http://www.skillsforlifenetwork.comA web resource for Skills for Life professionals, providing weekly updates on Skills for Life issues, jobs, news, resources and events. You can network and communicate with other basic skills professionals, both nationally and within your Communities.(c)Skills Digital Limited 20105The DfE has published the second of seven formative evaluation reports on the pilot of the linked pair of GCSEs in mathematics.http://www.skillsforlifenetwork.com/default.aspx?atk=4466Tue, 24 Jan 2012 sfln_atk4466Following an extensive review and evaluation of the Approved College and Training Organisation Register (ACTOR) during 2011, a new register, the Register of Training Organisations, has been launched by The Skills Funding Agency.http://www.skillsforlifenetwork.com/default.aspx?atk=4465Mon, 23 Jan 2012 sfln_atk4465Summations Ltd are pleased to be organising a series of Functional Skills CPD events on behalf of LSIS. The events will be held in February and March in the North of England.http://www.skillsforlifenetwork.com/default.aspx?atk=4460Wed, 18 Jan 2012 sfln_atk4460...and Yes We Can Read projects win awards for innovation and work to improve reading. Yes We Can Read, a phonics-based programme to teach reading one-to-one for learners aged from 8 to 80, is transforming the teaching of reading at a grass roots level. Yes We Can Read guides anyone who can read fluently to teach a non-reader or poor reader to read, for meaning and for fun.http://www.skillsforlifenetwork.com/default.aspx?atk=4461Wed, 18 Jan 2012 sfln_atk4461ID Training, North Easthttp://www.skillsforlifenetwork.com/default.aspx?atk=4458Mon, 20 Feb 2012 sfln_atk4458Friday 10th February 2012, Teaching and Learning Centre, Newcastle College. With support from the IfL, Success North is putting together a day of presentations and workshops aimed at education practitioners, managers and employers involved in the learning and skills sector. http://www.skillsforlifenetwork.com/default.aspx?atk=4457Mon, 09 Jan 2012 sfln_atk4457In the recently published 'New Challenges, New Chances: Further Education and Skills System Reform Plan', the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (DBIS) sets out plans to re-establish the terms ‘English’ and ‘Maths’ for adults, to prioritise young adults who lack English and Maths skills and those adults not in employment, and to fund GCSE English and Maths qualifications from September 2012.http://www.skillsforlifenetwork.com/default.aspx?atk=4454Thu, 15 Dec 2011 sfln_atk4454This report presents the initial headline findings from the 2011 Skills for Life Survey. Some key findings are: overall 57 per cent of respondents achieved a Level 2 or above score in literacy, which is a large increase from 44 per cent in 2003. However, 85 per cent of respondents achieved Level 1 or above in literacy, with 15 per cent performing at Entry Level 3 or below. This represents no significant change since 2003. There has also been a small decline in numeracy levels. http://www.skillsforlifenetwork.com/default.aspx?atk=4453Thu, 08 Dec 2011 sfln_atk4453This Review, published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, finds that learner progress in literacy is greater where teachers have qualified teacher status, and in numeracy where teachers are qualified in maths to Level 3 or above (irrespective of qualified teacher status). Another key finding is that the growing range of demands and contexts for reading and writing, and for using and manipulating numeric data, is further evidence in favour of a focus on functional skills.http://www.skillsforlifenetwork.com/default.aspx?atk=4456Wed, 07 Dec 2011 sfln_atk4456This guide from the Welsh Government aims to help adult learners find out about the funding for education and training that is available to them.http://www.skillsforlifenetwork.com/default.aspx?atk=4450Tue, 06 Dec 2011 sfln_atk4450