Skills for Life

Skills for Life Improvement Programme

Move On Up

Motivating Skills for Life learners to persist, progress and achieve

Review of Core Curricula

Early Years Family Literacy, Language and Numeracy and Nurturing a Love of Reading

Extending the Reach and Improving the Quality of Family Literacy, Language and Numeracy

Analysis of the Family Literacy Programme

Publications

Skills for Life

QIA is funding a wide range of reform and development activity across the sector. The ultimate aim of all our work in Skills for Life is to improve the learners' experience to ensure they succeed, gain qualifications and progress with learning throughout life and work.

There are very significant numbers of learners who have literacy and numeracy needs. Clearly if these needs are met learners will be more likely to enjoy and succeed with their learning than if they are not.

At all times we aim to use evidence based innovation to strengthen and build teaching and learning practice and in so doing we draw extensively on the research findings of the National Research and Development Centre (NRDC) and others.

Overview of specific projects and programmes

Skills for Life Improvement Programme http://www.sflip.org.uk/

The Skills for Life Improvement Programme is about to enter its second year. It builds on previous initiatives to help deliver the Skills for Life strategy through:

• Innovative teaching and learning
• Whole organisation approach
• Professional development

The focus of the Improvement Programme is on improving the quality of the learner's experience. In Year 2 the Programme will have clear focus on improving teaching and learning. Workforce development activity will give a high priority to getting staff qualified. Teaching and learning and quality work will have a different route through to organisational change that ensures that more learners succeed but in each case will aim to involve significant managers and staff in scaled up activity, stimulated by in-house CPD and supported by individual consultancy and peer support through seminars and cluster activity.

The Skills for Life Improvement Programme is delivered by a CfBT led consortium on behalf of QIA.

Move On Up http://www.move-on.org.uk/

The programme has 4 main strands:

Strand A: Mainstreaming Move On

Embedding the Move On approach throughout a variety of organisations, and providing support for:

• training people from all walks of life to encourage others to take advantage of the opportunity to improve their English and maths skills
• teacher and learner supporter training
• managers to implement a whole organisation approach to Skills for Life
• provider networks and professional development organisations

Strand B: Move Up

Adapting the Move On approach for Entry 3 learners, with the aim of:

• broadening Move On recruiter training – new workshops, 'You have the Power' guide and Intermediary Route on the web site
• developing teacher training and support packages through the Move Up Teacher Route
• developing learner support materials for improving skills and achieving qualifications

Strand C: Test the Town/Company

This campaign approach to engagement with achievement will be rolled out with support to:

• develop campaigns
• make campaigns work, including recruiter and teacher training
• showcase effective campaigns and challenges with evaluation strategies and case studies

Strand D: Get On At Work

Continued support for using the approach in the workplace, including:

• development of a provider training package from employer buy-in through to delivery
• work with employer organisations and unions to encourage the development of workplace Skills for Life opportunities

Move On Up is delivered by Tribal CTAD on behalf of QIA.

Motivating learners to persist, progress and achieve http://www.stickwithit.org.uk/

The outcomes of this important research and development programme are to:

• develop practical strategies to enable Skills for Life learners to overcome barriers that may prevent them from progressing and achieving within the Skills for Life qualification framework with an emphasis on e-learning
• enable learners to take control of their learning so that they can become 'expert' learners
• enable practitioners to adopt practical strategies to help Skills for Life learners persist with their studies and achieve
• provide managers in organisations with models of effective practice to demonstrate the effectiveness of a range of learner centred approaches in relation to Skills for Life and provide evidence about how this impacts on retention and achievement

A number of practical tools will be available in draft in April 2008 to support organisations in relation to learner persistence:

• guidance on essential factors to support learner persistence for senior managers
• report on length of time Skills for Life learners need to progress and achieve within the Skills for Life qualifications framework
• effective practice guides/checklists for practitioners
• handbook for Skills for Life learners to support them when attending courses

Motivating learners to persist, progress and achieve is delivered by NRDC and partners on behalf of QIA.

Review of Core Curricula www.lsbu.ac.uk/lluplus

The Core Curricula for Literacy, Numeracy and the Pre entry curriculum framework have been important for the implementation of the Skills for Life Strategy. They have provided frameworks for the contextualisation of the Standards produced by QCA and have been applied to the teaching and learning environment. At the initial publication of the curricula a commitment was made to reviewing the curriculum.

The aim is to carry out a review of the curricula and to make proposals for changes to ensure that the curricula are fit for purpose.

The review of the Core Curricula for Literacy and Numeracy and the Pre-entry curriculum framework has completed its consultation phase and the final report has been received by QIA.

The key findings are that the curricula and framework are considered to be generally fit for purpose. There is a need to revise the curricula and framework to improve them in the interests of accuracy, clarity, and accessibility as well as bringing them up to date.

The ESOL curriculum is now being reviewed. All four curricula will have changes made to them as an outcome of the review by March 2008.

Review of Core Curricula is delivered by LLU+ on behalf of QIA.

Early Years Family Literacy, L anguage and Numeracy and Nurturing a Love of Reading anguage and Numeracy and Nurturing a Love of Reading

There are two separate elements to this programme:

Element 1: The development of an Early Years FLLN programme based on the Early Years Foundation Stage.

The development and piloting of a family literacy, language and numeracy programme for parents and children 0 – 5, based on the Early Years Foundation Stage and the adult literacy and numeracy core curricula which will:

• introduce parents to the early years outcomes for children aged 0-5 and heighten their awareness of how these are taught in the early years;
• enable parents to support their children's literacy, language and numeracy development more effectively and more confidently;
• help parents improve their own literacy, language and numeracy skills

Element 2: Development of Information Packs to accompany the free books that every 5 and 11 year old will receive in the Autumn term of 2007.

This element will enhance and compliment the free book offer and will support parents in wider literacy activities with children and help identify and signpost their own skills needs.

Early Years Family Literacy, Language and Numeracy and Nurturing a Love of Reading is delivered by The Alliance for Lifelong Learning on behalf of QIA.

Extending the Reach and Improving the Quality of Family Literacy, Language and Numeracy

There are two separate elements to this contract:

a) Support for local authorities and their FLLN providers:

• to improve the quality of literacy, language and numeracy in family literacy, language and numeracy programmes;
• to support and develop progression opportunities for parents and carers towards national Skills for Life qualifications, full level 2 qualifications, employment and other destinations;
• to promote and deliver the Step in to Learning national training and development programme to children's centres and extended schools.

b) Extension of the range of FLLN programmes to support hard to reach groups:

• to develop new programmes (eg employability programmes, programmes for foster carers, migrant workers and refugees) and quality assure existing programmes (eg programmes for grandparents, teenage parents) for inclusion on the national menu of FLLN programmes;
• to set the framework and lead opportunities for FLLN teachers as part of professionalising the Skills for Life workforce in partnership with the Skills for Life Improvement Programme;
• to develop further opportunities for Skills for Life to be embedded into informal youth-work settings, in particular black and minority ethnic learners and young offenders.

Extending the Reach and Improving the Quality of Family Literacy, Language and Numeracy is delivered by the Alliance for Lifelong Learning on behalf of QIA.

Analysis of the Family Literacy Programme

This is a two year research project starting in August 2007 and ending in July 2009.

It is anticipated that the research will provide valuable data about:

• literacy gains for children and parents from 30 and 72 hour courses and the key factors influencing this;
• the processes by which parents are successful in gaining a national Skills for Life qualification as part of the programme ;
• how parents support their children's literacy and of the perceptions of children on how they felt supported/learnt as a result of their involvement in the programme.

QIA are currently in the process of tendering for a contractor to deliver Analysis of the Family Literacy Programme. This website will be updated once the contract has been awarded.

Publications

Over the pastfive years, a wide range of resources have been produced as part of the Skills for Life Strategy.

These can be ordered by contacting:

Alternatively, selected publications can be viewed and ordered on-line through the Skills for Life Improvement Programme website http://www.sflip.org.uk/resources.aspx