Reform Programme for Functional Skills

Functional Skills Reform Programme

Continuing to the next stage of the Functional Skills Reform Programme, ETF launch the consultation on the draft revised Standards for literacy and numeracy. These draft Standards will be available for feedback from 4th – 25th July.

The questionnaire and a link to both sets of Standards (along with FAQs) are available here: Participation from anyone with an interest in Functional Skills qualifications is welcomed by ETF and PyeTait.

I've read them and what jumps out to me is the extensive "real-life" nature of the examples given and the detail by which the standards are described.

It does show that Functional Skills reform programme is progressing well and I'm confident we'll end up with a rigorous, up to date and valuable set of qualifications moving forward.

Ofsted video about skills development in apprenticeships

Janet Rodgers, Ofsted's National Lead for Apprenticeships talks about developing skills on apprenticeships.

This video is part of a series from Ofsted's national leads, focusing on their specialisms and key issues in these areas.

Videos supporting maths and English skills GCSE and Functional Skills

Videos supporting learners in Functional Skills

Probability supporting maths level 1/2 and GCSE.

Writing a letter supporting English level 2 and GCSE - starts with a 2 minute clip from a real telephone complaint.

Possessive apostrophes supporting English at level 2 and GCSE.

Areas of different shapes supporting maths at level 2 and GCSE.

Complex sentences supporting English and entry 3 and level 1.

@if functions in Excel supporting ICT at level 2.

Negative numbers supporting maths at level 1 and level 2.

Suffixes supporting English at Entry 2 and Entry 3.

And finally, a slightly different take on how maths can be used to solve real life problems. This video is from the hugely entertaining and informative TED TALKS that last around 18 minutes. It looks at the maths behind dating with three top tips!