Functional Skills Newsletter March 28th

March 29th - in this issue Another busy week for Functional Skills, led by the debate around vocational education. This week we cover the response to the Wolf report by Lord Baker in the TES, by the Federation of Awarding Bodies and the Big Vocational Debate on Facebook, news about the free Guroo channel for Functional Skills on Promethean Planet, FS Maths resources from NWLG, a reminder about end of financial year offers and the closing date for the fantastic Take That competition is less than two weeks away. FAB (Federation of Awarding Bodies) and Lord Baker respond to Wolf FAB were one of the key organisations that requested the extension of the transition period for Key Skills in Apprenticeships. After the daming comments about Key Skills from Wolf and QCDA, there's discussion now about whether this extension will be withdrawn in time for September 2011 and it's no surprise therefore that FAB have come out in support of Functional SKills. The full report is here but the key support for Functional Skills comes in the second last paragraph "Part of the tale is that many colleges no longer offer GCSE retakes as their experience is that the chances of learners improving their grades are not high and the time devoted to this dispiriting activity is better used towards positive achievement in some other area. Increasingly functional skills are meeting the bill and the fact that the current model has created some problems for work-based learners should not detract from the fact that they are proving suitable for full-time students" Lord Baker on the Wolf Report More support here from Lord Baker writing in the TES Insight section this week for post-16 maths and English progression. "The main thrust of her report is that any course of vocational education must have English and maths embedded in it, at least to GCSE-level. She recommends that all students in post-16 courses should have a programme to achieve that goal." So the future is certainly looking brighter for Functional Skills, or at least a development of it! Vocation debate on Facebook I've been an active member of this on-line discussion group started as a result of the Wolf report, but now taking in the wider aspects of vocational eductaion including Functional Skills (or it wouldn't get a mention)! Free FS resources part 1 - Guroo gets it's own "channel" on Promethean Planet Guroo has recently been appointed as a Learning Response System specialist which basically means that Guroo content is being made Promethean Whiteboard friendly. The first part of this is a the release of Guroo Partner Pages on Promethean Planet, all free to use resources written to take full advantage of Promethean software which is also free to download for any whiteboard system. Click here for Guroo's Partner Pages where versions of English level 2 Home Sweet Home and Maths Level 1 Football Crazy will appear. You may need to register (that's free) and download the Promethean software (also free). Free FS resources part 2 - North West Grid for Learning I've heard that North West Learning Grid have made some Functional Maths resources available free of charge. I can't comment on how these link to the Functional Skills criteria, or indeed at what level they are aimed. Click here to go the relevant page to get access. Flexibility as the financial year ends! If you need to address a challenge in one subject area, Guroo 2.0 means you can now subscribe to resources for a single subject. We’ve launched this in March with special offers Also … we haven’t publicised it yet, but if you only want Foundation Learning resources, or only want resources for GCSE prep, or even if you want a funny mix of something like Level 1 English and Level 2 Maths for an Apprenticeship programme – we can do that too. Lots of options, we’re working on a price matrix, let us know what you need and jump on board in March – you won’t be disappointed. Take That final chance Just a couple of weeks remain in the Great Take That competition. 2 Executive Box tickets, hotel, meal, after show party and we've heard from the organisers that you be astonished "you've never seen anything like this before" was their comment. Yes, you'll need to work a little for it, but then great prizes arer always worth the effort. Click here for an entry form and all the details. The next newsletter is scheduled for Tuesday April 5th or earlier if some news breaks - if you have any comments, suggestions or your own news that you'd like to publicise, just let me know.

Functional Skills Newsletter March 15th

Functional Skills Pilot Evaluation

Following hard on the heels of the Wolf report comes the official evaluation of the Functional Skills Pilot published by QCDA. And what a difference in tone, it makes you wonder why Professor Wolf didn’t reference it more in her report.

Let me start this review with what I think is a hugely significant statement. “As far as the majority of practitioners are concerned, FS improve learners’ skills, independent learning, the ability to recognise and articulate the skills they are using, and motivation.”

It therefore comes as no surprise to read the first paragraph of the conclusions: “It has been striking that FS have been almost universally welcomed by the stakeholders consulted during this evaluation of the FS pilot. FS are seen as an improvement on the range of existing qualifications, with the potential to better prepare learners for further learning, entry into employment and progression in the workplace.

And these are not selective quotes, the evaluation really is positive! Here are some more highlights:

On the Impact of Functional Skills

• Key stakeholders understand and value FS qualifications.
• Recognition of the concept and value of functionality, and support for it, was constant throughout the pilot and across practitioners, learners and stakeholders.
• Practitioners with experience of FS were very positive about them, seeing the value in the qualifications and seeing them as a good replacement for Key Skills.
• Employers saw clear benefits for learners in moving to FS but felt delivery and assessment placed additional burdens on them.
• Most other stakeholders consulted thought FS improved learner preparedness for employment, with some citing the increased confidence they gave and the ability to transfer skills as key reasons. FS were considered to be a far more suitable preparation than that offered by Skills for Life (SfL) or KS.
• Generally, FS and subject specialists believed that FS were capable of improving learners’ functional effectiveness in English, mathematics and ICT.
• Learners were reported to have enjoyed lessons more, remained engaged and got more from lessons. Learners substantiated these points and also identified the value of FS in their everyday lives.

On Delivery and Accessibility of Functional Skills

• There was evidence that as teachers and tutors became more familiar with FS, FS were having a positive influence on teaching and learning.
• FS provision can be accommodated and taught effectively within the context of the national curriculum requirements at Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 (KS3 and KS4).
• Pre-16 centres were beginning to see the value of FS and the value-added benefits associated with learner motivation, and viewed FS as enriching curriculum provision.
• Few issues were raised by centres and other stakeholders. Issues that emerged were in connection to the challenge of developing scenarios and contexts that are appropriate to a wide range of learners.
• The pilot qualifications were considered to support diversity, access and inclusion. Centres reported that there had been either a positive impact or no impact on learners’ experience and attainment.
• There were some concerns about the suitability of FS for certain learners within the groups represented by the equality and diversity strands, but these issues were not thought to be insurmountable.
• The gap in pass rates between candidates with English as an additional language and those without was closing, with the attainment of learners with English as an additional language improving in almost all subjects and levels.
• There was evidence of centres feeling that any challenges faced by FS learners would either be addressed by the general support and induction processes in their centres or would be minimised by the experience of their staff in dealing with specific learner groups.
• The majority of AOs reported being satisfied with the access arrangements and centres also reported satisfaction with the arrangements available to them and their learners.
• AOs were confident that FS would be unlikely to disadvantage learners, with learners in the secure estate the only group likely to experience difficulties in accessing FS.

Recommendations from the pilot centres

· Systematically review what all the AOs are offering by way of approaches to FS assessment; and not just opt for the AOs normally chosen.

• Make sure staff understand the FS philosophy.
• Wherever possible, integrate FS with programmes of study and across the curriculum.
• Use discrete FS teaching and learning sessions to develop learners’ problem-solving and independent-learning skills.
• Use discrete teaching sessions using real-life contexts and practical exercises to develop learners’ functionality.
• Emphasise and demonstrate the relevance and value of FS to learners.
• Encourage learning that is learner-led rather than teacher-led.
• Use rigorous initial diagnostic assessment so that the individual learning needs of each learner can be identified and addressed from the outset.

Some interesting facts about Functional Skills

More than 2800 centres supported just over a quarter of a million students in the summer of 2010.

Around half of all schools were involved reflecting the fact that 33% of FS students were at Key Stage 3 with 39% at Key Stage 4.

Average pass rates at level 1 were 61% with level 2 being 53% and age does tend to bring with it the benefit of experience as pass rates in the 16+ group were above average.

And the full report is available here

http://www.qcda.gov.uk/resources/assets/Evaluation_of_the_Functional_Skills_Pilot_Summative_Report.pdf