ESOL Skills for Life News

Trinity’s ESOL Skills for Life qualifications are changing

Posted: 24 June 2014

We have recently worked with six other awarding organisations to produce common units for the QCF (Qualifications and Credit Framework) revision of our ESOL Skills for Life qualifications. These qualifications should go live to tie in with funding arrangements for the 2014/15 academic year. We anticipate that the new qualifications will consist of three individual Awards at each level, making up one overarching Certificate. Each mode would therefore be a qualification in its own right.

Once approved by Ofqual, we will be able to publish full details of the qualifications and their related sample materials.

Learn more about the changes and how these might affect Trinity Centres in our June update (PDF, 522KB)

 

Skills for Life update

Posted: 28 May 2014

Yesterday the Skills Funding Agency released a statement announcing that they are extending funding of the current Skills for Life qualification until December 2014.

We have yet to assess the full impact of this news for Trinity and our centres. The SFA statement advises providers to contact awarding organisations for exact details of the switch over date. We are currently still expecting to hear from Ofqual regarding accreditation of the new qualification and extension of the current one, so we are not able to provide exact details at this stage. However, as a result of this announcement, it seems likely that we should expect to run the current qualification until December and, pending accreditation, that the new qualification will go live by January 2015.

We will be emailing all of our centres shortly when we have heard from Ofqual on this matter and can provide more details.

 

Trinity’s ESOL Skills for Life qualifications are changing

Posted: March 2014

We're currently working with six other awarding organisations to produce common units for the QCF (Qualifications and Credit Framework) revision of our ESOL Skills for Life qualifications. We anticipate that the new qualifications will consist of three individual Awards at each level, making up one overarching Certificate. Each mode would therefore be a qualification in its own right.

Once approved by Ofqual, we will be able to publish full details of the qualifications and their related sample materials, hopefully in the summer term.

 

Why is Trinity revising its ESOL Skills for Life exams?

Posted: January 2014

New accreditation and funding requirements specified by Ofqual, BIS and the SFA require all ESOL Skills for Life qualifications to sit on the Qualification and Credit Framework (QCF).

What are the implications of this shift to the QCF?

• All the qualification units are based on the Adult ESOL Core Curriculum, so there will be no major changes to teaching focus.
• The QCF has a different model of assessment to the NQF. Each unit has a number of Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria, and each of the Assessment Criteria must be met to pass the qualification. The Awarding Organisations – who are working together to write the core QCF units - are very alert to this and great care is being taken to write units so that assessments can be created which ensure candidates are provided with every opportunity to fulfil each of the assessment criteria.

 

Latest Resources

Level 1 and Level 2 Reading Exam

Posted: January 2014

New tests: our new Level 1 and Level 2 Reading tests (to replace the NLT) have been accredited by Ofqual (PDF, 230KB). This means that our full suite of ESOL Skills for Life qualifications are Ofqual accredited.

Visit the Level 1 and Level 2 resources page to view the Test specifications and sample papers.

You can book the new Reading tests through Trinity Online as usual. There are five opportunities to take this exam on an on-demand basis.

NLT: Candidates registered on Trinity Online for Level 1 or Level 2 qualifications before 30 September 2013 may take the NLT if they have prepared for it. However, centres must contact our Written Papers Co-ordinator at: jaume.deharo@trinitycollege.co.uk to arrange this.

Exam fees 2014 (PDF, 149KB) for all ESOL Skills for Life and Step exams valid until August 2014. Minimum fees and surcharges for late entries apply.

Pass rates (PDF, 62KB) per level and mode for ESOL Skills for Life for the September 2012 - August 2013 academic year.