The Endorsement and Quality Standards Board for Community Development Learning (ESB) was set up in 1997 through a series of community development conferences in England called Towards 2001. 

ESB aims to provide a robust system of endorsement of quality for all types of training and learning in Community Development. Our role is to ensure quality standards in training and learning for community development practitioners. ESB contributes to a proficient community development workforce accessing high quality learning through the endorsement of different learning opportunities. 

ESB is an independent company ltd by guarantee and has chosen not to seek public funding; it generates income through its endorsement processes and its paid for consultancies with universities and other organisations who wish to develop new community development programmes.

ESB engages with the wider field of community development learning through its involvement in:

• The development and updating of the Community Development National Occupation Standards
• Creating new qualifications
• Contributing to the QAA benchmarks for Youth and Community Work and engaging in consultations
• Consulting and working with others to establish the criteria for endorsement
• The ETS committee of NYA. ESB is recognised by NYA as an equal endorsement/ validation partner; ESB has a seat on the ETS and together ESB and the ETS undertake joint validations of youth and community programmes
• Having a seat on the TAG secretariat and undertakes joint work with TAG.
• Working in partnership with other bodies, sometimes running workshops at their conferences
• Being involved in international work
• Commissioning research into relevant aspects of community development practice and learning
• The steering group for the research being conducted By IVAR for the Local Trust

Read about how ESB is organised here

Poorer communities are struggling against the many different pressures they face, from the impact of austerity, benefit cuts, lack of housing, facilities closing, increases in health inequalities, transient populations, poor environment, to name but a few. Communities are taking action to try and tackle some of the big issues we face, using value based community development as our approach.

Join us to share our stories of what different communities are doing to tackle these key issues, the importance of community development, and to look at what support/ training we need to take things forward in our neighbourhoods.

Date & Venue
Friday, 27th September 2019
North Tyneside: ESB in partnership with Justice Prince, Oxford Centre, West Farm Avenue, Longbenton, NE12 8LT.
Time: 9.45 - 16.00

Read more: Celebrating Community Development: ESB Event in North Tyneside