Open Awards Level 1 Functional Skills Qualification in English

To achieve the qualification, learners must successfully pass all three assessment
components at Entry Level 1:

•  One externally set, internally marked and externally quality assured
  assessment in reading
• One externally, internally marked and externally quality assured assessment
  in writing
• One internally or externally set, and internally marked assessment
  (comprising of three sub-tasks) in speaking, listening and communicating
  (SLC)

Open Awards Entry Level (1-3) Functional Skills Qualifications in English supports learners to be able to speak, listen, communicate, read and write with increasing clarity, accuracy and effectiveness at each level. They will be able to:

• Listen, understand and respond to verbal communication in a range of
  familiar contexts;
• Acquire an understanding of everyday words and their uses and
  effects, and apply this understanding in different contexts;
• Read with accuracy straightforward texts encountered in everyday life
  and work, and develop confidence to read more widely; and
• Write straightforward texts and documents with clarity and
  effectiveness, and demonstrate a sound grasp of spelling,
  punctuation and grammar.Learners should, with some direction and guidance, be able to apply these functional skills to informal and some formal contexts, in familiar situations.

The SLC assessment is made up of three sub-tasks:

Task 1 (2 minutes): the learner says the names of the letters of the alphabet.

Task 2 (3 minutes): the learner follows single-step instructions.

Task 3 (10 minutes): the learner participates in simple discussions or exchanges

• asking and responding to questions
• making requests
• making statements
• communicating feelings and opinions.

At this level, learners can complete their SLC assessment as a 1-1 activity with their tutor or as part of a small group (3-5 learners).

The learner must achieve a pass on each scope of study to pass the assessment.

For SLC, there is no boundary mark. A ‘Pass’ is awarded to learners who meet the Pass criteria (outlined below).

The criteria for a Pass Performance descriptor

Pass

Learners generally demonstrate the requirements for the level

• consistently,
• effectively, and
• to an appropriate degree for that level.

Overall performance across the range of requirements for the level is secure; any insufficient demonstration of any individual content statement is balanced by appropriate demonstration of that same content statement elsewhere.

The assessment criteria that learners are required to meet in order to demonstrate this performance (described by the pass descriptor) are listed under the Scope of Study above and set out in the ‘Record of Learner Achievement and Assessment Record Sheet’.

Each Scope of Study must be achieved in order for a ‘Pass’ to be awarded for this component.