Daughter unable to progress to Level 3 after GCSE resits

@BadSkiingMum My DD did FS English privately with a face to face tutor in a gap year from college, I concur with your view on it.

@ThisTealWarrior I’m an English teacher. PM me if you want advice/tutoring

I recently learned that you can do Functional Skills, online and at home, with a private provider. You can get tuition or just buy the exam, which can be taken anytime. You can also buy the books on Amazon.

I have only looked at the FS Literacy specification, but it is far closer to the everyday comprehension likely to be needed in the workplace than the GCSE English Language specifications. AQA English Language requires you to analyse both 19th century and contemporary texts, as well as produce creative writing in both fiction and non-fiction. I suspect that many adults would struggle with this in the exam timeframe...

Functional Skills Courses | Enrol Online Today | learndirect

Context makes learning much, much easier. Learning as part of a course where it will correctly assessed in context is very different to GCSE maths which can be very abstract. Some learners need to be able to fix the maths to a task.

But. If the student can't do the maths required for a course they will fail units.

It is relatively easy to get good at eg ratios if that is what is needed, if you don't also need to be managing to learn shapes, geometry, data handling etc.

But doing hair and nails can have serious consequences if they go wrong. Perms use acid or alkaline formulas. Hair dyes can cause blisters and burns.

Get fake nails wrong and you can have permanent damage.

Hair removal can cause damage.

You have to be 19 on 1st Sept for the academic year however, so there is a hole in funding....

You’d need to double check, but I’m pretty sure adults can access free functional skills courses- check other providers- maybe online. If you can afford it, maths and English tutors are a good shout too.

It’s mad - thank Gove. Burnham has made noises about stopping this nonsense and allowing vocational students to progress.
I would say a year working is often very good for students and gives them a more mature approach to studies and they value education and the time spent in college as they understand the alternatives. It might not be what she wants but it might actually really help her. When you get those interview questions about how you came back from a difficult situation.

Maybe get her out for a few months or a year and get a tutor if you can afford it to focus on English and Maths and get those passes? Or check functional skills as people suggestef

I work in an FE college and FS funding is massively restricted. The idea that it is open to all and a college decision is disingenuous. While technically you are correct putting a student with a grade 2 on FS for a year may help them get that qual but once they move onto a higher level course they will need a GCSE so will need to move to GCSE having missed out on a year of GCSE teaching.
I don’t like it. I wish FS were easier to enrol students on, but teaching FS level 1 to a student who will then progress to a L2 course where GCSE will be needed is unfair.
Arts is just about the only subject area where entry requirements are flexible and lots of employers are not. I wish they were used more frequently, we need to change and reintroduce the common use of FS but don’t give people the idea that FS is out there being offered by many colleges when it’s simply not true.
Some do, most don’t. Depending, where you are in the country FS can be very difficult to find.

I said she’s likely not far off FI. I didn’t say she was illiterate and I said there are exceptions for other reasons that affect their performance in exams. However when something like 16% of teens are said to be leaving school FI it stands to reason that it’s likely the ones not getting 4 and above in their GCSE.

I do think they should offer Functional Skills but I was arguing for why the college wouldn’t be happy to take someone on at L3 for beauty therapy when they haven’t necessarily proven sufficient literacy or maths to pass or perform safely.

This is simply not true for everybody. The English and Maths GCSEs contain a lot of advanced content you simply dont come across in everyday life. They are way above basic literacy and numeracy. It's a lazy generalisation to say people who don't get a 4 are functionally illiterate/non numerate. Many of these people would comfortably pass Level 2 functional skills. They may just have exam anxiety or not get on with the abstract and academic GCSE syllabus.

A system that forces 30% of 16year olds to fail a qualification whilst making that qualification the gateway for nearly all onward opportunities is broken.

Just putting my2 cents worth on here but I personally know successful builders, plumbers, electricians who learnt more about maths(particularly)on the job (how to work out measurements etc) as they were being taught on the job learning first hand what actually needs to be ruled out, weighed etc for these tasks..sitting behind a table and being put under pressure to know enough to pass a GCSE didn't work for them. At the end of the day if my toilet has sprung a leak im calling a plumber regardless of what GCSEs they have...so many young people today need to remember that with or without GCSEs work hard and you'll go places and can be happy in a job you've been trained to do.

Yes but the GCSE is a social construct designed to prove someone has basic adult literacy. Someone is considered functionally illiterate if their reading and comprehension level is below that of an 11 year old. With a grade 3 or below she is likely to be not far off this level unless something else (anxiety, writing skills etc) is pulling it down.

Is she able to understand complicated written instructions for the use of potentially hazardous chemical agents used in the beauty industry?

The main risk of a low literacy level in beauty is misinterpreting essential written information - especially safety protocols, contraindications, anatomy content, chemical handling instructions and client documentation - which can lead to client harm, legal issues, or failure to meet qualification standards.

Yeah I agree. They should let someone do functional skills or something just to show they have the basics. But it shouldn't be a barrier to work to need GCSEs specifically.

My daughter attempted her maths and English 3 times. She was unsuccessful in getting a pass grade each time. She’s currently doing her dream job at entry level but may have problems moving up ranks in the future depending on company/rules. She’s incredibly hands on and great with people but is terrible at tests. I’m sure in the future she will attempt key skills/funcional skills and will be able to apply real life examples to her answers.
what job is your child interested in?

It can be done, my DS has not passed his maths (if anything he’s been going backwards over the years😭) he’s ND but managed a 6 in english but juts cannot get maths. Hes just finished his 2nd level 3 course passing with a merit, last years was a distinction. Hes done a practical subject but obv has paperwork. His level first lvl 2 tutor wrote a letter to his college saying that he was capable of a lvl 3 (we’d had to move college as they weren’t offering a lvl 3 in his subject) this year he won the most improved student award, and starts his job in 2 weeks.

I don’t know why you say ‘reintroduce FS exams’. Functional Skills is alive and well with thousands of students taking exams up and down the country, from entry level to L2, every year. It’s fully funded as an alternative to GCSE (unless student previously got a 3).

Colleges do get funding for Functional Skills. It is approved as alternative funding if a student got a 2 or below (or no prior quals). Some colleges, who recognise a student is struggling at GCSE (who previously got a 3) will waive the funding and put a student on a FS pathway to secure progression for the student. Of course students can an do access some L3 BTEC courses without English and/or maths, especially creative ones. It’s at the discretion of the college. The condition of funding is met by them studying GCSE/FS until/if they attain a grade 4/L2 pass. Many universities don’t need English and Maths at grade 4. Central St Martins, for example, on a 3 year undergraduate degree have one route as Merit Pass Pass for BTEC extended Diploma plus 3 GCSEs at 4 or above (don’t have to be M&E). It’s perfectly possible to leave school with few/no grade 4s, work through BTEC levels alongside FS maths and English and enter university. Universities absolutely do take FS L2 as evidence of meeting the ‘grade 4’ in English/maths for some courses, especially for mature students. There are lots of universities with creative courses that don’t require English/Maths GCSE grade 4. They will assess based on portfolio and L3 grade in creative subject.
To say you shouldn’t be at university without a 4 in English and maths is ridiculous. I know many people working in creative industries, earning very high salaries, with BAs/MAs from Central St Martins, Goldsmiths, Royal Academy of Arts etc without an English and Maths grade 4 between them.

It's a genuine question. Nearly all jobs require a certain basic level of literacy. Don't put words in my mouth and tell me I said people with LD shouldn't be allowed to work?!