The Key Skills Qualification provides students with the opportunity to extend their learning and improve their chances of employment.

However, there are barriers which have to be overcome in order to get student 'buy in' and continued interest. Emphasis can be placed on the fact that Key Skills are transferable skills which allow the student to add to his/her achievements and being good at them will allow the student to succeed in education, training, work and even their everyday lives.

The Levels

The main emphasis of the site is on levels 2 &3.

Level 2 correlates to GCSE A*-C/Intermediate GNVQ/NVQ2 and 10 UCAS points. It builds on Level 1 by allowing students greater responsibility for the selection and application of their Key Skills - although the tasks remain fairly straightforward.

Level 3 correlates to AS/A levels/AVCE/NVQ3 and is worth 20 UCAS points.

Students are expected to be able to deal with more complex tasks and demonstrate their reasoning and decision making.

The Site

The site aims to help you with co-operative, problem solving, student-centred learning.

You can use the site to help with target setting and action planning, and you will be able to direct students to use the variety of resources to underpin their learning. Completion of the modules will help students to achieve specified learning outcomes.

The site focuses on the three core Key Skill areas: Communication, Application of Number and Information Technology and can help your students in the following ways.

Communication

In order to develop effective speaking, listening, reading and writing techniques students need to be able to deliver clear and engaging presentations. They also need to be able to produce good reports and the two 'Writing a Good Report' modules in the Communication section can be used to help in giving direction for the building of portfolios.

Number

Interpreting numerical information is part of everyday life and the emphasis in the Number section is very much on extending a student's ability to make calculations, deal with measurement and get the necessary information from graphs and diagrams. The ability to work with numbers is set in the context of Shopping and VAT and Booking a Holiday.

IT

In order to build computer literacy this section of the site focuses on Computer Safety, Viruses, Spreadsheets and Databases. The interactive components allow students to put their understanding into action and then use this to support their level 2 and level 3 assignments.

Extra

The Extra section can be used in a variety of ways. The self diagnosis available in Learning styles includes interactive questionnaires which allow students to find out just what type of learners they are. There are modules which provide guidance in research, mind mapping and time management as well as a short module about keeping a learning log.

Assignments

The site can be used to add to student development and to the eventual synthesis of their work. It is very much a 'how to' site. You'll find some assignment ideas on the Tutors Home Page.

Exemplar papers

There are Exemplar test papers within each of the core Key Skill areas of the site.

Each test paper gives a flavour of what the actual exam will be testing.

The Contenders

The Contenders is a series of six programmes which provide a fun resource for Key Skills and Careers teachers. A group of young volunteers have been placed in different sectors of the working community - media, construction, advertising, IT, financial services and hotel management. The Contenders are then assessed as to their Key Skill ability within the work place. The programmes dramatically demonstrate how these skills are not only essential for survival but are a pre-requisite for success, promotion and a decent salary! You can see clips from the series in the Key Skills Gallery.

Where to go for help?

The Key Skills site is very much in its infancy and has been launched with the proviso that you tell us what you like, what you don't like and what else you would like to see. We’re always keen to hear from tutors who’d like to be involved, so if you’re an experienced Key Skills tutor , why not get in touch and send us an email using the following address - [email protected].