The Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership (CYPSP) Carrickfergus Locality Planning Group recently launched a local social media Facebook page ‘Carrickfergus Community Education Forum’ to provide a space for agencies to share information about education support services, helpful resources and training opportunities for young people and their parents.
Locality Planning Group member organisations including Carrickfergus YMCA, Northern Regional College, Sure Start, Primary and Post Primary Schools, Education Welfare Services and community representatives identified through a local needs assessment that mechanism for reaching parents in relation to support their children’s education could be coordinated and done better together.
MLA Roy Beggs, Chairperson of the CYPSP Carrickfergus Locality Planning Group supported the development of the support platform for parents. Speaking from the launch Roy Beggs said “School, parents and the local community all working together can reduce Educational under attainment and open up greater life-time opportunities. I am aware that there has been an absence of any Carrickfergus based numeracy and literacy classes and difficulty to date in gathering 12 adult learners to meet NRC funding requirements for a tutor.
I hope that the new Facebook page, “Carrickfergus Community Education Forum” will help parents by sharing good advice and by sign-posting to local services. I hope that it would also highlight adult educational opportunities and assist in establishing regular local Carrickfergus classes outside of the NRC Newtownabbey campus.
My Grandad Beggs started work at the Bleachworks in Ballyclare at age 15 where he laboured for 55 years. Education helped my dad and his 11 brothers and sisters to a wide range of employment opportunities and I hope that greater education awareness will let others families benefit too.”
The Locality Planning Group would like to pay a special thanks to Parenting NI who facilitated a series of engagement sessions with parents prior to the development of the Facebook page. Parents were instrumental in the content design to ensure it was of benefit to them.
Hedley Webb, Principal for Carrickfergus College congratulated the CYPSP Carrickfergus Locality Planning Group on their work and commented “we are delighted to see a one stop shop online for all things educational in the Carrickfergus area. CYPSP should be congratulated on their work to get this up and running for families”.
The Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership (CYPSP), led by the Health and Social Care Board, is a multi-agency partnership that includes the leadership of key statutory agencies and community and voluntary organisations that have a responsibility for improving the lives of children and young people in Northern Ireland.
For more information about the work of the CYPSP Carrickfergus Locality Planning Group visit www.cypsp.org
For the Carrickfergus Community Facebook Page visit www.facebook.com/Carrickfergus-Community-Education-Forum-123585441485483/
