Section 1 - Substantive Policy Lessons
1.2 Basic and Key Skills Development
The report of Sir Claus Moser's Working Group, Improving Literacy and Numeracy: A Fresh Start, (DfEE 1999), was a powerful reminder of the low level of basic skills attainment that characterises the UK generally. Indeed, many of the areas covered by the schemes in this study display levels of literacy and numeracy below the national average. This is often compounded by limited proficiency in English where there are concentrations of minority ethnic and refugee populations.
These limitations impede broader progress in school, restrict formal qualifications, and affect access to (at least some types of) training. For many of the SRB partnerships, tackling low basic and core skills is a fundamental pre-requisite for significant progress in any other area of activity.
Improving basic skills and competences is therefore a common strand running through the majority of the schemes reviewed for the study. Indeed, it is the main focus of five of the case study projects. In four cases the focus is on early years and primary school children; the fifth is designed to embed a comprehensive strategy for core skills development across the whole of a city - in this case, Birmingham. In every case, alongside the focus on early years, projects attempt in a variety of ways to take opportunities to improve the basic skills of the adults alongside their children's.
Evidence
A particularly innovative example of the use of regeneration funding is the Birmingham Core Skills Partnership (BCSP). This Round 2 scheme (total value of £39 million, of which £29 million comes from the SRB), is a partnership which aims 'to raise the platform of literacy and numeracy across all sections of Birmingham' by:
- enhancing (and informing) wider strategies;
- creating a set of whole organisation/whole city changes; and
- establishing a 'joined up' strategic and systemic approach.
The main rationale for programmes like the SRB is that the injection of relatively modest sums can exert a catalytic effect that produces longer term changes in the design and delivery of main programmes. It is extremely rare, however, to see this explicitly recognised at the scheme level as in the Birmingham (BCSP) example. The full case study gives more details of how this is being achieved.
As always, it is not easy to demonstrate an unambiguous causal link between any particular intervention and improved performance. However, there have been significant improvements reported in the early years of the BCSP's operation. For example, in Key Stage 2 SATs, the percentage improvement between 1996 and 1997 was twice the national average in Maths, English and Science.
Evidence - Early Years
A focus on early years and primary school learning provides one of the strands in the BCSP strategy and is increasingly common in many regeneration-funded interventions. The projects in this study address early needs in a variety of ways.
- Among a variety of educational projects in the Working Communities in the Erewash Valley scheme is one tackling family literacy. The project focuses on working with parents (or other adult carers such as grandparents) to support children's learning, while at the same time helping adults to improve their own communication skills.
- One of six strands in Hattersley's Towards a Learning Community Scheme concentrates on early years development including:
- childcare provision - pre-school, early years reading and breakfast and after-school clubs;
- childcare training, involving parents in the education and care of their children; and
- Homestart, a voluntary organisation providing support to families under stress in their own homes;
- Raising Attainment in the National Curriculum in Coventry and Warwick is aimed at pupils whose academic performance is affected by poor command of English. Activities include: collaborative work with class and subject teachers to deliver language support across the curriculum; bilingual approaches to learning in the early years; and developing mother tongue language skills in minority ethnic children and seeking recognition and accreditation for the achievements.
None of these projects reports difficulties achieving outputs at this early stage, and in every case there is favourable anecdotal evidence. A few quotations from some of the participants in the Hattersley project indicate high levels of customer satisfaction.
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Observations
Customer comments on the Hattersley scheme
'This is my Butlin's.'(seven year old on Holiday Play Scheme).
'I love kids - this will help me get a job at the end.' (parent on NVQ childcare course)
'I want my kids to do better than me. I've never had a job - I was pregnant at 16 and have always looked after my kids.' (32 year old mother of four)
'I use to **** myself when someone put a piece of paper in front of me but not now.' (parent on family literacy schemes).
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Key Lessons
Even at a relatively early stage in their development, these schemes and projects display some important lessons for others.
- SRB special funds can influence the shape, quality and degree of linkages within main programme provision.
- The involvement of a wide range of partners throughout project design and implementation means that the achievements of short-life projects are more likely to continue beyond the end of funding.
- The interests of the children offer powerful incentives to engage related adults, with limited basic skills, in learning.
- In addition to work with adults, tackling under-achievement requires intervention at the earliest possible age.
