New Directions College awarded £700k grant to boost learning opportunities

READING Borough Council’s Adult and Community Learning service, New Directions College, has revealed exciting proposals to boost numeracy skills across Reading.

Utilising a £700k grant, awarded to the Council through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and the national Multiply programme, the College will deliver over 176 courses to 1,108 learners over three years. Interventions include innovative numeracy skills programmes delivered with employers, courses aimed at care leavers aged 19 or over, and courses for parents wanting to increase their numeracy skills.

Multiply is a new government-funded programme to help adults improve their numeracy skills. If you’re aged 19 and over and don’t have maths GCSE at grade C (or equivalent), you can access free numeracy courses through Multiply to build your confidence with numbers and gain a qualification.

Good numeracy skills may unlock job opportunities and lead to higher wages or prepare you for further study. They also help in everyday life, such as helping children with homework and budgeting money.

The Multiply provision across Reading will be directly delivered by New Directions College, alongside additional commissioned courses by the local further education, voluntary, and community sectors.

Learning will be delivered in libraries, children’s centres, churches, community spaces and within local services, such as Job Centre Plus, to ensure maximum accessibility for learners.

Cllr Ruth McEwan, Lead Councillor for Education & Public Health, said:

“This is such positive news for Reading. I’m delighted New Directions College will have the opportunity to build on its excellent provisions for our local community. This initiative sits in the context of the Council working to ensure everybody can share in Reading’s success.

“Good numeracy skills are so essential for everyone as a core life skill.  Our ambition is to improve how people understand and work with numbers in everyday life, creating better opportunities and futures. We know many people lack confidence with numbers and it can have a negative impact on their daily lives. Improving numeracy needs encouragement, support, and good teaching – and if we are successful in this generous bid, we know we can make a real difference for many people.”

If you are interested in finding out more information or signing up, please visit www.newdirectionsreading.ac.uk or call on 0345 842 0012.

ENDS