Skills for Life and Work
ESOL: English for Speakers of Other Languages
What is ESOL?
ESOL classes are for UK residents who do not speak English as their first language. They aim to improve speaking, listening, reading and writing skills and can help you to:
• Find work and gain further skills and qualifications
• Improve your grammar and literacy
• Take part in everyday life in the UK and your community
We deliver ESOL classes at Idea Stores and learning centres across the borough from Pre-Entry to Level 2.
Some of our ESOL classes lead to qualifications and spaces on these are very limited. Priority is given to learners who are actively looking for work or looking to progress to further studies.
Need to know more about computers, the Internet or email?
Enrol onto one of our friendly and supportive IT for Beginners or IT for ESOL classes.
We also offer nationally recognised qualifications in IT including Digital Skills (Entry Level 3) and ECDL (Levels 1 and 2).
English and Maths
Our English and Maths courses will support you to improve your reading, writing, and numeracy skills. Our team is supportive, friendly and experienced and will work with you to help you reach your goals.
Our Functional Skills Maths and English courses are accredited. On these courses, you will take an exam at the end of the course and if successful you will gain a Level 1 or 2 Functional Skills qualification. We also offer non-accredited programmes including English Writing Skills and Literacy for Beginners.
How to get on an ESOL course
• Visit your nearest Idea Store or call 020 7364 5665
• We will invite you to an ESOL initial assessment session.
Skills for Life and Work Assessments 2019 - 2020
We offer a range of courses for ESOL, English, Maths and IT which can help you on your path to employment.
Before you can join one of our classes, you must attend an assessment and enrolment session.
Our main assessment sessions for ESOL, English, Maths and IT take place in September 2019. We run more enrolment and assessment sessions across the borough in January and April.
For assessment dates please see our flyer.
At assessment we will guide you onto the right class through a one-to-one interview with a specialist teacher.
Your skills will be tested and we will discuss your needs and availability.
Once we have agreed a suitable class for you, you will need to enrol and pay any fees that are due as soon as possible.
You will not have a confirmed place in the class until you have enrolled.
Please note that due to high demand for our classes, we cannot guarantee a place for every learner.
We offer a range of courses for ESOL, English, Maths and IT which can help you on your path to employment.
For more information about our courses, please see pages 12-19 of our course guide.
