Community Floor
The Community Floor
The Wolves Community Floor is a unique stadium development, which brings together local partners to deliver participation and learning opportunities as follows:
Lifelong Learning
The Borough Council's Lifelong Learning Team relocated to the Community Floor during March 2007.
Their Family Learning Programmes encourage parents, grandparents and carers to:
Value their role in the education of their children
Perceive themselves as active and lifelong learners
Enjoy Learning
The Lifelong Learning team offers a range of part time learning opportunities to individuals and groups across Warrington. They achieve this by commissioning work from partner organisations whom they have judged to be the best agency to offer a particular curriculum or style of learning. These organisations must comply with their Quality Improvement Framework. The agencies include colleges, voluntary and community sector bodies and some private providers and consultancies.
Types of Learning Available
The learning opportunities currently offered fall broadly into three categories.
Family Learning
Learning for Personal Development
Learning for Community Development
However, they are always willing to consider new ideas or to advise any organisation or group who are establishing new learning. They do offer some accredited courses but full qualifications such as NVQs, GCSEs and degrees are offered by other organisations in Warrington. They focus on initial engagement and any gaps in opportunities for learning.
Community College
The Warrington Collegiate Outreach Learning Programme will offer flexible ways in which adults can learn. The stadium will offer a friendly atmosphere to engage perhaps the harder to reach.
Warrington Wolves - The Foundation
A charitable trust established to enhance the positive work achieved by the award winning Wolves Community Team. The Foundation will manage the floors opportunities and push further with its network of Outreach Programmes.
Education Resource Centre
The Borough Councils Education Department will base its teachers' resource materials at the stadium in a quiet comfortable area of the floor for picking up materials or completing lesson plans.
Education Training and Development Centre
Another addition to the Education Departments involvement on the floor and probably the most important. The authorities' professional development programme will be run from the stadium, Teachers, Heads, and Governors will all access training opportunities through this room.
Horizon Place
Is part of The Borough Councils Pupil Referral Unit. Pupils not in the school system will join Horizons and find a different arena for engagement. The stadium will offer pupils a variety of opportunities to self-development.
Playing for Success Study Centre
This is a three-way partnership between the DFES and LEA, Warrington Wolves and local businesses. The centre focuses on improving literacy, numeracy and ICT skills amongst 10-14 year old pupils. The centre is staffed by an experienced teacher employed by the Education Department, supported by tutor-mentors including players from the Wolves.
Health and Wellbeing Room
This room will commit to bringing a healthy body and healthy mind to the floor. Courses such as Tai Chi, yoga, and low impact aerobics will take place.
The whole floor will be utilised to maximise the benefits to the community; the end corridor will house Reach for Health consultations a partnership with the PCT and Borough Council, which will combine with other activities in the Health and Wellbeing Room.
INTRODUCING DAN HETHERINGTON 
AMATEUR ROWING ASSOCIATION COACHING DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
The Warrington Wolves Foundation isn't just about Rugby League; I moved to work in the Foundation office on the Community Floor as my base of operations in 2006. I work as a Coaching Development Officer (CDO) for the Amateur Rowing Association (ARA), the National Governing Body for the sport of rowing in England.
Rowing, which is often only associated with the Oxford and Cambridge boat race and the sports Olympic successes, is enjoyed by over 25,000 people within England. On top of this the sport is also enjoyed by countless more in gyms, workplaces, and schools on indoor rowing machines.
In my role I support all 32 volunteer water based clubs in the North West region, one of which is in the town of Warrington, ranging from open clubs, to University Boat Clubs and School Boat Clubs.
The Community Floor offers me a central location from which I can successfully conduct my work, with the benefits of a neutral location and the chance to work and learn about the workings of Rugby League, and hopefully in the future develop a good working partnership between The Foundation and the local Rowing Club!
More information on Rowing can be found on the ARA website
www.ara-rowing.org
Daniel Hetherington
(ARA Coaching Development Officer North West Region)
Email address daniel.hetherington@ara-rowing.org
