The Basic Skills Agency is the national development organisation for literacy and numeracy in England and Wales.
We're an independent organisation. However, we're mainly funded by the Government through grants from the Department for Education and Skills and the Welsh Assembly Government. We're not-for-profit and a charity. Our patron is Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal and our Chairman is Garry Hawkes CBE.
By "basic skills" we mean:
"the ability to read, write and speak English/ Welsh and use mathematics at a level necessary to function and progress at work and in society in general."
We work across sectors and age groups and take a coherent "cradle to grave" approach to improving standards.
Our focus is on innovation, development, advice and dissemination.
In Wales we're responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Welsh Assembly Government's "cradle to grave" National Basic Skills Strategy.
The Basic Skills Agency is the national development organisation for literacy and numeracy in England and Wales.