Former school leaver heads up learning centre
Through the Union Learning Fund (ULF), the Prison Officers Association (POA) has established a national network of union learning centres to provide lifelong learning opportunities for its members. As well as delivering a wide range of workplace learning, the centres have also been testament to the hard work and commitment of centre managers.
At the 2010 National Training Awards, Acklington based Don Head was honoured with a prestigious Individual Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution and commitment to training, learning and workplace development. Don was recognised for his inspirational work as Centre Manager of BrightSparks POA Union Learning Centre in HMP Acklington.
Based near Morpeth in Northumberland, Don had left school just before he was due to sit nine GCSEs in order to look after his family. Only 16 at the time, he settled on a career in the army. But having left school without a single qualification, he has now become a champion of learning, decades later.
It was while he was working for the Prison Service, that Don considered studying again: “After working for the army, and now the prison service, I became interested in the idea of union learning”.
By encouraging staff to learn together, Don believed this style of learning would suit him better than anything he’d experienced at school.
Don began his learning journey by studying for Level 2 qualifications. As he explains: “I now hold the Level 2 qualifications I never got the chance to finish at school. Achieving Level 2 Adult Literacy and Numeracy gave me the confidence to progress onto other courses”. Don has also achieved an NVQ Level 4 in Information and Guidance, a Level 2 in Learner Support and the European Computer Driving License (ECDL).
His learning experience has expanded his knowledge and career options. Although he is a prison officer, Don has now been seconded as Centre Manager for the POA’s Learning Centre, where he continues with his learning and encourages other prison staff to study and upgrade their skills.
As he explains: “My role [at the centre] is to try and facilitate learning for staff, family and friends. . . I ensure that learning takes place either in the centre or at another educational provider”.
At the BrightSparks Centre, Don teaches Basic IT, First Aid, and is also an IAG specialist. Since becoming centre manager, he has also established a range of other courses such as bagpipe classes, creative writing, social media and advanced IT. He believes the “fun element” of these classes leads learners onto accredited learning.
Indeed, in the last year alone, staff and members of the local community have achieved over 75 Skills for Life qualifications. Don has also helped learners with disabilities gain IT qualifications, not to mention the hundreds of other people who walk into the centre in the search for development.
Passionate about learning, Don is currently studying a PGCE in post-compulsory education and has his sights set on completing a Foundation degree in education.
Describing the impact learning has made to his life, Don says: “Taking these qualifications has not only given me the confidence and skills, but also the chance to pass on the skills and opportunities to many others”.
Commenting on his extraordinary achievements, Don’s work colleague Hannah Pugh has said, “he never gives up and he never lets anyone tell him ‘no’ when it comes to his learners.”
