4B: What is 'success' in guidance and support?

Diana had been out of education for 17 years. She knew she needed to change things. Diana says, ‘I was terrified at the thought of returning to any form of education. One of my main worries was that people would call me thick. I knew in my own mind that I wasn’t thick, I just hadn’t bothered to learn.’

After much agonising, Diana plucked up enough courage to find out about a vocational course in Amenity Horticulture. On the course she chose, embedded learning is used to help equip students with the basic skills they need to follow the vocational programme. Learners say in particular that they do not feel ‘singled out’ as failing to achieve. They understand that many learners experience difficulties with literacy, numeracy and language as part of vocational or other learning. After four weeks on the course, Diana says, ‘The tutors here have been so supportive. There are lots of us in the class that need help with maths and English. The way the course is taught helps us all to learn these skills. No-one feels any different.’