Excellence Gateway
The Functional Skills Support Programme (FSSP) is designed to prepare practitioners, leaders and managers to introduce functional skills in your centre, from developing applied learning to adopting a whole-organisational approach to functional skills implementation. The support programme is available free of charge to all schools and post-16 education and training centres, with support for schools offered by National Strategies (NS) and support for the post-16 sector offered by the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS).
Functional skills are integral to the four learning pathways – diplomas, general qualifications, foundation learning tier and apprenticeships, as well as being standalone qualifications.
The programme comprises the following elements:
Helpline number: 0844 335 2938 (9am–5pm Monday to Friday excluding public holidays).Email address: helpline@fssupport.org.
The Functional Skills Support Programme is continuing its support for both functional skills pilot centres and all centres intending to deliver functional skills from 2010.
Current support available includes:
Please note that the helpline and email details shown on publications on this site have now changed. All queries should be sent to the contact details above.
Resources have been produced to support the introduction of functional skills and are available for download using the links below. These updated guides are essential handbooks for managers and practitioners, providing practical help and advice to enable the reader to move forward with teaching and learning strategies or the management of functional skills.
A suite of publications to help practitioners to deliver functional skills within Diplomas is now available:
Hard copies can be requested by phoning the Helpline on 0844 335 2938.
The support programme offers a comprehensive package for continuing professional development (CPD) at regional and local level. This consists of:
Nine in-house training modules are available, free of charge to centres, to support practitioners delivering functional skills to learners:
A further eight in-house training modules are also available, free of charge to centres, to support practitioners delivering functional skills to adults:
To book any of these modules please contact your regional functional skills facilitator.
Training materials from the Introduction to Functional Skills events are available for you to download and use with colleagues in your organisation/consortium.
Nine regional functional skills teams are in place, including regional facilitators who provide support locally for all post–16 centres. The teams lead the Functional Skills Support Programme in your region, operating from a local base. The purpose of each regional team is to link with other programmes and initiatives in the area in order to be part of a coherent range of support to underpin the 14–19 reforms.
A number of Regional Network Events will be taking place in July. These events will be an opportunity to find out more about the programme and to share ideas. To find out more about events in your region please contact your Regional Team using the contact details below.
National Strategies regional advisers for English, mathematics and ICT are available to support schools. To find out more about National Strategies support for schools go to the National Strategies website.
The helpline is available to answer functional skills queries including requests for information, training enquiries and general enquiries.
You can find this page and download any referenced resources from the Excellence Gateway at http://excellence.org.uk/functionalskills.
