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Foreword from the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning
Improved levels of adult literacy and numeracy are key to achieving the Scottish Government's ambitions for Scotland.
People are at the heart of our ambitions and we have outlined five broad objectives to help us create a Scotland which is: wealthier and fairer; safer and stronger; healthier; smarter; and greener. I have responsibility for the broad spectrum of education development and learning from early years through to adulthood, with a particular focus on achieving a Smarter Scotland. The challenges we face in reaching this goal are significant, but then so are the rewards. We want to ensure that Scotland is renowned as a learning nation, with opportunities for all individuals to improve their skills and develop their self-confidence. Shortly, we will launch our Scottish Skills Strategy which will set out our ambitions and expectations for skills in Scotland.
This report contains information about what has been achieved in Scotland during 2006/2007 and I am sure you will agree that this provides a solid foundation on which to build. Over the past year we have seen:
- the development of the interactive Adult Literacy and Numeracy Curriculum Framework Wheel to help plan an individual's learning journey
- the continuing success of the Big Plus campaign, with a 42% increase in calls to its national helpline, and
- the piloting of a new professional two-year practice-based course aimed at adult literacy and numeracy tutors.
Since the 2001 launch of the Scottish adult literacy and numeracy strategy, 180,000 individuals have improved their literacy and numeracy - a life-changing step for those individuals, for their families and for the communities in which they live. It is important that we continue this work and later in the year we will launch a consultation paper on the refresh of the strategy.
The views of learners are central to the development of adult literacy and numeracy in Scotland - individuals and their aspirations must be at the heart of all we do and we can all share their ambition for a better life and a better Scotland.
Fiona Hyslop MSP
Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning
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