1. Wales Essential Skills Assessment Toolkit (WEST)
Michelle Morgan
Senior ESF and Essential Skills Policy Manager
Employability and EU Funding Division
Skills, Higher Education and Lifelong Learning Group

2. WEST Mandation Dates
Work Based Learning providers and Adult Community Learning providers: WEST transition period will end on 31st July Providers will be mandated to use WEST from 1st August 2016.
Further Education Institutions: WEST transition period will end on 31st August Providers will be mandated to use WEST from 1st September 2016.
Pre-Entry Learners: The decision is yet to be taken with regards to a mandation date for Pre-Entry Learners and therefore it has been agreed that for this particular cohort of learners, existing initial assessment methods can continue until a standardised assessment can be identified for Pre-Entry Learners.

3. WEST Policy
Current Welsh Government (WG) policy states that all learners undertaking WG funded provision of more than 5 hours per week must have their essential skills levels assessed.
WG developed the WEST to provide a consistent and standardised method of completing the Initial and Diagnostic Assessment for learners who have essential skills levels from Entry level to level 3.
WG hosted a workshop with practitioners to discuss the issue of Essential Skills Assessments for Pre-Entry Learners on 16 May 2016.

4. Pre-Entry Level Workshop (1)
The main issues identified were:
Additional Learning Needs (ALN) - Many learners that are at pre-entry essential skills levels also have ALN from mild to severe; severe to complex and profound
Welsh Language availability – Any standardised tool or assessment process must be available through both English and Welsh
Involvement - Assessments involve a number of individuals in order to complete them (therefore cannot be completed independently by the learner)
The learner
The tutor
A support worker/career/social worker
A parent or guardian

5. Pre-Entry Level Workshop (2)
Time to complete – it is usual for the assessment process to be completed within a 6 week induction period – for WEST the requirement is for assessments to be completed within 2 weeks of a learner starting on their programme of support.
Progress can be demonstrated incrementally (moving vertically between milestones); laterally (demonstrating different skills within the same milestones); and by the learner maintaining their skills (for example from one week to the next).
Visual – any agreement for a consistent assessment process must take into account that the visual element of questions is integral.
Social and Independence Skills – this is integral for all pre-entry and ALN learners. Currently WEST does not assess these skills.

6. Next Steps
Work with Tribal Ltd (contracted lead for WEST) to enable the assessment start level to be set at Entry Level 1.
Explore the possibility of setting up a working group specifically to review current assessment methods in more depth.
Any further queries please contact Michelle Morgan –