For councils
Community programs your team does not have to run alone.
GLS delivers creative, inclusive and community-facing workshops for libraries, holiday programs, youth engagement, STEAM learning and local activation.
What we deliver for councils.
Library workshops
Creative and STEAM sessions designed for library spaces and mixed age groups.
School holiday programs
Multi-day holiday programs with staffing, materials and supervision handled.
Youth engagement
Programs aimed at older participants, built around making, design and problem solving.
Community activation
Pop-up and event-based sessions for community days and precinct activations.
Inclusive delivery
Sessions adjusted for accessibility, language background and varied prior experience.
Reporting
Attendance, participation and outcome reporting suited to council acquittals.
How a council engagement runs.
- Step 1
Scope
We confirm venues, age groups, session counts and constraints before quoting.
- Step 2
Staffing
Facilitators are allocated and cleared, with supervision ratios agreed in writing.
- Step 3
Delivery
Sessions run with materials supplied and a named GLS contact for the program.
- Step 4
Acquittal
You receive attendance and outcome reporting in a format your team can submit.
How a council or library workshop runs.
For council programs and library teams who need a public session that fills, runs safely with mixed ages, and acquits against grant reporting.
Delivery specifications
Who it is for
- Ages
- 5 to 15, in mixed-age teams
- Capacity per session
- 20 to 40 participants depending on venue
- Ratio
- 1 facilitator to 15 participants
- Parents and carers
- Under 8s must have a carer remain on site. Over 8s may be dropped off.
How it runs
- Settings
- Library program room, community hall or activated public space
- Delivery mode
- In person
- Session length
- 1 x 2 to 4 hour workshop
- Format
- A single immersive community session.
- Sessions per day
- Up to 2 per facilitator team, morning and afternoon
- Accessibility
- Seated and standing build options, low-sensory pack available on request, plain-language instructions
What you need
- What GLS brings
- All materials, tools, floor protection and pack down, plus promotional assets for council channels
- What the venue provides
- Trestle tables, chairs, water access, bins and a bump-in window of 45 minutes
- Lead time to book
- 5 weeks, to allow promotion to run
In the room
What participants do
One self-contained session built around a theme the council nominates, such as biodiversity, housing, transport or a local precinct.
- Walk the site or the precedent images and identify what the theme means locally
- Ideate in mixed-age teams against the council brief
- Build a 3D concept model from supplied materials
- Share back publicly to families and council representatives at the end of the session
What they practise
- Creative thinking
- Problem solving
- Collaboration across ages
- Public presentation
What they leave with: A team-built 3D concept model responding to the council theme, plus a photographic record of the share-back that the council can use in its own reporting.
Session shape
What a session looks like
The single-session format uses the same four-step flow, stretched to fill a 2 to 4 hour community workshop with a public share-back at the end.
- 1
Discover
20 to 30 min
Explore a creative challenge through stories, images and discussion.
- 2
Sketch and dream
25 to 40 min
Brainstorm, draw concepts and plan solutions before touching materials.
- 3
Build and create
60 to 120 min
Construct models and prototypes with real materials, testing as you go.
- 4
Present and reflect
20 to 30 min
Share the work and explain the thinking behind each decision.
Alignment
Not curriculum bound
Community sessions are not tied to a syllabus. Learning outcomes are written against the council's own program objectives so they can be quoted directly in an acquittal.
- Outcomes are drafted with the council before delivery and confirmed in the booking
- Themes map to council strategy areas such as sustainability, youth engagement or placemaking
- Where a session runs with a school group, curriculum mapping can be added on request
Reporting
What you receive afterwards
Councils acquit funding, so participation data is returned in a form that can be pasted into a grant report. Within five working days of delivery you receive:
- Headcount per session, split by participant and accompanying adult
- Age band breakdown across the five bands, and postcode capture where consent is given
- Repeat versus first-time attendance where the council collects it at the door
- Participant and carer feedback summary from the exit survey
- A CSV of the raw participation data alongside the written summary
- Photographs cleared for council use, subject to signed image consent
Suitability
Is this the right program for you?
Best for
- School holiday programs and drop-in library activity
- Grant-funded community engagement that must report participation numbers
- Mixed-age audiences where siblings attend together
Not the right fit if
- Programs needing curriculum reporting. Those run through the schools stream instead
- Venues without water access or a bump-in window
- Continuous drop-in over a full day with no fixed start. The share-back needs a fixed cohort
FAQ
Questions we are asked about this program
- What participation data do we get back for our acquittal?
- Headcount by session, age band breakdown, adult versus child split, postcode where consent is given, and exit survey results, supplied as both a written summary and a CSV.
- Do parents stay?
- Carers of under 8s stay on site. Over 8s can be dropped off. Both are stated in the promotional copy GLS supplies.
- How do you handle mixed ages in one room?
- Teams are deliberately mixed and roles are assigned by capability rather than age, so a 6 year old and a 14 year old have distinct jobs on the same model.
- Do you help promote it?
- Yes. GLS supplies session copy, an image set and a suggested age guide sized for council social channels and library newsletters.
- What if numbers are lower than expected?
- The format runs down to 10 participants without changing the shape of the session. Materials are billed on the booked capacity.
Programs councils book most.
Full delivery detail, ratios, materials and curriculum mapping sit on each program page.
Tell us what your community needs.
Share the venues, dates and age groups you are planning for and we will tell you what is realistic and what it costs.
Discuss a community program
Share the venues, dates and age groups you are planning for through the GLS contact form and we will tell you what is realistic and what it costs.
Go to the contact form- info@glslearning.com