UNISON Learning and Organising Services would like to say a huge thank you to every one of the members who completed our Skills for the Future learning survey. The survey closed at the end of last month, and now a research team at the University of Exeter is examining the responses. Over 38,000 people responsed, making […]
For some time, Hampshire UNISON has been raising the subject of challenging and often violent behaviour towards school support staff across the county. A branch-wide survey was undertaken in 2017 which discovered that violent behaviour and challenging behaviour in schools was on the rise. School support staff work in incredibly challenging conditions, many of them […]
One of our brilliant SE Union Learning Reps recently ran a “Mindfull to Mindful Colouring Lunch & Learn” – read their account here: “My first lunch and learn session as a URL was for a colouring session linked to Mindfulness and mental wellbeing. I arranged for 2 sessions on consecutive weeks to give those attending […]
How long have you been a member of UNISON? I became a UNISON member 14 years ago when I started working in my daughters’ school as both teaching assistant and midday supervisor, when I moved to EDF Energy I transferred my membership and I was able to be more involved with helping our members within […]
Over the last year, UNISON has been working with Wranx to provide free bite-sized learning modules online. We started with Functional Skills and GCSE English and maths, but have added more topics since then. Wranx is an online training tool that can be accessed on any device and uses the simple scientific idea of Spaced […]
Today is the 50th anniversary of the day that the Open University received its Royal Charter – in effect, its 50th birthday. UNISON has been working with the Open University since 1997 – and during that time thousands of members have enrolled in a wide range of accredited courses, all the way up to degree level. […]
Monday 13th May marks the start of Learning at Work Week, a week dedicated to celebrating and promoting the importance of learning in the workplace. The week, organised by the Campaign for Learning, takes place between the 13th and 19th of May, and this year’s theme is Shaping the Future. Branches up and down the […]
Getting Young Members engaged with learning during #GoForGrowth 2019 is UNISON’s Year of the Young Worker. Most young workers are contending with low wages, insecure jobs and no voice at work, they need trade unions more than ever. But it’s not just securing workplace rights that unions do to support young workers. Getting young workers […]
It’s National Numeracy Day today and here at UNISON we’re celebrating the importance of numbers in our everyday lives. Today we are helping everyone in the UK to take action to build the confidence and skills to use numbers effectively. At present, nearly half (49%) of working age UK adults currently have the numeracy levels […]
2019 is UNISON’s Year of the Young Worker. Most young workers are contending with low wages, insecure jobs and no voice at work, they need trade unions more than ever. But it’s not just securing workplace rights that unions do to support young workers. Getting young workers participating in UNISON’s learning programme is a really […]
North West Leicestershire UNISON branch took advantage of Learning at Work Week to spread the word about the learning opportunities the union offers its members, to get people trying something new – and to have fun! Here are some highlights: Monday The branch set up a stall to promote the learning opportunities and grants available […]
UNISON’s U Learn magazine is always packed with good news about learning, new training initiatives, and the phenomenal work that our learning reps do. This summer’s edition is no exception. You can read about… … UNISON member James’s journey through a mental health crisis and recovery through creative writing … how Dorset UNISON branch marked […]
UNISON members at Enfield Local Government branch have found out about ways of dealing with stress in a workshop delivered as part of the union’s member learning programme. In the Staying Strong workshop, participants explore different types of stress and what causes it. They identify sources of stress in their own lives, and consider how to […]
UNISON Learning and Organising Services were proud to watch as two of our learning reps received awards at last week’s Unionlearn conference for their work supporting learning. Jayne Barry from Derbyshire County branch was recognised for her achievements in ensuring that apprentices are supported and receive quality training. A few years ago, as a result […]
Schools may have broken up for the summer, but for us learning is something that happens all year round. And it can be useful to concentrate on the basics – ‘functional skills’, as they’re called – English, maths, and digital skills. Here are some great free resources to help you and your colleagues do that. […]
