Community Learning and Development
What is Community Learning and Development?
Community Learning and Development or ‘CLD’ in Scotland is understood to be ‘a coherent and distinctive set of practices, defined by clearly identified competences; it is delivered in diverse settings and sectors, by practitioners with a wide variety of job titles, working with people of all ages.’ CLD supports primarily disadvantaged or vulnerable groups and individuals of all ages to engage in learning, personal development, social justice and active citizenship with a focus on bringing about change in their lives and communities.

CLD practice includes:
- community development (building the capacity of communities to meet their own needs, engaging with and influencing decision makers)
- youth work, family learning and other early intervention work with children, young people and families
- community-based adult learning, including adult literacies and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
- learning for vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in the community, for example, people with disabilities, care leavers or offenders;
- volunteer development; and
- learning support and guidance in the community.
The Scottish Government says that CLD’s specific focus should be:
- Improved life chances for people of all ages, including young people in particular, through learning, personal development and active citizenship
- Stronger, more resilient, supportive, influential and inclusive communities

Community Engagement?
Engaging with our local communities on the issues that matter to them and work with them to develop action plans to address these issues.
The term Community Engagement can mean different things to different people. It is best understood as a planned process, which has the specific purpose of working with identified groups of people; whether they are connected by place, interest, affiliation or identity, to encourage them to actively take part in making decisions about their community. This can range from encouraging communities to share their views on how their needs are best met and influence how services should be delivered, to giving communities the power to make and share decisions on how services are delivered.