Curriculum lenses - Functional skills in English KS4

Tools

Functional skills in the revised programme of study for English

The English programme of study for key stage 4 embeds the level 2 functional skills standards.

Functional skills help young people to take a more active and responsible role in their communities, to be more alert and responsive to changes in technology and to communicate effectively and be literate in the broadest sense. The functional skills standards require learners to be able to make sense of their world and to develop their own perspectives. The key concepts of 'competence' and 'critical understanding' underpin these aims.

In addition, the key processes and range and content sections of the programme of study reflect the functional English standards at level 2 (see table below), and build on the embedding of level 1 in the key stage 3 programme of study. The curriculum opportunities section of the programme of study requires that pupils speak, listen and write in 'contexts beyond the classroom', which ensures that there are relevant contexts in which to test the functional element.

Links between the key stage 4 English programme of study and the functional skills

Level 2 functional skill standard: speaking and listening	Key stage 4 programme of study
Listen to complex information and give a relevant, cogent response in appropriate language	Listen to complex information and respond critically, constructively and cogently in order to clarify points and challenge ideas (key processes)
Present information and ideas clearly and persuasively to others	Present information clearly and persuasively to others, selecting the most appropriate way to structure and organise their speech for clarity and effect (key processes)
Adapt contributions in discussions to suit audience, purpose and situation	Select from strategies for adapting speaking and listening flexibly in different circumstances (key processes)
Make significant contributions to discussions, taking a range of roles and helping to move discussion forward to reach decisions	Take different roles in organising, planning and sustaining discussion in a range of formal and informal contexts (key processes) Work purposefully in groups, negotiating and building on the contributions of others to complete tasks or reach consensus (key processes)
In a wide range of contexts, including those that involve others who are unfamiliar	Speak fluently, adapting talk to a wide range of familiar and unfamiliar contexts and purposes, including those requiring confident use of standard English (key processes)
Level 2 functional skill standard: reading	Key stage 4 programme of study
Select and use different types of text to obtain relevant information	Select, compare, summarise and synthesise information from different texts and use to form own ideas, arguments and opinions (key processes)
Read and summarise succinctly information/ideas from different sources	(As above)
Identify the purposes of texts and comment on how effectively meaning is conveyed	Identify the purposes of texts, analysing and evaluating how writers structure and organise ideas to shape meaning for particular audiences and readers (key processes)
Detect point of view, implicit meaning and bias	Reflect on the origin and purpose of texts and assess their usefulness, recognising bias, opinion, implicit meaning and abuse of evidence (key processes)
Read and actively respond to different texts	Respond and act upon texts they have read (curriculum opportunities)
All the above skills should be applied in the context of a wide range of texts for different purposes, on paper and on screen.	The range of non-fiction and non-literary texts should include purposes such as to instruct, inform, explain, describe, analyse, review, discuss and persuade (range and content) On paper and on screen where appropriate (explanatory text).
Level 2 functional skill standard: writing	Key stage 4 programme of study
Present information/ideas concisely, logically and persuasively	Present information and ideas on complex subjects concisely, logically and persuasively (key processes)
Present information on complex subjects concisely and clearly	(As above)
Use a range of different styles of writing for different purposes	Write fluently, adapting style and language to a wide range of forms, contexts and purposes (key processes)
Use a range of sentence structures, including complex sentences	Use the grammatical features of written standard English accurately to structure a wide range of sentence types for particular purposes and effect (key processes)
Punctuate accurately using commas, apostrophes and inverted commas	Use the full range of punctuation marks accurately and for deliberate effect (key processes)
Proofread and revise writing for accuracy and meaning	Use planning, drafting, editing, proofreading and self-evaluation to revise and craft their writing for maximum impact (key processes)
In a wide range of documents on paper and on screen	Use a range of ways to structure whole texts to give clarity and emphasis (key processes)