Community Education
Community Education programmes support local Communities & Community based groups with informal learning that contributes to the development of their area & people. These include older people, women experiencing disadvantage, people with disabilities, travellers, ethnic minorities, unemployed, lone parents, men experiencing disadvantage, carers, or where people do not have easy access to part-time education opportunities.
Community Education | Waterford & Wexford Education & Training Board (etb.ie)
(1) WWETB Adult & Community Education | Facebook
ARC FRC are also involved in the delivery of the REACH Fund (previously titled MAED Fund (Mitigating Against Educational Disadvantage)).
This Fund provides funding to support educationally disadvantaged learners in accessing & participating in community education.
This fund places a strong focus on:
- Community Education as a mechanism to continue to support and engage with disadvantaged learners
- Reaching out, encouraging and supporting learners to re-engage with further education and training
- Enticing new learners to engage with further education and training opportunities
- Enabling the investment in building the digital infrastructure of providers, and their capability to ensure that online learning can be delivered in a way that meets the complex needs of learners.
Categories eligible for funding consideration are:
- Digital Technologies – Supply of devices, software and systems, or CPD training, to facilitate high quality learning and delivery.
- Learner Assistance Fund to help, where appropriate, with costs associated with course participation, such as: books and class materials.
- Outreach, Engagement and Mentoring Fund to assist with costs associated with activities such as awareness raising, and services to promote re-engagement
- COVID-19 Recovery Exceptional Circumstances Fund for Community Education to address educationally disadvantaged learners.
