The times writes about Functional Skills
Posted on | April 9, 2010 | 2 Comments
Here’s a nice relevant non scare story article about Functional Skills.
SecEd digital magazine covering functional skills and diplomas
Posted on | March 26, 2010 | 4 Comments
It’s published as on-line magazine so click the link and go to pages 2-3 for the full story.
Boring Functional Skills?
Posted on | March 22, 2010 | 2 Comments
The story is below but what is interesting are the comments.
Comment (3)
Hi - I am a Deputy Head, I teach both the MPD Diploma and Functional Skills ICT and have sat the FS ICT exam, which I found an appropriate thinking challenge at exactly the right level, and yes I passed.
From looking at the FS Maths our Diploma kids are following and how they have done on the tests so far I think they are at the right level for the qualification. The Diploma students will be well qualified and have a diverse set of skills, exactly what the course was designed to do! We had to review the FS Maths courses available and some are more approachable than others, do not assume that you should just use the same exam board as the Diploma itself. We are using 3 different boards for the English, Maths and ICT FS quals, and it is working well.
The FS quals are coming to the end of the pilot stage and we have seen them develop rapidly over the last year to now be more accessable and appropriate. It is a fantastic qualification and we must not let the initial challenges with one aspect destroy a great opportunity.
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16:49
19 March, 2010
brian1norwich
Wow, someone has designed a qualification that can be failed! Well that will make the certificates of those that pass more valuable then. Of course we could dumb it all down so everyone passes. But then it will become valueless to the students, their FE placements and employers.
Perhaps it will make schools think a bit harder before allowing some students onto these courses.
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9:25
20 March, 2010
blazer
I agree blazer. Functional Skills is a rigorous qualification that demands a solution based approach and confidence in using (relatively basic) skills.
It is hard to pass because of this - that’s what makes it good.
The comments about boring are likely to be because the assessments were not “real life enough”. I heard the same comments from studnets who were asked to work out parking bays in a car park. A task that like simply isn’t real life and I think assessments will get much more relevant after the pilot phase.
I do hope that we have the confidence and belief to keep Functional Skills as a requirement and not be tempted to swayed away from their importance.
News | Published in The TES on 19 March, 2010 | By: Irena Barker
Comment:
Section:
News
Teachers warn that key functional skills paper is jeopardising the qualification’s future
A deputy head with a degree in maths who sat the functional skills maths test that forms a key part of the Diploma qualification has claimed some pupils would struggle to pass because it requires “too much stamina”.
Other school leaders have also spoken out, warning that the functional skills tests could kill the Diploma “stone dead” because the maths element is too demanding.
John Downs, who is deputy head of specialist maths and computing at Conyers comprehensive in Stockton-on-Tees, said the questions on the level 2 test were too multi-layered and required “too much stamina and perseverance” for many students, even those who managed a good pass at GCSE.
Mr Downs said that although the maths involved was simple, the questions required the “maturity to work in a very careful and concentrated way on very boring and repetitive calculations”.
So far, around 200,000 pupils have taken part in the functional skills pilot tests in maths, English and ICT, which form a core part of the Diplomas.
Mr Downs said: “Pupils are not used to that (boring and repetitive work) at GCSE and teachers tend to shy away (from it), so the question is how do we teach students to have that stamina and attention to detail?”
Twenty-two Year 9 pupils at Conyers are set to follow the creative and media Diploma. Mr Downs complained that the reading requirements in the NCFE board question paper were also quite high, and that there were ambiguities in the text.
Mr Downs said he felt pupils could be put off the qualification, which is worth more than four GCSEs, because it was like “putting all their eggs in one basket”, with everything resting on the maths test.
Another head, Pat Wager, from Sacred Heart Roman Catholic High School in Newcastle, said that her pupils found the Diploma course “exciting and motivating”, but it was “horribly unjust” that some of them would struggle to pass the maths elements.
Around ten out of 18 pupils on the level 2 creative and media Diploma had to retake the functional skills maths tests and were awaiting their results, she said.
“Sadly, several of them will shine on the principal and additional learning and will produce a super project but may not get the Diploma because they will struggle to achieve functional skills maths at level 2,” Ms Wager said.
“There is no other qualification that requires a pass in maths to achieve. Ironically, some of them will achieve a pass in GCSE maths, but this will not count.
“This will kill the Diploma stone dead after this summer unless someone uses their common sense.
“It’s a shame because the pupils are loving the course, finding it stimulating and well put together and it is delivering the promise in all other ways.”
She said the school would return to BTEC qualifications if the papers or requirement for functional skills maths were not changed.
Exams boards have been piloting the Diploma functional skills tests since 2007, and are due to report on the outcomes shortly.
They have already admitted that the tests have been a major reason for more than a quarter of pupils on the first high-level Diplomas failing.
The confusion over functional skills is just one element of the highly complex Diploma programme that has led to widespread criticism.
Speaking at the annual conference of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) last week, president John Morgan said the system needed to be simplified.
In his speech to the conference, Mr Morgan said the issues surrounding the functional skills maths tests were just one example of the “exasperation” among heads. He added: “There remain genuine concerns from colleagues who are frustrated at the current complexity of the diploma.
“We want the diplomas to succeed, but to do so, their structure must be simplified.”
Meanwhile, a report published last week by exams watchdog Ofqual said the Diplomas were failing to stretch the brightest pupils.
The Conservatives have already indicated they would overhaul the system if they win the general election, and would scrap the three academic Diplomas promised in science, modern languages and the humanities.
Posted by Jonathan Wells of Guroo Functional Skills
Delivering Diplomas Magazine - Spring term
Posted on | March 15, 2010 | 1 Comment
A brand new edition of the Delivering Diplomas magazine is now out.
60 pages of all things Diplomas, functional skills, PLTS and 14-19 - and it even has an article by Jonathan Wells in it!
Voila! Apprenticeships shape the tastiest chefs
Posted on | March 12, 2010 | 1 Comment
And of course, all apprenticeships include Functional Skills.
Comment: Marco Pierre White
In my opinion, if you want to be a chef, or learn any craft inside out, an apprenticeship is the way to do it. Knowing that someone has “served his time” as an apprentice is worth more than any certificate from catering college.
My apprenticeship lasted seven years. I went from the Hotel St George in Harrogate to The Box Tree in Ilkley (the first restaurant in England to win two Michelin stars) and then to London and Le Gavroche, followed by a stint at Le Manoir Aux Quat’ Saisons.
I come from the old world of gastronomy, neckerchiefs and silver service. When I was 16, I took delivery of a large salmon worth twice my monthly salary.
First rule was never be late. It was a hard slog; 20-hour days were normal. Another rule was keep your head down and work. Apprenticeships are about learning your craft, your trade. It’s essentially a passport to a future career, as once you have it, you can go anywhere.
I have just finished filming a short clip about the value of apprenticeships. In the film I am portrayed as a burger van man, in a desolate car park in the back-end of nowhere. It’s a “what Marco might have been without his apprenticeship” scenario, a parallel life.
Learning your craft takes years of practice. Perfection is many things done well. Whether you’re spending the day in the sink, chopping bones for stock at 6am, or freezing your manhood off in the larder, you have to stay focused and disciplined.
It can be very easy to throw in the towel and walk away as an apprentice chef. But if you can hack it, you’ll develop confidence and life skills as well as technical prowess. The common elements are discipline, consistency and respect.
When a head chef is screaming and shouting at you, remember, it’s nothing personal, just service. But in any kitchen, the most poisonous sauce is the chef’s ego.
When I was a young man, there was no such thing as a celebrity chef. Young boys and girls went to work to learn their trade, often from very humble beginnings. It’s always a pleasure to meet young apprentices who want to join our trade, but they must recognise what it is that motivates them. For me, it was obsession with food. These days, I’m glad to say it’s more of a passion.
The 15 apprentices I met at the end of last month all want to go somewhere different. You can’t teach them a lot about food in one morning, but you can take an interest in them, share your story, and listen to theirs. I’m a big believer in real-life experience.
No catering college can, on its own, provide the necessary preparation for life as a chef. Most apprenticeships do include a day release to college, but what future employers look for is evidence of performance in the work place.
One of the apprentices I met is working at McDonalds to supplement his income as an haute cuisine apprentice chef. People may scoff, but it runs an excellent apprenticeship scheme, very structured, very hierarchical. And as an apprentice chef, you need to learn punctuality, organisation and awareness of your environment, the most essential ingredients in any kitchen.
Marco Pierre White launched a new viral video advertising campaign for apprenticeships last month. At the event, 15 catering apprentices from around the country met him and watched demonstrations by other chefs in his restaurant, Wheeler’s of St James’s.
Marco Pierre White, Chef and star of Hell’s Kitchen.
Guroo newsletter about functional skills
Posted on | March 11, 2010 | 2 Comments
Our bi-weekly look at the world of Functional Skills.
Are QCDA on a productivity bonus, Functional Skills in the School Report Card, brand new “Functional Skills in ….” booklets, Lisa needs your help and that link to the early demise of ALAN again.
QCDA’s big Functional Skills push. A 16 page Functional Skills supplement published with the SecEd magazine and four brand new QCDA videos focused on Functional Skills case studies in GCSE, Diplomas, Apprenticeships and Foundation Learning. That’s a lot from QCDA in two weeks!
Votes for the School Report Card? At a lively seminar at ASCL last week the official line as well as the general consensus was that the School Report Card was definitely coming with the big discussion (argument) over the use of a single overall “grade”. Labour think yes, Conservative are probably no. And with the next meeting of the SRC “committee” not until June - where do your votes go? Whatever happens, there are four minimum sets of KS4 indicators with level 2 maths and English Functional Skills included. Click here for the SRC prospectus - the extract below comes from page 23, paragraph 60.
More subject publications, more Diploma videos. Developing Functional Skills in music, history, citizenship, MFL, RE, geography, art, science are all covered in a series of brand new national strategies produced booklets that also cover KS3. And not content with the pathways videos, QCDA have added some more line of learning specific videos about work experience in Construction, Engineering and Hospitality Diplomas to their YouTube site.
Lisa needs some help! “I was thrilled to discover this Functional Skills forum, after spending months deliberating over the most appropriate ways in which to deliver functional skills (English). Can anybody offer me any advice and guidance on how to produce effective contextualised resources, for the teaching of functional skills to Hairdressing Level 1 Students and Introductory Diploma in Art and Design Students?” We’ve started the ball rolling at http://www.functionalskills.org/showthread.php?p=4723#post4723 Please feel free to add your suggestions.
ALAN is leaving the building…. The most popular click through ever on this newsletter was recorded last time out with the story about the demise of ALAN for 14-19. Just to remind everyone that “providers are now expected to deliver functional skills qualification for young people where ever possible” Click here for the link.
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LSIS newsletter
Posted on | March 11, 2010 | No Comments
http://info.ma002.com/anony/newsletters/D6/D6_0200.asp?str=*3234383935303832362C32373833
Forwarded by Jonathan Wells of Guroo Functional Skills
Diplomas too easy for bright students?
Posted on | March 5, 2010 | 1 Comment
Standards are lower and do not test more able students like A-levels, says Ofqual
By Richard Garner, Education Editor
Friday, 5 March 2010
Ed Balls wants the diplomas to be the ‘natural route’ through education
The Government’s flagship new diplomas are failing to stretch the brightest pupils, the independent exams watchdog ruled yesterday.
Ofqual, the exams regulator, warned that the standards shown by pupils taking diplomas were lower than those sitting other types of exams.
Its report concluded: “Some question papers did not provide enough opportunities for more able candidates to demonstrate the extent of their knowledge, understanding and skills.”
The report is the first to emerge from an in-depth study of how the new diplomas are being assessed and comes at a time when the future of the new qualification is shrouded in doubt. The Conservatives have said they will scrap three new academic diplomas – in science, modern languages and the humanities – which are due to be introduced in two years’ time. The Liberal Democrats would prefer an overarching diploma covering both academic and vocational qualifications, an idea that was proposed in a government inquiry by the former chief schools inspector Sir Mike Tomlinson.
Schools Secretary Ed Balls has claimed that the diplomas could take over from A-levels as the natural route through education for 16- to 18-year-olds. In its report, Ofqual looked at three of the new qualifications in detail: engineering offered by the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance and City and Guilds exam board; society, health and development by Edexcel; and creative and media studies offered by the Oxford and Cambridge and Royal Society of Arts board.
It accused both the AQA and Edexcel qualifications of failing to provide enough challenge for the brightest students. Topics covered in the engineering diploma included carrying out “day in the life” visits to companies and students completing a worksheet summarising what they had done.
The report also said the watchdog was concerned over the way marks were awarded for engineering, warning there was too little guidance about how to deal with “incomplete or uneven performance” by pupils. As a result, entrants could receive good marks even if they “did not adequately reflect the demands of the questions”, Ofqual said. A similar picture emerged in the Edexcel exam paper.
Ofqual stressed its findings were based on a limited sample of first-year papers. However, it warned the standards shown by pupils on the whole that were judged to be borderline between getting an A* and an A or between getting a C and failing were “of a lower standard” than in equivalent exams taken by other pupils.
Both Edexcel and OCR have told Ofqual that they will be conducting reviews of the qualifications.
In a separate report published yesterday on AS-level – half an A-level and usually taken by sixth-formers at the end of their first year, Ofqual also warned questions were undemanding.
A dramatic rise in the number of men opting for teaching careers in the recession is revealed today by the Training and Development Agency. The number has shot up by 49 per cent between 2008 and 2009, to 11,721. In addition, there has been a marked rise in the number of men wanting to go into the primary sector (up 52 per cent to 4,746). The figures follow years of concern that the lack of men applying has left many primary school pupils with no male role models in education.
Tomlinson in the TES
Posted on | March 1, 2010 | 3 Comments
Tomlinson turns on Diplomas
News | Published in The TES on 26 February, 2010 | By: William Stewart
Comment:
Section:
News
Qualifications guru warns academic versions may require less subject knowledge than A-levels
The man who inspired the Government’s flagship Diplomas has dealt a major blow to their credibility, warning they need structural change to stand a chance of meeting ministers’ ambitions.
Sir Mike Tomlinson has told The TES he fears the controversial academic versions of the Diploma, due to be introduced next year, will suffer from “far less” subject knowledge and content than A-levels, making them unattractive to universities.
His comments are particularly embarrassing for the Government, as it recruited Sir Mike as a “champion” for the new qualifications.
The former chief schools inspector was sitting alongside Ed Balls in 2007 when the Schools Secretary announced them, saying he hoped they could “become the qualification of choice”.
This week Sir Mike said this was only likely to be achieved with the “vocational” version of the qualification. “I think it’s much less likely for the ones that are designed to be, as is referred to, the academic Diplomas,” he said.
In an outspoken interview he also revealed for the first time that he thought ministers’ handling of the National Challenge scheme - another Government initiative he advised on - had been “unfortunate”.
The “academic” Diplomas in science, humanities and languages were designed as qualifications that could rival A-levels.
But this was now in doubt, Sir Mike said. “I think there is a huge commitment to the A-level and until such time as an alternative is shown to be better than the A-level, people will want to stick with what they know.”
The 14-19 expert, whose 2004 report inspired the Diplomas, said the “academic” versions could only become the qualification of choice if “the construction of the Diploma is got right”.
Sir Mike said he was “not convinced at this point in time” that it was right. He said the Diplomas would have no more teaching time than the equivalent A-level courses, but because they required knowledge to be applied, which took time, something else would have to give.
“My worry is that the result of that may well be that we have far less knowledge, content, concept and understanding in what we do than is currently in A-level, which I think would greatly worry higher education,” he said.
Sir Mike was speaking as an inquiry he chaired into vocational education called for an end to a two-tier system that it said relegated further education lecturers to a “second division” in pay and status, compared with their school counterparts. School and FE college staff are increasingly being required to work closely together to deliver Diplomas.
The Skills Commission inquiry also called for “convergence courses” for college principals and school heads, so that they can transfer between the two sectors.
It found that school teachers leading vocational courses sometimes had no work experience in the relevant area. It recommends regular placements with employers to allow them to keep their knowledge up to date.
Sir Mike’s Diploma warnings are only the latest in a long line of blows to the qualifications. In September The TES revealed that none of them would survive in their current form under the Conservatives, who have already said they would scrap the “academic” versions.
A Department for Children, Schools and Families spokesman said: “Diplomas are delivering the mix of theoretical and practical skills that employers and universities value and for this reason they could indeed become the qualification of choice for young people.”
He said the department made “no apologies” for “striving to increase standards in secondary schools” through the National Challenge.
Challenging times
Sir Mike Tomlinson chaired a panel of “expert advisers” for the National Challenge when it was launched in 2008. But this week he accused ministers of using the scheme to hold the “Sword of Damocles” over schools.
The former chief schools inspector said he was free to speak out now that he was less involved with the controversial school improvement programme.
“It wasn’t helpful to talk about them as failing schools and to hold the Sword of Damocles over them that ‘if you don’t improve we’ll close you’,” he said. “It has changed over time. I think it’s the language used, not the underlying desire to improve the schools. But the language used around them was most unfortunate.”
Posted by Jonathan Wells of Guroo Functional Skills
Guroo Functional Skills newsletter
Posted on | February 24, 2010 | 3 Comments
Our bi-weekly look at the world of Functional Skills posted by Jonathan Wells of Guroo
The demise of ALAN in 14-19 is announced, exam boards gearing up for accreditation, functional skills live blog with a Liverpool teacher, ’tis the season for conferences and bulletins, and transition arrangements.
Changes to funding for ALAN. DCSF and LSC have published a statement of priorities and investment strategy in which it stated that providers are now expected to deliver functional skills qualification for young people where ever possible. This means that it should no longer be necessary for learners to take the Certificates in Adult Literacy or Adult Numeracy. Subject to confirmation, adult literacy and numeracy qualifications will no longer be funded for young people aged 14-19 after 2010/11. Full text here.
Exam boards gearing up for accreditation. In advance of the QCDA March 19th announcement on “who got through” we’ve met several exam boards recently: EDI are looking for people to write on-screen assessments - get in touch with Cheryl Bott in the first instance (mention us and she’ll know where it came from) CherylBott@ediplc.com. OCR have got a series of Functional Skills events lined up covering all subjects and all levels. Go to their event booker and search using Functional Skills.
Tis the conference season - and we can add to that the publication season as well! Register for your digital copy of Delivering Diplomas Magazine here. Simon Boyd Publishing has another 14-19 skills bulletin coming out shortly. See Guroo at ASCL (5/6 March - Hammersmith), Naace (17 March - Blackpool), Diploma Conference (18 March - Birmingham) where we’ll also be delivering the Functional Skills workshop.
Get local! We pride ourselves on finding links you won’t find anywhere else. We spotted this in the pages of the on-line version of the Liverpool Echo - a Functional Skills masterclass presented by Jacqueline Marshall, a teacher in Liverpool, as a live blog. Experienced Functional Skills practitioners probably won’t find anything new here but you may find the comments (which are based on real life reflections from the edexcel pilot) interesting.
Transition arrangements announced. Ofqual have informed Awarding Organisations that learners can carry forward their component achievements in Functional English from the pilot to the post-pilot qualifications for a period of 12 months only (September 2010 to August 2011). More on the WJEC site here.
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