Helping talent to grow

Long after the flowers planted for next week’s Royal Horticulture Society Chelsea Flower Show have withered and died, the 320 homeless people who have been involved will still have the certificates and accreditations they gained through their work on the event’s Places of Change Garden.
For many of the service users of 41 homelessness agencies in England and Wales who are currently busy putting the final touches to the largest show garden the annual flower show has ever seen, it has been an opportunity to gain their first nationally recognised qualification.

A joint venture between the Eden Project, the world’s largest greenhouse in Cornwall, Homeless Link, the umbrella organisation for homelessness charities, the Homes and Communities Agency and the Communities and Local Government department, Places of Change is more than just a massive 590 square metre garden, it’s an ethos. It’s all about giving people the chance to realise that they have something to offer.

Putting fun into learning

This is the second year the various partners have come together to put on a show at Chelsea but it’s the first year they’ve teamed up with the Open College Network, a national qualification awarding body, aimed at ‘people for whom learning the first time around wasn’t a pleasant experience,’ explains Vickie Bishop, development manager for Open College Network South West Region.

The network already works with housing associations and homelessness organisations across the country and helps them build tailored qualifications for staff members and clients.

At the moment, it’s looking at ways to help organisations which receive the government’s Supporting People funding to encourage clients to engage in social activities - one of the Supporting People programme’s desired outcomes. The awarding body offers accreditation for getting involved in activities and also runs a unit on understanding the rules of tenancy.

Getting involved

Individual organisations can become accredited training organisations themselves if they have people with relevant skills onsite, meanwhile some organisations work with local colleges.

More than 300 level one Open College Network accreditations will be handed out as a result of this year’s Places of Change project. They will span at least eight subject areas, including design, horticulture, construction, hospitality and media.

‘It’s a very flexible approach to skills accreditation,’ states Howard Jones, director of human networks at the Eden Project. The Open College Network is working with the 41 organisations taking part in Places of Change, using a nominated member of staff as their representative within the organisation.

In order to maintain consistency, all service users are completing a level one qualification using the same booklets, all of which will be returned to an official Open College Network evaluator.

‘They always need an independent assessor who can cross things off,’ explains Mr Jones. ‘The system is open to abuse if this isn’t in place.’

The aim for all learners is to attain five A to C grade GCSEs or equivalent. Foundation courses like the Open College Network’s level one does not meet this standard but it’s a qualification that can encourage people to carry on learning. Often service users don’t realise that they have skills.

They can realise that actually, employment isn’t that unthinkable - and they want to take the next step,’ says Ms Bishop.

Open College Network qualifications, which start at £45 per person - excluding staffing and administration costs - can be funded through mainstream funding body the Skills Funding Agency (called the Learning and Skills Council up until last month).

For the 320 participants in Places of Change, gaining their first qualification is landmark moment. ‘There’s a strong link between homelessness and a lack of engagement with education and employment,’ says Lisa Reed, head of innovation and best practice at Homeless Link.

‘The only sustainable long term way out of homelessness is to make sure people have a meaningful use for their days.’

For many of those involved in Places of Change, discovering a love of gardening, design, construction, hospitality or film editing could be a life changing experience.

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