Expertise

Working with Adults

Action by the Northern Learning Trust:

• We now have 16 Skills for Life tutors to help adults improve their basic literacy and numeracy skills.
• We also have three tutors in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL).
• We help refugees and asylum seekers begin work on language skills, ahead of places becoming available at the council-run ESOL service.
• We are working in Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland and Northumberland.
• We will soon start working in County Durham too.
• Our work links with the Government’s Skills for Life programme. This aims to improve the literacy and numeracy skills of 1.5 million adults by 2010.
• Every year we work with more than 500 individuals to improve their basic skills.

Case studies

Peter (56 years old)
Peter had been called ‘thick’ at school and he was convinced that he would never be able to read, write or add numbers. We worked with him for nine weeks and the change in his attitude was remarkable. He began to see learning as something he could be enthusiastic about. His progress in reading and writing helped him deal with official forms. His improvement in addition and subtraction boosted his confidence with managing money. He decided to move on to a course at a local college.

Brian (16 years old)
Brian refused to read, or even try. But we found out that he was interested in cars and so began to develop a computer-based car magazine with him. We visited car showrooms and scrap yards where he took photographs. He then learnt how to download and format them. The next step was to write short captions, based around a sight vocabulary that was colour-coded. Brian became very proud of his work and would carry it around to show people. His literacy skills, attendance, confidence,  self-esteem and confidence all began to show a marked improvement.

Samantha (23 years old)
Money management was a real problem for Samantha. We worked with her on basic budgeting skills, through the Adult Numeracy Core Curriculum. Sam found that her new skills gave her the confidence to manage her own money affairs for the first time in her life. She gained enough confidence to enrol on a Sports Development course; we are continuing to help her with literacy skills to support this course.

Zahra (in her 30s)
Zahra was an asylum seeker with very limited English. She felt very isolated in her home, not wanting to open the door in case she had to speak English. She felt too embarrassed to go to ESOL classes. We worked with her to build confidence through a free speaking style exercise, which allowed a relationship to grow and some correction of language. She agreed to us enrolling her on a course at Westgate Community College, and we continued to support her to make sure she would not leave the course. She is progressing well and has been encouraged that her English is better than some of the other people in the group.

Working with children & young people

Action by the Northern Learning Trust:

Alternative education for 11-16 year olds
Research shows that young people study best when they are interested in the subject and see how it affects their life. In this project, students identify their own goals and the pace at which they want to work. This encourages a positive attitude in searching for solutions. We have five workers who teach individuals and small groups. They help overcome barriers and build trust and confidence. We work  with other professionals to encourage  re-engagements into school.

Getting people into work through Education to Employment (E2E)
Education to Employment is aimed at young people who need additional support to achieve qualifications. It bridges the gap between a school where they have not achieved success, and the workplace. We work with young people who have particular issues with reading and writing.

Developing literacy through ‘Children’s Express’
‘Children’s Express’ develops literacy through involving young people in journalism and creating their own output. Young people work in teams to decide what to write about, and what their learning targets will be. Those with more experience take on a leadership role and train new members. We manage ‘Children’s Express’ with the help of partners, including the Tyneside Deaf Youth Project; innovative ideas include bringing together deaf and hearing young people to work on stories.

Working with Young Offenders aged 11-19 years
Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) can refer young offenders to us so that we can improve their literacy and numeracy skills. This helps them break their pattern of offending, and instead go to a job or return to education. Importantly, the young offenders are not forced to work with us, but must make a positive choice to develop a new course in their lives. One of our members of staff now coordinates a ‘Resettlement and Aftercare Provision’ programme for young people who are most at risk of further offending. This involves working in partnership with Newcastle Drug and Alcohol Service, Newcastle P.R.O.P.S, Newcastle Education Welfare Service and Children and Young People’s Service.
 
Every year we work with more than 200 children and young people.

Case studies

A young offender, who has been following an alternative curriculum, says: ‘I’ve never enjoyed learning…but this is different. Because I’m by myself, I don’t feel stupid. I can read and write now. I’ve learned loads and have a certificate
to prove it. I never thought I would be able to do this sort of stuff (applying for training) but I can now.’

The parent of a young person on the project says: ‘The project has been a Godsend. He has not only made progress academically, but gained confidence and self esteem.’

Group work during holidays helps towards bringing people back into school. Learners choose a topic and their work on it is accredited; more importantly, they gain confidence and social skills to overcome their marginalisation and isolation.

Qualifications achieved by young people are accredited by the Assessment and Qualification Alliance. We also encourage them to take the national literacy and numeracy tests.

Working with Families

Action by the Northern Learning Trust:

We have delivered a series of programmes under the banner of ‘Time Together’
We have four tutors who work in areas of high deprivation across Newcastle, North Tyneside, Gateshead, Durham and South East Northumberland. They run a series of programmes (see below).

We run a ‘Shared Beginnings’ programme
This 10-week programme, created by ‘Reading is Fundamental’, encourages and equips parents and other carers to enjoy helping their children learn. Part of the programme is to make simple low-cost books using personal photos and craft materials.

We have developed the ‘Special Time Together’ programme
This programme applies the principles of ‘Shared Beginnings’ to parents and carers of children aged 0-8 with a special need – including children with Down’s Syndrome and those with developmental delays or on the autistic spectrum.

We are promoting music and rhyme through ‘Magic Moments’
‘Magic Moments’ uses music and games to show how rhyme and rhythm can help a child’s speaking and listening skills. This 10-week programme is aimed at the parents and carers of pre-school children.

We are promoting language and play through the ‘Storybox’ programme
In this programme, parents and carers of children aged 3+ make an exciting story world inside a box. This involves lots of imagination and art & craft activities. Over 10 weeks, parents and carers engage in ‘small world’ play to help their child’s speaking and listening skills.

We are supporting parents and carers with Skills for Life needs
During our programmes we come across parents and carers who have limited literacy.
To support them – and their children – we offer personalised help from our Skills
for Life

Every year we work with more than 125 families.

Case studies

Parents who have been on our  programmes say:

‘Since attending the course I speak and talk to him much more and try and use proper full sentences. I make a conscious effort to sing more nursery rhymes and have more reading time together.’

‘It was fun making the books and Leo enjoyed looking at them. It is good ‘cos it’s something I’ve made for him to keep in the future. It’s something special for him.’

Helping young people gain an alternative qualification in literacy and numeracy
Young people are more motivated to learn when they feel that they are making progress and being successful. National Tests in literacy and numeracy are designed to raise the achievement of pupils who are vulnerable to disengaging from the GCSE curriculum and coursework. We have designed training on the Tests, and delivered it to all secondary schools in the Newcastle LEA.

Putting our training into practice, schools are now starting to use the National Tests for different types of pupils. These include pupils who would benefit from an alternative curriculum, pupils who need extra incentive and encouragement in Year 11, and pupils who want an additional resit option in Year 12.

Consultancy

Research into Skills for Life
Our report ‘Closing the Gap’ identified strengths and opportunities in developing Skills for Life in those areas of Newcastle with the highest Index of Multiple Deprivation. Overall, Newcastle provides a good quality service but there are opportunities to move forward:

• Skills for Life needs a higher profile, and should be embedded more deeply into the culture;
• Skills for Life should be developed in many different ways, to meet the very different needs of learners;
• Skills for Life methods and resources should be more available to schools.