Post 16 Quality Mark

The Basic Skills Agency's Quality Mark is seen by the National Assembly as a central part of its strategy to improve the quality of literacy and numeracy among adults. The target set out in the Basic Skills Strategy for Wales is that all publicly funded organisations should hold the Quality mark by the end of 2004.

The Post 16 Quality Mark provides a framework for raising standards of English/Welsh language, literacy and numeracy among adults. The Quality Mark focuses on effectiveness, as well as on entitlement, on development as well as on current provision.

Any organisations running a Basic Skills programme may apply for the Quality Mark including:

• Colleges of further education;

• LEA adult, lifelong learning and/or community education services;

• 6th form colleges;

• workbased learning training providers;

• prisons;

• voluntary organisations that provide basic skills;

• special schools that provide programmes for 16-19 year olds.

55 post 16 basic skills programmes currently hold the Quality Mark. Six of those have renewed their Quality Marks after the initial three years.

Working towards meeting the requirements of the ten elements of the quality mark, effectively focuses the organisation's attention on basic skills - how to support learners with basic skills needs and how to improve the quality of their basic skills provision.

The 10 elements are;

• A strategy, including an action plan, to improve standards of basic skills.

• An estimate of the scale of need for help with basic skills.

• Targets for the improvement in performance in basic skills.

• A negotiated learning plan for each learner.

• Regular review of progress.

• Access to nationally recognised accreditation of basic skills.

• Teaching by staff trained to nationally recognised standards.

• The use of an appropriate range of teaching styles to improve basic skills.

• The use of appropriate teaching and learning material to improve basic skills

• An effective procedure for monitoring the action plan and assessing improvement in effectiveness

If you want to find out more then contact Anna Fawcus on 020 7440 7773, or email annaf@basic-skills.co.uk