The ESSU can provide you with access to, and information about, a range of resources that you can use with your learners:

1. Top 50 Book Resources

Click below to see the list of the top 50 books/resources voted most useful for essential skills tutors/learners by tutors across the county:

list of resources pdf file (52k)


2. Top Resources for ICT, ESOL and other themed areas, plus those mapped to the Adult Core Curricula

Click here to access the details of the resources


3. Essential Skills Support Unit Publications

If you would like to download our leaflets for your own use, please click on the options below:

Provider Leaflet (details of local ‘Skills for Life’ providers) (pdf 227k)
Business Leaflet (pdf 463k)


4. Accessing Library Resources

Tutors and learners can now borrow ‘Skills for Life’ resources from selected resources across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, thanks to a new partnership between the ESSU and the public library service. Practitioners can borrow 20 resources for up to 6 weeks.

For more details on what resources are available, which libraries are taking part and how to access their resources, click below to download our publicity leaflet.

Library leaflet - click here


5. Linking resources to delivery

The aim of this resource is to illustrate good practice in linking resources to delivery, which are relevant to learners in terms of their context and the core curricula and will support them to achieve the outcomes identified within their individual learning plans (ILPs). The range of levels covered is from Entry Level 3 through to Levels 1 and 2.

The resources listed will support both strands of the Move On approach in terms of wider skills development and test preparation.

Resources listed within the illustration on the Move On website are freely available. Although the embedded materials have been developed to support the delivery of vocational NVQs we have also recognised their usefulness within the delivery of discrete Skills for Life, in particular for those learners who may be considering pursuing a vocational qualification as a next step. Additional embedded materials have been developed since the development of this resource and can be viewed on www.dfes.gov.uk/readwriteplus/embeddedlearning.

We hope you find Linking resources to delivery a useful model for you to develop further within your own institution. To see how this can be done have a look at how the Essential Skills Support Unit in Hampshire has developed it using commercially prepared resources www.essu.org.

Move On literacy (pdf 608k)
Move On Numeracy (pdf 712k)


6. Interactive IT Resources

The Peter Symonds College Basic Skills Division have produced a range of themed, interactive and accessible learning resources for learners which are readily available for use via a search facility or for downloading. The resources are linked to many other Internet sites and have been prepared as 'ready-to-use' - all are mapped to the Adult Core Curriculum for Literacy and Numeracy. The number of resources will continue to grow as more of our tutors add to the number - they welcome ideas from you too.

Access the resources - click here

Technical information to assist you...
In some cases these files are large and you may find them slow to download if using a dial-up connection. To aid you, the files have also been compressed and zipped together. To open these files, you need to download the zipped files, extract them into folders and then access the files. Software is needed in order to zip and unzip files. PCs require 'winzip' (to download the shareware visit: http://www.winzip.com)

You can also request a CDRom of the resources from Peter Symonds ACE.
Peter Symonds ACE Division
Stoney Lane
Weeke
Winchester
Hants SO22 6DR

One copy per organisation please (a small charge will be made to cover postage and packaging).

Accessibility
The majority of the learning materials have been produced by Basic Skills tutors at ACE using Microsoft® Office Word and PowerPoint. All the resources have been tested using the latest version of Internet Explorer which can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.asp

The quizzes that have been generated using Hot Potatoes™ software do not meet the basic accessibility criteria, that is, they do not work with screen readers. As an alternative, you can recreate these quizzes using a software package or learning platform which meets the needs of your learners in a more accessible way.

Some of the resources require supporting or linked files to enable them to be used. For example, the Qarbon Viewlet exercises require both a Web html and a Shockwave file. Shockwave can be downloaded from http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/
Where sound clips are provided, transcripts are either repeated on screen or a link will be provided to a text file.

7. Step Up Resources

‘Step Up’ courses are 9 hour embedded essential skills courses. All modules contain a scheme of work, lesson plans and supporting resources. The programmes of learning target entry level 3 & level 1 learners, but can be differentiated.

The courses have undergone internal and external validation, and as well as being mapped to the Adult Core Curriculum, they should all consist of at least 50% essential skills content to ensure access basic skills funding for their delivery.

See below for a list of courses available:

Art & Craft

Back into Writing

Beginners Guide to Computing

Care@

Committee Skills

Confidence Building

Cooking

Cost of Living

Creating a Storysack

Creative Writing (Prison Service)

Designing a Wildlife Garden

Developing Writing Skills

Genealogy@

Health and Safety

Healthy Eating

Healthier Lifestyle@

Interior Design@

Introduction to Excel

Job Readiness
Job Satisfaction

Listening and Helping@

Looking Good, Feeling Good

Maths

Office Work@

Parent's Guide to GCSEs and Learning

Planning and Event

Recycling

Retail@

Understanding Your Community (ESOL)

Volunteering

Word

Planning a Trip @

Speaking and Listening (ESOL)

World of Football

@ - accredited through OCN

Please note that, although all courses above are available FREE OF CHARGE to providers within Hants and IOW, there will be a small charge made per course for providers out of county.  For further details, or to access any of the above courses please contact Jo Bennett on 01329 286460

8. Resources and Local Network Groups

We have a range of themed resource boxes available to local ESSU network members. These resources target specific areas of the curriculum and are available for organisations to borrow for up to 6 weeks. The boxes cover the following themes:

• ESOL
• Community and Citizenship
• Workplace/Business
• Dyslexia
• Literacy – Reading
• Literacy – Writing
• Literacy – Speaking and Listening
• Numeracy
• Family Learning

For further details on how to access these boxes, please contact your local outreach worker.

9. Care Sector Resources

We are pleased to inform you that a range of courses to support the care sector are now freely available from the ESSU. Many thanks to SEEDA and Solent Skill Quest for supporting the production of these resources.

Course titles include:

• Communication Skills - (pdf 208k)
• Team Working - (pdf 372k)
• The patient experience - (pdf 220k)
• An introduction to counselling - (pd 628kf)
• Negotiation Skills - (pdf 380k)
• Writing support plans - (pdf 536)
• Leadership skill - (pdf 964k)
• Nursing - (pdf 500k)