Basic Skills
The Street Forge Workshops offers training in both Literacy
and Numeracy up to National Test levels. There are 3 groups,
2 held on a Wednesday afternoon and 1 held on a Friday afternoon.
Each member of the group works at a level appropriate to their
ability and this is originally decided by a short assessment
for one or both subjects dependent on the persons’ choice.
Basic skills levels start at Pre-Entry for those who have
severe problems e.g. verbal communication difficulties, and
progress in stages through to the National Test Level 2 which
is approximately equivalent to a ‘C’ grade GCSE.
Progression through the levels is by means of a yearly assessment
and it is common for one person to work at two levels e.g. Entry
1 Literacy & Entry 2 Numeracy. There are a series
of standards to be met throughout each level and work is tailored
to individual needs. This means within a group there is always
a variety of work in progress. There is no time limit to the
course which allows students to work at their own pace.
Students within a group are always very supportive of each
other and will often assist those with less ability to achieve
good results. This working together is an important part of
their learning as it gives a better understanding of the requirements
that may be needed in a work situation.
Basic Skills for adults is not like being back at school
learning your ‘ABC’. All learning is based around
everyday living and the types of situations that arise from
these. You can learn numeracy through dealing with a selection
of scenarios from shopping to wages to writing a cheque whilst
literacy uses scenarios such as the driving test or visiting
a doctor.
Within the Basic Skills Curriculum increasing use is being
made of technology through I.T even allowing the National
Test to be taken on line if required. This can ease the pressure
on someone whose writing skills may be limited as the questions
are multiple choice. Other areas include discussion skills,
free writing and communication skills.
Street Forge Workshops makes this training available to all
who wish to participate, at whatever level, whether to improve
skills in general, maintain current levels or study for a
specific goal such as employment.
It is not compulsory or a requirement to enter the National
Test.
Our aim is simply to help provide a better quality of life
in general for those who participate. |
