You are here: Home > Embedded Basic Skills > Good Practice

Developing good practice will ensure that the rights of the learners, teachers and the organisation can be protected and enhanced, and that quality can be both developed and demonstrated. So, there are some basic good practice criteria, which will help you in serving your clients effectively. Of course, all the other elements of good practice in teaching and learning also apply!

• Referenced to the National standards for Numeracy, Literacy and ESOL at Entry Level, Level 1 and Level 2.
  > Click for "National Standards".
• Referenced to the appropriate core curricula for literacy, numeracy and ESOL and with a curriculum, framework for Learners with Learning Difficulties and/or Disabilities.
  > Click for "Core Curricula"
• Use a common screening tool and appropriate diagnostic assessment.
  > Click for "Screening and Assessment".

The learners you are working with have access to:

• Impartial information, advice and guidance (IAG) on their identified needs and ways of improving their skills.
  > Click for "Information, Advice & Guidance"
• Confidential diagnostic assessment to identify their strengths and weaknesses and reports on the diagnostic assessment.
  > Click for "Screening and Assessment"
• An individual learning plan (ILP).
• A relevant programme of learning, referenced to the national standards, matching their aims and aspirations with their current abilities and future potential.
  > Click for "Planning Programmes of learning"
• Feedback and support throughout their programme
• Access to recognised qualifications.
  > Click for "Recognised Qualifications"
• Advice, information, guidance and encouragement to help progression that is proactive and leading to other opportunities.

• A system, or access to a system of self assessment in place to allow you to plan to address any weaknesses and to support development.
  > Click for "Quality Systems, Monitoring and Records".
• A system, or access to a system for monitoring learner progress. This must recognise and record progress of learners in terms of non-externally accredited achievement, as well as in terms of national qualifications.
  > Click for "Quality Systems, Monitoring and Records".
• Appropriately qualified and skilled staff and access to a programme to ensure continuous professional development of staff, so as to raise the level of competence of all teachers engaged in Basic Skills.
  > Click for "Staff - Qualifications and Development".

When the basic skills opportunities are embedded, learners are entitled to all aspects of good practice and there are additional points to think about. They include:

• Literacy, language and numeracy content must be made clear in recruitment strategy.

• Literacy, language and numeracy content must be identified through screening and assessment.

• Learning outcomes must be set for both strands of the course.

• Tasks and activities must be linked to National Standards.

• Literacy language and numeracy skills must be explicitly taught.

Additional desirable criteria include:

• Production of contextualised materials for use.

• Qualification aims for both strands where possible (learners can work towards a qualification in context - for example, certificate in Basic Food hygiene, and one of the qualifications in adult literacy, numeracy or ESOL.

• Learners’ Individual Learning Plans should include aims relating to both sets of learning outcomes. This can be recorded on one plan, although some organisations use separate ILPs for each strand of learning.

• Check the funding requirements of any planned courses - if the course is funded as Basic Skills, you must make sure you fulfil all the essential criteria and can show achievement.

• Even if you are offering embedded provision through another funding route, you should still ensure progress is measured to demonstrate benefits to learners, and give a starting point for future learning.

• Embedded activities are a useful way of building capacity from hosting/brokering (Stage 2) to provision (Staff 3) particularly where courses are double-staffed and skills are shared between Skills for Life and community development specialists.

[Introduction]
[What is EBS?]
[Why get Involved?]
[Advantages]
[Should you get involved?]
[Models of Embedding]
[Good Practice]
[EBS with Disabled People]