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Glasgow, Scotland

Glasgow is Scotland’s largest city, with just over 600,000 citizens. It is a city with a great history and heritage built around the River Clyde and on the strength of its people, their pride in the city, spirit and diversity. We are the centre of the only metropolitan area in Scotland and are the most ethnically diverse city in the country.

We are the economic powerhouse of Scotland and the fastest growing major city economy in the UK, outside London. We are the academic heart of the country and home to over 130,000 further and higher education students from 135 countries. Almost 50% of the workforce in the city is educated to degree level, significantly above most cities in the UK. Educational attainment is improving year on year.

Glasgow is one of the world’s top five sporting cities with a reputation for hosting major events. We have a vibrant arts scene and we are the UK’s first UNESCO City of Music, hosting major events such as the MTV Europe Awards, Celtic Connections and the MOBOs.

We remain; however, a city of contrasts. Parts of the city still suffer from unacceptable levels of poverty and inequality and not all the prosperity and success in the city has been shared. Almost half of our citizens live in the 20% most deprived areas in Scotland. Scottish Government child poverty statistics for Glasgow show that 34% of children are living in relative poverty, that’s over 36,000 children. We have significant long term health challenges which stop our citizens from reaching their full potential.

Our vision is to have a world class city with a thriving, inclusive, economy where everyone can flourish and benefit from the city’s success. Our priority is to reduce inequality across Glasgow by creating inclusive growth - a thriving economy that we can demonstrate benefits the city, its citizens and businesses.

Formal and Non-formal Learning Infra-structure

Education Services in Glasgow City Council are responsible for the education of 80,000 children and young people across the education authority’s nursery, primary, secondary, and additional support needs provision. The overarching priority of Glasgow City Council, its elected members and education authority staff is focused on excellence and a persistent drive to reduce inequality across Glasgow. This aspirational agenda is focused on addressing the barriers created by child poverty. Levels of attainment and achievement are rising year-on-year in our schools and significant progress has been made in closing the national poverty related attainment gap.

The Glasgow Colleges’ Regional Board lead a regional approach to Glasgow’s college learning and, together, Glasgow’s Colleges are building Scotland’s most inclusive, responsive and effective regional college system. Glasgow colleges have achieved a great deal over recent years; exceeding targets for learner recruitment, increasing attainment, and increasing successful progression into employment or further study.

Glasgow has world class universities with four institutions in the Top 300 QS World University rankings: University of Glasgow, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow School of Art and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland – more than any other city in the UK outside London. Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) is a vibrant, innovative and multi-award winning University for the Common Good.

Scotland’s universities have set out 15 actions they will take over the next few years that will create the potential for a big step forward in widening access. Taken together, they hold the potential to make a significant contribution to the goal that by 2030 students from the most deprived 20% of backgrounds should represent 20% of entrants to higher education.

Glasgow Community Learning and Development Strategic Partnership, known as GCLDSP is the multi-agency group responsible for creating the city’s Community Learning & Development Plan and ensuring that it is implemented. The GCLDSP ensures the delivery of a range of accessible, high quality CLD which makes a real difference to people’s personal, family and working lives. These lifelong and life-wide learning opportunities develop essential skills for work including communication, language, literacy, numeracy and digital.

Learning City Developments

Glasgow launched itself as a learning city in 1999 and this concept is a driving force for the city’s development. As a Learning City, Glasgow remains committed to the development of a culture of lifelong learning so that it can thrive in the complex global environment of the 21st Century.

The decision by Glasgow to become a learning city was seen as a logical response to facing up to the challenges of the loss of traditional industries, and to wanting to compete in the developing knowledge-based economy of the 21st century. The central place given to lifelong learning was also in the spirit of the traditions of a city whose oldest university had been built on the traditions of the Scottish enlightenment to bring opportunities for learning to the broader community.

A significant factor in the development of Glasgow as a learning city has been the decision to consult with local people on the strategies which evolved. Glasgow has aspired to develop the kind of learning city where all of its people and organisations flourish through lifelong learning.

In July 2019 Glasgow was accepted as a member of the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities. Glasgow’s application to join UNESCO GNLC was coordinated by the Higher Education/Further Education work stream, a sub-group of the Glasgow Economic Leadership, and was supported by the Lord Provost.

Glasgow has since established a UNESCO Learning City Working Group which includes representatives from Glasgow City Council, Higher and Further Education and the Third Sector. The Working Group has been tasked with ensuring that all learning city partners take a coordinated approach to promoting the learning city concept. The Working Group will provide strategic direction to delivering the Learning City concept in Glasgow ensuring all of our people and organisations flourish through lifelong learning.

Some of the Key Activities in the LLL field

PASCAL bases its European centre at the University of Glasgow. The university has a strong commitment to the city of Glasgow notably demonstrated by the School of Education within the College of Social Sciences, host for PASCAL. The University of Glasgow contribute to UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning webinars on regular basis.

The UK will host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow in 2021. The COP26 summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. This has provided an opportunity for all our young people, schools and wider communities to engage fully and further develop their Learning for Sustainability work. In the lead up to COP26 in November 2021 there will be a huge number of opportunities across Glasgow for youth work organisations to signpost young people to and/or engage with directly. There will be collaboration across different sectors; creation of bespoke projects for young people; research and policy consultations; youth led events and festivals and engagement opportunities in COP26.

Digital Learning and Teaching has been a major focus for the Digital Glasgow Strategy and a priority for Education Services in Glasgow. WiFi access to digital resources has now been rolled out to almost all teaching spaces across the Education environment. Moreover as result of Glasgow’s Connected Learning programme and the Scottish Government’s Digital Inclusion fund Glasgow has continued to mitigate the impact of digital exclusion on families across the city.

Community learning and development (CLD) practice covers a broad range of practice including youth work, community based adult learning, family learning and community development. CLD empowers people of all ages to work individually or collectively to make positive changes in their lives, and in their communities, through learning, personal development and active citizenship. The charitable organisation Glasgow Life is the designated lead organisation and chairs the CLD partnership in Glasgow.

Key Priority Areas for Future Development in LLL

The city’s response to COVID-19 will have an impact on the future development of LLL.  Based in the University of Glasgow – and working with the Glasgow Centre for Population Health – Children’s Neighbourhoods Scotland takes a place-based approach to improving outcomes for children, young people and their communities. Children’s Neighbourhoods Scotland is undertaking a new piece of research in partnership with Policy Scotland, and local authorities to document responses, and the impact of COVID-19 on children and families.

Researchers and clinicians at the University of Glasgow will also lead a global study into the longer-term health impacts of COVID-19. The international, multi-site study is launched by ISARIC to measure prevalence and risk factors of long-term health and psychosocial consequences of the disease.

Glasgow's Community Learning and Development (CLD) Strategic Plan will be refreshed in 2021, setting out a range of new objectives for community-based learning and development work to support families, adults, children, young people and community groups to flourish.

The scale of child poverty in Glasgow remains a significant challenge for the city and its people. We will continue to expand our knowledge of what is currently happening in Glasgow to better support families to move out of poverty. By working to poverty proof the school day, Education Services will lessen the impacts of poverty on school children and contribute to equity in education, by reducing or removing financial barriers to full participation in school and by addressing poverty-related stigma that some children may experience.

Sub-networks of LCN of most interest

Glasgow’s Learning brings together Community Learning and Development (CLD) organisations to work in partnership towards ensuring the delivery of a range of accessible, high quality CLD which makes a real difference to people’s personal, family and working lives.

The Glasgow Community Learning and Development Strategic Partnership benefits from a wide range of strategic partners who are committed to the development of high quality CLD in the city including: Glasgow Life, Glasgow City Council (Community Planning, including Community Justice Glasgow, Education and Social Work), Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector, Glasgow Colleges, Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership, Glasgow Housing Association, Jobs and Business Glasgow, Skills Development Scotland, Wheatley Group, Volunteer Glasgow and the Workers’ Educational Association. The GCLDSP has an established terms of reference with CLD outcomes and meets quarterly to oversee the planning and development of CLD across sectors and partners in the city.