DIUS passes Update and Skills for Life conferences to LSIS

DIUS passes Skills for Life baton to LSIS The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) has passed the responsibility of managing the Skills for Life magazine, Update, and Skills for Life national conferences to the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS). The newsletter and national conferences represent significant elements of the Skills for Life programme – the national strategy for improving adult literacy and numeracy skills. Update, the Skills for Life magazine, is published three times a year and provides a forum for articles, news and calendar events for everyone involved in Skills for Life. Previously managed by DIUS, Update will now be produced by LSIS, which also publishes the Quality Improvement journal. Each issue of Update contains a broad range of information intended to reflect the diversity of organisations and individuals involved in Skills for Life. This ethic of inclusion will continue under LSIS’s management, with some new features being introduced in future issues. The next edition of Update is due in early summer 2009. The Skills for Life conferences will continue to attract delegates from across the sector. They will provide an opportunity to share best practice, as well as update on policy and strategy as they impact on Skills for Life. As such, they are central events in the Skills for Life calendar. Commenting on this ‘vote of confidence’, LSIS chief executive Roger McClure said, “We are delighted that DIUS has transferred responsibility for Update and the conferences to LSIS. It shows that the department has considerable confidence in us based on our successful delivery of the Skills for Life programme since April 2006. We look forward to increasing sector involvement and voice in both these activities under the LSIS remit.” The dates for the three conferences in London, Leeds and Birmingham in November of this year are: London: Tuesday 3 November at the QE2 Centre Leeds: Wednesday 18 November at Leeds Town Hall Birmingham: Monday 23 November at the International Conference Centre A new Skills for Life area on the Excellence Gateway has recently been created which has rationalised and brought together legacy Skills for Life websites and existing LSIS Skills for Life programme websites. These websites include the Tools Library, Embedded Learning Portal and Supporting Dyslexic Learners. The area enables the resources across all the previous websites to be organised and presented in ways which meet the needs of sector staff. The revised core curricula for Skills for Life will also be finalised soon. The newly revised adult literacy, ESOL and numeracy curricula and pre-entry curriculum framework offer guidance and sample activities, including among others embedded learning in action, relevant to anyone teaching in the post-16 sector. The SfL area can be accessed by following this link: http://excellence.qia.org.uk/sfl LSIS will be consulting with the sector during spring 2009 about its priorities and remit. While this is taking place, the activities and services of CEL and QIA will continue under joint branding; more information about their range of activities is available on their respective websites. For more information on LSIS and the consultation on its strategic direction, visit: www.lsis.org.uk