About the NOCN Functional Skills Qualifications

NOCN Functional Skills Qualifications

NOCN has undertaken research with providers, practitioners and learners on different types of assessment approaches and has used this feedback to develop our functional skills qualifications.

It is expected that pilot centres will select groups of Entry Level learners to work with the skill areas they are piloting.

Learners will undergo appropriate teaching and learning programmes as would normally be delivered by centres.  CPD programmes and support materials for those teaching on functional skills programmes have been developed by QIA(Quality Improvement Agency) and SNS (Secondary National Strategies).

It is intended that learners will take assessments for the qualifications when they are ready.  NOCN will work on developing sufficient assessments for centres to access them ‘on demand’ as soon as possible.

Assessments will be different to existing Entry Level assessments.  The assessments are being externally developed by NOCN and are designed:

• As summative assessments i.e. they can be used when the learner is ready and has developed the appropriate skills ready for assessment.
• To assess a sample of the functional skills standards and not the whole of the standards.
• As assessment tasks based on ‘real life’ contexts.  These may be based on for example: work and education; community, citizenship and environment; family, home and social issues.  NOCN’s ultimate aim is that centres will be able to choose appropriate contexts for their learners.

The duration of the assessments should be for a minimum of 1 hour up to a maximum of 5 hours in English and ICT, and a minimum of 1 hour up to a maximum of 3 hours in maths.  The assessments will be internally marked following mark schemes provided and will be subject to internal and external verification processes and standardisation activities.

The assessment tasks will need to be taken under controlled, supervised conditions.

For Delivery and Evaluation of Functional Skills Qualifications click here