A Skills for Life Resource Guide
Electronic resources have a lot to offer learners and teachers in Skills for Life. They can be a good way to offer learners a chance to learn in an individual way and to practise valuable ICT skills at the same time.
The following tables give examples of sites and organisations that can provide information about resources. The information here is not exhaustive, but readers are encouraged to use the websites given here as a starting point and to expand their knowledge by going beyond these suggestions.
ORGANISATIONS OFFERING ADVICE, INFORMATION AND RESOURCES
Skills for Life Strategy Unit (previously ABSSU)
The website of the DfES Skills for Life Strategy Unit for all aspects relating to the Skills for Life strategy.
Adult Learning Inspectorate
The website of the Adult Learning Inspectorate, giving information about inspection, examples of good practice and reports on inspection.
Basic Skills Agency
The leading authority on basic skills in the UK. There is a free basic skills magazine available online with a regular website guide.
Basic Skills Observatory
www.basic-skills-observatory.co.uk
A resource area from the Basic Skills Agency.
FENTO
FENTO has up-to-date guidance on qualifications and standards for tutors and trainers in the post-16 sector, including guidance for generic teacher training on how to include literacy, numeracy and language in all post-16 education and training.
Institute of Education
A substantial resource of Skills for Life materials and other information.
learndirect
Useful for finding out about local centres and courses on offer.
LSC Skills for Life Quality Initiative
The LSC Skills for Life Quality Initiative website, a source of information about Skills for Life.
Move On
Information on the Move on campaign, including resources, test centres and the Get on at Work Campaign. You can also try out the mini test.
NIACE
National Institute of Adult Continuing Education
Information on conferences, publications and Skills for Life projects.
National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy
Information on conferences and Skills for Life projects on literacy, numeracy and language, and the professional development of teachers.
Office for Standards in Education
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
Skills and Education Network
This website offers providers the opportunity to share good practice and evidence with one another. It also has information on the latest news, events and initiatives in post-16 provision.
South Notts Webography
www.south-nottingham.ac.uk/21kproject/basicskillssites.htm
A webography of useful basic skills sites developed by South Nottingham College.
Talent
A dedicated website for Skills for Life professionals.
The Workplace Basic Skills Network
Focuses on basic skills in the workplace.
JOBSEARCH WEBSITES
Work Train
The national jobs and learning site, offering jobsearch employment vacancies and training, plus advice with careers, opportunities, training and qualifications in the UK, nationally or locally.
Workthing
A jobsearch website that has useful tips on writing CVs, applying for jobs and preparing for interviews in various sector.
JOBSEARCH WEBSITES FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
Disability Net Jobcentre
www.youreable.com/TwoShare/getPage/08Work/Site/Introduction
Site with situations wanted and situations vacant, including information about finding personal assistants.
Disability Matters Ltd
Disability Matters works with employers to help them realise and maximise the potential of disabled employees.
Employability
www.ruralnetuk.org/employability/startup.htm
The employability project is run by the Centre for Research and Policy in disability at Coventry University. It offers an online careers service for disabled people.
AWARDING BODIES OFFERING SKILLS FOR LIFE ACCREDITATION
AQA
Assessment and Qualification Alliance.
CCEA
Council for Curriculum Examinations and Assessment – relates to Northern Ireland.
City and Guilds
Edexcel
LCCIEB
London Chamber of Commerce and Industry Examinations Board.
NCFE
Northern Council for Further Education.
National Open College Network
Oxford and Cambridge RSA
SOFTWARE AND MEDIA SUPPLIERS
CTAD
Suppliers of Target Skills and other learning resources for key and basic skills.
West Nottinghamshire College
Basic and key skills assessments and learning resources.
LITERACY AND ESOL WEBSITES
A huge site for adult literacy and numeracy aimed at teachers and learners.
www.dfes.gov.uk/curriculum_literacy
The link to the online curriculum. This features a powerful search engine – better than thumbing through the paper document.
This is a great site for much more than word work. An excellent activity for learners is to ‘ask Dr Dictionary’ any question about grammar. You’ll get an answer from a human being. There’s a daily interactive crossword and word search game.
There’s a great set of quizzes on this site.
This National Literacy Trust site is excellent, with information, resources and discussions on literacy at all ages and in all settings.
The London Language and Literacy Unit (now LLU+) site is perhaps the most important site for adult literacy professional issues.
Web cards – on this site you can find out your local weather forecast and send it as a postcard. Virtual cards are often multimedia – you can add music and sometimes your own voice. Use them tomorrow!
www.cne.gmu.edu/modules/dau/algebra/basicarith/arith1_frm.html
NUMERACY WEBSITES
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/numbers
http://www.cne.gmu.edu/modules/dau/algebra/basicarith/arith1_frm.html
This site helps with negative numbers.
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/statistics
http://education.guardian.co.uk/microsite/teachernet
Although aimed primarily at schoolteachers, teachernet holds essential information on education policy as well as lots of free resources, and is worth visiting.
Over the water, marvel at Math in Daily Life, a simple and gently interactive maths site. It has ‘Exhibits’ on gambling, cooking, population growth, decorating and savings, and a piece on the universal language of math (as they say). It’s wordy, so you have to be quite literate, but the content is first rate.
http://www.moneymatterstome.com
A financial site developed by NIACE and supported by Prudential plc.
http://www.quickmath.com
http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/revision/maths/rev016.shtml
http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~jenolive/percent.html
http://members.aol.com/ukhostmths/mathson/ maths/number/interactive_tests/Percentages.htm
http://www.hellam.net/maths/mathfun1.htm
All these sites give resources on percentages.
http://www.teachingideas.co.uk
A sponsored site for schoolteachers, Maths Ideas is a great resource. Again, teachers of adults will find things that work or can be adapted, and parents can work with their kids on some exercises.
WEBSITES FOR SPECIFIC LEARNING DIFFICULTIES
Site of the British Institute for learning difficulties.
A web-based tool that analyses the accessibility of web pages.
Basic Skills for Inclusive Learning (BASIL).
This site gives information and resources to support learners with dyslexia.
SKILLS FOR LIFE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING COURSES
City University offers e-learning courses for professionals in conjunction with London Central north learndirect Hub.
E-version of the Skills for Life Teaching Qualifications Framework: A user’s guide
Part-time distance learning postgraduate Diploma and MA courses in basic skills.
LETTOL is an award-winning course that helps participants gain the skills needed to develop and teach online courses of all kinds.
Part-time distance learning Diploma and MA courses in basic skills.
BOOKSHOPS
Amazon, the most famous Internet bookshop.
www.bookfinder.com
www.bibliofind.com
www.abebooks.com
www.usedbooksearch.co.uk
Just four of the sites that let you search for second-hand and out-of-print books (so you can find that copy of Black's Writing Dictionary).
