ENGLISH MATHS & ICT Embedding Functional Skills

Aims By the end of this session you will be able to: Understand the term ‘Functional Skills.’ Explain how English, Maths and ICT are embedded in your teaching. Describe how you can support your leaners’ English, Maths and ICT needs. Record this support on your lesson plans. Understand the referral process for needs which you cannot meet.

What are Functional Skills? Take a minute to think about the first half hour of your day this morning. Did you use your English, Maths or ICT skills in any way?

The First Half Hour ActivitySkill Wake up to alarm clockMaths – had to understand how to tell the time Showered and washed hair English & Maths – estimated volume of shampoo. Recognised bottle due to writing/pictures on the front. Made a cup of teaMaths – made estimations of measurement and volume (amount of water in kettle/milk and teaspoon of sugar). Check diaryICT – Used calendar function on smart phone.

Why Bother? English, Maths and ICT skills underpin everything we do. Embedding these skills into our teaching should lead to improved success rates/learner satisfaction. It is an OFSTED requirement that these skills are embedded across all curriculum areas. These skills are often referred to as: Functional Skills

English, Maths and ICT in Your Own Teaching Look at the English, Maths and ILT ‘trees’ provided. What are the English, Maths and ICT needs in your own subjects? Working with your neighbour, jot these down onto the trees. Then add some ideas as to how you might support these needs.

Example: A dance teacher uses shape and counts time – clapping could be used to reinforce this.

Example: Hairdressing students need to learn subject specific words – the tutor could provide a glossary to help them.

Students can use their smartphones to collect examples or evidence to reinforce learning e.g. bad use of apostrophe on signs (English students), styles of writing (art). Images can be shared with peers and prompt discussion.

Showing this on Your Lesson Plans You must show how you have embedded English, Maths and ICT skills into your teaching. There is a separate column on the college lesson plan template titled: ‘Opportunities to support English, Maths and ICT.’ This is the place to record the support. It is important to be specific. Please see the table overleaf for examples.

Examples: how to show embedded functional skills on your lesson plans Curriculum Area English, Maths or ICT support need How NOT to put this on the plan How to put this on the plan (in the ‘Opportunities to support English, Maths and ICT’ column) FloristryX has difficulty understanding different words for shapes (English as a second language) Extra help given English-Polish dictionary provided for X & cue cards showing shape and word in English given. ArtY finds perspective difficult to grasp SupportGiven YouTube link to tutorial on drawing perspective. Extra exercises provided. We will now look at the college’s lesson plan template and discuss how we can show embedded skills on our own plans.

Referral What if the needs are too complex for you to deal with? Refer to your Curriculum Manager. He or she will then consider whether the student should be referred to the college’s Skills for Life team or signposted to ICT training. An assessment can be made to help decide if they would benefit from an additional course or whether some kind of in- class support would be appropriate.

Conclusion Literacy, numeracy and ICT skills are required in every curriculum area. We all address these areas as part of good teaching practice. We need to demonstrate that we have embedded literacy, numeracy and ICT within our own teaching areas. Remember these are all FUNCTIONAL SKILLS