Skills for Life Business Definition
DEFINITION
1. Skills for Life (SfL) is the name of the Government's national strategy for improving the literacy, language and numeracy skills of adults aged 16 and upwards, through the delivery of literacy, language (English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)) and numeracy provision. The Skills for Life strategy is a widening participation agenda, as well as having key PSA targets to meet.
TARGET
(View all targets)
2. The first Public Service Agreement (PSA) Skills for Life target, set from 2001, was to improve the basic skills of 2.25 million learners by 2010, by achieving an appropriate qualification, with learners only counted once. The LSC has met and exceeded this target 3 years early, achieving it in July 2007. The Skills for Life flag in the Learning Aims Database (LAD) relates to the 2010 target, it does not relate to the new Leitch targets as outlined below.
3. The Leitch ambitions take the Skills for Life Strategy a step further with the intention that 95% of the working age population (16-64) will have achieved functional numeracy at Entry level 3 and functional literacy at level 1 by 2020. To ensure we are on track to meet this challenging target, the LSC has been set the following interim targets to achieve over 3 years from 2008/09 to 2010/11:
· 597,000 learners to achieve functional literacy (Level 1) or above, this includes ESOL achievements at level 1 and above
· 390,000 learners to achieve functional numeracy (Entry level 3) or above.
From 2008/09 Skills for Life planning will be focusing on delivering the Skills for Life Strategy, Leitch ambitions and the new PSA target.
4. There are a number of types of approved qualifications and provision that are funded as Skills for Life:
a. Nationally approved Certificates in Adult Literacy, Certificates in Adult Numeracy and Certificates in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Skills for Life as approved by the Secretary of State (entry level, level 1 and level 2) *units of these approved qualifications are also eligible for funding
b. GCSEs in English and Mathematics, which measure achievement up to level 2 (D - G = Level 1, A* - C = Level 2)
c. Key Skills qualifications in Communication and Application of Number at level 1 and level 2
d. Award in Functional Skills English and Mathematics (entry level, level 1, level 2)
e. Basic Skills ‘other provision’ at pre-entry and entry level only - Adult Literacy, Numeracy and ESOL courses not approved by the Secretary of State but that are based on the literacy and numeracy national standards.
The first four categories* except units of approved qualifications can potentially count towards the Leitch PSA literacy and numeracy PSA target when achieved at the threshold levels or above.
5. An adult learner is considered for this target to be those learners aged 16 and above who have left compulsory school education and are not in school sixth forms.
Measurement against target
6. Learners funded by the LSC and recorded on the Individualised Learner Record (ILR) will count to the Leitch target
7. It is not possible from the ILR to determine which of these learners are achieving the threshold level or above for the first time. The national achievement count is therefore adjusted down by 5% for literacy/ESOL achievements and 3% for numeracy achievements to allow for this. This is based on analysis of repeat learner numbers by BIS from the ILR.
8. The numeracy target is calculated by counting achievements at entry level 3. Because the ILR outcome field is not yet fully completed by all providers, a national assumption is applied to all entry level achievements – 50% of all entry level achievements are taken to be at entry level 3.
9. The numeracy and literacy target also counts a percentage of achievements levels that are higher than the Leitch thresholds - this is called the ‘jumper’ assumption. 2.7% of level 2 literacy/ESOL achievements are counted towards the literacy target. 6.6% of level 1 and 0.6% of level 2 numeracy achievements are counted towards the numeracy target.
LINKS
10. The following Data Definitions give the precise definition and sample code for the derivation of the Skills for Life Flags as used in the Standard Files.
11. The original and new strategy documents for Skills for Life and related background information can be found on the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) website http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/readwriteplus/.
Last date modified: 24 March 2010
