What Specialised Literacy Services Does NALA.ie Offer?

NALA (the National Adult Literacy Agency) runs a set of specialised literacy services that go beyond general reading and writing courses: health literacy, family literacy, financial literacy, workplace basic education, and integrating literacy into further education. Each one targets a different setting — the health system, the home, money matters, the workplace, and the classroom — and each comes with its own resources, training or support services. You can reach any of them through the relevant section of nala.ie, or by calling the freephone number listed on the site (1800 20 20 65).

Health Literacy

Health literacy is one of NALA's most developed service areas, and it splits into two audiences.

For the health sector: NALA provides health sector services and training aimed at helping health professionals communicate clearly with patients. The goal is to reduce the gap between how health information is written and how people actually read and understand it.

For the public: There is a dedicated set of health literacy tips written for members of the public, so people can better understand health information they receive.

If you work in a hospital, clinic or health service and want to make your patient materials clearer, the health sector services route is the relevant one. If you are an individual trying to make sense of health information, the public tips are the starting point.

Plain English

Plain English sits alongside health literacy and is closely tied to it. NALA offers:

• Plain English tips
• Editing and training services
• The Plain English Mark

The editing and training services are for organisations that want their documents rewritten or their staff trained in plain English writing. The Plain English Mark is a recognition you can apply to documents that meet the standard. This service is relevant to any organisation producing public-facing information — health bodies, government offices, financial institutions and employers included.

Family Literacy

Family literacy focuses on learning that happens in the home, often involving parents and children together. It appears on nala.ie as a distinct tutor service, meaning it is delivered through tutors who work with families rather than only with individual adult learners.

This is the relevant service if you are a parent who wants to support a child's reading, or a tutor or community worker setting up learning that involves the whole family.

Financial Literacy

Financial literacy is listed as its own service area. It covers the reading, numeracy and comprehension skills people need to deal with money — understanding bills, statements, loan documents and financial products.

It is a separate offering from general numeracy courses, aimed specifically at financial contexts. If your difficulty is with numbers in everyday life generally, a general numeracy course may fit better; if it is specifically about money documents, financial literacy is the closer match.

Workplace Basic Education

Workplace basic education brings literacy and numeracy learning into the workplace itself. It is designed for employers and employees rather than for individual learners studying at home.

This is relevant if you are an employer who wants to offer basic skills support to staff, or an employee whose workplace already runs such a programme. Because it is delivered in the workplace, the content can be tied to the actual reading, writing and number tasks the job requires.

Integrating Literacy in Further Education

This service supports further education providers in embedding literacy and numeracy into their own courses, rather than treating them as a separate subject. It is aimed at teachers, tutors and institutions in the further education sector.

The related tutor services — the resources hub, student workbooks, teaching guidelines and professional development — support this work, along with training events and guidance on getting started as a tutor.

Which Service Fits Your Situation?

How to Access These Services

The services are reached through the navigation on nala.ie — each has its own section under Services or Tutor services. The site also lists a freephone number (1800 20 20 65) and a search function, which are the practical entry points if you are not sure which section applies to you. Some areas, such as membership and student information, sit alongside these services and may be relevant depending on whether you are learning, tutoring or commissioning a service.