Course Overview

Functional Skills are ideal if you wish to get ahead and up skill for progression in the workplace or prior to enrolling onto a higher level programme.

You will learn English and communication skills required in everyday life, education and work.

Key Facts

  • Attendance: You will not attend College for tuition, instead you will work through the course materials on your own with telephone and email support from an allocated Distance Learning Tutor.  All resources, support and assessment will be provided online via our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). You will, however, be required to attend one of The College of Animal Welfare centres to complete the online examination. It may be possible in some instances,  depending on your circumstances and the availability of an external centre, to undertake the examination at an external City & Guilds exam centre. In such cases where this is possible additional exam fees may be incurred”.
  • Duration: Six months
  • Start Date: You may start this programme at any time during the year.
  • Location: This online distance learning programme can be studied anywhere in the UK.
Course Content

Over the course of the qualification you will look at:

Speaking, listening and communication

  • Take full part in formal and informal discussions and exchanges that include unfamiliar subjects

Reading

  • Read and understand a range of straightforward texts

Writing

  • Write a range of texts to communicate information, ideas and opinions, using formats and styles suitable for their purpose and audience

Assessment

You will undertake practical assessments (two discussions) and pass two online examinations (one reading and one writing examination). You will be required to attend a City & Guilds examination centre to complete the online examinations; these can be arranged near to your home where possible.

Entry Requirements

There are no formal academic entry requirements.

Please note that if you require Functional Skills in both English and Maths you will need to complete one qualification and then the other, any funding availability will be assessed for each qualification independently.

Course Fees

Course fees can either be paid in full before the beginning of the course, or via our ‘Pay As You Learn’ monthly payment scheme. A CAW Loans2Learn scheme is also available, details can be found below.

If you have not achieved your qualification by the planned end date detailed in your individual learning plan, you will be able to continue to receive support and access to your course by paying monthly direct debit payments until certification of your award.

Course Fees

Full Fee Pay As You Learn
£724 £121 per month

Awarding Body Fees: £21

* Awarding Body Fees are payable by all students or employers and recharged at cost and may be subject to change.

CAW Loans2Learn Scheme
The CAW Loans2Learn scheme is a personal loan that can help you to spread the cost of your course into manageable payments. The loan can be used to fully or partially cover your course fees (but does not cover any awarding body fees, such as enrolment and examination fees). More information can be found here.

Sources of financial help can be found on our student finance page. Before making any financial decision it is recommended that you seek advice from an independent source, for example the Money Advice Service.

These are current figures and may be subject to change.

What Next?

Achieving this qualification will increase your confidence and motivation. The key skills you gain will be valuable in the workplace or in any further learning.

Professionally, undertaking a qualification that demonstrates English and communication skills to employers can give you a competitive edge in the jobs market, meaning that more jobs and opportunities for promotion may become available to you.

Functional Skills form a vital part of all apprenticeship frameworks in England and can, in some cases, be used to progress onto high level programmes of study. Once you have completed this qualification you may wish to progress onto the Functional Skills English level 2 qualification. You may also wish to undertake a Functional Skills qualification in maths.