Essential Skills
Incorporating literacy, numeracy and family programmes
- Essential Skills for Work and Life (formerly Developing Essential Skills)
Agored Cymru is offering a new suite of qualifications providing learners with the opportunity to accredit their essential skills learning. The strength of these Essential Skills for Work and Life qualifications is their flexibility, learners being able to choose combinations of units in literacy, numeracy and ICT at a level according to their needs. The number of credits they choose will determine whether they achieve an Award, Certificate, Extended Certificate or Diploma so learners are able to build towards the qualifications over a period of time if necessary.
These Essential Skills for Work and Life qualifications also recognise that learners’ skills do not always sit comfortably within a level so they have the opportunity to mix the levels of units within the qualification.
A new suite of units have been developed on behalf of the Welsh Government to support their Essential Skills in the workplace initiative, referred to by Jeff Cuthbert AM, Deputy Minster for Skills and Technology on 22/5/2013.
Learners based in the workplace can design the qualification content to suit the specific needs of the industry within which they are based. Those in Further Education can choose units to support their vocational or academic programme. In Adult Community Learning, the units may provide the additional specific support they need in order to eventually go onto achieve the Essential Skills Wales qualification, giving them the skills needed to function and progress at home and at work.
Essential Skills for Work and Life qualifications are also appropriate for organisations who need to award qualifications in order to meet funding requirements.
The units within the qualification require learners to apply their essential skills so that they truly consolidate their learning. The level 2 and level 3 qualifications within this suite are now in development.
Agored Cymru still offer a range of literacy, numeracy and ICT units within the Quality Assured Lifelong Learning (QALL) pillars of the Credit and Qualifications Framework Wales (CQFW) to ensure that learners have the opportunity to work towards a curriculum that suits their needs. Units at level 2 will also ensure that progression opportunities are available
- Essential Skills Practitioner Qualifications
Agored Cymru offers qualifications for staff in the delivery of essential skills to adults and young people. The Agored Cymru Level 3 Certificates for Essential Skills Practitioners- Numeracy, Literacy and ESOL give learners the knowledge required to work with adults and young people with essential skills needs and the skills required to assess, plan and deliver their learning.
Each qualification is 18 credits in size and consists of 4 units. The mandatory unit, Adults and Young People as Essential Skills Learners (GB23CY005), is common to all three qualifications.
The Agored Cymru Level 2 Award in Supporting Adults and Young People in Essential Skills (600/3374/5) enables the learner to develop the skills to engage and support adults and young people with communication, numeracy, or ESOL needs.
Agored Cymru has also developed units which support the CPD in key areas of essential skills delivery. These include Embedding Literacy in Mixed Ability Vocational Groups, Embedding Numeracy in Mixed Ability Vocational Groups, Teaching to Mixed Ability Groups, Diagnostic Assessment and also some which use action research to explore teaching trategies. A number of organisations have produced useful teacher training resources which can be used to support the delivery of these units.see links below
- Involving basic skills practitioners in strategic development
Agored Cymru meets regularly with practitioners through standardisation events and steering groups in north and south Wales. These meetings have been particularly useful in identifying and responding to gaps in the curriculum. If you would like more information on the steering groups, contact Judith.archer@agored.org.uk.
- Working with Basic Skills Cymru to accredit areas such as family programmes and financial literacy
Agored Cymru has developed a suite of units to support their financial literacy and family learning initiatives. Many of these units have materials to support them which can be accessed by clicking on the paperclip on the unit descriptor.
Packages of units are available in:
Contextualised basic skills units:
- Financial Literacy
- Sounds good (the story of a band)
- Child’s play
- Numeracy and I.T
- Communication and I.T
- SIBS Construction
- SIBS Sport
- Basic Skills in the Workplace
Available Units
To find a complete list of the basic skills units, visit the unit group sections on the home page – link. Alternatively, visit the unit search page, enter the following codes into the national code box and select the level required.
|
Subject Area |
Code |
|
Numeracy |
HD4 |
|
Communication/literacy |
HD2 and HD3 |
Useful Websites and Resources
http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/sflcurriculum
Go to this site to access copies of the numeracy and literacy core curriculum for adults and the pre-entry curriculum framework.
http://rwp.excellencegateway.org.uk/
A set of teaching resources ranging from entry level 1 to level 2 for ESOL, literacy and numeracy-
http://www.ncetm.org.uk/reflective-learning/ttm
Follow this link to find Thinking Through Mathematics which is a very good resource for numeracy CPD and also rich collaborative teaching resources. You have to register with NCETM but that allows you to access other good resources.
http://www.nationalstemcentre.org.uk/elibrary/collection/282/improving-learning-in-mathematics
Improving Learning in Mathematics provides resources for learners at level 1 and level 2
http://www.nrdc.org.uk/index.asp
National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy (NRDC) conducts research and development projects to improve literacy, numeracy, language and related skills and knowledge. They provide a range of resources to support staff CPD.
http://www.skillsworkshop.org/index.htm
Skills for life resources all mapped to the Literacy, numeracy and ESOL core curriculum
http://www.niace.org.uk/publications
A good source of materials on all aspects of adult learning
http://rwp.excellencegateway.org.uk/Diagnostic%20Assessment/
Diagnostic tools for use in assessing the specific numeracy skills needs of a learner once initial assessment has given an approximate level.
http://rwp.excellencegateway.org.uk/Diagnostic%20Assessment/Literacy/
Diagnostic tools for use in assessing the specific literacy skills needs of a learner once initial assessment has given an approximate level.
http://wales.gov.uk/topics/educationandskills/qualificationsinwales/qualificationtypesinwales/essentialskillswales/?lang=en
For more information on Essential Skills Wales
http://rwp.qia.oxi.net/embeddedlearning/search.cfm
This link takes you to a range of teaching resources for embedding basic skills into contexts ranging from hairdressing to horticulture.
http://www.ngflcymru.org.uk/
Excellent source of interactive resources at all levels
This site provides financial literacy resources primarily fo school age children but many of those provided would not be out of place in an adult education environment. Some great tools enabling you to include IT in your sessions
http://www.talent.ac.uk
A support site for teachers of ESOL, numeracy and literacy, providing resources and links to other useful sites
http://www.oft.gov.uk/oft_at_work/partnership_working/consumer-alliance/resources/toolkitfront/
Using everyday consumer situations, such as choosing a mobile phone, as contexts for learning numeracy and literacy
http://www.move-on.org.uk/index.asp
This is useful site for resources, session plans and practice exam papers.
http://www.mmlsoft.com/
This site provides a range of templates for interactive materials and other resources which support teaching.
http://www.tes.co.uk/
This site provides support for all aspects of teaching including free resources.
http://wales.gov.uk/topics/educationandskills/learningproviders/basicskillscymru/publications/teacherstvinwales/?lang=en
Teachers TV offers programmes for primary and secondary teachers, heads, managers, governors, teaching assistants and support staff. By visiting this website you can access a number of programmes that have been produced by Teachers TV. Whilst primarily aimed at primary and secondary learners, there are many good ideas that can be adapted to use with adults.
General resources in English and Welsh:
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/eng/therydercup2010newport.htm
Numeracy resources:
http://agored.org.uk/getfile.aspx?fileid=749
Literacy resources:
