www.literacy100.org Improving the literacy skills of people with experience of homelessness A Toolkit for Key W orkers Literacy100 Key W orkers T oolkit 2 W elcome to your toolkit This toolkit has been written for key workers in the homelessness sector to highlight some of the practical and emotional barriers faced by people who have low - level literacy skills. Low literacy causes problems for people experiencing homelessness and can impact on the effectiveness of key working. We need to know about someone’s literacy needs – and the difficulties they cause – in order to support them. By providing an accessible service, we can help to build confidence in service users. From this foundation, we can support more formal steps towards developing their literacy skills. The aims of the toolkit are: • To report on current research into low literacy and homelessness. • To highlight some of the practical and emotional barriers faced by people who have low literacy skills. • To help you identify the literacy needs of service users, make your service more accessible, and make decisions about support. The toolkit is based on a 2010 version produced by homelessness charity Thames Reach It has been revised and reproduced with their kind permission. Literacy100 Key W orkers T oolkit 3 Prevalence “ 8.5 million adults in England lack essential literacy or numeracy skills” Between 2010 and 2014, around 50% of service users were found by homelessness charities Thames Reach and St Mungo’s to have inadequate reading and writing skills for their daily needs. The 2024 report suggests that a high prevalence of low literacy continues to be found in the homelessness population. Here is a summary of current research In 2024, The Centre for Homelessness Impact published their report, ‘ Literacy, Numeracy and Homelessness: What Do We Know? ’ Researchers drew on evidence from a wide range of studies, in order to gain a clear picture of the causes and consequences of having low essential skills while homeless. Literacy100 Key W orkers T oolkit 4 Learning difficulties and disabilities There is a high prevalence of learning difficulties and neurodiversity amongst people who have experienced homelessness. In UK Government data from 2020 , 21% of rough sleepers reported a learning difficulty, and 10% a diagnosis of ADHD. A dults experiencing homelessness who have additional needs such as dyslexia are at risk of being homelessness for longer than those don’t have these difficulties. They are more likely to be without education, training , and employment. Developmental dyslexia – causes and characteristics People with dyslexia are recognised under the Equality Act 2010 if their disability is substantial and long - term. They are legally protected from discrimination, and are entitled to reasonable adjustments in the workplace and education. They may require a formal assessment to access this support. Literacy100 Key W orkers T oolkit 5 Dyslexia has a genetic basis, being found in around 10% of the general population, including people of all ages and levels of intelligence. Characteristic s that distinguish dyslexia from other causes of low literacy are: • extreme difficulty in grasping the relationship between spoken words and the way we write them down • inefficiencies in working memory. • slow speed of processing and inability to become completely automatic in literacy skills. Some dyslexic people learn to live successfully with their difficulties, while for others they create a real and humiliating disability. It is not uncommon for dyslexic men and women to have developed poor expectations of themselves, feelings of shame, and resentment towards those who have failed them. If not addressed, low - esteem can become a primary handicap that limits progress towards overcoming dyslexia and gaining literacy. Literacy100 Key W orkers T oolkit 6 Literacy100 Key W orkers T oolkit 7 Case study : Roger Roger is a severely dyslexic man in his late forties who spent ten years living rough. His story illuminates the consequences of a disrupted childhood and the failure of schools to address his serious difficulties with reading and writing. He would like his story to encourage others to tackle their own literacy problems. “As a boy I went to eight schools, and I was always told that I was lazy or a dunce. It made me very angry. Of course, at that time they didn’t know about dyslexia, and there was no support for my difficulties. When I left, I still didn’t know the alphabet The next step was to find work. That meant filling forms in, which was a nightmare. People had to do them for me. When they began asking, “Why can’t you do this for yourself?” I broke my glasses or punched walls so my hand swelled up. I couldn’t tell pe ople I wasn’t able to read and write. That was too shameful. I got a few jobs, but none of them worked out. Then came my years sleeping rough and I didn’t care what happened to me. In the end I was helped off the streets by a homelessness charity, and my life was turned around. Once I had somewhere to live, they referred me to a literacy teacher who gave me one - to - one lessons. I was hoping for a quick improvement, but lost confidence when this didn’t happen. My key worker told me to be patient because there is no quick fix. Gradually I began to see improvements, and I was able to begin volunteering for the charity. It made me believe in myself again. Eventually I went to college. It was up and down for a while but, with the support of my key worker, I kept going and passed my Level 1! If anyone who reads this has the same trouble, it isn’t too late - there is help out there.” Literacy100 Key W orkers T oolkit 8 The story raises issue s that may need to be considered by key workers when literacy support is being planned . F or example: • The service user’s resilience, motivation and determination to learn • Preparation for a course of learning, its demands and outcomes • Ongoing support required from key workers Literacy100 Key W orkers T oolkit 9 “ Many adults although motivated to improve their literacy, find formal study very difficult.” Literacy interventions for vulnerable adults The causes of low literacy in adults are, put most simply, missed or inadequate education during childhood. This includes people with learning difficulties such as dyslexia or ADHD, whose needs were not met when they were at school. Individuals with memori es of failure and humiliation can face considerable psychological barriers to re - engagement with learning. For these reasons, it is important that, before we refer a service user to educational provision, we carefully consider its suitability for them. Literacy100 Key W orkers T oolkit 10 Vulnerability People who have experienced homelessness may be vulnerable learners because of low levels of resilience, self - esteem and life skills. Accessibility Dyslexic adults in particular can find college administrative processes confusing, classrooms too noisy, and the pace of lessons too fast. Approaches Low literacy learners, particularly those who are dyslexic, require well - structured, multi - sensory programmes. Letter - sound relationships (phonics) should be taught explicitly, so that the relationship between spoken and written words is understood. Partnerships Homelessness agencies can work in partnership with literacy providers to reinforce learning. They might set up opportunities to practise reading, or offer help with homework. Here are some things to consider when looking at learning options for service users: Tools for key working The toolkit will now describe three steps to help you achieve successful outcomes for service users: • Step 1: Identifying literacy skills • Step 2: Creating productive and accessible key working • Step 3: Signposting and support Literacy100 Key W orkers T oolkit 12 Literacy skills impact on the lives of service users in many ways F or example: maintaining their tenancies; staying in touch with family and friends; using community resources; finding and keeping a job or taking up learning opportunities. Knowledge of a service user’s literacy needs and the impacts these have on their day - to - day life is an important part of support planning. However, people can find it difficult to talk about the problems they have with reading and writing. The tools in this section are designed to provide a foundation for structured conversations with service users about their literacy strengths and needs. We’re looking for information here, but there’s no expectation on you as key workers to assess skills. Instead, you should use this information to assess the key working techniques you use to support each service user. How do we go about identifying literacy skills – step 1 Literacy100 Key W orkers T oolkit 13 Identifying literacy skills Literacy100 Key W orkers T oolkit 14 The flowchart b elow gives some examples of how to start supporting service users with their literacy skills. Literacy100 Key W orkers T oolkit 15 Literacy100 Key W orkers T oolkit 16 Is dyslexia the reason for literacy difficulties? Literacy100 Key W orkers T oolkit 17 Dyslexia screening tests These are usually administered in places of learning such as adult and further education colleges, and sometimes in job centres. They are often carried out on the computer, following a short interview. Literacy100 Key W orkers T oolkit 18 Literacy100 Key W orkers T oolkit 19 Literacy100 Key W orkers T oolkit 20 People who have lived with literacy needs may have a level of anxiety about their lack of skills. Effective key workers put people at ease and develop trust ing relationships This can be used to motivate someone towards change. Evidence of need: In 1996 researchers compared the results when they gave a spelling test to two groups of adults – one with dyslexia and the other without – followed by a series of visual memory and reasoning tasks. The adults with dyslexia performed less well on the memory and reasoning tasks. The researchers deduced that this was because of the anxiety caused by the previous spelling test. Non - dyslexics, for whom spelling tests are less likely to arouse anxiety, did not show this reduced efficiency in the subsequent memory and reasoning tasks. Long - term failure in one area may lead to underperformance in others, particularly when stress has been increased. Creating productive and accessible key working – step 2 Remember : L iteracy isn’t about intelligence. It’s about a specific set of skills that need time and attention to learn. In the meantime, key workers can create conducive environments for building confidence and life skills to support learning.