Making Sense of Functional Skills Newsletter April 17th

April 17th - the Functional Skills newsletter

Welcome to our first newsletter of the last term before Functional Skills replaces Adult Basic Skills and Key Skills in all Apprenticeship programmes. A packed newsletter with a positive review of Functional Maths published by Ofqual; a good opinion piece by Barry Brooks of Tribal writing for FE Week about English and maths in Apprenticeships; the FE Funding Review; key dates reminders and finally; links to previous Guroo Functional Skills webinar recordings.

Ofqual review of Functional Maths Ofqual published their review of Functional Maths last week. It was generally positive and where issues were found, Ofqual seem quite happy that the Awarding Organisations have either done something about them or have the changes planned. "Overall we found that awarding organisations generally met the requirements of the criteria, including the assessment of the skill standards, coverage and range and process skills. There were, however, similar issues coming through in all levels of the qualification. For example, some questions were written in such a way that they would confuse learners and some guidance was unclear, which is likely to lead to inconsistencies in how learners are assessed. Entry 1 and 2 were the most comparable between awarding organisations and we found the most non-compliance at Level 2." Definitely good progress being made. Click here for access to the full report. English and maths in Apprenticeships A very good article by Barry Brooks of Tribal Group writing for FE Week as part of their 16 page Apprenticeship Supplement. "This means that for the first time within the apprenticeship framework there is a real opportunity for providers to select assessment regimes that match the rhythm and structure of their programmes as well as seeking out an awarding organisation that better reflects and responds to their needs." "English and Mathematics skills are essential elements of a skilled individual and these skills need to be developed in a place, at a time and in a way that has greatest benefit for and impact on the individual – for many young people that place, time and way is through an apprenticeship." This link takes you to the article and you can download the supplement from there too. Funding Rules 2012/13 90 pages of funding rules, all brought together in one place for the first time (according to BIS). Lots of mentions for Functional Skills with the major message being that all learners will be expected to study towards level 2 English and maths. In terms of funding, Functional Skills will be: Fully funded to level 2 for those under 19 82.5% funded to level 2 for those over 19 But does it actually say how much Functional Skills qualification is worth in £ anywhere? Well, I couldn't find it but the the national rates per SLN for 2012/13 that apply to learners are: Workplace Learning excluding Apprenticeships £2,615 Classroom Learning £2,615 16-18 Learner Responsive £2,920 16-18 Apprenticeships £2,804 19-24 Apprenticeships £2,615 25+ Apprenticeships £2,092 The full report is here. A reminder about Key Dates for the change to Functional Skills Several AOs have published earlier dates than those below - please check with your AO. Functional Skills is already part of all Foundation Learning programmes. Functional Skills replaces Adult Basic Skills in August 2012. The last date for registration is therefore August 31st 2012 and the last date for certification August 31st 2014 so students have two years to pass. Functional Skills replaces Key Skills in all Apprenticeships in September 2012. The last date for registration is therefore September 30th 2012 and the last date for certification September 30th 2013 so students have just one year to complete. From September 2012, all 16-24 apprenticeships programmes will be a minimum of 12 months so it looks as though it will be a very brave Apprentice Provider that seeks to enter students for Key Skills now. The Functional Skills Wednesday Webinar It's a return to the webinar this week for Stewart who will be doing an "Overview of Guroo 2.1", ideal for those people who'd like to find out more about what Guroo does and how it does it! Email info@guroo.co.uk and we'll send you the link on Wednesday. It's a session that's relevant for all those who are thinking of joining Guroo, so join us at 4.05pm on Wednesday 18th April for another informative technical webinar. Replay previous webinars at the links below. Simply enter your name and use guroo as the password. Functional Skills Policy, Rumour and Opinion Future Developments in Guroo Initial and Diagnostic Assessments Reporting and tracking tools in Guroo 2.1 Guroo 2.1 User and Group Admin