Thursday 25 August 2011

Making Sense of Functional Skills Newsletter August 25th

August 25th - the Functional Skills newsletter

A holiday special newsletter that focuses on Policy announcements and press comment covering the Further Education Reform Programme consultation and the Vorderman Report on Maths Education along with a couple of good news stories about Functional Skills. And if I may add, it's really good to say that just about every story I've monitored over the holidays about Functional Skills has been positive.

Have your say on FE reform

The Government has published a paper entitled "Next Steps in Implementing the Further Education Reform Programme".

This is part of the "New Challenges, New Chances" consultation. Highlights of the proposal include amongst other things:

  • A new framework for the FE sector will help improve employer and provider collaborative partnerships.
  • From 2013/14, loans for adults aged 24 and over will be available to support Level 3 and 4 qualifications, including Higher Apprenticeships.
  • Providing greater freedom for the sector to ensure vocational qualifications meet employer requirements.
  • The provision of basic literacy and numeracy for adults will be reviewed to help providers offer responsive solutions to meet shortages.
  • As part of general changes to form a more responsive sector, FE providers will have the opportunity to strengthen employer-focused courses by developing innovative delivery methods to meet employer requirements.

"A World Class Maths Education For All"

Carol Vorderman led a team that was commissioned by the Conservative Party when in opposition to look at Maths teaching in all sectors. This report was published in August and came down very heavily in support of Functional Maths. Key points I picked out include:

  • 75% of those with a grade C GCSE in Maths can’t do simple percentages, ratios and areas. No point in force fed trigonometry and algebra after age 14 when young people can’t even calculate a percentage.
  • Need two GCSE in Maths – one practical (including Financial Maths) and one for those who will continue to A level and beyond.
  • Radical change is necessary – can’t be right that only 15% of pupils study Maths post 16 when in other industrialised nations, it’s nearer 100%. Ms Vorderman said more than 300,000 16-year-olds each year completed their education without enough understanding of Maths to function properly in their work or private lives.
  • The syllabuses must be allowed to reward students who are able to achieve a higher standard in a smaller area of the curriculum, rather than a low standard across a much wider curriculum (however this is eventually structured). Regulation currently prevents this from happening even though nearly half of our young people fail GCSE. By the age of 14 many of these have been turned off Mathematics and, when they finish studying Mathematics two years later, are still functionally innumerate.
  • This often leaves pupils and students able to answer examination questions but without the functionality that they will need if they are to put the subject to use in employment or in other areas of study.

CBI comments on Maths report

“Maths is a subject of critical importance, and this report rightly highlights that there needs to be more focus on teaching ‘useful maths’ that is relevant for future employment and day-to-day life. Businesses are most concerned about basic levels of numeracy and it’s alarming that more than one in five 16-19 year olds are considered functionally innumerate. To help address this problem, all young people should continue to study some form of maths until the age of 18. Pupils with good maths ability should continue to study the full curriculum, but all pupils, regardless of ability, should go on to study a functional numeracy qualification.”

“Employers say that even those who pass GCSE are not functional in mathematics, meaning that they cannot apply what they have learnt in the workplace”

The full link is here.


Good news stories!

As well as policy, it's always good to reflect on the little snippets of good news stories we hear about. Here's a couple that we picked up.

We like this one from Rochdale, it's the sort of think we all want to see happen regularly.

And a one from the end of term from Central Skills.

Sunday 21 August 2011

e-petition for Financial Education

This has been brought forward by Martin Lewis of MoneySavingExpert fame. I like Martin, he talks sense. It echoes the issues that Carol Vorderman highlighted earlier this month when she quoted ratios, percentages and fractions in addition to financial education.
And every single one of these skills are part of Functional Skills, especially finance which is covered at all levels.
So go for it Martin, but let's make it Functional Skills rather than just Finance. I have already signed, just as 40,000 other people have.

Wednesday 17 August 2011

Demand for Functional Skills is real, urgent and necessary!

British Chamber of Commerce report - the report states: 'In general, younger people lack numerical skills, research skills, ability to focus and read, plus written English.'

One unnamed entrepreneur told researchers: 'Plenty of unemployed, mostly without experience in my sector. The interpersonal skills of some interviewed in the past have been very poor.'



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2026858/Bosses-condemn-useless-degrees-leave-graduates-lacking-basic-skills.html#ixzz1VHInHoEu

As I've said before, let's start calling a bird that lives on a pond and quacks a duck and start making Functional SKills absolutely essential for everyone!

Monday 8 August 2011

Review of Carol Vorderman's comments re Maths

Radio 4

Carol Vorderman interview with John Humphries

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9558000/9558798.stm

75% of those with a grade C GCSE in maths can’t do simple percentages, ratios and areas.

No point in force fed trigonometry and algebra after age 14 when young people can’t even calculate a percentage. Need two GCSE in Maths – one practical (including financial maths) and one for those who will continue to A level and beyond.

Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/aug/08/maths-taskforce-gcse-split

Focus of this story is very much on splitting GCSE into two areas. Also criticises early entry maths where achieving grade C at GCSE is seen as “all that’s needed”

BBC News

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-14437665

Radical change is necessary – can’t be right that only 15% of pupiols study maths post 16 when in other inditrialised natins, it’s nearer 100% Ms Vorderman said more than 300,000 16-year-olds each year completed their education without enough understanding of maths to function properly in their work or private lives.

Another focus on how GCSE should be split but no mention of functionality of financial focus.

Daily Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8687244/Study-maths-up-to-18-says-Carol-Vorderman-report.html

Focus here is on greater macro-econimc position that failure in maths hurts the country.

“Unless major alterations in our mathematics education are made, and quickly, we are risking our future economic prosperity.”

CBI

http://www.cbi.org.uk/ndbs/press.nsf/0363c1f07c6ca12a8025671c00381cc7/90fe4145e8126880802578e6003299aa?OpenDocument

Short statement, but quite pointed so in full it says.
“Maths is a subject of critical importance, and this report rightly highlights that there needs to be more focus on teaching ‘useful maths’ that is relevant for future employment and day-to-day life. Businesses are most concerned about basic levels of numeracy and it’s alarming that more than one in five 16-19 year olds are considered functionally innumerate. To help address this problem, all young people should continue to study some form of maths until the age of 18. Pupils with good maths ability should continue to study the full curriculum, but all pupils, regardless of ability, should go on to study a functional numeracy qualification.”

The report also agrees and also states “Employers say that even those who pass GCSE are not functional in mathematics, meaning that they cannot apply what they have learnt in the workplace”

The Report focuses on suggesting changes to the way Maths is taught

http://www.conservatives.com/News/News_stories/2011/08/Vorderman_publishes_report_on_maths_education.aspx

Commissioned by the Tories when in opposition, but clearly supported by Michael Gove who last month introduced the idea of maths being taught to at least age 18 in this speech. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-13958422

Key parts of the report include:

We are advising a radical change in mathematics education from the age of 14 to 18 with two critical recommendations. The first involves fundamental changes to GCSE. The second is that there should be some form of compulsory mathematics education for all students to the age of 18. Both of these recommendations must be considered together, and not individually, as the first has a direct effect on the second. The impact of the changes in GCSE, particularly for the half of each cohort which currently “fail”

GCSE, will then be enhanced by a continuation of mathematics for a further two years from age 16 to 18.

The syllabuses must be allowed to reward students who are able to achieve a higher standard in a smaller area of the curriculum, rather than a low standard across a much wider curriculum (however this is eventually structured). Regulation currently prevents this from happening even though nearly half of our young people fail GCSE: by the age of 14 many of these have been turned off mathematics and, when they finish studying mathematics two years later, are still functionally innumerate.

This often leaves pupils and students able to answer examination questions but without the functionality that they will need if they are to put the subject to use in employment or in other areas of study. At school policy level, some secondary schools are now choosing to concentrate their resources on students at those thresholds that are critical for the targets against which performance will be reported, for example grade C at GCSE. This is at the expense of the attention given to able students, those likely to go on to A level, and to those at the other end of the spectrum who are seen as certain to fail. Another policy that is being driven by performance tables is the increasing tendency to enter students for GCSE before they are ready.

Carol Vorderman fronting the maths campaign

Whist it's absolutely true that the Government report says that Functional Skills should be applied in English as well, it's great that Ms Vorderman is able to bring such good publicity about the issue of Functional maths.
Keep it up, but let's not beat about the bush, let's say Functional maths please.
I shall write more on this later today when I've had a chance to review the interviews with Carol on R4, ITV Daybreak and BBC News.