Functional Skills Newsletter Jan 25th

January 25th - in this issue

What Mr Gove said about Functional Skills, news about the 7th National Diploma Conference, win fantastic executive box tickets to see Take That in Sunderland and a link to the BETT presentations about Functional Skills.

Delivering Diplomas and SecEd are going for it again!

The 7th National Conference on Delivering Diplomas: ‘Maintaining delivery & cost-effective partnerships' will take place on Monday 28th March 2011 in Birmingham.

This event focuses on overcoming the challenges facing Diploma deliverers in the current climate and with tightened budgets. The conference considers how consortia can continue with cost-effective delivery of the Diploma qualification and how the many excellent partnerships that have been built through the Diploma can be maintained moving forward.

Keynote addresses will feature key experts, as well as senior Diploma leaders in schools and colleges, and employers with the Functional Skills workshop being led by Jonathan Wells.

What Mr Gove said about Functional Skills

Short answer is absolutely nothing at all. The slightly more informed answer is that we expect the Wolf report about Vocational learning to deliver its findings in the next 6 weeks. The National Curriculum review focusses solely on those subjects which are currently part of the national curriculum so mention of Functional Skills wasn't expected. Full details are here.

Nevertheless, there is some mention of basics and we picked these nuggets out of the documentation:

• "The National Curriculum that we have at the moment has led teachers to move with undue pace through material and encouraged a ‘tick list’ approach to teaching"
• "important to emphasise that a good grounding in the basics is the foundation to being creative"
• "allowing time to ensure concepts, knowledge skills and understanding are fully developed"

Functional Skills presentations at BETT 2011

The BETT Show was held at Olympia from Wednesday 12th to Saturday 15th January. Click here for a download link to "Making Sense of Functional Skills" presentation delivered by Jonathan Wells on Thursday.

And the pic below is the fantastic (and very busy) Guroo stand!

Take That!

Click here to get the full rules and download the entry postcard - and yes you will have to think, it's not a free prize draw.

The prize is for two tickets to an executive box on Tuesday 31st May show at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland. Included in the prize package:

• Pre concert 2 course meal with coffee
• Post concert tea/coffee and biscuits
• Private balcony for concert viewing
• Hostess service
• Minibar (at additional cost)
• Cloak facilities within each box
• Access to after show party with disco until late
• Souvenir programme
• Hotel (room only)

All you have to do is get to Sunderland.