Based in Scotland, I first began teaching Literacies to adults as a volunteer in my local community in 2003. I also volunteered at a local primary school, supporting children who needed extra support. Since then I have taught literacies to many client groups to include those with drug & alcohol addiction, prisoners, ESOL learners, young offenders, looked after young people and patients with psychological mental health issues. My biggest frustration then, and even now, is the lack of learning resources that are suitable for returning learners. Most resources that address this basic skill are image heavy and aimed at children. This in itself is a barrier to learning. I came up with the concept of  the Rules n Tools reference book in 2005, as a way for the client groups that I worked with to have a reminder of what they had been taught.  I always anticipated that this book had the potential to develop into something more and so I developed the Toolkits  to complement the original book.

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Previous to working in Literacies, I spent many years in manufacturing and quality management. My mindset is therefore to produce materials that are simple, effective, progressive and traceable: If a learner is struggling, rather than continue with the struggle, go back to what they are comfortable with and determine where the confusion begins. Similarly, too many learners work with too many different tutors and use too many different resources. This in itself is confusing. The Rules n Tools resources have been developed to provide an all in one simplified, structured, progressive and consistent method of teaching literacies.

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​As many teachers and tutors know, difficulties with literacies does not suddenly become evident when a person is a teenager or an adult.  It begins when the person is approximately between 5 to 9 years old when, due to many factors, they miss out on school or fail to grasp the basic concepts. 

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Rules n Tools resources were initially designed for adults but they have shown to also be a helpful resources for school pupils and family learning.

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My vision is to witness that Rules n Tools works! That both learners and tutors find the resources useful and that it provides a stepping stone for learners to gain confidence and to continue in their leaning journey. That Rules n Tools is seen as a resource that complements the Social Practice Model in Scotland and that the book and toolkits are used to support any learning practices used by tutors.