Case Study: Cambridgeshire Adult Learning and Skills; Family Learning

Pulling a book group together from our target client group proved unexpectedly challenging. After several attempts, we began with a group of four women. The book group members are parents, unemployed and have an educational attainment level at approximately Level 1. Three out of the four have been on a Family Learning course to improve their literacy and/or numeracy skills. Two group members were readers already, but two reported that they have found reading and concentration difficult; they did not describe themselves as ‘book readers’. Their reasons for joining the book group included: a chance to go out with a purpose and to socialise; a chance to be part of something that is ‘more than sitting around chatting’; doing something that is for myself; I was ‘bullied into it by a friend!’