The resources contained in this site have been produced by Community Learning and Development (CLD) Staff in Aberdeenshire Council.

They have been developed as a result of innovative practice harnessed during the Covid-19 pandemic when new approaches to community engagement and delivery were vital in highly unusual circumstances.

Our aspiration is to share the learning and resources.

In early 2020 the world was thrown into a worldwide pandemic and people were sent away from places of work to work at home.

For some places such as care homes, the staff could not go home and where they had to self-isolate, huge gaps were left in provision.

Council staff were remobilised to help fill gaps and ensure essential services could go ahead.

In Aberdeenshire Council several Community Learning and Development Workers were redeployed into care homes.

The 'fill the gap' purpose was soon replaced with recognition of the skills which a community worker could offer to people now living in isolation. Families could rarely be seen on line and not in person. Their association with the outside world was limited to messages coming in over television or radio, their only contact was the workforce.

Part of the role of a community worker is to empower people to find their place in the world, to explore their skills and develop them. Community workers also provide support for people to find their voice and to have that voice heard.

Community workers identified this need at Edenholme Care Home in Stonehaven, where they set up a project which successfully supported residents to find their voice, commit it to publication and even read it out at a public event.

It became clear that this method can be used across a range of environments and situations to support people to find a voice.

Resources from this site can be used to set up your project in any setting where voices need to be heard.