Basic Skills in England



Definitions

Basic Skills

The ability to read, write and speak in English/ Welsh and to use mathematics at a level necessary to function and progress at work and in society in general.

Basic Skills Agency (2004), About Us: About the Basic Skills Agency, [Online], Available World Wide Web, URL: http://www.basic-skills.co.uk/site/page.php?cms=2) [Accessed December 22, 2004, 18:05], Concise Multimedia.

Basic Skills concern lifelong learning, meaning all age groups.

Key Skills are similar to basic skills, but actually include a wider range of skills. The Department for Education and Skills defined key skills as:

Essential skills which people need in order to function effectively as members of a flexible, adaptable and competitive workforce. They are also invaluable in helping people function within society - and for lifelong learning.

Learndirect (2002), Are Basic Skills Like Key Skills? [Online], Available World Wide Web, URL: http://www.learndirect-advice.co.uk/helpandadvice/bassk/#key [Accessed December 22, 2004, 20:10], Ufi Limited.

Key Skills invariably include Information Communication Technology (ICT) with literacy and numeracy. Although focused on application into work, there is much overlap.

This concerns England. Similar approaches exist for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.



Formation of Provision

In 1998, Sir Claus Moser wrote A Fresh Start, on literacy and numeracy in England. From this came a government comprehensive strategy to tackle Basic Skills deficiencies in the adult population called Skills for Life.

From this and around 2000 (DfEE, 2001) it was identified that:

25% of employers reported basic skills inadequacies in the distribution and consumer services sector (25% of all employment)

The consequences were:

So these people were targeted for action:

Aim to improve literacy and numeracy by 2004:

Tasks:

Methods in general:

Specifically:

Using these organisers and providers:

and:

Learners to be:

The providers offer and use:

Locations and times:

National standards for literacy:

National standards for numeracy



What is happening now?

Most agencies have settled into their roles. For example, the Basic Skills Agency has a set of programmes:

Basic Skills Agency (2004), About Us: About the Basic Skills Agency, [Online], Available World Wide Web, URL: http://www.basic-skills.co.uk/site/page.php?cms=2) [Accessed December 22, 2004, 18:05], Concise Multimedia.

The Learning and Skills Council covers all non-University adult learning. It looks at the demand side and supply side, with The Young People's Learning Committee (16-21)...

...and an Adult Learning Committee

One big provider is Learndirect. It covers adult learning including Basic Skills or:

Learndirect (2002), Are Basic Skills Like Key Skills? [Online], Available World Wide Web, URL: http://www.learndirect-advice.co.uk/helpandadvice/bassk/#what [Accessed December 22, 2004, 20:15], Ufi Limited.

It states that still around seven million adults in England have difficulty with basic skills.

It provides:

It proceeds using:

There became by 2004 many providers of Entry Level and Levels 1 and 2 in Literacy or Numeracy

Other related including Basic Skills:

Promotion also takes place:

So much that was considered in 1998 and drafted in 2000 has come about. The question remains how many people take advantage of the courses and how advantageous they are.

It is not always the case that skills education improves skills. Some people tackle courses they can do easily, some vocational Key Skills and Basic Skills courses repeat a previous course or add little to what has been achieved (people with GCSE C or above doing Level 2, for example). This happens through compulsion and through providers meeting statistical requirements. Some people may even find their skills declining as a result of taking a course - Brooks et al, Progress in Adult Literacy: Do learners learn? (2001), in Skills for life: The National Strategy for Improving Adult Literacy and Numeracy Skills, Department for Education and Employment, page 10, found that 20% of attenders find their skills reducing.

 

Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) (2001), Skills for Life: The National Strategy for Improving National Literacy and Numeracy Skills, Foreword by the Rt Hon David Blunkett MP, Secretary of State for Education and Employment, [Online] Available World Wide Web, URL: http://www.dfee.gov.uk/readwriteplus, [Accessed December 20, 2004, 22:10], Nottingham: DfEE Publications.

 

Adrian Worsfold

Pluralist - Liberal and Thoughtful