Reformed Functional Skills: Withdrawal

As part of our commitment to making sure that the qualifications we offer best meet the needs of teachers and learners, we have taken the decision to withdraw from English and Maths Functional Skills, as we don’t believe we are able to provide a service that best suits English and Maths Functional Skills teaching and learning.

We intend to withdraw from providing English and Maths Functional Skills qualifications at Entry Level, Level 1 and Level 2 at the end of 2020.

To support teachers looking for external assessments for Level 1 and Level 2 Functional Skills in English and Maths in 2020, we will provide paper-based tests scheduled for specific times on the following dates: 24–26 March and 30 June–2 July (see the key dates spreadsheet). There will be a further resit opportunity at the end of 2020. All internally assessed Functional Skills will continue until the end of December 2020. We'll confirm exact end dates after consultation with centres. Our assessment model is currently being reviewed by our regulator, Ofqual.

If you use our Functional Skills in ICT qualifications, you can continue to offer these as this news applies to our qualifications in English and Maths only. All Functional Skills in ICT will be redeveloped for launch as ‘Digital Functional Skills’ in 2021/22.

We will continue to support everyone offering English and Maths Functional Skills to make alternative plans for 2021 onwards. There is a range of awarding organisations you can move to but we have already talked to awarding body NCFE to ensure a smooth handover for schools, colleges and other centres who wish to transfer to them. Please call NCFE on 0191 239 8000 to find out more. They have also provided more information to help you switch effectively. The content for Functional Skills is set by the Department for Education and you can be reassured that it is the same across all awarding bodies. As requirements for assessment design are set by Ofqual, students will have a very similar assessment experience no matter which awarding organisation you choose.

We are here to help answer any questions you might have. You can call our Customer Support Centre on 02476 851509 or email vocational.qualifications@ocr.org.uk. Please also take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions.