Priority Area Final Reports
March 2008
Elaine Goodall
Skills
1. With reference to the Year 1 Business Plan, please provide a
summary of work/activities undertaken since joining
WMCETT.
Flexi study level 5 diplomas
The first year of the WMCETT saw the development and pilot delivery of the
first level 5 flexi study subject specialist diplomas for teachers of adult literacy
and numeracy. Three courses started in October 08, one delivered in Lincoln
and two at the University. In total there were 21 literacy and 12 ESOL teacher
trainees enrolled. By March 31st the courses were all well established and over
three quarters of the delivery had been completed; during this time only one
person has withdrawn.
PTTLS + Literacy
Another course developed and piloted was the threshold teacher training
qualification for people interested in working in the Skills for Life sector, the
PTLLS + literacy programme. This attracted a range of trainees most of
whom were involved in either teaching and training in some way, who had
previously received no training in the teaching of literacy nor undertaken any
generic teaching skills. Twelve people enrolled on this course and eight have
been recommended for certification to the exam board.
It has taken longer than planned to set up and deliver a second course in
Shropshire but this course is planned for June 08 and we are currently
recruiting people. This course will be informed and further developed using
the evaluation and recommendations of the first course.
Key Skills
The Key Skills certificate was run in partnership with LSN and the KSSP and
recruited approximately 112 learners from 10 centres. One course was run at
the University with 13 participants; the attendance rate was over 85% and 8
candidates have been recommended for certification.
Minimum core workshops
In response to requests from generic teacher trainers a minimum core
workshop was developed to explore a range of activities that could be used to
cover aspects of the literacy and numeracy minimum core on generic teacher
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training courses. As well as providing a range of useful resources the
workshop aimed to encourage teacher trainers to embed the minimum core
into their delivery in the same way that vocational lecturers are expected to
embed literacy, numeracy and IT into their delivery. This workshop was
delivered twice at the CETT conference in London in February; in both
instances it was very well received.
E learning and Skills for Life awareness awards
Over the past year other accredited courses have been developed and will be
delivered over the summer. A certificate and a diploma course have been
developed in e learning. These courses are aimed at teachers who want to
engage in curriculum development focused on e learning. Two colleges are
interested in piloting these courses in the near future. In addition an award at
HE level one has been designed to raise awareness of Skills for Life issues but
also involves undertaking an activity around Skills for Life that ‘makes a
difference’ to the organisation.
Skills sessions and Skills for Life awareness sessions
Specific skills sessions have been delivered in Coventry and Warwickshire on:
 Active Learning Approaches to delivering literacy and numeracy
 Skills for life awareness sessions
 Differentiation for Skills for Life teachers
 Introduction to the ESOL curriculum
177 training places were taken up in total.
Skills for Life Teacher Training Day
In November Skills for Life teacher trainers were invited to spend a day
exploring the issues around delivering the new level 5 subject specialist
qualifications. This was useful both on the day and in establishing a network
of subject specialist teacher trainers. A second day is planned for April.
Training Needs Analysis
The Training Needs Analysis was undertaken towards the end of the year and
has provided some useful information for Skills for Life teacher trainers in the
area. A report has been compiled and will be disseminated very shortly.
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2. Identify any activities listed above which have been
particularly successful and explain why you think this
occurred.
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The level five diplomas because they were based on an existing
successful flexible delivery model.
The development of the Skills for Life awareness raising award because
it has been developed in partnership with two organisations who were
looking for something to effect a change in their organisations in
relation to Skills for Life.
The development of the e learning award because it is a product that
providers are looking for.
The minimum core workshops because they were carefully constructed
to take account of the heavy demands teacher trainers are
experiencing in delivering the new DTLLS. They also provided
participants with some ready made resources that they could use
straight away in their teaching.
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3. Identify any activities listed above which have been
particularly difficult to undertake, or targets which have
proven difficult to reach, and discuss why.
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The training needs analysis was difficult to get started because there
was no CETT wide network to link into with regard to Skills for Life.
However using a questionnaire on the WMCETT website instead of
sending out paper based questionnaires has resulted in 74 responses
providing some useful information.
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