Functional Skills are an alternative to GCSE, offering an engaging and vocational route towards achieving English qualifications that are nationally recognised and often a vital requirement for accessing training courses, apprenticeships and employment.
With a focus on the fundamentals of reading, writing and speaking, listening and communicating, students are able to develop core literacy skills that are relevant and essential in everyday life.
***
Implementation
Pupils will then be taught core skills across speaking, listening and communicating, reading and writing, working towards Open Awards Functional Skills English qualifications at Entry Level 3, Level 1 or Level 2. The flexibility of the formal assessments, available online or paper-based, means that students can sit, resit and progress onto the next level at any point throughout the school year.
***
Impact
Students formally studying English will:
• Have increased their confidence and motivation in learning English.
• Recognise the importance of literacy skills and place greater value on them for improving their employability and independence.
• Have developed their literacy skills and improved their attainment in English. Be more able to use their literacy skills confidently, effectively and independently in everyday life
Functional Skills are an alternative to GCSE, offering an engaging and vocational route towards achieving Maths qualifications that are nationally recognised and often a vital requirement for accessing training courses, apprenticeships and employment. With a focus on the fundamentals of using and applying number, problem solving and decision making skills within the contexts of time, money, measure, shape, space and handling information and data, students are able to develop core numeracy skills that are relevant and essential in everyday life.
***
Implementation
Pupils will then be taught core numeracy skills, working towards Open Awards Functional Skills Maths qualifications at Entry Level 3, Level 1 or Level 2. The flexibility of the formal assessments, available online or paper-based, means that students can sit, resit and progress onto the next level at any point throughout the school year.
***
Impact
Students formally studying Maths will:
• Have increased their confidence and motivation in learning Maths. Recognise the importance of numeracy skills and place greater value on them for improving their employability and independence.
• Have developed their numeracy skills and improved their attainment in Maths.
• Be more able to use their numeracy skills confidently, effectively and independently in everyday life.
Functional Skills are an alternative to GCSE, offering an engaging and vocational route towards achieving Maths qualifications that are nationally recognised and often a vital requirement for accessing training courses, apprenticeships and employment. With a focus on the fundamentals of using and applying number, problem solving and decision making skills within the contexts of time, money, measure, shape, space and handling information and data, students are able to develop core numeracy skills that are relevant and essential in everyday life.
***
Implementation
Pupils will then be taught core numeracy skills, working towards Open Awards Functional Skills Maths qualifications at Entry Level 3, Level 1 or Level 2. The flexibility of the formal assessments, available online or paper-based, means that students can sit, resit and progress onto the next level at any point throughout the school year.
***
Impact
Students formally studying Maths will:
• Have increased their confidence and motivation in learning Maths. Recognise the importance of numeracy skills and place greater value on them for improving their employability and independence.
• Have developed their numeracy skills and improved their attainment in Maths.
• Be more able to use their numeracy skills confidently, effectively and independently in everyday life.
***
What does the qualification cover?
• to achieve the Award, complete 6 credits and commit to approximately 60 hours of learning.
• to achieve the Certificate, complete 13 credits and commit to approximately 130 hours of learning.
• to achieve the Extended Certificate, complete 24 credits and commit to approximately 240 hours of learning.
• to achieve the Diploma, complete 37 credits and commit to approximately 370 hours of learning.
For all sizes of qualification, complete the mandatory unit ‘Personal Action Planning’. This will support pupils to recognise their skills and areas for development and to put these into a clear plan for development. Pupils will then be required to complete units from Generic Unit Group B, which covers Employability; Personal Learning and Development; Health and Wellbeing; and Literacy and Numeracy.
Pupils will also be required to complete units from Pathway Unit Groups which cover the following vocational pathways:
• Catering and Hospitality
• Creative Industries
• Digital Skills
• Enterprise, Sales and Marketing
• Hair and Beauty
• Leadership and Management
• Sport, Fitness and Leisure