Abstract:

Background:
The FORMULA project targets engagement with adult learners from socially and economically deprived communities and aims to aid their progression back into education, using role models (mentors), who have themselves been adult returners to learning.

The framework for the project has two clear objectives:
• to form a more socially inclusive society during difficult economic conditions by working with adults from our most deprived areas
• to help our learners to progress to the skills level and/or qualifications they and society need by providing robust guidance frameworks.

The activities within the project are directed at adults with low levels of education and training, low self-esteem and, in many cases, poor records in undertaking sustained activities in employment and training. The project aims to increase their life opportunities by encouraging them to undertake some education or training to improve their prospects through the use of volunteer mentors.
The project started on January 1, 2013 and end on December 31, 2014.

Activities:
The four main activities of the project are that partners will:
1. Identify and establish a volunteer adult peer mentoring network for learners and communities of learners from areas of multiple deprivation.
2. Produce materials and resources to support the adult mentors involved.
3. Produce materials and resources for adult learning organisations to support volunteer mentors working with adult learners.
4. Develop, where possible, a European peer mentoring network through the partnership work of the project and the mobility meetings to support partner/country networks.

The initial activity surveyed 637 adult learners to gauge their response to the principles of mentoring and investigate their attitude to participation in learning. The analysis has been conducted and the results published in a report.
Materials have been drafted for both a Facilitator Handbook and Mentor’s Guide to support the training of the adult volunteer role model (mentors) in all partner countries. All partners are in the process of training their own adult mentors and a training pack has been prepared to ensure a consistency of approach to this. The mentors are being given a supportive guide to which they can refer to on their role in a mentoring capacity.
Recruitment and training of mentors is underway with initial sessions being set up by all partners.
A network for adult role model volunteer mentors is being investigated through a closed Facebook page. Some of the mentors may already use Facebook or have access to it, and those who do not can be quickly and easily signed up.
Running simultaneously with this is the development of the project website: http://www.formulamentoring.eu/ Details of the project, partners and on-going activities, dissemination events, conferences, links, news and reports from the partnership are all available and the site also links to a sign-up page for the project newsletter.

The initial newsletter was distributed in September 2013.
PARTNERSHIP
Lead partner
SWAPWest: Scottish Wider Access Programme (United Kingdom)
Partners
FORMARE STUDIA (Romania)
POE EDUCO, spol. s r.o. (Czech Republic)
University of Malmö (Sweden)
Foundation for Social Development (FDS) (Spain)
Associated partners
Glasgow Caledonian University (United Kingdom)

Keywords:

Adults, mentoring, education, social inclusion, role models.