Super Swansea mums launch guide to Gower

Swansea super mums have created a glorious guide to Gower and boosted their learning skills along the way.

Eight mums of pupils at Seaview Primary School took part in Swansea Council’s  first ever Get into Gower (GIG) course which reaches out to inner city families to explore what the area of outstanding natural beauty offers families and also gives them meaningful learning opportunities.

Now not only have they created a guide for other mums with help with illustrations from pupils at the school, they have also been inspired to sign up for other courses, joined the school’s Parent Teachers Association and become Ambassadors for future GIG courses.

Jen Raynor, Swansea Council Cabinet member for Education said: “These mums have every right to call themselves super.

“They should be very proud of what they have achieved. It’s a wonderful celebration of Gower but also a great foundation for their learning which could see them go on to greater things to make life better for their children now and inspire them to a better future.

“This is just one of the innovative adult community learning programmes provided by Swansea Council and its partners to offer people a new lease of life and enable them to play a more productive role in the community.”

Single mum Andrea Smith said: “The impact of this course has had on my confidence has been invaluable. I have learned so much about different things but a lot about myself too and what I could achieve.

“Since doing this course I have fallen in love with Swansea and Gower. I have more confidence to take the kids out and explore. I have so much enthusiasm about learning and I am currently looking to do more courses and perhaps go onto a University degree.”

The GIG course is a new collaboration between Swansea Council’s Gower Landscape Partnership, Family Learning, and the Adult Community Learning teams.

The aim is to reach out to and inspire groups from target areas in the city with experiential learning activities about Gower, its distinctive landscape and unique heritage, with meaningful and measurable benefits for the participants.

GIG provides a progression for parents who have previously been engaged in Family Learning to increase their qualifications.

The Seaview mums took part in field visits and classroom sessions where they learned about Gower and what low or no cost fun and outdoor activities they could do with their families.

They explored hill and shore, learned how to take a good photo, coppiced woodland, made sand sculptures, researched and wrote up their experiences and gained a City & Guilds accreditation in Communication at the same time.

They worked together to produce the ‘Supermum’s Handy Guide’ to Gower in order to share their learning with others in their community.

Everything from the inception of the leaflet was designed, written and photographed by the super mums themselves.

It also features drawings by children from Year Two at Seaview Primary. QR codes are used throughout so that additional content such as extra photographs, a stop motion video, and the Mum’s stories further enrich the experience.

Robert Douglas from Swansea Council’s Lifelong Learning and Employment Training Service (LLETS) said: “We are so proud of what has been achieved by the GIG project and are looking forward to supporting future learners on this scheme.”