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Skilled for Health
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Last modified date:20 November 2007
In 2003 Hazel Blears the Public Health Minister and Ivan Lewis the Skills Minister, launched Skilled for Health, a joint DfES/DH project with a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) partner ContinYou. This was a sub-project of the DfES Adult Basic Skills Strategy Skills for Life.
By bringing together the skills and commitment of people in adult learning, NGOs and in health promotion and primary care we contribute to the strategic goals of both departments in fostering lifelong learning through Skills for Life and reducing health inequalities.
The programme designed and tested health related embedded learning materials to include within the national core curricula and training and education modules for adults with basic skills issues.
Eight pilot sites took part in the first phase of Skilled for Health that aimed to determine the potential for improving health and literacy in a combined project. These were mainly community-based projects with a focus on a particular group or issue. The results of Phase 1 were positive, a set of embedded learning materials were produced as a result, providing materials to enable learners to tackle both their basic skills, and health needs.
Phase 2 pilot sites
Phase 2 is recruiting a further 6 national Sector Sites to further test the materials, trial new ones specific to the settings involved and explore other methods of delivery. The new six sites are the:
- MOD/Army families
- prisons
- Royal Mail
- Nottingham City Council
- the London Museums
- Libriaries and Archives Service and
- the NHS.
The next step will be to identify community adopter sites to rollout the programme in a range of settings. This is taking place in the NW and NE initially, with a rollout to SE and SW to follow.
A national evaluation is integrated into Phase 2 and the first steps of this are underway.
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