SUPPORT


T LEVELS AND THE ‘GENERAL ENGLISH COMPETENCIES’


Students’ English abilities in technical education and training need to be up to scratch. But help is at hand for them and their teachers. By Claire Collins


A


head of the first T Levels that are starting in September 2020 (in digital, education and childcare, and construction), I have been


leading a project for the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) this year, developing CPD materials for their T Level Teacher Development Programme. A team from ccConsultancy and


WMCETT (West Midlands Centre for Excellence in Teacher Training) has been focusing on the development of embedded English, maths and digital skills in T Levels.


This is embedding in its ‘pure’ sense.


It’s not about merging English, maths and digital learning aims (for Functional Skills or GCSE, for example) with technical aims. It is about developing English, maths and digital skills already present in technical practices. T Level learners will need to have


Level 2 Functional Skills or grade 4+ GCSEs in English and maths as exit requirements. Our job is to develop CPD for teachers so that they can confidently support English, maths and digital aspects of technical practices. As a way of framing the embedded


RESOURCES SHAPING SUCCESS IN ENGLISH AND MATHS


The ETF offers a comprehensive range of professional development courses and resources under Shaping Success to support effective teaching of English and maths for teachers of GCSE, Functional Skills, apprenticeships and study programmes. Shaping Success has been carefully designed to provide solutions to concerns around progress in post-16 English and maths attainment. Each year around 4,000 practitioners complete face-to-face, online and blended courses to improve their teaching and assessment approaches in English and maths.


English and maths Regional Specialist Leads (see details on the facing page) support the ETF programmes, delivering advice and guidance and identifying the best options available for organisations and individuals on a local level. In addition to Shaping Success, the ETF offers a range of other courses,


14 AUTUMN 2019 • InTUITIONENGLISH


resources and support including: • Free online modules and self-evaluation tools to develop your personal maths or English skills at level 2, with some extension to level 3.


• Interactive webinars that offer the opportunity to collaborate with other practitioners, learn new strategies and share best practice. These sessions are unique learning experiences, so don’t miss out.


• Ten Top Tips – see Excellence Gateway bit.ly/ETFTenTopTips – provide advice and guidance to improve outcomes.


• Guidelines for assessment and tracking, co-created with the sector, detailing expectations of effective practice in assessment for learning.


• A range of tools, resources and case studies on the Excellence Gateway, our resources portal with dedicated maths and English exhibition sites.


• Resources for teaching ESOL (English


for Speakers of Other Languages) learners in mainstream FE classrooms as well as dedicated ESOL resources for practitioners teaching learners new to ESOL.


• Resources to support the promotion of maths and English in work experience


• Practitioners being invited to join the ETF’s Professional Exchange Networks (PENs) to explore regional challenges and reflect on effective practice in the sector.


• Strategic visits offering organisational level support. Providers can also engage with our dedicated team of specialists to receive a maths and English strategic support visit to identify high-level areas of need.


To discuss a strategic visit, contact imke.djouadj@etfoundation.co.uk or your local Regional English Lead. (See the list of contacts on the facing page).


aspects of technical practices, the Department for Education (DfE) is developing a set of ‘General English Competencies’ (GECs) – as well as maths and digital – that arise from technical practices. The GECs (and General Mathematical Competences and General Digital Competencies) are present to a greater or lesser degree in all T Levels. In real technical practices, GECs usually interconnect with each other. For example, an interaction with a client at a software design company could include “Convey technical information to different


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