Functional SkillsEnglish Level 1

FAQs for English

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Can English Level 1 or English Level 2 Reading and Writing assessments be completed in the same answer booklet?

No, learners must use the separate answer booklets provided as Reading and Writing are separate assessments.

Can a learner achieve certification of the three separate English components at different levels?

Yes, OCR will issue a full award certificate at the level of the lowest component achieved.

What subjects would be suitable for Speaking, Listening and Communication (SLC) to meet the assessment requirements?

Any unfamiliar subject that interests the learner(s) will be acceptable (taking into account issues of taste and decency) or the subject could be taken from the Reading or Writing assessment once that is completed.

Do I need any assessor/verifier qualifications in order to internally assess SLC?

No specific qualifications are required, but the internal assessor must be fully conversant with the Functional Skills Standards.

I have a learner who has achieved an English component with another awarding body; can I transfer these component(s) to OCR to complete their qualification?

Yes, you can do this until 31 August 2015. To apply, please complete and send the Application for the transfer of Functional Skills English Components (A124) (PDF, 138 KB) form.

Can learners use a dictionary or spellchecker for the Writing component?

Learners can use a paper or electronic (on-screen) dictionary or automatic spelling/grammar checker for Writing.

Can we use a reader to read out all areas of the Writing component?

Yes, a reader may be used to read the instructions, questions and source material to allow the learner to answer the Writing component at all levels

Can we use a scribe to write a learner’s responses to the Reading component?

Yes a scribe may be used at all levels of the Reading component

What should I complete and return to the OCR examiner-moderator for SLC Level 1?

Completed Assessors Observation Records and any supporting discussion/exchange notes that cover one formal/informal discussion (within a group) about unfamiliar subjects and one formal/informal exchange (one to one) about unfamiliar subjects for each candidate.

For each claim you make (which may include a number of candidates), you will need to submit:

What is meant by 'familiar' and 'unfamiliar' when carrying out SLC assessments?

Familiar and unfamiliar refer to the subject of the exchange / discussion or presentation being carried out.  The other person(s) involved can be either familiar or unfamiliar to the learner being assessed.

Can the two parts of the SLC unit be assessed on separate days?

Yes, so long as the timings of the assessment (as given in the SLC Assessment Guidance) are not exceeded.

When claiming certification, must all 3 components (e.g. Reading, Writing and SLC) be submitted to OCR at the same time?

No, centres can build up component achievement as they go along (e.g. Reading Set A, Writing Set A, SLC Set B). OCR will bundle the component achievements together to issue a full award certificate at the level of the lowest component achieved.

Can completed tasks from different sets of Live Assignments be bundled together to claim a component? (e.g. Task C from Set A and Task D from Set B, to claim the Reading component)?

No, any claim for a component must use the required tasks from the same set of Live Assignments (e.g. Set B), and not be a mix of tasks from different sets (e.g. Set A and Set B).

Can certification of the 3 separate components be at different levels?

Yes, OCR will issue a full award certificate at the level of the lowest component achieved.

My learners have written 8 sentences for a Writing task that requires only 4 sentences, should the internal assessor penalise the learners for writing more?

No, but there is more chance of errors in Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPAG), which if found by the OCR Examiner-Moderator, could result in the task being failed.

I have changed the context of the discussion for SLC, is there any additional documentation I must include when submitting evidence to the OCR Examiner-Moderator?

Please include a single copy of the contextualised Learner Guidance Sheet (so the OCR Examiner-Moderator can check suitability). As the assessment criteria doesn’t change there is no need to include a Tutor Guidance Sheet.