1. Skills for Life Support Programme T: 0118 902 1920 F: 0845 838 1207 E: sflenquiries@cfbt.com W: www.excellencegateway.org.uk/sflsp The Skills for Life Support Programme is delivered on behalf of the Learning and Skills Improvement Service by CfBT Education Trust and partners CfBT Education Trust 60 Queens Road Reading RG1 4BS Module 3 Working together to embed literacy, language and numeracy

2. Skills for Life Support Programme Aim The aim of this module is: to support collaborative working in the design and delivery of more effective embedded teaching and learning sessions. 2

3. Skills for Life Support Programme Outcomes You will have: an understanding of the different approaches to collaborative working analysed the experiences of practitioners who successfully collaborated in delivering an embedded vocational programme explored which approach will suit your programme area and consider collaborative working arrangements identified the critical success factors for effective collaborative working agreed a plan of working together which will continue the process that has started today. 3

4. Skills for Life Support Programme Features of effective embedded provision (1) When there is a whole-organisation approach: organisational policies and managers support embedded provision in principle senior and middle managers support embedded provision in practice organisational arrangements support embedded provision resourcing and working conditions support embedded provision National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy, 2006 4

5. Skills for Life Support Programme Features of effective embedded provision (2) Teamwork: commitment to collaborative teamwork from vocational and LLN staff formal and informal shared planning team identity e.g. shared staff rooms, joint activities. National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy, 2006 5

6. Skills for Life Support Programme Features of effective embedded provision (3) Team values: shared commitment to learners vocational success respect for, and understanding of, each persons specialism commitment to learn from each other. National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy, 2006 6

7. Skills for Life Support Programme Dual-skilled or specialist teachers? The embedded approach failed to work only when vocational teachers were also expected to teach literacy and numeracy. National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy, 2006 7

8. Skills for Life Support Programme Collaborative working: research findings Literacy, language and numeracy has to be subsumed into the overall vocational objective for the learner. National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy, 2005 8

9. Skills for Life Support Programme Collaborative working: research findings Qualities possessed by tutors and relationships between them were more important than general curricular models of embedded provision. National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy, 2005 9

10. Skills for Life Support Programme Different approaches: example 1 LLN skills taught first – then applied to vocational skill with appropriate specialist tutor leading. The tutors planned together discussing content, who would lead, and appropriate resources. Later in the course, the tutors decided to split the group into levels 1 & 2 so they could more effectively manage the learners and their learning. Tutors on Childcare Course 10

11. Skills for Life Support Programme Different approaches: example 2 At Total People Ltd., a work-based learning provider in the North West, the SfL Manager worked closely with the Health and Social Care Manager after they identified that not enough learners from this sector were signing up to Train to Gain SfL courses. The 2 managers co-facilitated team meetings so that their teams could collaboratively identify common workplace difficulties and develop LLN resources and approaches for health and social care learners. 11

12. Skills for Life Support Programme Moving forward The key is for vocational and literacy, language and numeracy teachers to plan and work genuinely together and share responsibility for the course. Tutors own fears of the unknown other need to be dissipated through team working. Embedding seems to require shared working over intensive periods. National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy, 2005 12

13. Skills for Life Support Programme The challenge – and rewards Embedded provision is likely to be professionally more demanding and more time-consuming for tutors than traditional models, but also more rewarding. National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy, 2006 We have stronger teams that have bonded through the embedding process. They are confident where they are going and that it is in the right direction. Director working at KEITS Ltd - WBL 13

14. Skills for Life Support Programme Team teaching with a Skills for Life tutor worked really well. It helped learners see how literacy and numeracy is needed within their vocational area and they saw it as part of their course. Even though they knew they had to do spellings or multiplication they saw the relevance of it. Instead of moaning about Basic Skills lessons, they actually looked forward to them. They liked having two teachers in the session who had different expertise. From my own point of view, it helped me become more aware of the literacy and numeracy skills required in my lessons and I now feel more confident in covering these things in theory sessions (Steve Boothby, Construction tutor, Cornwall College) 14

15. Skills for Life Support Programme Identifying your starting point Where are you now? Where would you like to be? Aim: to reflect on your current working relationship and to consider how to move forward. Objectives: to identify some models of collaborative working arrangements to review current ways of working together to consider the advantages and disadvantages of adopting different ways of working together to generate questions to support successful team working. 15

16. Skills for Life Support Programme Where are you now? In pairs, consider: where your working partnership is now the advantages and disadvantages of these approaches for your own context. What might work? What might not work? where you would like to be. Share your findings with others. Agree three key questions that will need answering to ensure successful team work. 16

17. Skills for Life Support Programme Working together We learnt that we were both sensitive to learner needs and that central to the success was the relationship with each other. We set out right from the start to establish the status of the LLN tutor. Reflection from a vocational tutor having worked with an LLN tutor at Northampton College. 17

18. Skills for Life Support Programme A cycle for working together Planning and Review 18

19. Skills for Life Support Programme Ground rules for working together Build rapport and a working relationship. Investigate your partners situation. Identify strengths and problem areas. Agree specific goals and outcomes. Focus on solutions. Review progress on goals and give feedback. 19

20. Skills for Life Support Programme Working together: identifying and removing barriers In pairs or small groups: list some of the barriers or problems that might arise when working together for half of the barriers/problems, suggest strategies record these on flipcharts and display view each others findings and comment or add to these strategies. 20

21. Skills for Life Support Programme Making it work: the power of positive thinking 1.If it works, do more of it; if it doesnt work, do something different. 2.A small change in any aspect of a problem can initiate a solution. 3.People have the necessary resources to change problems. 4.A focus on future possibilities and solutions enhances change. 5.Co-operation enhances change. 6.No sign-up – no change. 7.The problem is the problem; not the person. 8.Possibilities are infinite. 9.People have unique ways of solving problems. 21

22. Skills for Life Support Programme Scaling: where are you now? On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is the worst you can imagine and 10 is fine: Where are you this week? How come? How have you managed to get so far already? (Go for actions rather than feelings) What did you do differently to get to this point? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 22

23. Skills for Life Support Programme Scaling: where would you like to be? When you are one more along the scale: a)What will you be doing differently? b)What would I see and hear differently on a video? c)Who will be the first to notice? –What will they notice first? –How will you know they have noticed? 23

24. Skills for Life Support Programme Powerful questions to try What do you want from your session? Try to envision success. Can you describe it? What will you have to do to achieve this? What stops you? What options have you got? What else? How will you or others know when its worked? I wonder what would happen if you tried…? Suppose…? What would… look like to the learners? What would the learners be doing differently? 24

25. Skills for Life Support Programme Contacts Add contact details here: Presenter Email Address Presenter Telephone (optional) Skills for Life Support Programme Office Contacts: CfBT Education Trust Tel: 0118 902 1920 Email: sflenquiries@cfbt.comsflenquiries@cfbt.com www.excellencegateway.org.uk/sflsp 25