Cadent Foundation has teamed up with NEA to offer two e-learning courses, free of charge:

• Introduction to Domestic Energy Efficiency
• Fuel Poverty and Health

The following instructions outline how to access the E-learning:

• Click on the following link which leads to NEA’s Learning Management System https://www.nea-training.co.uk/lms-2020
• Enter your username and password.
• If you are a new learner you will need to create an account, to do so please follow the instructions on screen (this will only take a few moments)
• Once in the LMS a list of available courses will appear. You have two E-learning courses available to you:

1. Cadent Foundation Fuel Poverty & Health
2. Cadent Foundation Introduction to Domestic Energy Efficiency

• Please note that there are a number of courses listed, they may have the same title but are for other services. The enrolment keys in red will only work for this specific course, these are numbered 26 & 27 on the LMS produced for Cadent Foundation
• Click the link to open the course (this is the course title highlighted in blue). You will be prompted to enter an enrolment key (please note that they are case sensitive)
• For the Fuel Poverty and Health E-learning this is: cadent?&59/gC
• For the Introduction to Domestic Energy Efficiency this is: cadent?&60/vC
• This should then take you to the first page of the course ready for you to begin
• The course home page also lists documents relevant to the course and a certificate of completion which will be available once you have successfully completed the course

PLEASE NOTE: courses are designed for use on a laptop of desktop computer and while the course will open on a tablet or mobile phone, some of the functionality of the training may not work.

SUPPORT

Tutor support is available via telephone / video call if you have any questions regarding the course content, to arrange please contact us at tutorsupport@nea.org.uk (please add the course title to the subject line so we know which course your enquiry relates to).

SUGGESTED STUDY TIME

This course will take approximately 2 hours to complete however each learner is different and E-learning offers the flexibility to study at your own pace.

SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS

Should you have any special needs or learning requirements with regards to completing this E-learning please let us know as soon as possible so that the necessary arrangements can be made.

EVALUATION

Please take a few moments at the end of the course to complete the short online survey, feedback helps us improve and update the course where needed. It also helps us feedback to funders to enable us to offer this course free of charge.

If you have any problems logging in please contact Lynsey Thompson at lynsey.thompson@nea.org.uk alternatively you can contact tracy.norris@nea.org.uk

This week, Sophie from West Kirby Grammar School joined Energy Projects Plus, to complete her work experience. We packed the week with a variety of activities to give a flavour of what life in EPP entails. From attending a charity bake sale, to a drop-in event out in the community, to the nitty-gritty of stock taking, general admin, and testing the fire alarm!

But let’s let Sophie speak for herself:

“Looking back on my week at Energy Projects Plus, I can confirm I had a great time and have no regrets. Everyone here is so friendly and learning about all the different projects, everyone’s jobs and the process of helping people, whether that be with energy debts or fuel vouchers, has been quite the interesting experience! I also learnt some skills I didn’t expect to learn, like how to charge an electric car or how to deal with big tasks/projects. I also went to two events, a bake sale fundraiser, and a drop-in event, and they showed me how those types of events worked (and also kept me busy for a few hours!) Overall, I’ve really enjoyed my time at Energy Projects Plus and I’d definitely recommend them for anyone looking for a work experience place.“

Sophie (third from left) joined us for Work Experience

We were pleased to attend this conference at the end of June, held at Liverpool Hope University Creative Campus, hosted by the newly launched Poverty Research and Advocacy Network (PRAN). 

As one of our dual charitable aims is the reduction of fuel poverty across Cheshire and Merseyside, we were keen to offer our local insights, and help drive the conversation, while learning as much as we can about other work in the arena of poverty prevention/relief.

As well as attending as delegates, Katie (pictured, above) delivered an advice stall over lunch, to show other delegates the kind of stall we deliver at community events, and offer them the opportunity to take away some of our literature, and subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter. 

During the final discussion panel, Dominic (pictured right, 3rd from left) was challenged to define “what good would look like” in terms of the eradication of poverty. Dominic outlined the current definition of fuel poverty in England, which is:

1. The property has an EPC rating of E-G, and
2. The total net household income would be pushed below the poverty line, should the household heat their home to a sufficient standard.

UK government’s intention to raise as many fuel poor properties as practicable to an EPC rating of A-C by 2030 will essentially eliminate fuel poverty in England, under this current definition. However, Dominic was keen to point out that our work would continue to assist people who struggle to afford to heat their homes sufficiently. We will therefore need to increase our use of the term “Affordable Warmth” in place of “Fuel Poverty” to describe the work we do.

Dominic suggested the current definition of poverty as being households earning below 60% of the median national income means poverty will be with us forever. Even if all households can afford to thrive and do not consider themselves poor, there will always be somebody earning below 60% of the median national income. Therefore, to eradicate poverty we need to redefine it in terms of “absolute” rather than “relative” poverty, and we can only then set targets to reduce it and ultimately eradicate it.