West Berkshire Council recognised that support staff may be reluctant to take up learning opportunities.  It also realised that providing up-to-date information can help to remove any reservations or fears which support staff have.

The council worked closely with the LSC and local training providers to promote Skills for life training.  The council organised presentations for clusters of schools giving support staff the opportunity to hear all about local provision.  Support staff also had the opportunity to chat with presenters and to ask questions.

The presentations were well received and as a result many staff expressed an interest in developing their skills.  An officer of the council attended the local Learndirect centre to experience the training provided.  This has helped the council to provide potential learners with first hand information about the programmes on offer, the trainers, venue and facilities available.   In addition, the council worked closely with a number of local trainers to embed level 2 literacy and numeracy qualifications into the NVQ 3 teaching assistant course and many of the support staff who have undertaken Skills for life training have now progressed to HTLA status.