Written Evidence submitted by NEAD

 

1. Summary:

· We at NEAD fully support the DFID's Building Support for Development Agenda.

· We know that the project grants from DFID's Development Awareness Fund (DAF) and the Enabling Effective Support (EES) initiative have contributed to far greater global awareness and actions amongst many thousands of people in our local area and region.

· We also know from contacts with other DECs and Development Education practitioners that the DAF fund and EES has enabled them to initiate many more Global Citizenship activities in their local areas, regions and countries.

· We therefore urge this Committee, and all MPs, not only to maintain DFID's funding for increased public awareness but also to consider increasing it so that more people can be equipped with the necessary knowledge, attitudes and skills to participate in our increasingly multicultural society and globalised world

· Lastly, we would like to make some recommendations.

 

2. NEAD: Background

2.1. NEAD, (Norfolk Education & Action for Development), originally known as the Third World Centre, was the first Development Education Centre in Britain when it registered as a charity in 1973. From its roots as a small organisation staffed mainly by volunteers, it has grown into a respected authority on a range of global issues. Our Norwich and King's Lynn offices are now often the first point of contact for teachers, community groups and individuals keen to increase their own and their pupils' understanding of the wider world. (for more information on the history of NEAD see http://www.nead.org.uk/history ).

NEAD aims to "work locally for global justice and equality" by:

§ Showing the links that exist between people throughout the world.

§ Raising awareness about inequalities in our world and increasing understanding of their causes.

§ Promoting ways in which people can take action to create a more just and sustainable world.

2.2. I am Sandy Betlem, currently the Schools Work Co-ordinator and the longest serving staff member at NEAD. I was appointed as a Schools Worker in November 1989. At that time there were just two workers each working 10 hours a week with an annual turnover of approx £20,000 p.a. Today NEAD has a staff of 6 full and part time workers (Full Time Equivalent 4 staff posts) with a turnover of approximately £250,000.

2.3. Most of the funding for our educational activities come from programme or project grants. Between 1989 and 2008 NEAD received grants from Oxfam, Christian Aid, UNICEF, Norwich City Council, National Lottery, the European Community and a range of other organisations and Trusts, but these are declining. Since 1999 we have received funding from DFID's Development Awareness Fund (DAF) and been provided support to develop local and regional partnerships as a result of the DFID's 'Enabling Effective Support' initiative since 2002. These derived from DFID's strategy paper 'Building Support for Development'. Below I have tried to set out some of the achievements in our local area as a result of this key support from DFID.

 

3. Achievements resulting from DFID funding and Support:

During the past 10 years we have received DAF funding for work on 7 major projects.

3.1. Just Business (1999-2004): This was one of the first DAF funded projects. It aimed to support and encourage the integration of global and ethical dimension into the teaching of Economics and Business Studies locally regionally and nationally. Over the life of this project NEAD staff delivered: quality INSET (In Service Education Training) and CPD (Curriculum Professional Development) sessions for over two thousand Local Authority (LA) Education Advisers, Teachers and Trainee Teachers; developed a range of classroom educational resources; initiated one of the first development awareness websites (which again was successfully used by many other teachers and educators) and organised workshops and conferences for over a thousand secondary school Economics and Business Studies Students. That work continues with the website still being accessed and a number of Global Citizenship days still being run for students in Initial Teacher Education institutions across England. http://www.jusbiz.org/

3.2. Developing Citizenship (2002-2005): NEAD was invited, with two other Development Education Centres (Cheshire and Manchester), by Oxfam, Save the Children and UNICEF UK to explore and develop ways in which the new Citizenship curriculum could be utilised to embed the global dimension in secondary schools practice and policies. As its contribution, NEAD worked intensively with 8 Secondary Schools in Norfolk and Suffolk (the other DECs did the same in their local areas). As a result we developed a range of ideas, strategies and resources which were disseminated nationally through a website and other opportunities. We estimate that this project directly influenced the practice of over 250 teachers and the learning experience of over 5,000 students in our 8 schools and many, many other students, teachers and schools through dissemination. http://www.nead.org.uk/schools/developingcitizenship

3.3. Developing Local Partnerships for Global Events (2003-2007): was a project which aimed to empower local community groups, volunteers and others to deliver development awareness events for people living locally and regionally. This community focussed project utilised three key national initiatives. Black History Month (October), Fair Trade Fortnight (March) and Refugee Week (June) to develop the awareness and knowledge of thousands of people (many of whom might be unaware of key development issues) through the staging of a wide range of project events. Project staff also targeted and developed excellent working relationships with local media so that their coverage of events and issues created far greater awareness and understanding of global issues locally and regionally. Sustainability was reached in 2007 when at the end of the project the three partnership groups continued to organise events around the issues with little further NEAD support. http://www.nead.org.uk/community/dlpge

3.4. Students 4 Global Action (2006-2009): This mini-project aimed to enable young people in Norfolk and Suffolk secondary schools to take action on local/global issues in their own schools and local communities. This was achieved by organising biannual conferences in Norfolk and Suffolk where over 750 year 8 & 9 students (13-16 year olds) from 50 secondary schools could learn through plenary activities and workshops about some of the key development issues in our (their) world. After lunch they were supported to draw up their own Action Plans on the issues they felt most strongly about (Fair Trade, Cultural Diversity, Climate Change, Our Unequal World, etc). Thereafter project staff visited the school groups and/or offered remote support. Some of the outcomes were: student organised Fair Trade activities, student led assemblies on the myths and stereotypes surrounding Refugees and Asylum Seekers, student produced displays which highlighted the impact of global poverty overseas and the effects it might have locally and in two cases student groups campaigning and fundraising to build wind turbines on their school grounds to reduce their schools and their local communities global footprint (a very tall order!!). http://www.nead.org.uk/schools/s4ga

 

3.5. Global Messengers (2006-2009): A 3 year project that aims to develop ways to support ASTs (Advanced Skills Teachers), LEA Advisers, ITE (Initial Teacher Education) tutors and others who regularly visit schools in order that they can help teachers across East Anglia who want to integrate international development issues into their teaching and across the whole school curriculum. The target was to recruit and support 75 of these people to become Global Messengers. Thus far (Feb 2009) we have recruited 124 in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex. We also have 28 'guest' or national Global Messengers. A new tool that this project developed is the Global Messenger Pen Drive. Again as a result of this project we believe that NEAD as a result of DFID funding, using Global Messengers as key multipliers, have influenced the teaching of over 5,000 teachers, who in turn will influence the views of at least 50,000 young people in primary and secondary schools across East Anglia. N.B Some samples of the Global Messenger Pen Drive can be made available to the Committee (+ instructions) http://www.nead.org.uk/schools/globalmessengers

3.6. Global Schools UK (2006-2008): This was a national project co-ordinated by Leeds DEC, NEAD was invited to contribute to the regional focus of this project as a result of our experience with the Developing Citizenship project (see 3.2 above). This project involved NEAD staff in recruiting and supporting teachers in six secondary schools in our region, schools who wish to provide their students with a greater and deeper knowledge and understanding of the world they live in and the skills they need to fully and actively engage with it. The teachers' working groups in each school developed at least 6 new lesson plans in 6 curriculum areas (a total of 36 per school). In the event in our region over 200 new lesson plans were developed. These were sent to Leeds DEC who will make these available to every school in the UK. http://www.nead.org.uk/schools/globalschoolsuk and http://www.leedsdec.org.uk/

3.7. Developing New Audiences (2008 -2011): As a result of consultations with King's Lynn primary head-teachers, it was identified that a key issue for them was the large increase in the past 2-3 years of children coming into their schools with English as an Additional Language (EAL) needs. This results from the large numbers of 'new community' members (Black and Ethnic Minorities, Refugees and Asylum Seekers and in particular, Migrant Workers) in the West Norfolk area. This project has enabled us to set up a new NEAD satellite base in Kings Lynn to develop new educational opportunities and activities that focus on migration, globalisation & prejudice, and show how a key local issue is directly related to the Millennium Development goals. The new West Norfolk base has meant that more schools across this large rural county are able to access our services. The project is fully supported by Norfolk Children's Services and the West Norfolk Community Cohesion Team. http://www.nead.org.uk/schools/wan

3.8. Enabling Effective Support (EES) (2002- 2013): NEAD has been involved with EES since 2001. We convened the first meetings to set up East Anglia's Enabling Effective Support group (then called East of England Development Education Network). In 2004 the co-ordinating role was taken over by an external staff team based at the Harambee Centre (a DEC) in Cambridge and recently it was renamed as 'Global Thinking' (http://global-thinking.org.uk/). Since 2004, we have continued to participate as key partners and Steering Group Members and have witnessed the development of strong cross-sector (Local Education Authorities, Initial Teacher Training Institutions and NGOs) and cross-county partnerships, which would have been unthinkable 7 years ago. EEDEN/Global Thinking has supported the development of local and regional teachers' working groups to develop best practice, provided small grants for innovative local and regional projects, organised and supported a wide range of meetings, seminars, networks, conferences and activities, all of which have stimulated interest in International Development. Current EES work is becoming increasingly strategic/ high profile within the formal education sector. We are helping to shape a more enabling policy environment in schools and other educational institutions. We also provide educators with the opportunity to become curriculum developers as well as curriculum deliverers.

3.9. New Funding Bids to DFID for 2009: NEAD has submitted 3 new funding applications to the Development Awareness Fund. These are:

1. Developing New Audiences East: This would establish a further satellite base in Great Yarmouth (Norfolk is a very large county, it can take two hours to travel from the west to the east and if we are to meet local needs we need to be on the spot) so that we can replicate the successes in West Norfolk (see 3.7 above) in an area with similar issues.

2. Global English: Working with English departments in local secondary schools to develop activities to raise awareness of international issues and the Millennium Development Goals in the teaching of English - a compulsory subject for all students.

3. Student Global Messengers: Working with the School of Development Studies at the University of East Anglia to develop the facilitation skills of their students so that they can share their derived knowledge of development issues with young people in local schools.

3.10. Overall Achievement: I hope that the above information shows how invaluable DFID's support has been over the past 10 or more years in enabling thousands and thousands of young people, teachers, Higher Education tutors, Local Authority Education Advisers, BME groups, the media, businesses and the general public to become more aware and knowledgeable about International Development issues and of the role they can play as global citizens. I strongly suggest that DFID's educational activities in the UK have played a pivotal role in deepening awareness and understanding of international issues and increased support for the Millennium Development Goals.

 

4. The bigger picture

4.1. NEAD has over the years developed a range of contacts with other Development Education Centres and education staff at other International Development NGOs (Oxfam, Christian Aid, UNICEF, Save the Children etc) and other educationalists nationally. We know that our experiences are shared by many of them and of how they have benefited from DFID support in their endeavours to build public awareness and support for International Development within people and communities across the UK.

4.2. I was the last chair of the National Association of Development Education Centres (NADEC) from 1992 -1994 and the first chair of the body it morphed into, the national Development Education Association (DEA), from 1994-1998. I then continued as a DEA Trustee for a further 2 years. I can remember how limited and patchy Development Education provision was in the early 90's and the struggles to gain any government support to educate the population about International Development issues. I can also remember the change in 1996 when the then Overseas Development Agency (DFID's predecessor) announced the first mini grants programme for Development Education and two years later the inception of DFID's Development Awareness Fund. Since then, I have witnessed at first hand, how the Development Education/Global Learning sector has grown and been enabled to provide quality education about global citizenship and International Development across the UK.

4.3. The current economic downturn could have serious consequences for the Development Education sector. Over the past few years Development Education Centres have had to adjust to the loss of annual programme grants from UNICEF, Christian Aid and lately Oxfam - not because they questioned the quality of our work but because they needed to restructure their finances. Were DFID's support for public awareness education to be cut or diminished then there could be serious consequences not only for support for its overseas work but also in terms of tolerance of globalised society in Britain.

4.4. There have already been some instances of xenophobia in Britain as a result of the economic downturn ("British jobs for British Workers", the wildcat strikes resulting from the recent Lincolnshire refinery dispute) and some commentators are positing that there will be a rise in myopic nationalism. Without quality educational activities which develop the necessary knowledge skills and attitudes for people to become tolerant human beings and active global citizens this could escalate.

 

5. Recommendations

5.1. As is, I hope, obvious from the above we at NEAD and all our supporters urge you to support and endorse DFID's efforts over the past 10 years, resist any actions which cut or limit their support in this area AND lobby to have their Building Support for Development programme increased.

N.B. Please see attachment "Amy and Elise are bovvered" - student motivated activity could be replicated across the UK but only with continuing support

5.2. We would also like to ask why is it that DFID is the major government department supporting this area of work?

With the new requirements in the secondary school curriculum last year and the imminent changes to the primary curriculum (QCA website http://www.qca.org.uk/qca_5856.aspx) which highlight the global dimension, sustainable development and cultural diversity as key whole curriculum changes, it would make sense if support was available from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) to organisations like NEAD.

At a meeting with my local MP a few years ago, when he was Secretary of State for Education, he suggested that there should be support like this from the DfES and that it could be funded. However, in the ensuing cabinet reshuffle he moved to the Home Office. NEAD and others in the development education sector have tried to access significant support from the DfES/DCSF but, as yet, to no avail.

Could members of this Select Committee raise this either with colleagues in Parliament or members of other Select Committees who deal with the DCSF?

5.3. Similarly, other government ministries could contribute to this essential area of global awareness and international education - e.g.; Foreign Office (International Political Literacy), Home Office (Community Cohesion), Department for Community, Leisure and Sport (awareness of our increasing cultural diversity). As it is within schools, perhaps the development awareness agenda could best be served by a pan-departmental approach at government level?