Help with Reading, Writing and Maths
What do we mean by Skills for Life?
We mean ‘the ability to read, write and speak in English and use mathematics at a level to function and progress at work and in society in general’.
The skills needs of individuals are varied and wide ranging.
Skills for Life can be :
- reading skills, for pleasure as well as essential information such as in the workplace
- writing skills like handwriting, spelling, grammar
- Setting out different written work like letters, forms and reports
- Working with numbers, both mental and written calculations.
Skills for Life at work
Most providers will customise a course for your employees which is relevant to the work they do; the new time sheet, report writing and reporting procedures, letter writing, speaking and communicating.
..and finally
Skills for Life are an important part of life, both at work and at home. This information is to raise awareness of the help available to people wanting to improve their skills. The support available is local and sensitive to the needs of busy adults who may not have been near a college for a number of years.
"Get On" Campaign
‘GET ON’ is a Government Campaign aimed at helping adults with their reading, writing and maths.
You can talk to a friendly adviser about your reading, writing and maths needs on 0800 100 900.
The adviser can send you a free ‘Get On’ video pack which features people who have improved their word and number skills – and their lives – by going on a free course in their local area.
So why not start today!
There has never been a better time to ‘Get On’ a course and improve your basic skills.
To see the website, please click HERE
Checking Readability
If you produce material for the people you work with, or if you want to know how easy it would be for someone to read a leaflet or poster, use this ready reckoner to check readability.
1. Select a text
2. Count 10 sentences
3. Count number of words which have three or more syllables
4. Multiply this by 3
5. Circle the number closest to your answer
1 |
4 |
9 |
16 |
25 |
36 |
49 |
64 |
81 |
100 |
121 |
144 |
169 |
6.Find the square root of the number you circle
1 |
4 |
9 |
16 |
25 |
36 |
49 |
64 |
81 |
100 |
121 |
144 |
169 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
| 7. Add 8 |  |
A Readability Level of 10—12 is readable by most people.
Acknowledgements to The Basic Skills Agency
.Updated 31/7/06