Scottish Peer Education Network

Josie Isles, Network Development Officer at the Scottish Peer Education Network (SPEN), has experienced the advantages of working with learndirect scotland to achieve positive results.

SPEN offers support to peer educators, practitioners and policy makers involved in peer education across Scotland. Peer education gives young adults the opportunity to teach their peer group about important issues such as drugs and alcohol education. Young people are often more receptive to information given by other young people than that given by more formal approaches by adults. SPEN provides links to other projects along with chances to network, attend events and share good practice.

The partnership with learndirect scotland enables events, such as the February 2008 'Tell it like it is' conference to take place. 'Speed networking' workshops took place at the conference enabling delegates to find out about effective peer education projects from across Scotland. Further learning opportunities were put forward at the event by learndirect scotland who demonstrated the available options available to young adults.

Josie was delighted with the results, 'all the key messages that we wanted to deliver were given. learndirect scotland provided us with the extra boost that we needed to showcase alternative approaches to learning that are working well in projects scross Scotland.'

Josie believes that the partnership with learndirect scotland is effective as the organisation's key interests in educating young people reflect the primary aims of SPEN, 'both organisations have a special interest in developing young people and to send them in the right direction. We both have the same goal. That is why the link works. Overall the organisation has allowed me to put better training and resources in place so that the workers who organise projects are fully informed in how to support young people and help them take positive steps.'