Students at Launchpad will have the opportunity to take part in Functional Skills English lessons.

The specification offers two equally-balanced papers across both levels. The Reading and Writing sources and stimuli provide learners with real-world situations and texts to engage their interest. The speaking, listening and communicating unit will emphasise the wider benefits that speaking and listening skills have for learners. It allows learners to develop their presentation and discussion skills around topics of their own choice. This will enable the full range of learners to engage in a way that is tailored to their experiences and areas of interest.

What is Launchpad aiming to achieve through its Functional Skills English curriculum?
Our goal is to equip young people with the knowledge, understanding, attitudes and practical skills to live healthily, safely, productively and responsibly in today’s society. We also aim to develop skills and attributes such as resilience, self-esteem, risk-management, and critical thinking in the context of two sections:

• Reading
• Writing
• Speaking, listening and communicating#

Rationale

This course has been designed to inspire and motivate learners, providing appropriate opportunities to demonstrate their competence in English using real-world situations. With scheduled multiple opportunities for assessment you can tailor your delivery for learners of all abilities. The specification will enable learners to develop confidence in English skills, preparing them for progression into employment or further education and for use in their daily lives.

Units of study:

The learners will study the following topics:

Reading
Learners will be required to engage with a range of straightforward texts on a range of topics. These will be of varying lengths that instruct, describe, explain or persuade. At Level 2 learners will also need to engage with some complex texts.

Writing
At Level 1 learners will be required to produce straightforward texts such as narratives, instructions, explanations and reports of varying lengths.
At Level 2 learners will be required to produce straightforward and complex texts such as articles, narratives, explanations and reports of varying lengths.

Speaking, listening and communicating
At Level 1 learners will need to complete tasks that require them to either respond to or produce narratives, explanations, discussions, instructions, information, descriptions and presentations all of varying lengths.
At Level 2 learners will need to complete tasks that require them to either respond to or produce extended narratives and information (information may be on technical, concrete or abstract topics), discussions, detailed explanations and presentations, all of varying lengths.

Progression Opportunities
Learners who achieve these qualifications at Level 2 will have an equivalency to a Grade 4 at GCSE therefore negating the need to resit GCSE English at college if a grade 4 has not been achieved.