Single parent education scheme wins national award
A University scheme providing educational opportunities to single parents and carers has won a national award for adult learning.

The OPTIMISE project at the Office of Part-Time Education is one of eleven organisations nationally to win a prestigious New Learning Opportunities Awards for creative work in adult learning. The award is worth £500.

The awards are presented every year as part of Adult Learners’ Week to schemes which encourage learning among low-skilled or unemployed adults or people who could benefit most from learning.

Representatives of the winning projects will be presented with their awards at a national event in London on Thursday 20 May, as part of Adult Learners’ Week, 15-21 May 2004. Minister Alan Johnson will be attending.

Rachel Thomson of NIACE, which organises Adult Learners’ Week, said, “We hope that the success of this year’s projects will be an inspiration to the hundreds of others that on a daily basis creatively address the learning needs of adults.”

Tilly Rathmell, a third year, level two part-time child welfare and combined social studies student, who is a lone parent with three children, has been an OPTIMISE student for 2 years.

She said: "Returning to learning and study after so many years was daunting but OPTIMISE made University more accessible. The support, guidance and training such as study skills, IT and assertiveness from the OPTIMISE team was fantastic. This has been such a positive experience. I have a real sense of achievement and would recommend OPTIMISE to any lone parent or carer.”

OPTIMISE is jointly funded by the University of Leeds and the European Social Fund. OPTIMISE has received ESF funding to enable a further year of the project to be delivered to lone parents and lone carers at the University and partner institutions during the 2004/05 academic year.

For more information contact:
Vanessa Bridge, Head of Communications, University of Leeds, 0113 343 4030, v.bridge@leeds.ac.uk

Notes to editors

1. The New Learning Opportunities Awards are made annually to organisations that provide new and exciting education opportunities for adults. Judges look for highly original projects that that have found new ways of reaching their target audience and of delivering learning to them. The awards are offered as part of Adult Learners’ Week, which is run by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE).

2. The awards are judged by ten different organisations, who are also the sponsors of the awards (see note 5). Each organisation selects one project to win an award of £500. One outstanding project is chosen to be the overall winner of the New Learning Opportunities Awards and receives £5,000.

3. There were 111 entries.

4. All New Learning Opportunities Awards are presented during Adult Learners’ Week on 20 May 2004 at a national ceremony at Cabot Hall, Canary Wharf, London. Details of the ceremony can be found at http://www.niace.org.uk/ALW/2004/Events/National.htm

5. Sponsors of the awards are: the British Council, Department for Education and Skills, Ford EDAP, European Social Fund, Learning & Skills Development Agency, National Youth Agency, Open University, UK Online/DfES, UNISON and Universities UK.