1. Embedding Functional Skills

2. Functional Skills  Functional skills are the fundamental, applied skills in English, mathematics, and information and communication technology (ICT) which help people to gain the most from life, learning and work.”  Research has shown that the most successful way to help people improve their functional skills is to do this as part of their main area of study.

3. Embedding  What is Embedding?  Why should we embed Functional Skills?  How often should we embed Functional Skills?  What are the benefits of embedding?  Do we need to embed FS if a learner is exempt?  Do we need to make learners aware about what embedding is and when we are doing it?

4. What is Embedding?  Embedding functional skills means teaching it as part of your general sessions – not a separate maths or English workshop. (you might also find it called ‘blended learning’)  You teach the skills as they crop up during the general course or to help your learners succeed in particular aspects.

5. Benefits of Embedding  Opportunity to check learners knowledge and understanding  Opportunity to identify areas of development  Opportunity to address development needs  Makes the subject relevant to their working environment  Helps to prepare the learner for the tests

6. Examples of Embedding Relevant to Sector Activity: Note down ways in which you do/could embed each of the Functional Skills in lessons and assessments

7. How to embed Functional Skills English?  Correct grammatical or punctuation mistakes with any evidence produced by the learner  Review written communication that learner has produced e.g. emails  Ask learner to read and summarise information  Discuss use of slang language, ask learner to present orally information  Discuss the differences between communicating with internal and external customers and appropriate language to use with each

8. How to embed Functional Skills Maths?  Learner Budgets - wages, travel costs  Wage analysis – percent of NI/Tax  % time to allocate to set activities each day  QCF progress against duration of stay  Calculating % breakdown of actual and archived records stored on a system  Calculating the % breakdown of employees per department within the organisation

9. How to embed Functional Skills ICT?  Email structuring  Budget calculations using Excel  Mail merge within the department  Inputting information into a database  Researching information using the internet  Formatting evidence produced e.g. highlighting titles or inputting screenshots into a reflective account

10. How do we show evidence of Embedding?  Add comments to marked documents and ensure that this is recorded on session plans  Detail specifics that will be covered during a lesson plan  Test the learners regularly to ensure that they understand what/how Functional skills have been embedded  Document on Individual Learning Plan the distance the learner has travelled with FS and what effect embedding has had