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What partnerships structures are
most effective? How should we create them?
Case studies Descriptions of literacy
partnerships from across the UK.
Who to involve
Poor self-esteem and confidence prevent many adults and young
people from taking action to improve their reading and writing.
Those who are best able to help remove these barriers by providing
opportunities and motivation to support learning are very
often outside formal education institutions:
Business, community and youth groups, community health
services, early years childcare and development partnerships,
employment and careers services, housing providers, social
services, arts groups, libraries, leisure centres, snooker
halls, pubs and religious groups. The list is endless.
Partner organisations should, ideally, be linked through regional
regeneration initiatives and a strategic plan.
Effective partnership structures
Effective literacy partnerships require a shared vision
and strong leadership. Political leaders and chief executives
can be major players for creating this vision. An enthusiastic
facilitator is needed who can 'see the whole' and help
make the links between different partners but, to be effective,
the postholder needs high-level political and senior managerial
backing. An advisory group representing different participating
organisations with links to grass roots projects is also
required. It is important to involve business representatives
who can act as champions for the partnership and motivate
others to get involved. The facilitator could also provide
a literacy perspective on existing partnership bodies.
Listening to the community
Long-term action is essential at national, regional and local
levels to achieve a sustained breakthrough. This is beginning
to be recognise by Government. It is vital to listen to communities
to find out what their literacy needs are, the problems they
face and how these might be addressed. Plans should recognise
that activities that motivate and promote enjoyment are an
essential part of skills development and not a dispensable
extra.
The National Literacy Trust promotes a whole-community approach
to raising literacy standards. Below,
case studies give details of key literacy partnerships in
England, set up with a remit for cross-sector working. Each
is run by an organisation outside the local authority, but
usually with strong links with it and each has a director
responsible to a steering group or similar body made up of
key partners and funders.
Bolton Literacy Trust
Birmingham Core Skills Project
Harlow Target Centre
Heading for Success
Learning Partnerships (formerly Leeds
Education 2000)
Northern Learning Trust (formerly
the Newcastle Literacy Trust)
Read On -
Write Away!
Sandwell Lifelong Learning Partnership
Thanet Basic Skills Project
Thornaby A Reading Town
A whole community approach
The Newport literacy team reports on their successes
over the last four years (article from Literacy Today)
Description: Bolton Literacy Trust was launched in
March 2002. It is dedicated to building a literate and numerate
community in Bolton, by making significant improvements in
the levels of literacy and numeracy; developing innovative
ways of meeting literacy and basic skills needs; and celebrating
literacy in all its forms. Priorities for 2002 to 2003
were:
- SHARE - helping parents help their children to learn
at home
- It's a Fair Chance - supporting the literacy needs of
children in care
- Regeneration projects in disadvantaged communities
- Reading is Fundamental - promoting the joys of reading
- Lifelong Reading
- Early years work and family learning
- Literacy support for young people
- Vulnerable groups, asylum seekers, travellers
- Learning using ICT to develop literacy and numerical
skills
Details of other Bolton Literacy Trust initiatives:
Partners: See below.
Management and staffing: Bolton Literacy Trust is
a company with charitable objectives. Directors and trustees
come from Bolton Evening News, HSBC Bank, Multi Media Machine,
Octagon Theatre, St Andrew's Travel, Asian Women's Group,
Volunteer Reading Help, WHSmith, Bolton Metro and Bolton Community
College. Bolton Literacy Trust employees a full-time project
manager and an administrator.
Contact details: Sue Hoey, Project Manager, Bolton
Literacy Trust, PO Box 53, Paderborn House, Civic Centre,
Bolton BL1 1JW. Email: sue.hoey@bolton.gov.uk.
Website: www.boltonliteracytrust.org.uk.
Description: Birmingham Core Skills Development Partnership
is a seven-year (1996-2003), SRB-funded project. The partnership
exists to ensure levels of literacy, numeracy and IT key skills
in Birmingham increase to exceed national targets by working
through key groups: pre-school children, school pupils, young
adults (16-25-year-olds), unemployed adults, employed adults,
employers, and volunteers. Partners work together to further
discussion about core skills issues within their own organisations,
agree funding, and align their work with the strategy of the
partnership.
The Birmingham Core Skills Development Partnership website:
www.coreskills.co.uk
is very detailed. It includes a business plan, details of
projects, initiatives supported by the partnership and a summary
of activities in the most recent annual report. Each annual
report includes comments by observers during the year, for
example: "On our travels it becomes more and more obvious
how far ahead Birmingham has managed to be. This is clearly
due to the development activities that have been pushed forward
through real partnership opportunities." This comment was
made by a national development agency.
Partners: The partnership is a company limited by
guarantee with two member organisations: Birmingham TEC and
Birmingham City Council. Other partners: Birmingham and Solihull
TEC; economic development department; careers education business
partnership; department of leisure and community services;
education department; employment service; Basic Skills Agency;
Birmingham Voluntary Service Council.
Management and staffing: The company has a board
composed of four TEC nominees and four city council nominees.
Reporting to the board is a strategic managers group. This
group work with the Core Skills Partnership manager who oversees
the day to day running of the project.
Contact details: Geoff Bateson, Partnership Manager,
Core Skills Development Partnership, Room 508, 43 Temple Row,
Birmingham, B2 5LS. Email: geoff@coreskills.co.uk.
Description:The Harlow Basic Skills Project is a
part of Regeneration Through Youth - an SRB-funded initiative
that aims to regenerate Harlow town centre and create a generation
of educated, skilled and employable citizens. Both initiatives
are overseen by Harlow 2020, a open forum made up of representatives
from business, the public and community sectors working together
to build a vision of Harlow in the new century. The seven-year
Basic Skills Project began in 1998. Following a study by the
Basic Skills Agency on the level of basic skills needs in
Harlow, the project has set a range of education and employment
targets. The initial focus of the project is working with
adults, school pupils and pre-school children with funding
for parenting programmes, widening particpation work at the
local college and funds for schools to run intervention programmes
for those in most need of extra help.
Partners: The steering group has representatives
from Harlow local education authority, libraries, health and
housing organisations and partners such as the Basic Skills
Agency and the National Literacy Tust.
Management and staffing: The Basic Skills Project
has a director and a steering group.
Contact Details: Maureen Hanley, Basic Skills Project
Director, Northbrooks House, Northbrooks, Harlow, Essex, CM19
4DS TeL: 01279 454 748 Email: maureen.hanley@essexcc.gov.uk
Description:Heading for Success, launched in March 2006,
brings top football clubs together to boost adult learning.
The project was created with the aim of replicating the success
that the Playing
for Success programme has had with school children, by
using the power of football to attract adults into Skills
for Life learning. Learning will take place in a football
club-branded environment and will be delivered in a football
context. KPMG, which has a network of education advisers,
is brokering sustainable relationships between football clubs,
learning providers abd colleges and local Learning and Skills
Councils (LSCs). Learners can find out more by calling the
learndirect national advice line on 0800 100 900 and mentioning
Heading for Success. Advisers will take their details and
pass them to their local football club project to find out
about literacy and numeracy courses.
Partners: Heading for Success is a partnership between
a wide variety of organisations including the Department for
Education and Skills, the Football Association, FA Learning,
the Premier League, the Football League, KPMG, and the Department
for Culture, Media and Sport.
Heading for Success projects have worked with the National
Literacy Trust's Reading
The Game initiative.
Contact details: Basic.skills@dfes.gsi.gov.uk
or go to www.dfes.gov.uk/readwriteplus/Heading_for_Success
Description: Learning Partnerships is a voluntary
sector organisation, which has been running for almost 10
years (as Leeds Education 2000). It aims to raise the profile
of learning within inner-city Leeds and has worked extensively
with volunteers, training them to support the community literacy
programme: 'Read It' which aims to engage children and young
people in reading; and HELP - Home Early Learning Partnership
- a project aimed at seven to 11-year-olds, which incorporates
a storysack project and involves volunteers reading stories
on to tapes to accompany reading activity packs which are
distributed to homes through schools and Read It clubs. Learning
Partnerships is a partner in Right to Read, a Yorkshire-wide
business volunteer reading initiative and has become the first
voluntary sector organisation to lead a small EAZ - Leeds
Community Learning Education Action Zone. This will
focus on inner-city Leeds, where Learning Partnerships has
been working for many years.
Partners: Learning Partnerships works with schools
the local education authority and local businesses.
Management and staffing: Learning Partnerships is
a charity and a company limited by guarantee. It has a general
council, which is a cross-sector partnership with representatives
from local business, the local education authority, schools
and community groups.
Contact details: Jan Furniss, operations manager,
Learning Partnerships, The Burton Business Park, Hudson Road,
Leeds, LS9 7DN Tel: 0113 380 6662 Email: info@learningpartnerships.org.uk.
Website: www.learningpartnerships.org.uk
Further reading:
Description: The Newcastle Literacy Trust, a registered
charity, was set up in 1996 as a 10-year initiative by the
National Literacy Trust and Newcastle City Council. Its aim
is to support the raising of literacy levels outside the statutory
education system and to promote literacy for the achievement
and enjoyment of all who live and work in Newcastle. Much
of its first three years has focused on young people, parents
and families and literacy at work. The Newcastle Literacy
Trust has worked on a range of initiatives that can be viewed
from the link below. In the future the Trust will be increasing
its project management and will be developing more family
learning and working with young people, particularly through
the Government's Connexions strategy.
Evaluation: The Newcastle Literacy Trust was evaluated
in December 1999. Read the executive
summary or Creating a literacy
culture, an article on the evaluation by Janet Hunter,
director of the Newcastle Literacy Trust (from Literacy
Today).
Partners: (more details on summary) Local press
and media, family and community centres, housing associations,
National Literacy Trust, Reading Is Fundamental, UK, Dyslexia
Institute, Newcastle City Council, Newcastle Pre-school Learning
Alliance, early years and childcare development partnership,
Newcastle YMCA, Tyneside Careers and TEC, universities, Unison
and Business.
Management and staffing: Council of Trustees representing
the local authority, the business community, local media,
regional training organisation, and the voluntary sector;
a larger advisory group representing further local interest
such as EBP, YMCA, local schools and libraries; four employees:
a director, assistant director, literacy development workers
and an administration officer.
Contact details: In January 2006, Newcastle Literacy
Trust became the Northern
Learning Trust.
Description: In November 2004, Sandwell Lifelong Learning
Partnership secured £1.2 million of neighbourhood renewal
funding for the delivery of a basic skills strategy. The strategy
aims to develop capacity to deliver basic skills by increasing
the number of people involved in the signposting and delivery
of basic skills, and to increase the number of organisations
involved in delivery, particularly within the voluntary and
community sector. By involving a wider range of partners,
it is hoped that more people will achieve basic skills qualifications,
from entry level up to level 2. The neighbourhood renewal
funding is initially for two years, although the strategy
is covering a five to 10-year period, recognising that it
may take this long for the strategy to make an impact.
Partners: A range of partners in the voluntary and
community sector are being targeted, as well as other service
delivery agents that would normally not see the delivery of
basic skills as part of their remit, including Sure Start
and New Deal in the Community.
Delivery: Each of Sandwell's six towns has a local
learning panel serviced by a local learning coordinator and
three local learning champions. Each town has its own learning
plan in which the delivery of basic skills is a priority.
The local learning plans also form part of the Sandwell Neighbourhood
Strategy.
Contact details: Wendy Beddall, Basic Skills Strategy
Manager, Yemeni Community Association, Greets Green Access
Centre, Tildasley Street, West Bromwich B70 9SJ. Tel: 0121
525 2632 Fax: 0121 580 4979. Email: wendy_beddall@yahoo.co.uk.
Website: www.reach-discover.co.uk
or www.yca-sandwell.org.uk/index.htm
Description: The project's mission is to improve
basic skills achievement of children and adults in Thanet
by increasing the quality, coherence and sustainability of
provision through an innovative and community based multi-agency
approach. The project has set 10 strategic aims. Each has
objectives and targets. The aims are to raise functional literacy
and numeracy levels of adults in Thanet; develop community
involvement and promote lifelong learning; raise the literacy
levels of young people both at school and when they leave
school; and work with employers to raise basic skills at work.
Using ICT will be part of all areas of delivery.
You can download a pdf version of the project's strategic
plan 2002-2005, which provides details of the 10 strategic
aims, targets and objectives.
 Thanet
strategic plan 
Evaluation: Thanet's Back to Basics project was evaluated
in December 2003 by the University of Sheffield. The qualitative
evaluation covered two major themes: levels of enjoyment and
personal benefit; and confidence levels and attitudinal change.
It found increased confidence and stucture in students' lives,
a greater awareness among parents of their children's educational
development, and an enthusiasm for continuing in education
and considering career options.
Partners: The Thanet Basic Skills Project is the product
of months of interagency work involving Kent County Council
schools, Youth and Community Divisions, Thanet Chamber of
Commerce and Industry, Thanet NHS, East Kent Social Services
, East Kent Voluntary Services, Thanet District Council, Kent
Careers Service and Thanet College.
Management and staffing: A full time director and
a steering group. Organisations involved will work to targets
set for each subsidiary project working towards the project's
strategic aims. These aims and targets will also determine
which projects and organisations receive funding.
Contact details: Jenny Gartland, Basic Skills Director,
Thanet Basic Skills Project, Community, 29 King Street, Ramsgate,
Kent, CT9 2EJ Tel: 01843 583 553 Email: tbsp@lineone.net
Description: Thornaby A Reading Town is one of 21
projects which form the SRB-funded Thornaby Regeneration Partnership.
These projects share the common goal of improving educational
and economic opportunity for the community of Thornaby. Work
has focused on reading promotion through school and libraries
and family and lifelong learning. Thornaby A Reading Town
involves the whole community with the aim to improve standards,
develop good practice, and to support parents in helping their
children to develop a love of the written and spoken word.
It is a seven-year initiative, which was launched in 1997.
Partners: Stockton Borough Council - libraries, youth
and community services, adult education, Teesside Training
and Enterprise Council, the workers educational association,
the police, community health, higher and further education
colleges, the careers service, and local businesses.
Management and staffing: Thornaby A Reading Town
is managed by the Thornaby Regeneration Partnership, whose
board monitors progress against targets. A steering group
manages strategic planning and an action group monitors progress
and activities. Both groups have representatives from funding
bodies, headteachers, community health, adult education and
the library service.
Contact Details: Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council
01642 393939
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