NALA policy papers

SOLAS is the new national authority for further education and training  that will be established in 2012.   The Department of Education and Skills issued a consultation paper (20/12/2011) on the establishment of SOLAS.   NALA provided the following response (19/1/2012) to the consultation paper.  The submission responds to the set of specific questions provided in that paper, in the order they were asked.   If you have any feedback on this submission, please contact jstewart@nala.ie.

NALA welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the High Level Group (HLG) on Literacy. We hope to contribute to the Group‟s aim of finding ways of improving the literacy performance of young people and adults and to help Member States meet the benchmark to reduce the EU average proportion of low performing 15 year olds to 15% by 2020.

This paper puts forwards findings and recommendations from NALA research on the benefits and impacts of family literacy for both adults and children. NALA believes this information will be of value to practitioners and policy makers working in the area of family literacy in Ireland and elsewhere.

NALA is delighted to provide an input into the review of further education and training set up by the Department of Education and Skills (DES).  This submission sets out how we believe the DES in conjunction with key stakeholders can improve outcomes for adults with literacy difficulties in Ireland in line with the objectives of the National Skills Strategy (NSS). We developed this submission based on our strategic plan (2010) and consultations with adult literacy students, our members and other key players in adult literacy.

Ireland now faces a far more difficult economic situation and much changed labour market.  These circumstances will increase pressure on people who may need greater and more targeted literacy support to take part in society and improve their chances of employment.  Progress will have to be achieved within two parameters:

            - those most in need should receive the most State support, and

            - the value of public investment needs to be maximised.

NALA has outlined what it believes needs to happen to proactively address the critical national challenge of raising adult literacy and numeracy levels in Ireland.  Our submission involves new thinking rather than new funding. It contains three overarching recommendations, in particular on integration and the use of distance and blended learning that will lead to more adults raising their adult literacy levels and contributes to the agenda of the National Recovery Plan by using existing resources more efficiently. It does require however strategic leadership from the DES and genuine partnership working between all stakeholders.

NALA Specific Learning Difficulties Policy Guidelines

NALA Specific Learning Difficulties Policy Guidelines.

The integration of basic skills, in particular literacy, into all publicly funded education and training provision, in so far as is possible, is Irish Government policy.

NALA advocates that Government, along with the major providers of further education and training, agree a strategy to implement this policy. Integrating, or embedding, literacy into such programmes would contribute to achieving a range of national policy objectives. It would be an important strand in the National Skills Strategy (Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, 2007), in a refreshed national adult literacy strategy, and in advancing social inclusion and equality.

A national strategy for integrating literacy support and development with further education and training would enable many more adults to meet their learning goals and needs. An integrating literacy strategy would assist all providers - such as VECs, FAS, Teagasc, Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Fáilte Ireland, Enterprise Ireland – to increase the effectiveness of their core programmes while at the same time contributing to adult literacy development.

NALA’s mission statement is to ensure people with literacy and numeracy difficulties can fully take part in society and have access to learning opportunities that meet their needs. To meet this goal, NALA is committed to widening access to literacy learning opportunities through the use of Distance Learning approaches. The purpose of this document is to set out the rationale for distance learning to be an integrated and full funded part of a flexible solution to adult literacy and numeracy provision in Ireland.

This document guides NALA's activities to meet the needs of learners within our existing resources and responsibilities. It includes a learners' development plan, complete with: actions; timeframes; budgets; and performance indicators. This policy also outlines:

• NALA's understanding of learners' development;
• What work we have done to enhance learners' development; and
• Our future plans for learners' development.

This 2007 paper sets out NALA’s focus and perspective in the area of health literacy. It outlines the work that the Agency has carried out in the area of health literacy from 2002 - 2007, highlights international strategies and identifies future actions by NALA that will produce change and stimulate innovative policies.