Functional Skills in Health and Social
Care
Lisette Veit
4th March 2014
What are we talking about?
English (Speaking & Listening, Reading, Writing)
Maths
ICT
ESOL (English for Speakers of Other
Languages)
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.
How do they work?
Selection, application and evaluation of a range of
skills to tackle tasks and problems in life and work
GCSE
Apprenticeships
WPL FE
Functional Skills Standards
Adult Core Curricula
ACL
Levels
Adult Curriculum Level
National Curriculum
equivalent
Level 2
GCSE grade C+
Level 1
Year 9 – GCSE Foundation
Entry 3
+/- Year 6
Entry 2
+/- Year 3
Entry 1
Infant school
ESOL
Entry 1 – the minimum level that immigrants
from non-English speaking countries outside of
the EEA need to enter the UK
Entry 3 – the level of speaking and listening
required in order to obtain settled status
Level 1 and 2 – ESOL qualifications removed;
Functional English is preferred qualification.
So…
 Self audit – how are your own English,
ICT and maths skills? Can you challenge
yourself to improve? How?
Maths
Six out of every 400 bottles of disinfectant
are found to be defective. If you buy four
bottles, what is the probability that one
will be defective?
English
Write a letter to the Health Authority objecting to the plans to close the
hospital.
In your letter you must expand on these points:
• the history of the hospital
• the loss of a major community service
• access by local residents
• the distance to nearest hospitals.
You will be assessed on:
• presenting information on complex subjects clearly and concisely
• using a range of writing styles for different purposes
• using a range of sentence structures, including complex sentences and
paragraphs to organise written communication effectively
• punctuating written text using commas, apostrophes and inverted commas
accurately
• ensuring written work is fit for purpose and audience, with accurate spelling
and grammar that supports clear meaning in a range of text types.
ICT
The librarian needs you to create a database of the books that
are on loan.
 You have been given a file with this information.
 Make sure all the data types are set correctly.
 Take a screen print of the completed database design and paste it
into your evidence document.
 Use the database to create a report of the books that are overdue,
as they were due back on or before 01/04/2011.
 Include only the Book Title, Author, ISBN Number, Title, Initial
and Surname of the person who has borrowed the book and Date
due back.
 Check that your work is formatted correctly. Make sure that the
report is clear and easy to read.
 Print a copy.
Health Care employees
What level of English, maths and ICT do we
expect of those working in Health and Social
Care?
How do we assess the levels of existing and
potential new employees?
How do we fill the gap between what we expect
and what we have?
The Good News
Diagnostic tools to assess for skills gaps are
available
Some provision can be funded or joint funded
Resources specific to health and social care
are available
Cambs CC Adult Learning and Skills can speak
to you about building a strategy to address your
needs.
Questions
Lisette.veit@cambridgeshire.gov.uk
Dawn.coleman@cambridgeshire.gov.uk