Functional Skills and Diplomas

Karen Birch

Confederations Diploma Manager

Functional Skills and Diplomas

The requirement to deliver Functional Skills in Diplomas is mandatory for:

Centres piloting the Foundation Learning Tier (FLT). FE and WBL currently offering Key Skills as part of an

apprenticeship or as a stand alone qualification. Those organisations involved in the delivery of Diplomas

in Gateway 1 Those organisations involved in delivery of Diplomas in

Gateway 2 i.e. from Sept 2009 or 2010. These organisations should have:

Functional Skills and Diplomas Registered with at least one awarding organisation.

(It is possible, to be registered with different awarding organisations for each of the Functional Skills although this should be approached with caution.)

Completed the data return and sent it to the Functional Skills inbox: functionalskills@qca.org.uk. Although this was done at the time of the Diploma submission, it is worth checking that QCA have the correct information about your centre. Errors in QCA recording occurred in Gateway1. (The Functional Skills contact at QCA is Rachel Broad-very helpful).

Functional Skills and Diplomas

Accessed Functional Skills training from National Strategies via Education Bradford (schools) and/or Functional Skills Support Programme (FSSP) both via the CLE. For information: under their contract FSSP is not allowed to approach schools directly, only by invitation/request or via a central body i.e. in Bradford, via CLE.

Functional Skills and Diplomas

From 2009, Diploma centres in Gateway 2, “…should consider how learners will access teaching, learning and assessment prior to the commencement of their Diploma…” DCSF. This means that teachers should have attended training in ‘08/09 and Functional Skills should have been piloted prior to September 2009.

Functional Skills and Diplomas

Pilot centres are dubbed ‘Assessment Delivery Centres’.

NB Diploma learners in non-pilot centres are allowed access to Functional Skills assessments from Assessment Delivery Centres. The exact procedures on how to register via an Assessment Delivery Centre may have local differences. Centres are advised to discuss this with the relevant Assessment Delivery Centre.

Functional Skills and Diplomas

N.B

From February 2009, it is a requirement for Functional Skills pilot centres to use the unique learner numbers (ULN) for Functional Skills registrations/ entries. Pilot centres were sent a support pack by QCA (week commencing 12 January 2009). This explained how to register with MIAP in order to draw down the ULNs.

Functional Skills and Diplomas

It is not possible to pass the Diploma withoutpassing all three Functional Skills at theappropriate level i.e.Foundation Diploma requires a pass in all

three Functional Skills at Level 1Higher Diploma requires a pass in all three

Functional Skills at Level 2Advanced Diploma requires a pass in all

three Functional Skills at Level 2

Functional Skills and Diplomas

Achievement of Functional Skills as part of the Diploma is therefore as important to success rates as achieving GCSE A*-C including English & Maths.

The attention to appropriate skill levels of literacy, numeracy and ICT is clearly the direction of travel to meet government targets.

It is also what we would expect for our own children.

Functional Skills and Diplomas

The implications for delivery of FunctionalSkills as a component of Diplomas are: how they are delivered who delivers delivery contextand it’s important for us to remember “if wekeep doing what we’ve always done, we’llkeep getting what we’ve always got”.

Functional Skills and Diplomas

It is essential when considering the choice of awarding body for functional skills to consider the number of opportunities offered to learners to pass their functional skills within the appropriate timescale.

In a one year programme, it is not safe to assume that students will pass the first or even second time if this affects their overall achievement.

It is therefore important to ensure that learners are studying at the right level.

A Typical Diploma Student

A typical Diploma student may: be capable of achieving academically but not

necessarily doing so demonstrate commitment to an area of study

when their interest is fully engaged demonstrate a capacity to learn in non-

traditional ways prefer applied learning to learning for its own

sake prefer concrete learning to abstract learning.

A Typical Diploma Student

With regard to Kolb’s Learning Styles and Honey & Mumford’s adaptation, atypical Diploma student is likely to prefer the Activist and Pragmatist styles:

Activists learn best when: involved in new experiences, problems and opportunities working with others in business games, team tasks, role-playing being thrown in at the deep end with a difficult task chairing meetings, leading discussions.

Activists learn less when: listening to lectures or long explanations reading, writing or thinking on their own absorbing and understanding data following precise instructions to the letter.

A Typical Diploma Student Pragmatists learn best when:  there is an obvious link between the topic and job  they have the chance to try out techniques with feedback e.g. role-

playing  they are shown techniques with obvious advantages e.g. saving

time  they are shown a model that they can copy e.g. a film or a

respected leader. 

Pragmatists learn less when:  there is no obvious or immediate benefit that they can recognise  there is no practice or guidelines to follow or there is no apparent

pay back to the learning e.g. time saving, greater efficiency the event or learning is 'all theory‘.