Introduction
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Real Times, Real Life Latest News
Real Times, Real Life is available at an introductory price of £140 (including p&p). The price includes the pack and a site licence and free one day familiarisation training.
If you would like more information about the Real Times, Real Life Game contact Richard Grinham at UFI: rgrinham@ufi.com.
Organisations wanting to purchase the pack, or to receive a free CD-Rom explaining the programme in depth, please call 08700 667626 or write to:
REAL TIMES, REAL LIFE
PO Box 1000
Manchester
M60 3JD
Cheques should be made payable to BSS.
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The Real Times, Real Life Game has been developed in Canada by Real Games Inc (RGI). It is one of a series of six Real Game programmes that help people from the age of 8 upwards to identify and develop their knowledge, confidence and skills.
The Real Times, Real Life Game (RTRL) has been designed for adults who are entering, or re-entering, the world of work, training or education – including disadvantaged and disengaged groups. It is designed to be used in group sessions to help people make informed, realistic choices about their future actions.
In 2002, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) commissioned Future Prospects (York) to run a short RTRL pilot. The pilot recommended:
- that the materials were re-written for the UK market; and
- a national pilot programme developed.
The Department appointed Competence at Work Ltd (CAW) in Sheffield to:
- manage the rewriting process;
- assist in the development of the programme for the UK market; and
- evaluate the content and impact of the programme.
A National Advisory Committee (NAC) was formed, including representatives from the DfES, Learning and Skills Council, Department for Work and Pensions, the Guidance Council and other stakeholders. The NAC offered advice and guidance as the project unfolded.
Update
The piloting and evaluation of Real Times, Real Life has been successfully completed. The evaluation has proved positive. Feedback from the pilots has said that Real Times, Real Life has proved to be an innovative and useful package which has proved useful with a wide range of client groups.
The piloting organisations also gave some really useful feedback about the content of the package and ideas to improve the content. All this was fed back to the Writers' Working Group which met on 17 and 18 March. This was a very useful workshop, Bill Barry, Vicky Hammond (Real Times Inc) and Helen Hackett (National Life Works Centre) had been sent copies of all the evaluation reports and were prepared to make some very radical changes. By the end of two days we had the outline of the new version of Real Times, Real Life. A full report on the workshop is available to download below.
Project Stages
The project ran in three stages:
- Stage 1. Developing a UK version of the Real Times, Real Life Game
A Writers' Working Group (WWG) was established with a remit to revise the materials and make them suitable for the UK market.
An 'anglicised' version of the Game was produced from an American original. This formed the basis for the 7 to 10 October meeting of the Writers' Working Group to consider how it needed to be changed to meet the needs of the UK audience. The report of the first meeting of the WWG is available to download below.
Real Games Inc then produced a pilot-ready version.
- Stage 2. Piloting the UK version
21 organisations volunteered to pilot the RTRL Game with a range of adult groups between December 2002 and February 2003.
The groups include:
- ex-offenders;
- recovering addicts;
- asylum seekers;
- lone parents;
- returners to work; and
- redundant workers.
Training for facilitators of these pilot groups was held in Sheffield on 25 and 26 November.
- Stage 3. Evaluation
Competence at Work Ltd worked with the piloting organisations to deliver a two-phase evaluation of the RTRL Game between December 2002 and February 2003.
- The first gathered views from the participants and facilitators about the content and style of the Game's materials.
- The second explored the impact of the Game on the piloting organisations and participating individuals.
The Evaluation Report is available to download below.
Reports to Download
Please note that where indicated you will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print the following *.PDF files. Click here to download Adobe Acrobat Reader.
