In this issue:• Government policy is driving change in Maths and English. So is it leading

to success? Find out more on page 4.

• The new learning programmes are proving to be a hot topic in further education but what will they include? Check out our overview on page 6.

• In creating our new Cambridge Traineeships, we wanted to go the extra mile. Find out how on page 8.

Skills in FocusIssue 1

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Cambridge Traineeships bring a fresh approach to securing English and maths skills.

We recognise that achieving Functional Skills within six months could be a challenge for some learners – so some of our off-the-shelf Cambridge Traineeships incorporate our new Cambridge Progression suite of qualifications.

Cambridge Progression qualifications support core English and maths skills within a framework of bite-sized, credit-based units and develop the underpinning skills so that learners can progress to Functional Skills.

They come with a free diagnostic tool so that you can assess which units within the suite will address your learners’ needs. The Cambridge Progression suite is currently made up of the OCR Cambridge Awards/Certificates in English and Maths and ranges from Entry Level to Level 2.

To see how Cambridge Progression qualifications can form part of a Cambridge Traineeship, visit our website and download the interactive Package Finder or call 02476 851509.

A FRESH APPROACH TO ENGLISH AND MATHS SKILLS

Contents

Where next for English and Maths? 4

In the spotlight: the new learning programmes 6

Focus on Cambridge Traineeships 8

A new Skills solution 10

What’s next for Cambridge Progression? 11

Coming soon: paper-based, on-demand assessment for our Functional Skills 11

Welcome to our latest Skills in Focus

We want to give you a flavour of government policy surrounding vocational skills, as well as focusing on hot topics such as programmes of learning, changes to funding, the future of Functional Skills, and a new addition to our Cambridge Progression suite coming soon.

Garry HaynesCurriculum Leader

How is government policy having an impact on English and Maths for adults?Garry Haynes, Curriculum Leader at OCR, considers this question and examines some key changes to funding, and the new programmes of learning.

Where next for English and Maths?As always, activity on the ground is driven by the agenda from government and it’s clear to see that at the moment English and Maths are a major focus of any educational policy. We know the Government is driven to support adults in achieving a Level 2 in Functional Skills English and Maths, or ideally an A* to C in GCSE English or Maths. While the GCSE focus is possibly still an accepted aspiration for most learners, there’s a clear government steer now on making sure that all learners ‘touch’ GCSE learning, with the obvious expectation that they will achieve an A* to C GCSE at some point in their lifelong learning.

Money well spent?It’s good to see Functional Skills accepted as a learner aim for English and Maths, particularly because this would probably not be the case if Key Skills were still in existence. The Treasury has been very vocal with concerns about the amount of money spent on the Skills for Life programme, and has probably played a large part in driving policy to improve success in English and Maths. After all, it’s universally accepted that a literate and numerate workforce is crucial for success in the international markets in which we now compete, and the Treasury expects taxpayer money to be well spent on achieving high levels of literacy and numeracy.

What’s new? The drive towards Level 2 English and Maths has necessitated other ‘stepping stones’ that take learners towards this higher goal. This is why funding was made available for progression-type qualifications such as the Cambridge Progression English and Maths units.

Look at any new programme structure such as Traineeships, programmes of study or Apprenticeships and you’ll see a requirement for English and Maths included. Funding is slowly becoming available to try to better support niche groups in English and Maths success, with organisations such as The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) focusing work on this area.

What’s being done to support teachers?There’s also a strong recognition that the vocational teaching workforce needs help to better support Maths and English learners. After all, Functional Skills is rightly difficult, because it’s testing the application of secure underpinning maths and English skills, not just the underpinning skills themselves (as with Basic Skills). This calls for teachers who understand both their vocational subject and Maths and English.

Different subject organisations such as The Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education (ACME), NIACE and Mathematics in Education and Industry (MEI) are now developing support for Maths tutors (take a look at the Maths4U’s programme to see some of the great work) but there’s still more to be done to support tutors, particularly with conflicting messages now surrounding Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) and the role of the Institute for Learning (IfL) in professionalising the sector.

There’s also concern about the capacity of the system to cope with a limited teaching workforce with English and Maths specialisms, who may be diverted away from Functional Skills to support success in GCSE English and Maths – this is particularly true for Maths.

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The impact of funding reductionsWe can’t escape the fact, too, that funding is generally decreasing – this means that more efficient and effective delivery models are needed, so the sector can cope with this funding reduction while still delivering success for learners. There’s been greater flexibility built into policy to help with this (such as around the structure of a programme of study), but time will tell whether this flexibility can be fully utilised.

So, the policy is driving the sector to greater success in Maths and English for adults and this isn’t a bad thing. Consider the approaching changes to Universal Credit, where adults will be expected to budget over longer periods of time between payments. Financial competence is crucial if a person is to make sure that they can support themselves and their family throughout a month, and yet many people simply don’t have these skills.

The power of partnershipFinally, new initiatives such as Traineeships will hopefully mean that young people are in a better place to ultimately find employment, because they have the employability skills, employment experience, and maths and English skills. This is really the crux of all policy: making sure that we have a world-class skilled workforce.

The challenge for the vocational sector is working more closely with employers so there’s a two-way approach to supporting progression into work for learners. This has always been challenging, but great examples of this are already showing that effective employer engagement – from before a learner starts their journey and then throughout it – creates a successful partnership for all concerned.

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From September 2013, centres delivering 16–19 education and training will be expected to offer coherent study programmes to both full-time and part-time learners, including those with learning difficulties and disabilities.

Jo McGowan, Market Strategist at OCR, focuses on the requirements of these new programmes of learning and study.

16–19 Study Programmes

A higher level of study than prior

achievement 2 years

16–19TraineeshipsStarting below

Level 3Up to 6 months

16+Apprenticeships

Level 2, Level 3 and Level 4 +At least a year

16–24 Supported Internships

Learners working below Level 2 with

complex needs

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The design principlesAlthough the idea of tailored learning and study programmes will be familiar territory for many providers, the Government has introduced some design principles aimed at addressing criticisms of 16–19 provision, levelled by Alison Wolf in her 2011 Review of Vocational Education:

So, in these new study programmes, learners will:

• Spend most of their time taking one or more substantial qualification, such as A Levels and/or vocational qualifications; or participating in a Traineeship or extended work experience

• Take part in non-qualification activities, such as work experience, tutorials or work-related learning

• Continue studying English and/or Mathematics if they didn’t achieve at least a GCSE grade C in these subjects by the end of Year 11.

In the spotlight: the new learning programmesThis is a comprehensive development that‘s underpinned by a move to a ‘per learner’ funding model, changes to the inspection framework and the pending Key Stage 5 performance measures. It also includes Traineeships (see page 8) and coincides with the raising of the participation age, which affects those turning 17 from now on and 18 years old from 2015.

“A significant number of young people, between a third and a half of the cohort, are struggling very actively to find appropriate courses and appropriate jobs which will give them a secure entry into the labour market.”

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Let’s look at these three themes in more detail:

Progress and progression

Study programmes should be designed to develop the learner onto a higher level of achievement. The exact make-up of the programme will depend on individual needs, abilities and ambitions, but qualifications that a learner studies need to be able to stretch them and link to progression opportunities in training, employment or higher levels of education. Destinations data will be published as part of the accountability arrangements.

Developing skills, attitudes and confidence

The move to a per-learner funding model means that non-qualification activities such as tutorials, the teaching of study skills and, most significantly, work experience also now count towards learners’ funded hours. The emphasis is on study programmes being a coherent whole – not only do the qualifications have to make sense for a learner’s overall ambitions, but the non-qualification elements are just as important a part of the design.

English and Maths

Learners who haven’t achieved a C grade in GCSE English and Maths by the end of Key Stage 4 will have to continue to study these subjects. From September 2014, this will become a condition of funding. Functional Skills and Free Standing Maths qualifications are considered stepping stones to the end goal of GCSE – with Functional Skills most relevant for learners on a Traineeship.

The core aim can be academic or vocational, or may be work experience for learners at Level 1 and below. Work experience needs to be purposeful and managed well under the direction of a supervisor.

The supporting aims may include Project or Extended Project, other AS or vocational qualifications including employability, enterprise and entrepreneurship, and languages. They can also include other programmes that may not lead to qualifications such as a Duke of Edinburgh Award. Tutorials, mentoring and other enrichment activity would be delivered, as appropriate, alongside.

For more information on how we can help you design learning programmes see our online brochure.

Our high-quality Cambridge Traineeships can help with learning programmes.

Focus on Traineeships Traineeship programmes allow young people to develop the skills they need to progress to Apprenticeships and other forms of sustainable employment. They were announced on 13 May 2013 by the Skills Minister Matthew Hancock and are intended to address the key skills gaps that prevent young people getting work.

Cambridge Traineeships: bringing something moreCambridge Traineeships have been built as a programme by working with different centres on pilots throughout the summer – allowing our offer to be tested and tweaked as we learn about running successful Traineeship programmes.

Using this knowledge, for Cambridge Traineeships you can choose between two options:

• Off-the-shelf packages that offer a speedy way to get up and running

• A programme specially developed to suit your needs. Using knowledge gained by building sucessful pilot programmes, we’ll work with you to build a Traineeship to suit you and your learners.

Whichever option you select, they’re both made up from a number of components – all of which fit seamlessly together into a high-quality Traineeship programme that goes the extra mile. Here’s an outline of what they include.

• English and maths skills Functional Skills form the English and maths component

of Cambridge Traineeships. If the learner doesn’t have the required core skills for this, our Cambridge Progression suite of qualifications can help (see page 10 for more about these).

With bite-sized, credit-based units, they support the underpinning skills needed in English and maths so learners can then progress to Functional Skills. These smaller units are ideal to run in a Traineeship where flexibility is the watchword.

Cambridge Progression and Functional Skills both come with a free diagnostic tool so you can assess which qualifications in the suite will meet your learners’ needs.

• Employability skills Demand for our Employability Skills qualifications continues

to grow rapidly. They still remain flexible, so you and your learners can adapt the qualifications to suit individual requirements. We’ve replaced two of the units in response to market feedback and all of the employability units have been updated to make them more pertinent to today’s learners, taking into account changes in technology and the current job search process.

• Vocational qualifications Cambridge Traineeships are especially suited to individual

learning plans, because the vocational component can be selected from such a wide range of qualifications, meaning that your learners get to focus on an area that’s relevant to their career path.

For more information on Cambridge Traineeships, call our Customer Contact Centre on 02476 851509 or email us.

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Intensive work skills training High-quality work placement

English and maths (for those who have not yet achieved GCSE A*–C or equivalent)

Flexible support

Could include:

Other education & training, Vocational

qualifications

Mentoring, job search support,

careers guidance, etc.

Employment

Apprenticeship

Further Education

How a Cambridge Traineeship is made up and possible routes of progression

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Tried and tested – the KATO pilot After Skills Minister Matthew Hancock gave the green light to Traineeships in May, we teamed up with the Kent Association of Training Organisations (KATO) to run a three- month pilot that mirrored the Government’s full Traineeship programme and would help young unemployed people bridge the gap into work or onto an Apprenticeship.

The pilot has given us an in-depth insight into the delivery, support and assessment methodology required to excel in the provision of our own Cambridge Traineeships. 25 young people, who ranged in age from 18 to 24, followed a programme delivered by SET Training Ltd based near Dartford and Profile Development and Training Ltd in Broadstairs, which mixed work experience, basic English and maths skills, as well as focusing on general readiness to work through employability skills courses and interview practice. Work placements were organised with local businesses, including insurance companies and estate agencies, with a focus on customer service and administration.

The results of the pilot Traineeship are promising. Of the 25 trainees, almost all have already been offered employment, places on Apprenticeships or FE courses. A further 12 are going on to FE courses. One trainee, Jeff Owen, has been offered a job at an estate agency where he showed real promise by selling a house in his first week. Another has achieved a place on an Apprenticeship at Claims International.

Skills Minister, Matthew Hancock MP, talks to participants of the pilot scheme which was celebrated at the House of Commons this September.

Our new Cambridge Progression suite, which supports the Functional Skills programme, is fast making its mark as a popular choice.Sue Salter, Skills and Employment Qualifications Manager at OCR, takes us through a brief overview of some of its key points.

A new Skills solutionThe new and accredited Cambridge Progression suite of qualifications in English and Maths is designed to help adult learners achieve the core skills they need to move on to English and Maths Functional Skills

and GCSEs. The first assessments began in February this year and these qualifications are quickly becoming very popular.

Cambridge Progression Awards There are 47 bite-sized Cambridge Progression Awards (in English and Maths), each of which is worth between one and four credits. One credit equals ten hours of teaching. Each of these Awards is achieved through a paper or online assessment taken in exam conditions, which we will mark. There are also nine moderated units for the Speaking and Listening English Awards.

The Cambridge Progression Certificate If your learner achieves 13 credits of Cambridge Progression Awards, they’ll automatically receive a Cambridge Progression Certificate from OCR for whichever level they’ve achieved 51% of Cambridge Progression Awards. This allows for a spiky profile so the other 49% can be a mixture of Awards from the levels below or above.

The starting pointWe recommend that your learners start with an initial assessment (level checker), which tells you which level of English or maths skills they have. A diagnostic assessment can then show the skills gaps they have within a level. Our Diagnostic Assessment Tool (free to centres that use any OCR qualifications) will help you direct learners to the appropriate Cambridge Progression Awards.

Find out more• Units for these qualifications can be found by visiting our website.

• For our free Diagnostic Assessment Tool, go to the OCR Interchange>Functional Skills>Assessment Materials>Diagnostic Materials (for centres that already use OCR products).

• To talk to someone about delivering the new Cambridge Progression Awards in your centre, contact your regional account manager.

PROGRESSIONCambridge

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Here’s just a brief flavour of what’s coming next in the Cambridge Progression suite What’s next for Cambridge Progression?We’re currently developing Cambridge Progression IT qualifications at five levels (Entry Level 1 to Level 2) that can either stand alone or be part of a wider programme such as Cambridge Traineeships or Apprenticeships.

Stepping stonesThese are carefully designed so that once your learners have acquired the knowledge in one area, they can ‘step off’ onto another. Covering core principles, concepts and knowledge, the units are well planned to build confidence and make sure that your learners can progress.

Assessment will be ‘bite-sized’, generally free of context and designed to meet on-demand, quick results requirements within a computer-based testing (CBT) platform. You can find out more about Cambridge Progression qualifications on our website or you can register for updates here.

Skills in brief …Coming soon: paper-based, on-demand assessment for our Functional Skills We know you need flexible, ‘anytime access’ to Functional Skills paper-based assessment, so watch out for some exciting news about the latest development for Functional Skills Level 1 and 2 assessments we’re planning to launch in October 2013. You can also find out about improvements as they’re announced by registering for our updates here.

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For staff training purposes and as part of our quality assurance programme your call may be recorded or monitored.© OCR 2013 Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations is a Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England. Registered office 1 Hills Road, Cambridge CB1 2EU. Registered company number 3484466. OCR is an exempt charity.

Vocational qualificationsTelephone 024 76 851509Facsimile 024 76 851633Email vocational.qualifications@ocr.org.uk

ocr.org.ukOCR Customer Contact Centre

General qualificationsTelephone 01223 553998Facsimile 01223 552627Email general.qualifications@ocr.org.uk

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Entrepreneurial skills: running your own business• Being Entrepreneurial

Career planning:

future aspirations• Cambridge

Employability

Life skills

• Money management

• Personal Life Skills

Skills for work/life • Customer service • Project management • Team work • Working under pressure

Core skills

• Cambridge

Progression

• Functional SkillsHealth and wellbeing

• Personal Life Skills

Vocational/technical qualifications

• Cambridge Technicals

• Apprenticeships

• Cambridge Nationals

• NVQ/QCF

Mapping the way forward in

vocational education

Putting together an individual learning

programme is straightforward with

OCR. We’ll help you establish the key

components bearing in mind what

funding is available and what outcomes

you’re looking to achieve.

You can mix and match these components

from us to provide a programme to suit

individual students’ needs.

For more information on how we can help you build individual learning programmes, call our Customer Contact Centre on 02476 851509 or email us