Basic Skills Awareness

1
What is Swansea Skills Service?
We are a European Funded project that
co-ordinates Basic Skills provision across the
City County of Swansea. These are the 7
partners that make up Swansea Skills Service.
2
The Basic Skills Agency defines Basic Skills
asthe ability to read, write and speak in
English/Welsh and use mathematics at a level
necessary to function and progress in work and in
society in general.
Basic Skills What exactly does the term mean?
3
Background and Need
The Basic Skills Agency has completed a
thorough baseline survey of basic skills in the
adult population of Wales. The results were
Pre Secondary School
EarlySecondary School
GCSE
4
How great is the scale of need?

• 440,000 adults (25 of those aged 16-65)
• do not have level 1 literacy skills
• 990,000 adults (53 of those aged 16-65)
• do not have Level 1 numeracy skills

5
What is the Relationship between Basic and Key
Skills?
6

• There is a National Strategy to improve skills.
• The aims of the Strategy are to ensure that
• All young children are prepared for learning when
  they begin school
• We continue to reduce the number of children
  leaving primary school struggling with learning
  to read, write and use numbers
• Fewer young people leave school still struggling
  with basic skills
• We significantly decrease the number of adults
  with poor basic skills

7
Why do people have basic skills problems ?

• absence from school or sickness
• unsettled home life or family problems
• poor teaching
• undiagnosed visual/hearing impairment
• dyslexia
• intergenerational effect
• English as an additional language

8
Impact of Poor Basic Skills

• Research shows that compared to those with
  adequate skills adults with poor basic skills
  are
• Up to 5 times more likely to be unemployed or out
  of the
• labour market
• More likely to have children who also struggle
  with basic
• skills
• More likely to have housing problems
• Less likely to be in good health
• Less likely to be involved in public life, a
  community
• organisation or to vote
• Over-represented in prisons and young offender
• institutions

9
How do we read?
How much of what you read can you remember ? Did
you understand the text as you were reading? If
all reading were as difficult as that, would you
want to do it?
10
This is the text that was back-to-front on the
previous slide

• The most overwhelming difficulty experienced by
  the slow reader is that
• the decoding of print is so laborious that
  comprehension of a passage is
• virtually impossible. The mechanical technique of
  reading creates a barrier
• to understanding. This exercise may help you to
  appreciate the problem.
• Your own comprehension of these sentences is
  probably seriously
• threatened by your need to concentrate on the
  decoding problem which
• they present.

11
Basic skills are needed in everyday life to

• do a job
• help a child with homework
• write a letter
• use household and DIY equipment
• do the shopping
• drive a car
• read public transport timetables
• fill in a form
• prepare food
• be an active member of the community

12
Work-Related Basic Skills Benefits From
Improving Basic Skills Written Instructions
Signs, notices, job instructions are
understood and followed Improvement to
Quality Products produced correctly the first
time, quality procedures in written
documents are followed and understood,
more employees are able to communicate
effectively to solve problems Increased
Accuracy There is less wastage of materials, and
forms are filled in accurately Better
Customer Relations There are fewer customer
complaints
13
Barriers to Learning
What are the barriers to learning that
individuals may experience?
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Possible Barriers to Learning
Embarrassment Lack of confidence
/poor self esteem Family commitments/ Care
responsibilities Poor experience of
school/learning Location/environment
Not knowing about
support available Not wanting others
to find out Size of class/ support
needs Cost Age Time Fear Long term
commitment Lack of support/ peer group pressure
15
Signs that may indicate a basic skills need

• brings distractions to an interview
• too rushed to complete forms
• brings along a friend or partner
• Asks where to sign
• Appears to be distracted or evasive when asked
  about skills/ learning

• Ive forgotten my
• glasses !
• poor time keeping
• relying on others to help
• a wide difference between oral and
  written/reading skills
• in a learning group
• may be quiet
• anxious
• aggressive / jokey

16
When talking to someone that you have identified
as having difficulty with reading, writing or
numeracy you need to market the basic skills
support positively.
If you take up the maths course available at the
training centre, you will be able to study for
your engineering NVQ later this year. Then you
will then be in a good position to get your
traineeship with Ford motor company.
You may need to do some work on your spelling and
handwriting because the jobs you want to go for
require a lot of letter writing and maybe youll
need to take telephone messages.
Be sensitive but not over-sensitive, for
example
17
Engaging LearnersWhat a student can expect from
Swansea Skills Partnership

• Confidential interview
• Initial assessment (to find out the areas you are
  fine on and the areas you need to work on)
• Placed in appropriate session
• ILP to meet individuals needs
• Reviews every 6 sessions
• In context topics of interest
• Age appropriate and relevant materials

18
Basic Skills Programmes that are currently running

• Introduction to IT
• Introduction to NVQ
• Help your children with their homework
• Skills for Promotion
• Financial literacy understand your payslip,
  mortgages and savings
• Workshops designed around completing company
  paperwork

19
Project Partners

• City and County of Swansea Employment Training
  Centre
• City and County of Swansea Lifelong Learning
  Service
• Gorseinon College
• Swansea College
• Swansea Council for Voluntary Service
• The University of Wales Department of Adult
  Continuing Education
• Welsh Initiative for Supported Employment

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What can you do to help?
Be aware of basic skills as a need Be aware of
the opportunities that are available Signpost
people to the appropriate services Help identify
the needs of others and encourage them Seek help
if unsure Communicate clearly Provide materials
in an accessible format
21
Produce publications that are clear and easy to
read.
In many publications the current trend is to
place text over a coloured background, or a
picture, and sometimes the text may also be
coloured. This results in the text that is very
difficult, or impossible to read.
In many publications the current trend is to
place text over a coloured background, or a
picture, and sometimes the text may also be
coloured. This results in the text that is very
difficult, or impossible to read.
This is the same piece of text written as it
could appear in many current publications. Notice
how difficult it is to read
22
Contact Details

• 01792 648081
• www.swansea.gov.uk/swanseaskillsservice
• Pamela.Williams_at_swansea.gov.uk