Functional Skills
Functional Skills English and Maths are required to start an apprenticeship or to progress in any kind of position. They provide people of all education levels with accessible skills to improve reading, writing and communications, allow a better understanding of numbers and mathematical concepts, and are one of the most popular qualifications taken by adult learners. Functional Skills are recognised qualifications and can open up progression opportunities including apprenticeships and higher education.
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What are functional skills?
Follow these links to find out more:
Literacy-Numeracy-Digital Literacy
Qualification levels and equivalent functional skills level
Skills for Life – Functional Skills | Health Education England (hee.nhs.uk)
Transversal Skills for Person Centred Care (YouTube)
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How to get your Functional Skills Qualification
If you are looking to get your functional skills qualification the training hub can signpost you to the most appropriate provider depending on your learning needs.
Supported Learning & Tutor Led Learning:
If you feel that you would need some tutor support in gaining your functional skills, the Training Hub can signpost you to a training provider to help provide guidance with online or face to face courses.
Upskilling/Self Learning:
You may feel you would like to improve your functional skills in general without taking the qualifications. If that is the case the training hub would suggest the BKSB platform (see below). You are also able to use the BKSB platform as a secondary support when taking functional skills courses
BBKB is an online learning tool for numeracy, literacy and IT skills, it allows anyone on an apprenticeship, on a career pathway towards an apprenticeship or looking to up skill, to conduct self-directed study on these ‘functional skill’ topics, in readiness to sit an assessment. It includes an initial diagnostic assessment, which allows you to see what level you are working at when they begin the process.
Please see the below links for further details on BKSB
The bksb Functional Skills Process – YouTube
bksb Online Functional Skills Tool – YouTube
It is highly recommended to use BKSB as a supporting platform when undergoing a functional skills course. You may find that many providers use BKSB. We would also recommend using BKSB as an upskilling platform.
If you would like access to the NCL Training Hub BKSB platform please complete the below form.
NB. BKSB is a self assessment and learning platform and the training hub will be unable to provide educational guidance on your learning
Haringey Learns is Haringey’s lifelong learning service for people aged 19 and over.
We are known for our friendly, welcoming staff, skilled and passionate tutors and the close, supportive working relationships learners make with each other on courses. Feedback from learners is immensely positive. Mostly, they tell us Haringey Learns feels like a community where they achieve things they thought they’d never be able to.
Class sizes are relatively small, so it can be ensured that each learner gets individual attention and support. The service runs courses onsite/online (depending on outcome of initial discussion) and is open to anyone over the age of 19 (You do not necessarily have to be a Haringey resident)
If you are living in London (Please see the below list for eligible boroughs) and are over the age of 19, you may be eligible for Intech Centre’s funded Functional Skills Courses in Maths and English. These course packages include access to online self-learning which gives you all the content you need to pass your free exam. Not only do you receive the exam and the course for free, you will also have access to one to one-to-one tutor support. Your tutor can help you discover strategies to find the area of a shape or help you work on your spelling.
Please click here to access their website with information on their funded courses and make an enquiry
Eligible Boroughs:
Barnet
Camden
Enfield
Haringey
Islington
City & Hackney
Kingston
Lambeth
Lewisham
Southwark
Tower Hamlets
Wandsworth
Westminster
Barking & Dagenham
Bexley
Bromley
Greenwich
Havering
Newham
Redbridge
Waltham Forest
Many local colleges offer free functional skills courses.
Please click here to find local colleges and look into the functional skills courses they provide.