Adult Literacy Core Curriculum - Nationally developed Skills for Life ...

improving reading and writing skills. Adults who talk and listen with their tutor and other
learners as part of the process of developing their reading and writing skills are much
more likely to recognise the relationship of parts to the whole, to grasp some underlying
principles and to reflect on their development as readers and writers.
The learner’s context
If the adult literacy core curriculum is to be successful, it is important that:
• the learner is clear about what they are learning and what the activities they
are undertaking are designed to teach – a clear and consistently delivered
curriculum helps with this;
• the learner brings the context that will be the ultimate ‘proving’ ground for
their improved skills;
• the learner is sure that the skills and knowledge that they are learning are
helping them to use their literacy in the range of ways they want.
The curriculum elements must be clear and used with learners. The aim must be that they
develop the concepts and the language that will help them make sense of their learning
and go on doing it. Evidence shows that the inclusion of explicit curriculum targets in
learning programmes has resulted in a clearer identification of outcomes by learners as
well as by teachers, and in better attendance and progression by learners.
The skills and knowledge elements in the adult literacy core curriculum are generic. They
are the basic building blocks that everyone needs in order to use literacy skills effectively
in everyday life. What is different is how adults use these skills and the widely differing
past experiences that they bring to their learning. This is the context that the learner
provides. Each individual learner will come with their own set of priorities and
requirements, and these must be the starting point of their learning programme
development.
The section in the national standards on the ‘Structure of the standards’ provides
examples of the use of literacy and numeracy skills in different contexts under the
following headings:
• citizen and community
• economic activity, including paid and unpaid work
• domestic and everyday life
• leisure
• education and training
• using ICT in social roles.
These are examples of the social roles and activities in which adults need literacy and
numeracy in order to function independently and exercise choice. This adult literacy core
curriculum provides the skills framework, the learner provides the context, and the tutor
needs to bring them together in a learning programme using relevant materials at the
appropriate level, to support learners in achieving their goals.
Introduction
‘Learners should be able
to develop the skills
common to them all,
using the interests, the
materials and the
activities that most
closely match their
needs’
A Fresh Start
‘In short, the
curriculum is not a
series of rigid lesson
plans to be taught by
every teacher and
followed by every
learner’. A Fresh Start
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