Speaking and Listening conference 

Speaking and Listening are the tools which build closer families, confident communities and contribute to an effective and vibrant economy 

Tuesday 30 October 2007
Queen Elizabeth ll Conference Centre, Westminster, London SW1P 3EE

The Alliance for Lifelong Learning has been formed to take forward and develop the work of the Basic Skills Agency at NIACE, in partnership with Tribal, and to ensure that issues of literacy, language and numeracy, across all ages, are kept high on everyones agenda. The splitting of the Department for Education and Skills into two departments has made this even more pertinent  there is a need for a body which encourages working across the pre- and post-16 divide, which understands that research, policy and practice in both sectors impacts upon the other.  

We know that:

  • employers are increasingly worried not only about the literacy, language and numeracy skills of young people joining the workforce but about their communication skills
  • health and social workers are concerned about communication within families
  • teachers in schools are under increasing pressure to develop the speaking and listening skills of their pupils
  • teachers in the FE sector are continuingly exploring how they can assess, and then develop the skills of adults.  

There is much to learn from across the phases of learning, in order to ensure continuing development.  

By attending the event, participants will have the opportunity to:

  • hear from leading specialists about current research, policy and practice and to engage in moving forward the thinking in this relatively underdeveloped area of work
  • engage in round-table discussion about the challenges and opportunities we face and share ideas for practice across the phases of learning
  • examine interesting developments and initiatives and engage in dialogue with key colleagues involved, in order to influence and develop their own practices.

This event will be of particular interest to:

  • Teachers in Youth Services, Further Education, Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), Primary, Secondary Education sectors
  • Those working in work-based training, offender learning, workplace learning and the voluntary sector who want to develop the speaking and listening skills of learners for whom English is their first language