Important updates for Functional Skills and End-Point Assessment

On 14 October 2020 it was confirmed that extensions to Legacy Functional Skills would be put in place to 31 July 2021. The temporary suspension of the rule requiring level 2 apprentices to study towards, and attempt, level 2 functional skills exams to 31 March 2021 was also confirmed.

15 October 2020

Legacy English and Mathematics Functional Skills (3748) – extension to end date

Further to an announcement that the Secretary of State has agreed to further extend the regulation end dates of legacy Functional Skills to 31 July 2021, we will be extending the certification end dates of our legacy English and Mathematics Functional Skills (3748) qualifications. The extension will allow sufficient time for continuing learners only to complete outstanding assessments given the ongoing disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic. We will not be re-opening these qualifications for new registrations.

We will publish revised dates for final assessments and examinations and quality assurance activity on our qualification page once confirmed.

Level 2 Functional Skills requirements in Apprenticeships

ESFA has announced that due to ongoing disruptions to assessments, it is extending the current temporary suspension of the rule requiring level 2 apprentices to study towards, and attempt, level 2 functional skills exams. The suspension will now be extended until 31 March 2021.

You should continue to refer to apprenticeship funding rules and other current guidance.

There have been no updates in relation to further Functional Skills relaxations for standards at Level 3 or above.

We continue to focus on a range of solutions to support the assessment of Functional Skills and gateway progression. 

Centre assessment grades

We have received queries about the possibility of submitting centre assessment grades for candidates who were due to take exams and assessments between 20 March and 31 July, but who had insufficient trusted evidence available at that time, perhaps due to limited learning or breaks in learning.  We have now received confirmation from the regulator that evidence generated beyond 31 July cannot be used to support a centre assessment grade, so unfortunately late grade submissions on behalf of those candidates cannot be considered.

However, it is still possible to submit centre assessment grades for candidates who were due to take exams and assessments between 20 March and 31 July and for whom trusted evidence was available at that time. 

Submitting additional centre assessment grades

If you wish to submit further centre assessment grades for eligible learners with trusted evidence, you will need to follow our current process.

2020-21 Adaptations

We also plan to publish details of 2020-21 adaptations for Functional Skills very soon, which we hope will also support learners to complete their Functional Skills qualifications where local restrictions apply.