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Ofqual: Functional Skills English Guidance 

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Ofqual: Functional Skills English Guidance 

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June 2018

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Ofqual: Functional Skills English Conditions and Requirements

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Ofqual: Functional Skills English Conditions and Requirements

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28 June 2018

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Vast number and range of ESOL resources

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NATECLA (National Association for Teaching English and other Community Languages to Adults) is the national forum and professional organisation for ESOL teachers.

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National Literacy Trust - place based approach to low literacy levels 

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National Literacy Trust - place based approach to low literacy levels 

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Not level 1 and 2 FSQs but potential for making it social/real/relevant for adults/communities/people of shared identities.
NB. Middlesbrough is one of their 3 community hubs nationally to reduce low literacy in communities : https://literacytrust.org.uk/communities/middlesbrough/

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Communities and local areas | National Literacy Trust

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Tackling literacy issues in communities across the UK through National Literacy Trust Hubs and campaigns.

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National Adult Literacy Agency Northern Ireland)

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National Adult Literacy Agency Northern Ireland)

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LiteracyTools.ie - Irish National Adult Literacy Agency

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Literacy Tools is for adults who would like to improve their spelling, reading and number skills using a computer

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Adult Literacy, Functional English, and GCSE Resources | Skills Workshop

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Select learning level(s) and subject area(s) in the boxes below to find resources to suit. Then click on the title of a resource you are interested in to see full details of that resource, including file downloads, "more like this", "see also" and comments from other users.

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Some collective output/achievement/becoming part of something bigger that you can show others, etc. 

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Some collective output/achievement/becoming part of something bigger that you can show others, etc. 

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Like this photo mosaic created by participants on a FutureLearn course I recently completed, which had a bigger/wider purpose /sense of achievement and something (other than the increasingly ubiquitous statement/certificate/badge) you could share with others (family/friends/colleagues)

The hyperlinked Kent University link below takes you to an image of the mosaic.

A couple of weeks after the course here's the email I received:

"Hello xxx, Many thanks for joining and participating in our course on Politics, Art and Resistance.One feature of the course was the opportunity to submit an image to contribute to the photo mosaic that we presented as part of the Tate Exchange Programme, in the Blavatnik building at Tate Modern, London.

You can now see the mosaic online:Resistance: photo mosaic, Tate Exchange, May/June 2018

For now, this page just shows the image - but we know many of you were keen to see this as soon as possible! We’ll update this page shortly to include further context about the project, images from the exhibition, and a link to the original Padlet where you can explore the submitted images in more depth (including any late contributions that didn’t make it to the Tate exhibition).

Thanks again and best wishes,Stefan Rossbach
Iain MacKenzie School of Politics and International Relations, University of Kent"

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University of Kent - The UK's European University

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Something about a blended or online version of the YMCA walks 

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Something about a blended or online version of the YMCA walks 

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Maybe as the collective output?

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Exploring informal education. Walking in central London we can find many places associated with key figures and moments in the making of informal education. Explore them through a virtual (or real) walk. Check times for our next guided walk. [Free]

Exploring social action. A walk exploring the nature of social action - and the role of settlements, missions and community organizations. The walk starts close to Tower Bridge and ends in Rotherhithe. Check times for our next guided walk. [Free]

Acknowledgements: The picture of Covent Garden is by J. D. Mack. Sourced from Flickr and reproduced under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-ND 2.0 Licence. https://www.flickr.com/photos/29108968@N06/2995836769/.

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Exploring informal education . Walking in central London we can find many places associated with key figures and moments in the making of informal education. Explore them through a virtual (or real) walk. Check times for our next guided walk. [Free] Exploring social action .

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The final certification date for legacy Functional Skills English and Mathematics qualifications is approaching - please see the key dates table below:-
The final certification date for 3748-01 and 3748-02 is 31 July 2021.

Last date an onscreen e-volve assessment can be booked ( for immediate sitting) for Level 1 & 2 Reading, Writing or Mathematics

completed scripts for paper-based Level 1 & 2 Functional Skills Reading, Writing or Mathematics assessments to be received by City & Guilds

All claims where an exemption for a Functional Skills English component is being requested must be submitted by this date.

(3748-901, 3748-902, 3748-903, 3748-904 or 3748-905)

3748-03 Functional Skills ICT will continue to remain open to new registrations. The planned reforms of this qualification and the introduction of Digital Functional Skills Qualifications has been postponed by the Department for Education and Ofqual due to the Covid-19 situation.

Fundamental applied skills in ICT - with a particular focus on problem-solving and being able to apply these skills effectively in real situations.

Accessing practice tests
We are aware that centres have not been able to access practice tests through our qualification pages following the removal of Flash at the end of last year. It is still possible to access and complete practice tests in this way, but an application - SurpassViewer - needs to be downloaded and installed by users.

-Instructions on how to install the Surpass Viewer can be found here.

-Information and instructions on how to download Surpass Viewer can be found here

Please ensure you download and install the Windows version as e-volve is not supported on Mac Operating systems.

If you require further support, please contact centresupport@cityandguilds.com, and we will be happy to help you.

These qualifications are intended for anyone wishing to develop their ICT skills. They can be completed alongside City & Guilds' English and Mathematics Skills (3847) and Principles of Using English and Mathematics (3844) qualifications, as well as being used to support learners' progress towards GCSE.

Functional Skills qualifications are available across five levels (Entry 1 to Level 2), and are completed in a wide range of college, community and work-based settings.

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LEGACY - Functional Skills qualifications qualifications and training courses | City & Guilds

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The final certification date for legacy Functional Skills English and Mathematics qualifications is approaching - please see the key dates table below:- The final certification date for 3748-01 and 3748-02 is 31 July 2021.

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Our training days help prepare staff to deliver Functional Skills qualifications. The training days are a great chance to meet with subject experts and like-minded practitioners to expand on current knowledge and understanding of the qualifications.

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Our training days help prepare staff to deliver Functional Skills qualifications. The training days are a great chance to meet with subject experts and like-minded practitioners to expand on current knowledge and understanding of the qualifications.

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Rules + resources etc.

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Edexcel Functional Skills in English | Pearson qualifications

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Our Edexcel English Functional Skills qualifications are designed to equip learners with skills such as comparing the ideas and presentation of texts, writing for a specified audience and purpose, and communicating and adapting language. They're assessed in three units (Speaking, Listening and Communication; Reading; and Writing) through a choice of paper-based or onscreen, on-demand tests.

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Pearson online Learn English from your life 

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Pearson online Learn English from your life 

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Voxy is a new way to learn English. Learn to talk about stuff that you care about most.

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Discover the joy of reading with Quick Reads. Short books and great stories by bestselling authors!

The need

1 in 6 adults in the UK struggle with reading and 1 in 3 adults do not regularly read for pleasure. England ranks 23rd out of 23 OECD nations for literacy level amongst 16-19 year olds. In addition, studies have shown that those who do read for pleasure have higher levels of self-esteem and a greater ability to cope with difficult situations.

The programme

Quick Reads provide a route into reading that prioritises great story telling and adult-focused content while ensuring the books are written in an accessible and easy to read style. The books are written by some of the most popular authors in the UK - including Andy McNab, Jojo Moyes, Anne Cleeves, Ian Rankin and Benjamin Zephaniah - so they can be a brilliant entry point to new genres, authors as well as the spark to reignite or build up the joy of reading.

The Quick Reads programme has collaborated with over 30 publishers to produce a total of 135 titles since 2006 (many still available to borrow from your public library or buy from The Reading Agency's bookshop) with over 5 million copies distributed and over 6 million library loans.

The latest titles

Six new Quick Reads will be published on 13th April 2023.

The titles include: The Double Clue: And Other Hercule Poirot Stories by Agatha Christie (HarperCollins); Dead Man Talking by Roddy Doyle (Vintage); Hello Mum Bernardine Evaristo (Penguin); Wish You Were Dead Peter James (Pan Macmillan); One False Move, Dreda Say Mitchell (Hodder & Stoughton); Paris for One by Jojo Moyes (Penguin).

Find out more about this specially reprinted series being published on 13th April.

The titles are available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook!

The impact

Quick Reads are an extremely valuable tool for boosting reading skills, confidence and engagement in learning. They can act as an entry point to different authors' work in diverse genres, and have led to thousands of adults reading, completing and enjoying a book for the first time. Our long-term goal is to build a nation of readers by getting Quick Reads into every home in the UK!

You can read reviews on Find A Read.

Take a look at our case studies to see the impact that Quick Reads have on emergent readers.

How to take part

Ordering the titles:

Order Quick Reads for a public library from your usual library supplier such as Askews or Gardners and the ebook and audiobook from Overdrive or BorrowBox.

Find Quick Reads in-store at Poundland and Waterstones.

We work with public libraries, prisons, colleges, hospitals and adult learning organisations to ensure these books are accessed by those who may find reading difficult as they are a perfect entry point to reading for pleasure.

Supporting resources:

Browse the available learning resources, book group discussion guides and promotional posters and videos for using with the titles in the Quick Reads resources database

Quick Reads are perfect for supporting the Reading Ahead programme either as reading material or to use as rewards and incentives. Find out more about Reading Ahead.

Get involved

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Discover the joy of reading with Quick Reads. Short books and great stories by bestselling authors!

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Engaging learners in GCSE maths and English 

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Engaging learners in GCSE maths and English 

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NIACE, 2015

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English and maths skills are crucial for people to succeed both in work and their wider lives. However, concerns have long been expressed about the literacy and numeracy skills of the adult population in the UK. The recent International Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) showed that 16.4% of adults (5.8 million) in England score at the lowest level of proficiency in literacy (at Level 1 or below) and 24.1% of adults (8.5 million) score at that level in numeracy. This is why our Manifesto calls for a continued entitlement to free learning for English and maths, including GCSE/ Functional Skills Level 2, to ensure that adults who benefited least from initial education have access to high-quality learning that meets their needs.

The new GCSE reforms announced last year have important implications for adult learners, education providers and employers. We worked together with NRDC, on behalf of BIS and DfE, to consult with stakeholders across the sector on how the new GCSEs in maths and English can be successfully implemented in post-16 education. 127 organisations contributed to our research - including FE colleges, independent training providers, community learning providers, third sector organisations, unions, employers, sector representative organisations and awarding organisations - which concluded that while the sector broadly welcomed the reforms, stakeholders will need support to achieve them.

More recently, we carried out research, on behalf of the Education and Training Foundation (ETF), on learners who leave school without GCSE grades A*-C in maths and English. It captured the voices of over 70 learners on their experiences of and attitudes towards the subjects. The findings demonstrate the importance of high quality teaching and learning, access to timely support and peers in supporting learners to engage with, and have a positive attitude towards, English and maths learning at school and post-16.

We are also part of a partnership - with TNS BMRB, NIESR and AlphaPlus - undertaking groundbreaking research involving randomised control trials to help practitioners and policymakers understand the relative effectiveness of different approaches to improving adults' English and maths. This includes a longitudinal study investigating the impact of English and maths learning over time.

Browse our extensive resources on English, including Quick Reads, our Inquiry into Adult Literacy and research into Intensive English and maths provision in prisons.

Browse our extensive resources on maths, including the Maths Everywhere App, our Inquiry on Adult Numeracy Learning and Voices of Adult Maths Learners.

Established in February 2014, the European Literacy Policy Network (ELINET) unifies 78 partner organisations from 28 European countries (including 24 EU member states) engaged in literacy policy-making and reading promotion in Europe.

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English and maths skills are crucial for people to succeed both in work and their wider lives. However, concerns have long been expressed about the literacy and numeracy skills of the adult population in the UK.

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English: skills for learning, is a free course for anybody who is thinking of studying for a university degree and would like to develop the English reading and writing skills needed to succeed....