Basic Skills

What are Basic Skills?
The National Basic Skills Strategy for Wales defines basic skills as:

"the ability to read, write, and speak in English (or Welsh), and to use mathematics at a level necessary to function at work and in society in general"

Literacy
Basic Skills reading and writing (or literacy) courses cover speaking, listening, reading and writing.

Numeracy
Number (or numeracy) courses cover numbers, fractions and data; multiplication and subtraction; and measurement, shapes and time.

How to improve your skills
There are loads of ways to improve your literacy and numeracy skills and they can be great fun. Joining a club or taking part in activities can help improve your skills, because we use these skills everyday, it’s not about just sitting in a classroom listening to lessons, it’s about using these skills in everyday, active ways. We use these skills all the time but may not really think about it; simply ordering food from a chip shop is using your language skills and paying for a ticket on the bus is using mathematics.

Useful Links for Resources and Further Guidance:

www.basic-skills-wales.org
The National Basic Skills Strategy for Wales. Useful links and resources.

www.niace.org.uk
The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education) is the leading non-governmental organisation for adult learning in England and Wales. The site provides advice and guidance to help everyone achieve good literacy and numeracy skills

www.geton.direct.gov.uk
Get confident and Get On – Help to brush up your English and maths skills.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise
BBC Skillswise enables adults to improve reading, writing and number skills. Level 1 literacy and numeracy resources - worksheets, quizzes, games, factsheets etc

www.basicskills-online.org.uk
Resources and facilities for learners of Basic and Key skills. All 5 levels of basic skills are covered. The level 1 and 2 sections of this site not only contain literacy and numeracy resources , but also resources targeted specifically at key skills, such as the IT.

www.bbc.co.uk/raw
Boost your skills through online activities such as games, quizzes and tests. You can also find out about your nearest RaW centre.

www.cityandguilds.com/sites/basicskills
Dedicated Skills for Life Learner and practitioner website

www.skillsworkshop.org
Adult Basic Skills Resource Centre 700+ free PDF Skills for Life resources available, including Exam Tips, worksheets and exercises.