3A:How to achieve success in meeting the needs and interests of learners

For learners to be successful in achieving skills in literacy, numeracy and language, it is essential that the programme or course they are following is:

• matched to their ability level
• appropriate for teaching them the skills they need for their future adult life
• delivered in a way that will stimulate and hold their interest.

Before learners embark on a programme of literacy, numeracy and language skills, careful assessment needs to be carried out to identify the skills they already have and the skills they need to learn. Successful providers do not automatically enrol learners onto courses that lead to awards or national qualifications. First of all, they develop programmes and courses that meet the needs of the learners. Then they enter them for awards and qualifications if it is in the learners’ best interests to do so.

Successful providers regularly and rigorously review the literacy, numeracy and language programmes they offer and amend them to meet the changing needs of learners. Information from employers, community groups and future work placements about the literacy, numeracy and language skills that will be useful to learners in their future lives is taken into account as part of the evaluation process. Where literacy, numeracy and language provision is most successful, carefully designed schemes of work clearly document:

• the aim of the course
• course objectives
• the content of the course
• teaching and learning methods
• assessment procedures
• quality assurance procedures.

National standards and the core curricula inform the content and structure of the programme or course and provide criteria for assessing quality. ILPs are developed through matching the course content to the priorities for learning literacy, numeracy and language skills for each learner. Sessions are delivered using the teaching and learning methods outlined in the scheme of work that are most suitable for each learner and records of progress are developed using the assessment procedure. The scheme of work provides an overarching framework for the delivery and monitoring of the ILP.