Chapter 5: A National Strategy and National Targets 5.1 Our broad vision is clear, aiming at a transformation for the millions of adults with basic skills problems. We have described the present state of play, showing how challenging that transformation needs to be. To set the scene for the future, we bring together the essence of our strategic approach, which we think of as a truly Fresh Start. The problem the country faces is substantial and urgent: not to tackle it as a national priority is not an acceptable option; it is on a larger scale than in most advanced countries; it has a serious impact on individuals and families, and indeed on the economy and the state of society as a whole; it has a serious effect on opportunities for a full life for the 1 in 5 adults with poor literacy and the 1 in 5 with very poor numeracy; present provision is unacceptably variable and limited in scale and choice; provision is of variable quality and incoherent, with availability determined too much by chance; for a range of reasons, many connected with the above deficiencies, only some 250,000 of the 7 or so million adults with poor basic skills are currently in study programmes. 5.2 The National Strategy we propose aims to deal with this. Although it will take time to work through to every area of England, it could have an initial impact very quickly. That must be the aim. It requires better planning, an emphasis on local partnerships, clearer criteria for funding, better quality and more diverse learning opportunities, and improved and sustained promotion and recruitment. A combination of these advances will achieve a dramatic rise in participation. 5.3 The strategy aims to create a context in which adults with poor basic skills: are able to choose from a diverse range of accessible study opportunities, selecting those which best fit their individual needs, responsibilities and life styles; are entitled to free, confidential and high quality assessment, advice and guidance; are assured that any programme they join will be of high quality and will help them to gain the skills necessary to participate and progress in society, employment, and a full family and personal life; can choose, in deciding between routes towards a qualification, between coursework-based assessments and tests, including a new national test; are motivated to improve their skills because of all of the above and because they are aware of the benefits that follow. 5.4 Our proposals for the National Strategy are based on certain key principles, namely that the Strategy will: focus above all on the needs, aspirations, motivation and achievements of individual learners; and with this in mind should clearly set out what potential learners are entitled to in terms of baseline assessment, information, guidance, programmes of study, assessment and qualifications; embrace the determination and achievement of clear national targets, not only for the number of learners it is hoped will participate in programmes, but also for standards in provision; hence it should: include a National Framework of Standards and Qualifications in basic skills, covering curricula, teaching standards, methods of assessment, inspection methods and qualifications as such; incorporate moves towards funding arrangements which are affordable, and which are only available for programmes that meet adequate standards; ensure that teaching arrangements throughout the country and in all sectors, including industry, business and community contexts, are readily accessible and attractive to potential learners; ultimately be the responsibility of the Department for Education and Employment, but involve other relevant government departments and other principal partners at national level (i.e. the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), the Basic Skills Agency (BSA), the Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) and the University for Industry (UfI)), as well as local partners in Lifelong Learning Partnerships, such as Further Education Colleges, local authorities, the Careers Service and Training and Enterprise Councils, employers, trade unions and voluntary organisations; ensure national awareness and commitment through continuous promotional and marketing campaigns; ensure, equally, that adequate research, data collection and monitoring arrangements support its implementation. 5.5 The ultimate target should be the virtual elimination of poor basic skills. This is highly ambitious, but must be the long-term aim if we want to rid society of the frustration and waste that these problems bring. But the strategy must have clear milestones towards this long-term aim, these targets should be strictly monitored over time. 5.6 We have been impressed by the effectiveness of the new national targets for literacy and numeracy at Key Stage 2 in schools in motivating and generating concerted action. Supported by LEA and school targets, they have provided a clear focus for raising standards in primary schools and are the centrepiece of the National Literacy and National Numeracy Strategies. A similar approach is required for adults. 5.7 Indeed it is essential that the National Strategy be developed so as to complement the existing strategies for schools. 5.8 There is already, in The Learning Age, a national target for increasing participation by adults in basic skills programmes to 500,000 per annum by 2002. As part of this, the University for Industry [UfI] has a target to provide support for 200,000 adults with basic skills needs over three years. These are important targets. Ultimately, however, there should be a more ambitious target for improving the basic skills of the approximately 20% of adults with poor literacy, and the 40% or more of adults with poor numeracy. The targets must be set urgently and deliberately so that the long and medium-term improvement is set in train. As we have said, the final aim must be virtually to eliminate poor basic skills. But, such are the many years of under-performance behind us, and the scale of the problem, that this can only be very long-term. We do not therefore propose a target date for this ultimate achievement, focusing rather on the milestones towards the challenging targets for 2010. 5.9 In setting targets, one must take into account the current state of play, the hurdles in the way, and the inevitable pressure on resources. Taking all these into account, we propose that by 2010 the aim should be to reduce by half the number of adults of working age with low literacy. This would raise the level of functional literacy in England from 80% to 90%, and means lifting some 3.5 million adults out of low literacy over this period. It is also at least as important to reduce the level of low numeracy and we therefore propose a second objective of reducing the number of adults with low numeracy by the same number i.e by 3.5 million adults by the year 2010. This would raise the number of numerate adults from around 60% to 70%: a higher aim, however desirable in principle, would be unrealistic, given where we are starting from and the enormous difficulties in the way. A higher target can be achieved - as we suggest below - for those with "very low" numeracy. 5.10 It is always in our minds that, once an adult has achieved functional literacy or numeracy, he or she should have every encouragement and opportunity to achieve basic or key skill qualifications at Level 2 and beyond. We support the intention of the Government to devise a national target for key skills as soon as robust measures have been developed. 5.11 To get 9 out of 10 people to a level where they can undertake Level 1 literacy tasks effectively, and to enable 2 out of 3 adults to complete simple numeracy tasks, may seem modest targets. However, ambition needs to be balanced with realism. We have years of under-education to cope with, when standards failed to keep pace with changing requirements and demands, with low expectation becoming all too ingrained. If these targets can be achieved by 2010, England will be close to where Sweden is today on literacy. 5.12 In deciding on the targets, it is vital to take account of: the small minority of people who may not be able to improve their basic skills to Level 1 because of serious learning difficulties; likely levels of immigration into the UK in the coming years, and the vital group of people for whom English is not the first language. 5.13 One must also take into account the reduction in the number of school-leavers needing further help as a result of the National Literacy and National Numeracy Strategies. These will eventually reduce the flow of adults with problems. 5.14 It is also sensible to remember that, amongst those with poor literacy and/or numeracy, there will inevitably be quite a number who, however accessible and good the teaching programmes, may have no desire to improve. This is why we have in mind the virtual elimination of functional illiteracy and innumeracy, rather than a 100% target. 5.15 Table 5.1 sets out our proposed literacy and numeracy targets for all adults and also specifically for young people. These are inevitably orders of magnitude, and clearly the long-term targets will ultimately depend on what has been achieved by the year 2002 (already Government policy) and by our target year 2005. Table 5.1: Possible targets for 2005 and 2010 (percentages)* Literacy Now 2005 2010 All adults 80 84 90 People Aged 19 83 90 95 Numeracy Now 2005 2010 All adults 60 64 70 People Aged 19 60 85 90 5.16 We believe that the proposals in this report will result in achieving the overall target of 500,000 participants by 2002 set in our terms of reference. Beyond that the targets we propose should be refined, with the help of a Government baseline survey, to include year-on-year progress towards the intermediate years and the 2010 targets. Success will depend on the changes we now turn to in the following chapters, and ultimately on the resources dedicated to the task. RECOMMENDATION 1 - A National Basic Skills Strategy for Adults The Government should launch a National Strategy to reduce the number of adults with low levels of basic skills. RECOMMENDATION 2 - Targets (i) As part of the National Strategy, the Government should commit itself to the virtual elimination of functional illiteracy and innumeracy. (ii) In addition to the accepted participation target for 2002, the Government should set specific basic skills targets for adults and for young people to be achieved by 2005 and 2010, on the scale proposed in the new National Strategy.

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