December 18th - the Functional Skills
newsletter
Another busy period for Functional
Skills.
This week we have news on 16-19
Study Programmes, more detail on the recent announcements on funding
(yes it really did double and yes, it really is backdated) plus we have summary
reports of the Skills for Life research report
showing that the issues we all suspected in Maths, really do exist.
And with perfect timing, Guroo announce
the availability of a series of "Tutorial Videos", high
impact 3-5 minute videos mixing animation with real life examples and clear
teaching on a range of hard to grasp concepts (lots of
maths in the first release phase).
No webinar this week, but links to all
previous webinar recordings are still available including the ever popular
quick guide to latest Functional Skills policy.
And finally, all of us at Guroo (Sally,
Cathy, Jonathan, Simon, Andy, Neil and Daisy) wish all of you a restful break
(if you manage to get one). Guroo will be ?breaking up? on Friday 21st
December and back raring to go on Wednesday 2nd January.
As always, your comments and thoughts
are appreciated - let us know what you'd like us to cover in the newsletter by
emailing the editor - jwells@guroo.co.uk
Significant changes
to 16-19 study programmes
Starting September 2013, the biggest
change to post 16 education in a generation occurs.
Part of that change are 16-19 study
programmes which will have three key elements:
- A substantive qualification which offers progression
into higher levels of education or into skilled employment
- Functional English and maths for those who
have not yet achieved at least level 2
- Non-qualification activity including tutorial
time and high quality work experience or internships
As well as the programmes, the changes
mean that the link between qualifications and funding will be broken and Ofsted
inspectors will pay particular attention to the quality, coherence and
appropriateness of study programmes to students.
More information on the 16-19
study programme is available here with news
on funding available here.
SFA Funding Rates for English and Maths
qualifications
Rigorous qualifications for Maths and
English are high on the Government agenda, of that there is no doubt. The
changes in funding apply just to maths and English and the change has
effectively been backdated to August 1st.
We confidently expect that funding
rates for next year will be announced in January 2013. At the same
time, a new simplified funding system will be introduced and were hopeful that
Functional Skills will be "worth" £724 irrespective of delivery or
sector, and to quote the SFA.
"Under
simplification, each qualification will have a single rate which will
make funding levels transparent and we will scrap the different funding
models that exist between workplace and classroom based provision."
Where can I see the SFA document?
How is it being done?
For this year, the Standard Learner
Number (SLN) value for Functional English and maths is adjusted from 0.08 to
0.168 - an increase of 110%. So if you are funded by reference to the SLN, your
rate will more than double.
When do the changes take effect?
Now is the short answer.
Providers claim through their existing 16-18 Apprenticeship budget and single
Adult Skills Budget.
What does this mean?
The table below is take directly from
the SFA document and applies to 2012/13. Providers funded through model
22 (typically FE Colleges using an unlisted rate) will see no change.
|
|
Current Rate
|
New Rate
|
|
16-18 Apprenticeships
|
£224
|
£471
|
|
19-24 Apprenticeships (plus employer contribution)
|
£173
|
£362
|
|
25+ Apprenticeships (plus employer contribution)
|
£138
|
£290
|
|
19+ Standalone delivered through Funding Model 45
|
£314
|
£724
|
There really is a very big problem with
maths ability.
Eight million adults have the maths
skills of a 9 year old or worse according to a new
425 page report released by the Government. And it's a problem
that's been getting worse over the years. That means 25% of the
population has a problem with maths that seriously disadvantages them in work,
health and in their role as parents.
Research at Guroo using the results of
more than 10,000 initial assessments in maths confirms this with the average
result coming out at Entry level 3 - a considerable learning distance from the
Governments stated goal of Level 2 for all adults.
As a direct result of that research,
Guroo is currently developing "Tutorials", a number of high impact
tutorial videos that mix animation with teaching and lots of real life examples
based around the key concepts in Maths. The first dozen or so tutorials
will cover skills such as graphs, rounding, converting, probability,
multiplication and division, mean and range, area and perimeters, formulae and
decimals and we're also working on English grammar topics too.
Wednesday Webinar at 4.00pm
No webinar this week I'm afraid, but all
previous webinars are recorded and available anytime for playback - login as a
guest and the password is password. Simply click on the
links below and don’t forget, if you’d like to have your own 1:1 webinar
looking at how Guroo can help you support Functional Skills, just call us on
0191 305 5045 or email info@guroo.co.uk and we’ll take it from there.
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