About ABE
About Us
ABE is part of West Lothian Council’s Area Services. Our Aim is to work with anyone over the age of 16 who can set goals to improve literacy and numeracy skills or who is experiencing hearing loss and wishes to learn lip-reading skills. We provide a free service with access to workshops, short courses and ongoing individual learning.
Our Service Standards
We Will:
1. make sure your learning remains confidential.
2. make sure you meet in a group that works for you.
3. make sure your group is comfortable, friendly & welcoming.
4. make sure you are treated with respect and equality.
5. support you to build a relationship with your tutor.
6. support you to plan achievable goals.
7. support you to find the right pace and strategies that work for you.
8. support you to discuss and review your Individual Learning Plan.
9. support you to know when you have reached your goals.
10. support you to recognise the difference your learning is making.
ABE Contacts
Click on any ABE staff member below to find out more about their role and responsibilities.
Staff Details
Elaine Nisbet
Principal Officer
elaine.nisbet@westlothian.gov.uk
Elaine has overall responsibility for the strategic and operational management of ABE. She makes links with partnership organisation and raises awareness of ABE's services to other agencies and potential students. She is the main link contact for new students, who will meet her to discuss their needs and find the right group in which to learn.
Alison Nicol
Tutor Organiser
alison.nicol@westlothian.gov.uk
Alison is responsible for developing the training programme for ABE staff, volunteers and external partners. She also manages the Health and Safety agenda, tutors and is a link contact for new Students.
Margaret Borosch
Development Worker
margaret.borosch@westlothian.gov.uk
Margaret has responsibility for supporting students who have particular needs relating to mental health. She monitors our performance against our Service Standards and consults with students to make sure their views are heard and acted upon.
Maureen Dunsmore
Development Worker
maureen.dunsmore@westlothian.gov.uk
Maureen's main focus is working with the Criminal Justice team to provide literacies learning for their clients. This includes running short courses, integrating literacies into the Criminal Justice programme and working with learners on their individual goals.
Alison Mann
Development Worker
alison.mann@westlothian.gov.uk
Alison's key focus is ensuring the service provides literacies support to young people aged 16 – 24. Her delivery is based around everyday situations relevant to young people’s lives, such as managing money, getting ready for work and driving theory. She works in partnerships with many organisations who are meeting the varied needs of young people, not only delivering course to young people but supporting staff training on Youth Literacy approaches. She is also involved in Quality Assurance and oversees our accredited courses for students.
Marion Phillips
Development Worker
marion.phillips@westlothian.gov.uk
Marion's priority is to support reading and writing through delivering courses including Storytelling and encouraging all students to get involved with projects such as the Six Book Challenge. She support the users group FABE to operate and co-ordinates many of their events, including the Tom Meek Award.
Jenny Reekie
Development Worker
jenny.reekie@westlothian.gov.uk
Jenny's priority is numeracy and she delivers a range of courses to support people to improve their number skills. These include Brain Training, Cooking by Numbers and Number Quest. She also promotes the use of ICT equipment in learning and works with students to develop skills such as blogging.
Alicia Robertson
Development Worker
alicia.robertson@westlothian.gov.uk
Alicia's objective is to work with students who are currently employed. She has a particular focus on developing learning opportunities for disabled people.
Michael Boyce
IT Support Tutor
michael.boyce@westlothian.gov.uk
Michael works behind the scenes to maintain and develop our ICT resources. He also provides specialist support, on courses like Savvy, to help students learn how to use multimedia equipment.
Lyn Gordon
Development Worker
lyn.gordon@westlothian.gov.uk
Lyn mainly works with learners who are unemployed. She supports learners to achieve their individual goals in reading, writing and numeracy. She also offers support and guidance to learners who want to work towards completing an SQA qualification within ABE.
Alla Norrie
Development Worker
alla.norrie@westlothian.gov.uk
Alla mainly works with disabled people and unemployed. This includes mainstream
literacy group and short courses. She also provides support and guidance to
learners who want to work towards SQA qualifications.
Joanne MacKenzie
Volunteer Development Worker
joanne.macKenzie@westlothian.gov.uk
Joanne’s role involves identifying and developing opportunities for volunteering within the ABE and Advice Shop service. She also provides support to volunteers on an ongoing basis.
Jane Mallon
Administrative Assistant
Jane deals with general enquiries on the phone providing the first point of contact for anyone using ABE services. Behind the scenes, she gives administrative support to the service including notifying students of their placements and maintaining our records.
