The Adult Literacy and Numeracy Strategic Plan for 2006-2008 can be downloaded from the link on the right. It is a large document in pdf format. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view it. If you do not have this you can get it from the downloads page linked below on the right.
Below is a statement of Highland's strategic approach to adult literacy and numeracy, taken from the document:
Highland is an area the size of Belgium with a population of just over 250,000, much of this in small communities or sparsely spread. This dispersed, mainly rural population means that pockets of deprivation may not always show up in the statistics, and yet challenged and economically disadvantaged households can be living beside wealthy successful ones.
Our strategic approach is to support an infrastructure which will allow quality learner-centred flexible provision and delivery of Adult Literacy and Numeracy by the Partnership in Highland according to the social practice model, and includes Gaelic literacy for Gaelic speakers.
This will be accessible to all who fall into our target groups according to the Literacies in The Community criteria regardless of geography or personal circumstance. These groups are:
- People with limited initial education
- Unemployed people and those facing redundancy
- People with English as a second or other language
- People who live in disadvantaged areas
- Workers in low skill jobs
- People with a health problem affecting learning, speech, sight or hearing
In Highland we have two additional agreed target groups. These are:
- People living in remote rural areas
- Gaelic speakers requiring basic Gaelic literacy
We will aim to address specifically two areas of perceived need: the challenge of providing ESOL for the growing number of people in this area who require this; and also literacy and numeracy to enable financial inclusion for those whose low level of skills currently excludes them. The overall approach will be pro-active in seeking out new learners, reactive in responding to identified learner need and will aim to encourage progression.