Skills for Life
Skills for Life is the name given to the national strategy for improving the literacy, language and numeracy skills of adults. Since its launch, the strategy has resulted in national standards, a national curriculum, initial assessment procedures, new qualifications, national tests, teaching and learning materials, teacher training programmes and significant research and development work.
Everyone who works in Adult Learning will have come across people in their classes, at some time or other, who have literacy, language or numeracy needs. Sometimes this is a hindrance to learning and sometimes not. But every tutor has a responsibility for identifying Skills for Life needs and responding sensitively to them. This may mean:
- adapting material to be used in a session so that everyone in a class can use it
- avoiding inappropriate over-reliance on written texts and, instead, using discussion/group work, where appropriate
- helping learners to assess their own skills
- deliberately building in opportunities to enhance numeracy skills or practise writing skills
- making sure people know about the specialist provision available and how to access it; and
- working with Skills for Life specialists to make all of this possible.