Inventing our future Collective action for a sustainable economy

Regional Social Strategy – the strategy to achieve social inclusion throughout the East of England
The national Skills for Life survey (DfES, 2003) showed that very few people regarded their reading, writing or
maths skills as below average, including those with the lowest levels of ability. For example, 54% of those with
Entry Level 1 or lower level literacy said their everyday reading ability was ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ good.
There is little regional data available about the Skills for Life needs of the adult population who are postworking
age (ie aged 60+ for women and 65+ for men), but it can be reasonably assumed that amongst the
younger people in this group the proportion with poor Skills for Life and no qualifications will be similar to that
of the ‘working age’ population.
Nationally, it is estimated that there are at least half a million people who struggle with English because it is
not their first language. Nearly half of those with a different first language were classified at Entry Level 3 or
below in the literacy test of the Skills for Life survey (roughly the standard expected of 11-year-olds).
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