Functional Skills

Part of the series Need to Know

Mike Baker unravels the popularity of and policy behind the emphasis on functional skills; the latest attempt to ensure education delivers work and life skills.

In 2005, the then education secretary, Ruth Kelly, launched a "relentless drive" to improve basic skills in reading, writing and literacy, with the policy manifesting as a requirement for all teenagers to pass "hurdle tests" in English, maths and ICT.

The tests are designed to demonstrate that the students can apply their understanding of these subjects in "real situations", and have been part of a large-scale pilot project since September 2007.

As the relationship between functional skills, the tests, and the new GCSEs is only beginning to become clear, education journalist Mike Baker runs through what those in education need to know and them.

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Comments about Functional Skills (2)

jiwells on 19 May 2009

It's an appropriate video for all teachers, especially those in other subjects. After all, every teacher will need to b ...
Go down to this comment about 'Covers the basics but .....' made by 'jiwells'

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Duration: 15:00 minutes
Published: 14 April 2009
Licence information for Functional Skills

Featured in

Need to Know

Series

Managing Behaviour - Positive Approaches

Group

Whole School:

Assessment | Whole School

Stages:

KS3 | KS4 | Secondary

Roles:

Teacher

Support Materials

Downloads

A list of publications recommended in support of the programme

Publications: Need to Know - Functional Skills (Word 53 Kb)

Useful websites

QCA: Functional Skills Further information on the functional skills pilots and assessment

DCSF: 14-19 Reform Information on the 14 ? 19 revised curriculum, including functional skills

AQA: Functional Skills Background Overview of the functional skills programme from one of the UK's main awarding bodies

QCA: Functional Skills - PDF Practical introduction to the advent of functional skills, including timeline

Comments

- jiwells user profile
  
  Covers the basics but .....
  
  19 May 2009 - 08:03
  It's an appropriate video for all teachers, especially those in other subjects. After all, every teacher will need to be involved in embedding functional skills. But I can't help feeling there is still is a lack of depth here.
  
  I would have hoped that by this stage in the roll-out (it is nearly two years after all) we had moved away from the basics onto much more practical matters. I'm still nowhere near convinced that the majority of teachers think that FS isn't that differen.
  
  Interestingly, the last message that Mike Baker leaves is that FS are part of the performance tables and worth half a GCSE each!
  - Report the 'Covers the basics but .....' comment made by 'jiwells'
  - Reply to the 'Covers the basics but .....' comment made by 'jiwells'
- rachid salam user profile
  (Associate)
  
  thank you
  
  5 May 2009 - 01:50
  thank you teachers.tv!!EAST OR WEST TEACHERS.TV IS THE BEST!!!!
  - Report the 'thank you' comment made by 'rachid salam'
  - Reply to the 'thank you' comment made by 'rachid salam'

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