Connecting with the countryside can change lives

Scotland would benefit from a Forest College, explains Marian Docherty

Newbattle Abbey College has an 80-year history of offering adults a second chance to learn – through our Access to Higher Education courses and, more recently, our Rural Skills programme. It is always a pleasure to see learners of all ages in Newbattle’s very special classroom – the college’s 125-acre estate with its community garden and beautiful ancient woodlands – as they enjoy the outdoors and develop new skills.

We offer part-time and full-time National Certificate courses to train adults in gardening, estate maintenance and more, offering progression to specialist courses elsewhere – including forestry, gamekeeping, countryside management and animal care.

We also work with primary schools and high schools and young people not in mainstream education. Young people are sometimes seen as a danger to the countryside, stigmatised by the tiny minority who light fires, leave rubbish and cause damage. At Newbattle we find that making an early connection with the countryside and developing a respect for it can change their relationship with rural areas.

Our Rural Skills courses are also enjoyed by people with mental health issues, and by offenders. The focus, from primary school to mature adults, is on developing practical skills and core skills, such as literacy, numeracy, problemsolving and working in teams in a healthy outdoor environment.

We hope to go a step further and become Scotland’s first Forest College. Some of our staff are trained in forest school education, with years of experience working with young people and adults.

Newbattle’s Forest College would extend opportunities for outdoor learning, including nationally accredited courses, for learners of all ages. Family learning, particularly to promote attainment and social inclusion, will be crucial. The Forest College would allow young people to develop a range of skills and knowledge in an outdoor learning environment, helping make a connection with the countryside for those who might not have appreciated it before.

A Forest College would also cover a wide range of government priorities: Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce, its Mental Health and Land-based strategies as well as Curriculum for Excellence.

Newbattle prides itself on working with local and national partners to help adults and young people engage in learning, but the real pleasure is seeing each learner progress at their own pace. This might involve short taster courses or part-time options. Without these stepping stones, many people are unable to move to the next stage of a full-time course and into jobs.

Newbattle’s Rural Skills programme demonstrates this planned approach to access and progression, based on a partnership

model. As Scotland’s national adult education college, Newbattle makes opportunities available to those who didn’t benefit from the system first time around. They might be interested in following an academic route in higher education or a vocational programme.

But it’s not just about national adult education, it’s about linking up education locally, from primary school through high schools into college and beyond. Newbattle has good relationships with high schools and co-chairs Employment & Learning in Midlothian to promote adult learning and enhance employment prospects locally. Partners, including Midlothian Council, voluntary organisations, local colleges employers and the Department for Work & Pensions are planning a more strategic approach to training, employability and accreditation.

With the Scottish Government committed to improving attainment in schools and headteachers exploring innovative ways to engage young people and their families in learning, Rural Skills is a real example of the opportunity ahead – to promote core skills and develop a creative curriculum for all ages.

In recent years there has been a move from part-time courses and adult education in colleges to full-time courses targeted largely at 16-19 year-olds, but I detect a gradual shift back to lifelong learning. That’s where Newbattle is important – we offer lifelong learning opportunities and are pioneering Adult Achievement Awards, which recognise the varied learning adults have experienced. That’s the Newbattle story – offering national opportunities for adult education, but forging links which make education work at a local level. Making connections, delivering opportunities. Marian Docherty is Deputy Principal, Newbattle Abbey College