations, no matterwhere you come from.”

The plan will support us to:

• Raise awareness of ‘Belfast a Learning City’and the Learning Charter with allstakeholder groups

• Communicate and promote positivecoverage of Lifelong Learning informationon a regular basis

• Communicate and promote LifelongLearning developments to the northernIreland Assembly and all relevantDepartments.

Key messages for Lifelong Learning:

Addressing life inequalities: the importanceof ensuring access to Lifelong Learningopportunities for all citizens of Belfast and atall life stages. The need for BSP to act as achampion for addressing barriers and to lobby for change.

Economic: the prospects for the economicfuture of Belfast are at a crucial juncture.Without the much-needed investment andcrucial work carried out by Lifelong Learning,another generation could be lost in Belfast,and by implication to northern Ireland. Thiswould also result in a huge impact on thewider Belfast and northern Ireland economies,which can ill-afford to let an area of this sizeand population fail economically.

We aim to develop a Communications Plan with clear, consistent and positive messages, which will support and promote ‘Belfast a Learning City’ and highlight the importance of Lifelong Learning for all citizens of Belfast.

Long-term dividends from investment: relativelysmall investment now will result in considerablesavings to the public purse in the medium tolong-term.  We emphasise the ‘value for money’argument and the economic imperative to dothings differently, particularly in relation to skillsdevelopment.

Social Inclusion: Belfast bore a heavy burden ofviolence and social and economic deprivation inthe Troubles. Legacies of economic disadvantage,social exclusion and marginalised groups andcommunities need to be addressed.

Increase Emotional Resilience and improvequality of life: the importance of understandingand valuing learning which provides tools for life,supports personal growth, self confidence, self-esteem and strengthens personal and socialsupport networks. Emotional Resilience refers to an individual’s ability to adapt to stressfulsituations or crises that may have occurred in the past, present or into the future.

Programme for Government: many of thepriorities laid out in the northern IrelandAssembly’s Programme for Government can be addressed through ‘Belfast a Learning City’and the Learning Charter.

A tool for social change: the transformativepower of Lifelong Learning for individual citizensand communities cannot be overestimated. It willalso promote active and inclusive citizenship.

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EQUALITY ECONOMY

SOCIAL

A Communications Plan

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In order to add to what weknow about Lifelong Learning in Belfast, we will need to takeforward the following areas of research:Ongoing work in identifying the key gaps andneeds in Lifelong Learning, and mechanismsfor monitoring progress, in areas such as:

• The barriers and multiple barriersexperienced by those groups/communitieswith a poor uptake of Lifelong Learningopportunities

• Best practice examples of overcomingthese barriers

• The current and future work ‘lean’ for skillsand employment needs in Belfast

• The current and future support needs ofthose experiencing multiple barriers inaccessing the labour market in Belfast.

We will work with a wide range ofgovernment departments who have aportfolio for Lifelong Learning. We will alsowork with local community based providers toensure provision is appropriate to the needsof our target groups, and to lobby forresources and support for community basedprovision.

We will know we are making a difference by measuring thefollowing improvements:• More people feeling that they are treated

with respect and dignity in education,employment, skills and personaldevelopment environments

• Increased uptake and retention rates fortargeted initiatives, with more visible accessand progression services

• Increased feelings of a locus of control inlearning environments by moredisadvantaged and marginalised groups

• A reduction in the current levels ofworklessness among specific target groupsin Belfast

• Increased feelings of belonging for citizenswithin local communities and in Belfast as a city

• Increased Emotional Resilience for citizensof Belfast.

INVESTMENT RESILIENCE

“I have complex physical andmental health problems but since I joined the project I’ve been ableto look outside myself, helpothers, be creative and have abetter social life!”

“Taking part is helping me fight my depression.”

Research Making a Difference

The Lifelong Learning Thematic Group willcoordinate related actions against specifictimescales with agreed resources.

Its members are drawn from the followingorganisations:

• Ashton Community Trust

• Belfast City Council

• Belfast Education and Library Board

• Belfast Health and Social Care Trust

• Belfast Metropolitan College

• Council for Catholic Maintained Schools

• Department for Employment and Learning

• Department for Social Development

• Gems nI

• Healthy Ageing Strategic Partnership

• north Belfast Partnership Board

• Queen’s University Belfast

• The Frank Gillen Centre

The Belfast Health Development Unit provides support to the Lifelong LearningThematic Group through a Lead Officer and additional support as needed.

The membership of the Lifelong LearningThematic Group is reviewed on an annualbasis, in line with the Terms of Reference for the group.

Leadership and governance arrangements for‘Belfast a Learning City’ will be provided byBelfast Strategic Partnership.

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Leadership and Governance

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“After I retired I took up severalclasses, which helped my personaldevelopment. Thanks to computerclasses I’m one up on mygrandchildren when it comes tocomputers!”

The (BSP) has identified Emotional Resilience asthe thread that connects all of its areas of work.Emotional Resilience is defined as an ability toadapt to stressful situations or crises. Tosupport this approach we have identified how‘Belfast a Learning City’ supports and enhancesEmotional Resilience, and how it links withother BSP areas of work:

• ‘Belfast a Learning City’ promotes theimportance of learning as a tool for life andhighlights how learning can be used toimprove the quality of life for marginalised,vulnerable and disadvantaged individuals andgroups in Belfast thus supporting the BSPEmotional Resilience Strategy.

• ‘Belfast a Learning City’ promotes a personcentred approach to learning and this willtake into account individual and familysupport needs to ensure maximumengagement in learning situations. Elementsof Belfast Works will include buildingconfidence and self-esteem. This approachsupports the BSP Emotional ResilienceStrategy.

• ‘Belfast a Learning City’ puts people at theheart of learning and sets out to createaccessible, welcoming, respectful andsupportive learning environments. Thisapproach will support the BSP EmotionalResilience Strategy by increasing learners’sense of ownership, responsibility, enjoymentand sense of control in their learning process.

• ‘Belfast a Learning City’ is Age-friendly andfor all life stages; it will link with the Age –friendly Belfast Plan to ensure we work tomeet the needs of older people as a specifictarget group.

• ‘Belfast a Learning City’ promotes the needfor more opportunities for disadvantagedmarginalised groups to participate in LifelongLearning opportunities. Therefore it willcontribute to enhancing community capacity,civic participation and social inclusionagendas.

• ‘Belfast a Learning City’ will lobby to ensurethe Living Wage is part of the Belfast Worksinitiative and therefore supports the BSPagenda to tackle poverty.

• The ‘Belfast Works’ approach includes acitywide strategy, which will offer participantsopportunities to travel to different areas ofthe city. This supports the vision and aim ofthe Belfast Active Travel Action Plan toconnect people and places across the city in a realistic, affordable and more accessiblemanner for all.

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Links with Belfast StrategicPartnership (BSP) Thematic Areasand Cross-Cutting Themes

Emotional Resilience

“Flexibility on stopping andstarting when I had my first childhelped me when I might havegiven up on a career.”

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Engaging with people as active partners in learning

Listening and actingon learners’ feedbackand experiences

Maintaining learners’ optimum levels of physical, emotional and mental wellbeing

Respecting the different ways of learning

Harnessing learners’assets and life

experiences in thelearning environment

Supporting learning insafe, accessible learning

environments

Belfast a Learning City

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Including learners’ views in our plans

Providing opportunities for learners to shape

our services

Respecting the different cultures within our society

Supporting learners with the challenges of formal learning

Providing high quality and

responsive services

Helping partners understand learners’

needs

Appendices

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Belfast Strategic Partnership The Belfast Strategic Partnership (BSP) wasestablished by the Public Health Agency (PHA),Belfast City Council (BCC) and Belfast Healthand Social Care Trust (BHSCT) to provide acollaborative approach in addressing lifeinequalities in Belfast.

The BSP is led by the three Chief ExecutiveOfficers and has representation from a widerange of organisations, including thecommunity, statutory, voluntary and privatesectors.

The aim of the BSP is “to champion and leadthe case for tackling life inequalities across all communities in the Belfast area.”

Belfast Health Development UnitThe Belfast Health Development Unit (BHDU)supports and drives the work of the BSP andwill support the delivery of the Framework forAction.

Vision ‘All people and communities in Belfast canconfidently expect to have access to theopportunities and resources they need to livelonger, healthier lives.’

Mission‘To reduce life inequalities and improve thehealth and wellbeing of people in Belfast bychanging the way we work together. We do thisby jointly harnessing the enthusiasm, efficiencyand experience of our stakeholders to seekhealth and wellbeing gains in ways that wecannot do by working alone.’

Purpose

• To shape the future health and wellbeingpriorities for Belfast

• To foster and take advantage of strategicopportunities to achieve better healthoutcomes

• To work together on areas where we canachieve the most impact

• To inform and influence future policydevelopment

• To focus on the prevention of ill-health

• To develop and deliver an overarching healthand wellbeing action plan for the city.

Key PrinciplesTo successfully reduce inequality and addressthe wider determinants of health we must:

• Maximise our combined impact by workingbetter together

• Be accountable to others based on the resultsof our work

• Base our decisions and actions on evidenceand learning from others

• Be open to innovative approaches and beprepared to work differently

• Encourage the active involvement of allstakeholders and strengthen relationships

• Build on the success of existing partnershipsand programmes of work

• Engage with communities and seek tocontribute to Community Planning

• Make effective use of our collective resourcesthrough better joint planning and prioritysetting

• Drive Equity in Health and Wellbeing throughall of our policies

• Share our learning to change the way thepublic sector works.

Appendix 1: Belfast Strategic Partnership

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The central priority of the Belfast Strategic Partnership is to strengthen the emotional wellbeingand resilience of individuals and communities in Belfast. Emotional Resilience refers to anindividual’s ability to adapt to stressful situations or crises that may have occurred in the past,present or into the future.

Belfast Works is one of Belfast Strategic Partnership’s Key Demonstration Projects, contributingto the building of Emotional Resilience. See Diagram 1 below.

Diagram 1: Key demonstration projects - contribution to Emotional Resilience

Appendix 2: Belfast Strategic Partnership - Central Priority

Emotional Resilience

Emotional Resilience refers to an individual’s ability to adapt to stressful situations or crises.

Active Travel

Feel good, sleep better.More social interaction.Opportunities to connectto other people and places.

Safer streets.

Child Friendly

Creating healthy places for children and families to socialise and play. Have more confidence and knowledge to participate in decision making on the built environment.

Belfast Works

Increased coping skills and stronger support networks for priority groups.

Increased self confidence and self-esteem.

Age-friendly Neighbourhoods

Walking and enjoying the local area will improve older people’sconfidence, help them to get active, feel safe and influence

local decisions.

Common Assessment Framework

Increased confidence as individuals, know referral pathways and understand how to access and exit services and own their own care plan. Improved links to other types

of support.

For further information on this publication please contact:

Dolores AtkinsonProject Development Outreach OfficerBelfast Health Development Unit5th Floor9 Lanyon PlaceBelfast, BT1 3LP.

Email: Dolores.atkinson@bhdu.orgTel: 028 9050 2073www.makinglifebettertogether.com

Putting people at the heart of learningPublished by Belfast Strategic Partnership: 02/15

The Belfast Strategic Partnership is committedto making information as accessible as possibleand to promoting meaningful engagement.Requests for this publication in another formator language will be considered.

Focusing on Life Inequalities