A to Z Index:

Education, Learning & Leisure

Education, Learning & Leisure became a combined service in April 1998, (previously know as Education & Recreation) and the process of integration continues. Our five main aims are:

  • Opportunity and Inclusion
  • Community Involvement - partnership
  • Participation, Lifelong Learning - Achievement
  • Support - Early Intervention
  • Continuous Improvement and Quality

Education, Learning & Leisure Service policies and guidelines

Education & Learning

We want to develop real lifelong learning with a curriculum which covers all ages from the youngest babies to our most senior citizens. The role of Education in bringing enjoyment, excitement and in providing therapy has been neglected in recent years and we believe our service can have a major impact in improving the quality of peoples' lives.

The increasing integration of services will challenge us to provide a more comprehensive support system to children, families and communities. It is an exciting challenge and it will call for a new professionalism, a new focus on equity and a new commitment to break any cycles of under-achievement or failure.

One of our key tasks is to provide our young people with the skills to face a rapidly changing world - a world where opportunities will exist and where challenges will be great, but where care, compassion and human values will be more important than ever before.

Our services range from pre-school development through to work with the over-50s, and everyone shares common aims and values, above all a commitment to real lifelong learning in all its many and exciting facets.

More Information on the Curricular side of the service can be found on the WiredSHiRE site.

Learning & Leisure

We are responsible for the provision of recreational, cultural, sporting and social activities.

The Service aims to:

  • Encourage interest and participation in sport, physical activity and related activities which support healthy lifestyles. Create a ladder of opportunity to allow talented individuals to achieve their full potential.
  • Initiate and support a programme of arts activity which will ensure that all our residents are encouraged to access and be involved in the arts. Offer enhancement support to the work of active arts organisations.
  • Assist and encourage all our residents in realising their full potential through the positive exploitation of all our libraries and information services and those wider resources available through the library networks.
  • Preserve and maintain the material culture of the North East through the Council's Museums and Heritage Service and by support of local heritage interests.
  • Encourage visitors to the area through the development and maintenance of existing high quality visitor attractions and visitor services which relate to and are supportive of the culture, heritage and natural attractions of our area.
  • Develop schemes of financial assistance for individuals and groups which seek to pursue any sphere of interest related to these aims.
  • Promote policies of facilitating and enabling, establishing and supporting partnerships for action, and increasing the capacity of others to solve problems.

Direct provision includes: