The Bridge Community Education Centre

I was introduced to the University of Brighton’s Community University Partnership Programme (Cupp) after a general staff meeting in the School of Nursing and Midwifery. I was looking for a new direction but was not sure what and the idea of ‘giving something back’ and working outside my university ‘ivory tower’ comfort zone appealed.

I attended a workshop where various charities ‘pitched’ to potential new trustees and I met up with Jayne Ross, CEO of The Bridge Community Education Centre, Moulsecoomb who I felt shared my philosophy on education, that of releasing potential whatever the student’s background. I joined as a trustee and then, very quickly, an opportunity came for funding through the ‘On Our Doorsteps’ Cupp project. The Bridge was less than a mile from the Falmer campus on the Moulsecoomb estate, an area of high deprivation and met the criteria of being on the doorsteps of the university. I decided to write a bid with Sofie Franzen, Student Volunteer at The Bridge and we were successful, beginner’s luck perhaps but we were commended.

The project aims were for students taking the Postgraduate Certificate in Health and Social Care Education (PGCHSCE) to gain an in-depth knowledge of a community learning context through observation and participation in course design. For the community learners, it was about gaining access to relevant and up to date health topics, with the longer term impact of making some contribution to improving the health and wellbeing of the families of service users and the resultant reduction in generational cycles of poverty and poor health.

The students received an introductory workshop on community engagement delivered by Sofie and myself as part of a Course Design and Planning module. The nurses were from diverse backgrounds (Mental Health, Neonatal, Prison service and Care Home) and they devised a ‘Health and Wellbeing Workshop’ for The Bridge. Twenty participants took part in workshop, ‘shopped’ for healthy foods, were given information on understanding food labelling and took part in an alcohol awareness quiz. There were also some gentle exercise activities using the computer-based Wii programme.

The students found the experience inspiring and stimulating and they developed mutually beneficial relationships which built on their capacity for education, teaching and research. Two participants were identified as having hypertension and referred to their GP, one signed up for further personalised support for health issues and two signed up for exercise class for over 50’s offered in the next term.

Overall, this contributed to the mission of the university, developed the students’ capacity for, and disposition towards, social responsibility and added value to campus-centered study. They developed personal and community learning in a ‘real life’ situation. This was reported in the Bridge and university newsletters, the Argus, and the Graduate Programme in Health and Social Science web pages. The students later presented their experiences, which they described as the ‘Wow’ factor, at the Centre for Learning and Teaching Annual Conference in July 2012.

Sofie Franzen from The Bridge said: "The partnership with the nursing students has been a rewarding experience, both for participants at The Bridge, who enjoyed a very informative morning, and for the staff team who saw the nurse practitioners develop an in-depth understanding of community work. The nursing students effectively communicated key health messages to a diverse audience with a wide range of learning and health needs. The sessions were fun and interactive and gave everyone involved a valuable learning experience”.

Helen Stanley, Assistant Head, School of Nursing and Midwifery

H.F.Stanley@brighton.ac.uk