Since the demise of the Excellence Gateway (EG) on September 30 2023, there is no official Government backed website where the old Skills for Life core curricula are available. The EG has (partially) migrated to the Education & Training Foundation (ETF) at https://www.et-foundation.co.uk/ but there is no sign of these classic documents.
I’ve only briefly skimmed through but some of these new mastery resources for L1 & L2 Functional Maths (and GCSE resits) look amazing! Includes full 33 hour (22 x 1.5 hr lessons) schemes of work, lesson plans, handouts and slides.
8 May 2023 7pm improvements to page 4 extension question (upside down tear-off hints, scaffolding, etc.) and other minor adjustments).
he first in a new series of Cost of Living resources. Use research on the increasing costs of homemade sandwiches to calculate original costs from the previous year. Plus a challenging extension question about misleading statistics in a related newspaper article.
Level
Level 2
GCSE L1-5
Maths
FM L2.6 Calculate percentage change (any size increase & decrease), & original value after % change
Best buy and proportion questions - loosely based on setting up a nursery.
I have used this with my Functional Skills Maths and Employability group. We carried out a few examples as a group, left them on the board and I then gave them this worksheet to complete. I sat with the lower attainers and hand wrote in scaffolded examples whilst talking to them about it.
I have also used the same lesson plan for my GCSE resits as a revision task.
Editor's note
Level
Level 1
Level 2
GCSE L1-5
Maths
FM L1.17 Work with simple ratio & direct proportions
FM L2.11 Understand & calculate using ratios, direct proportion & inverse proportion
An updated version of 'Numeracy during the Summer' by Judith White (2006).
Numeracy during the summer. Keep your students’ skills going during the summer break with these ideas. One page for Entry Level learners, one for Levels 1/2.
Covers number, measures, shape and space, and data.
Level
Entry Level 2
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Level 2
Maths
FM Contextualised underpinning
General numeracy / maths
Adult numeracy curriculum
General
Generic resources for literacy, numeracy and beyond
Challenging set of questions based on an infographic from a recent TV Licensing annual review. Aimed at L1-2 but a few questions are Entry 2/3 - there are also a couple of "stretch questions" making a bridge to GCSE. Two main topics are covered: working with very large numbers and percentages. Extracting data, equivalents and ordering decimals are also touched upon.
Level
Level 1
Level 2
GCSE L1-5
Maths
FM Straightforward problem(s) with more than 1 step
FM Complex multi-step problem(s)
FM E3.21 Extract information from lists, tables, diagrams, charts; create frequency tables
FM L2.1 Read, write, order & compare positive & negative numbers of any size
FM L2.4 Identify & know the equivalence between fractions, decimals & percentages
FM L2.6 Calculate percentage change (any size increase & decrease), & original value after % change
FM L2.13 Calculate amounts of money, compound interest, percentage increases, decreases & discounts inc. tax & budgeting
Whilst I designed this resource for Adult Numeracy learners, it has found much use over the years across the maths cohorts I've worked with from pre-GCSE to ESOL, and with GCSE learners.
It is in Excel format - 3 tabs for different activities and the second Excel file is the solution sheet.
The sheets are formatted to print off as A4 landscape to allow learners to have their own copies to work on.
This has always worked well as a starter activity with learners in small groups (or teams) and having a competitive edge.
Level
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Level 2
GCSE L1-5
Maths
FM Context free underpinning
FM E3.14 Use & compare measures of length, capacity, weight & temperature using metric or imperial units to the nearest labelled or unlabelled division
FM L1.20 Convert between units of length, weight, capacity, money and time, in the same system
FM L2.14 Convert between metric & imperial units of length, weight & capacity using a) a conversion factor & b) a conversion graph
Devised for L1 as a first lesson for ratio utilising practical applications for ratio understanding. Please print the last slide as a worksheet to accompany the PPT.
Editor's notes
Introductory example using a KitKat bar, followed by other everyday applications including screen wash, hair tint and paints. Also (very nicely) covers equality & diversity with discussion about the proportion of White British players in the 2018 England squad.
Level
Level 1
Maths
FM Contextualised underpinning
FM L1.17 Work with simple ratio & direct proportions
This revision aid for L1/L2 (mainly L2) Pearson Edexcel Functional Skills maths gives a side-by-side comparison of perimeter, area and volume, the sort of units that would be involved with each and a worked Functional Skills example of each with a PAV mnemonic for remembering which is which. I have also looked through the last few years of Pearson Edexcel FS for the sorts of questions that require each one.
Note: All images from Pixabay, so do not need crediting.
Editor's note
Level
Level 2
GCSE L1-5
Maths
FM Complex multi-step problem(s)
FM L2.3 Evaluate expressions & make substitutions in given formulae in words & symbols
FM L2.16 Calculate perimeters & areas of 2-D shapes inc. triangles & circles and composite shapes including non-rectangular shapes (formulae given except for triangles & circles)
FM L2.17 Use formulae to find volumes & surface areas of 3-D shapes inc. cylinders (formulae given for 3-D shapes except cylinders)
