4B:What is ‘success’ in guidance and support?

When Kathleen first walked into her local learndirect centre, she knew she wanted a life change. She had turned 40, and after spending most of her life caring for her husband and raising two children, she decided it was time to start working in a different environment and to get a new job. ‘I left school at 16 and got married the year after,’ she says. ‘I felt like years were going by and that I wanted to further myself, do something different and get back into the working environment.’

At her initial interview, Kathleen quickly realised she didn't need to start from scratch. Guidance staff helped her establish that she needed to refresh her existing English and maths skills. ‘What I needed most was a boost of confidence. I didn't want to have to go back to school and sit in a classroom at the college. learndirect gave me the flexibility I needed as I could learn in my own time, when I wanted and where I wanted.’

The learndirect experience was exactly what Kathleen was looking for. ‘The courses are excellent. They are interactive and fun and they are designed in a way where you know exactly what to do without being told.’ Kathleen also enjoys the friendly and relaxed environment at the centre. ‘The staff are fantastic and I really love being able to learn as much or as little as I want without having to be tested constantly.’

Cathy, the centre manager has praised her hard work. ‘Kathleen has shows immense commitment and dedication. She has progressed very fast and has a very positive attitude towards learning.’

Only six months after first going into the learndirect centre, Kathleen received the centre’s award for Skills for Life learner of the year. She has also started work as a field development officer with a local cross-community school. ‘I help set up IT, arts and Sign classes for adults to encourage them to get back into learning,’ she says. ‘learndirect has given me the confidence I needed and has opened new doors. It has been a fantastic experience and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to get back into the working mode or simply wants to do something different.’

One college provides tuition in literacy, numeracy and language for Remploy Ltd and a local NHS Trust. After using Basic and Keyskill Builder as diagnostic testing tools to screen each learner, an individual learning plan is negotiated with the learner to form personal, achievable goals. Regular reviews and tutorials are essential to both learner and tutor in ensuring high-quality teaching practices. Each session provides an informal learning environment. Sessions are varied to include groupwork and games as well as individual work.

Debbie Brown, the Essential Skills Tutor at the college, explains, ‘ICT is a fantastic asset to both the tutor and the learner. For literacy learners it can take away the fear of writing words down, as all work looks professional and neat when produced on a computer. We can use digital cameras or Clip Art to personalise work or add colour, which encourages experimentation and adds to the fun of learning. In the same way, the computer is an excellent tool for those studying numeracy. There are so many ways of producing charts, tables and graphs using Excel, again in colour, and of course the keyboard is an additional resource to familiarise learners with numbers and symbols.’

Learners at Remploy Ltd have used ICT to enhance their work roles and improve their employment prospects. Many learners have also chosen to take up ICT in order to equip themselves at home to learn alongside their children or grandchildren. Debbie adds, ‘Learners initially need plenty of support and reassurance, but once the learning has cemented, many learners are keen to develop further using other computer applications whilst enhancing their literacy and numeracy skills.’

Learners at Remploy Ltd have access to the Internet, which means there are online educational worksheets, games and test papers available to them. Learners actively search the Internet for relevant material relating to their personal interests, which develops reading skills. Debbie says, ‘Online games are wonderful as icebreakers or to conclude a session. The learners are still learning, but in a more relaxed, interactive way. The key to our success is making our programmes varied whilst always ensuring they are what the learner wants.’