Leicester College leads the way in understanding approaches to adult learning

Leicester College is to pilot the Sound Reading System (SRS), a comprehensive phonics programme to teach reading in the college.  Fifteen tutors at the College have been trained to use the approach, which has been used mainly with children and young adults, to evaluate how successful different models of delivery are as part of the research project.  This will be the first time that data will have been collected in this way for adult learners. 

Adult literacy needs are currently a topical issue in light of the channel 4 ‘can’t write, can’t read’ programme highlighting the impact that not being able to read and write confidently has on learners throughout life. The information gained from this pilot will not only give the College an insight into the suitability of approaches such as SRS to adult learners, but will also be fed back to Professor Diane McGuinness, who the College has also been working with.

The College aims to try using the approach with different learners in different ways, for example, working on a one-to-one basis with a learner twice a week for ten weeks or working with a small group of learners once a week.

Lucy Pates, Programme Area Manager - Leicester College Skills for Life Team said, “The tutors who attended training in using this approach have many years of experience in working with people on their reading.  They are all extremely excited about this approach, and have seen a significant impact on the learners they have used it with.

“We are a successful department, and our learners make good progress.  However, we continually look for different approaches, and this is the first time that we have come across a reading scheme as systematic and thorough as this and that is based on research.”