Certainty is good, it's a shame it had to be delayed

Well, you could look at the announcement by John Hayes that Key Skills stay for a short period as being bad news for Functional Skills, but read further and in fact it's very good news.

It turns out that not only did ALP/AoC ask for an extension because they "weren't ready" (see below), but they also wanted a report into evidence that Key Skills work - something that has been flatly refused.

Functional Skills are not going anywhere and the sooner that institutions realise this, the better for all concerned. It's just a shame they can't come now as they are badly needed and every business person that I speak to (and that's a lot) agree that kids with Functional Skills are simply better at understanding the real world!

(The pilot started in 2007 so we're now in the 5th year of Functional Skills availability and every College was involved in the pilot.)