16. How quickly will the Level 1 and Level 2 examinations be marked? NOCN markers have a five-day turnaround for marking examination papers.

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1 1. Are the Functional Skills assessments on demand? The assessments are available on demand. Entry Level examination papers can be downloaded from the NOCN website. Level 1 and Level 2 examination papers are allocated at the time the registration(s) is processed and are available to download from QuartzWeb two working days before the assessment date. 2. Can candidates take the same paper more than once? No, candidates cannot sit the same paper twice. If the candidate needs to re-sit the examination, they will be required to complete a different examination paper (within the appropriate level). 3. Can a candidate register for different components at different levels? Yes, as the Functional Skills English qualification has three separate components (Reading/Writing/Speaking, Listening and Communication), each of these can be completed at different levels appropriate to the candidate s ability. The qualification will be awarded at the lowest level of component achieved. The qualification certificate will demonstrate that the candidate has achieved different levels of components within the qualification. 4. Can assessors read instructions to a candidate? Yes, the instructions/rubrics for Functional Skills examination papers can be read to candidates. In the case of the Reading component for English, only the tasks (questions) can be read to the candidate, the documents in the exam cannot and must be read by the learner themselves. 5. Can I register learners and book Level 1/Level 2 assessments at the same time? For Entry Level Functional Skills qualifications, NOCN prefers that registrations are completed as soon as possible. For Level 1 and Level 2 Functional Skills, candidates must be registered no less than five working days before the assessment date. The examination papers for these levels are allocated at the time as registrations are processed. The examination papers are available to download from QuartzWeb two working days before the agreed assessment date. 6. Can I use my own assessment or do I have to use NOCN s? At Entry Level, centres can contextualise their assessments using the guidance on the assessment mark sheet, a copy of the contextualised assessment should be made available to NOCN or the External Verifier upon request. At Entry Level only, if you decide to design a totally new assessment, this must be submitted to NOCN for approval no less than 15 working days before the planned assessment date. This is to allow the assessment to be standardised in the same way as other NOCN devised assessments. When NOCN is satisfied that the assessment meets the criteria, the centre will receive confirmation that it has been approved. The centre must give permission for the assessment to be added to the assessment bank available to all other centres. (Continued over) 1

2 NOCN provide assessments for Functional Skills Level 1 and Level 2 Reading and Writing, therefore centres cannot write or contextualise their own assessments. For the Speaking, Listening, Communication component, centres can contextualise or write their own assessment tasks. Where centres devise their own tasks, it is important that they cover the whole of the skills standards, coverage and range statements. Discussions or exchanges must include both formal and informal contexts. Although the contextualised assessments do not have to be approved by NOCN before use, copies of the Speaking, Listening and Communication activities should be made available to the External Verifier at the centre visit. The NOCN assessment record sheets are generic and so should be utilised by the centre to assess centredevised activities. 7. Can candidates use a computer for Functional Skills assessments? Yes, candidates may use a computer to complete Functional Skills examination papers, the spell and grammar check would need to be disabled in this instance. This is stated within the rubric on all Functional Skills English examination papers. Once the candidate has completed the examination, their answers need to be saved so that the invigilator can later print out the candidate s answers and attach them to the examination paper itself. This would then be sent to NOCN in the usual manner along with manually-completed examination papers. Word-processing an examination paper in this way is not classified as a reasonable adjustment and therefore NOCN does not need to be made aware in advance. Centres only need to apply for reasonable adjustments if a candidate requires extra time, additional aid, etc. 8. Can spell check or dictionaries be used during Functional Skills English examinations? Candidates may use dictionaries during a Functional Skills examination. With relation to ICT, the spell and grammar check needs to be deactivated, however, traditional dictionaries can be used. 9. Do I need special approval to run a Functional Skills qualification? Yes, during the Centre Approval application or Additional Qualification Approval process, a centre would have to provide evidence to demonstrate that any tutors who will be delivering Functional Skills qualifications have the required qualifications, knowledge and experience. According to the Functional Skills Qualification Specification, tutors and assessors must have, or be working towards, a teaching qualification and have evidence of relevant Continuous Professional Development in Functional Skills. NOCN will need to see a copy of the certificate before approving tutors and assessors. CVs will be reviewed by the External Verifier during their visit. 10. Do I need to do anything once I receive the Functional Skills certificates? All NOCN centres are required to have a procedure in place for checking certificates received against assessment records, prior to issuing them to learners. This procedure will be reviewed during External Verification visits. This procedure applies for all qualifications including Functional Skills. 2

3 11. Do I need to inform NOCN about the assessment dates which our centre has identified? Yes, centres are required to inform NOCN of examination dates for Level 1 and Level 2 Functional Skills. This is done via the e-registration process on QuartzWeb, where both the Start Date and End Date should be entered as the examination date. User guides for this process are available in both written and video format on QuartzWeb. NOCN does not need to know the date for Entry Level Functional Skills examinations. However, centres are required to keep records of these dates. This data will be reviewed during External Verification visits. 12. Do I need to inform NOCN if a candidate is resitting a Level 1 or Level 2 examination? If a candidate is resitting a Level 1 or Level 2 Functional Skills examination, the centre should register for the examination in the usual way, ensuring the candidate s details match the existing record. This allows NOCN to match the candidate records internally, where a report is then run to determine whether a learner has previously sat a specific examination paper. If a resit has been identified, NOCN will allocate a different examination paper. 13. Do I use an RAC to claim achievements? Yes, for Entry Level Functional Skills and the Level 1 and Level 2 Speaking, Listening and Communication component. This is generated in the usual way from QuartzWeb. All other Level 1 and Level 2 Functional Skills examinations are externally marked, therefore an assessment front cover sheet is used rather than an RAC. 14. What is the procedure for marking Functional Skills examination papers? Entry Level Functional Skills and Level 1 and Level 2 Speaking, Listening and Communication component are internally marked, internally verified at the centre then externally verified by an NOCN external verifier. All other Level 1 and 2 Functional Skills examination papers are to be sent to NOCN 48 hours after the examination has been completed for them to be externally marked. 15. How much do NOCN Functional Skills qualifications cost? Entry Level Functional Skills examinations cost per candidate. Level 1 and Level 2 Mathematics and ICT examinations cost per candidate. Level 1 and Level 2 Reading and Writing examinations each cost 6.75 per candidate. Level 1 and Level 2 Speaking, Listening and Communication examinations are free of charge. Re-sits Entry Level Functional Skills examination resits are free. Level 1 and Level 2 Functional Skills examination resits each cost their original price. 3

4 16. How quickly will the Level 1 and Level 2 examinations be marked? NOCN markers have a five-day turnaround for marking examination papers. 17. How will I get the results for Level 1 and Level 2 examination papers? Once NOCN have processed the results from the markers, an is sent to the Centre Contact advising them that results are available to be viewed on QuartzWeb under the details of that particular run. 18. If a candidate fails an examination, how soon after can they resit? The assessor decides when a candidate is ready to re-sit their Functional Skills examination. It is suggested that a two week teaching period takes place before the candidate is registered to re-sit. 19. One of my learners falls under DDA exemptions. What do I need to do? Complete a Reasonable Adjustment form specifying the access arrangement and needs of the learner. Complete the form according to the leaners specific needs and requirements to enable the exam to be taken. For further guidance please refer to the NOCN Guide to Centres; Reasonable Adjustment and Special Considerations. Please contact compliance@nocn.org.uk if you have any queries. 20. What Access and Inclusion arrangements are available? There are a range of access adjustments that can be accessed from extra time, reader, scribe, ICT use and colour paper. Access arrangements available are stipulated in the NOCN Guide to Centres; Reasonable Adjustment and Special Considerations. Please contact compliance@nocn.org.uk if you have any queries. 21. How to I access Functional Skills examination papers? For Entry Level Functional Skills and Level 1 and Level 2 Speaking, Listening and Communication components, the examination papers are available in a secure area of the NOCN website. The username and password for the secure area is provided to centres when they are approved as an NOCN Centre. However, to gain this information, please contact NOCN. All other Level 1 and Level 2 Functional Skills examination papers will be allocated at the time the registrations are processed. Examination papers are made available via QuartzWeb under the specific run details two working days before the examination date. 22. How do I book Functional Skills assessments? There are user guides available on QuartzWeb in both written and video format. These provide a step-by-step process for registrations. 4

5 As NOCN allocate examination papers for Level 1 and Level 2 Functional Skills, centres are required to register learners no fewer than 5 working days before the examination date. Level 1 and Level 2 Functional Skills English is split into three components (Reading, Writing and Speaking, Listening and Communication). Candidates need to be registered against each component. 23. How do I get a ULN? Unique Learner Numbers (ULNs) are available from the Learner Registration Service at the Learning Records Service. Information on how to register is available at: How do we become an NOCN centre? To become an NOCN centre, you can either apply via the NOCN website and completed a New Business Enquiry Form or call NOCN directly at What are the Quality arrangements for internally-marked Functional Skills assessments? Only Entry Level Functional Skills and Level 1 and Level 2 Speaking, Listening and Communication component are internally marked. Centres must use the mark schemes provided by NOCN and the internal verification should be a second mark of the examination papers. 10% of all Speaking, Listening and Communication examinations should be observed by an Internal Verifier. For Level 1 and Level 2 Speaking, Listening and Communication examinations, the centre must maintain records and internal verification observation sheets. These will be reviewed by the External Verifier during visits. 26. What are the recommended Guided Learning Hours (GLH) for Functional Skills qualifications? Guided Learning Hours (GLH) are a guide to the amount of teacher-supervised or directed study time a learner will need to complete the learning needed for a qualification. NOCN recognises that every learner is different and the actual time taken may vary beyond the maximum and minimum shown. The total recommended guided learning hours for all qualifications are 45 hours. 27. What if candidates are unable to achieve an Entry Level 1 Functional Skills qualification? If a candidate is unable to achieve an Entry Level 1 Functional Skills qualification, there may be units within the NOCN Entry Level Award /Certificate/Diploma in Personal Progress (Entry 1) (QCF) that better suit the candidate s ability. 5

6 28. Which learning pathways are the qualifications part of? As NOCN are continually developing qualifications, learning pathways for qualifications regularly change. To ensure you are provided with the most current information about learning pathways contact NOCN directly on or, if you are a current centre, please contact your Account Manager directly. 29. Which Functional Skills qualifications are available through NOCN? NOCN Functional Skills qualifications are available at Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3, Level 1 and Level 2 in English, Mathematics and ICT. 30. When do the changes to the Level 2 Functional Skills examination papers begin? These changes are effective from registrations made on or after 1 December Within Functional Skills examination papers, how many marks is each question worth? The tasks across each paper and each level will carry different mark weightings. 32. Why has the style used in the Level 2 Functional Skills examination papers changed? Ofqual recently published a thematic review of Level 2 Functional Skills qualifications. The aim of the changes was to make Functional Skills qualifications more equivalent to GCSE qualifications. All Awarding Organisations have had to undergo this process. 33. How have the Level 2 Functional Skills examination papers changed? In meeting the requirements set by Ofqual, NOCN has removed the scaffolding from its Level 2 Functional Skills examinations. The scaffolding refers to prompts given to the candidate within the tasks. In addition to this, to aid in the authentication and administration of the examination papers, each page of the new Level 2 Functional Skills examination papers has a footer where the candidate is required to enter their name and centre. The centre should decide when these footers are completed. Best practice would either be: to ask the candidate to fill them in after they receive the examination paper but before the examination begins or, once the papers have been collected, a member of staff completes each page on behalf of the candidate. A centre is unable to type the name and number for each candidate prior to the examination, as the centre receives them in PDF format and so the documents cannot be edited in this way. Please note that these changes will not affect the qualification titles or qualification numbers, nor will the assessment criteria change. Furthermore, Functional Skills certificates will remain the same and therefore will not demonstrate whether a candidate has achieved the qualification using the original or the updated style of examination papers. 6

7 34. Will the Speaking, Listening and Communication component of the new Level 2 Functional Skills examination papers be changing? NOCN will be reviewing the Speaking, Listening and Communication component for Level 2 Functional Skills examinations. However, it is likely that not much will be altered to this component. 35. What does positive marking mean? When marking Functional Skills examination papers, markers apply a positive marking technique which means that candidates cannot lose marks or be penalised for incorrect answers. Markers should not mark candidates down or remove marks for incorrect answers and should only awarded marks for what candidates have answered correctly. For example, if a candidate expresses an answer as 5.40p they would not be penalised for using p where it was not needed. They would still gain the mark for a correct answer, regardless of it being expressed incorrectly. 36. Once the new style of Level 2 Functional Skills examination papers are available, will the old style papers be available as sample papers? The old papers have been rewritten without the scaffolding to bring them in line with the new style of Level 2 Functional Skills examination papers. This allows candidates to have the opportunity to sit a sample paper in the same style that their examination will be. If you are delivering the new style of papers, we do not recommend using the old style papers as sample papers because they will be stylistically different which may disadvantage candidates. Any sample assessment material will be put on the website with Sample written in the header of the examination paper so that centres can differentiate between live and sample assessments. 37. If a candidate fails an examination, how can a centre request feedback on the candidate s performance? Feedback can be requested from NOCN, there is a cost for this element. 38. Does the new style of Level 2 Functional Skills examination papers include a set pass-mark? The new style exams have a set pass mark. The pass mark will be verified and adjusted accordingly through a benchmark review. All papers are standardised; this means that the new papers will have a set mark that the paper is out of. 39. Will other Functional Skills examinations at other levels be changing? NOCN will review the examinations at other levels in the future. There will be standardisation events for these changes as there have been for the Level 2 changes. 7

8 40. Are learners expected to fill the answer boxes provided in the examination paper? It is perfectly acceptable for a learner to use extra pages to answer a question or to not use all the space provided. NOCN provides additional sheets of paper with the same formatting as the examination paper for learners to use if they require it. The size of the answer boxes in the examinations papers is a formatting choice, rather than a prompt to the learner about the length of their answer. 41. Do the themes of the examination papers continue from Entry Level through to Level 2? Some papers contain themes which are continued throughout all the NOCN Functional Skills levels. However, the new papers contain some new themes in an attempt to make them more functional. 42. For Functional Skills examinations, will candidates be marked for their drafting or planning? For Entry Level 1 and 2 Functional Skills Writing examinations, the candidate s plan is not marked, at Entry level 3, the draft and plan is marked in accordance with the standards. Levels 1 and 2 do not incorporate a plan and draft, there are no set standards for this element. 43. What level of GCSE is Level 2 Functional Skills equivalent to? Level 2 Functional Skills is classed as an Adult equivalent to a grade A* to C, GCSE. 44. Is there a syllabus for NOCN Functional Skills? NOCN does not provide a syllabus for Functional Skills qualifications. Qualification specifications for Functional Skills are available on our website which explain how the qualifications can be achieved at each level. These specifications are available here. 45. What is the reason for extending the time limit on the new Level 2 Functional Skills examination papers? In order to bring the Level 2 Functional Skills examination papers in line with their GCSE equivalents, the time limit has been extended. 46. Is it possible for centres to print examination papers in different coloured paper for their candidate? If a candidate requires their Functional Skills examination paper to be printed on different coloured paper, the centre should submit a Reasonable Adjustment Request Form detailing the request and providing details and evidence about the learner s need. The form should also be kept at the centre for the External Verifier to review during a visit. (Continued over) 8

9 The centre should take responsibility for the security of the assessment material and for ensuring that the entire document is copied, once this request has been approved. The candidate may be penalised for any errors in his/her script which occur as a result of incomplete copying of the document. 47. The Speaking, Listening and Communication component for Level 1 and Level 2 Functional Skills English requires candidates to be assessed in groups, however some centres teach only one learner at a time. How can this be resolved? Where the assessment for the Speaking, Listening and Communication component for Level 1 or Level 2 Functional Skills English requires a group of candidates but the centre only has one or two candidates, NOCN advises that centre staff take part in group work. 48. For Functional Skills Writing components, is it okay for learners to abbreviate words? (For instance, writing H&S instead of Health and Safety?) If a learner abbreviates a word in the body of a writing assessment, they should have written the word in full once before. 49. If a candidate is writing a letter for the writing component of their examination, should they include an address? As the NOCN Functional Skills qualifications assess subjects in a functional setting, then candidates should always include an address when writing a letter. Without an address, a letter is not functional. However, it does not matter where the learner writes this address, as the formatting of formal letters differs from person to person. 50. If a candidate has been informed that they have passed an examination and then the pass mark changes following a sample by the Principle Examiner, could the candidate then fail? Samples are completed before awarding to ensure that this does not happen. However, if this is not the case, the candidate would not have their achievement removed or certificate recalled. The marker would be advised of the changes. If you have any Functional Skills related Questions, please compliance@nocn.org.uk or call the team on