Sue Duffen

Sue started her working life as a volunteer teaching reading on a permanent gypsy site.  Training as a teacher of English, led to several rewarding years of working with young adults.  In the late ’80s, she switched to a job in Community Education, running a free standing adult learning centre in her home town.

In the late ’90s Sue ran the adult learning festival of Adult Learners’ Week at NIACE (The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education). She set up a National Adult Learners’ Forum, created a training programme for participants and was successful in securing learner representation on a number of powerful committees and boards.  She co-authored a book* about consultation to encourage professionals to work more effectively with learners as equal partners.

She left NIACE in 2003 to work ‘freelance’ in the voluntary and community sector, developing programmes for Community Involvement.

*Talking it Through – A practitioners’ guide to consulting learners in adult and community learning, Sue Duffen and Jane Thompson, NIACE, 2003.

Recent Projects
European Adult Learners’ Network - Working with the Scottish Adult Learning Partnership to create an EU learners network, in partnership with adult learners, professionals and policy makers.

Community Involvement Training – as one half of Values Learning, designing, planning and delivery of courses targeting community groups in the most ‘deprived’ wards of Somerset.  The training prepares members of the community to set up and run community projects.

Skills for Life – Facilitator for Skills for Life Quality Improvement Programme, supporting change with providers in adult & community learning.

Sue Duffen