Essential Skills OCR

Essential Skills (OCR)

ESSENTIAL SKILLS (OCR)

Campus: Cheadle and Marple

(15.09.08)

Course outline

The compulsory Essential Skills programme is designed to improve your skills in:

Numeracy

Literacy

Information Communication Technology

There is a requirement for you to achieve a level 2 qualification (GCSE A*-C or Key Skill / Basic Skill Level 2) in Numeracy (or Maths), Literacy (or English) and IT, where you have not already done so.

Essential skills are designed to complement your main programme and encourage you to broaden your education.

Special entry requirements

At the time of your enrolment in College we will review your existing qualification in GCSEs and Key/Basic Skills.

We will tell you where you will need to begin working to improve your skills.

How you will learn

In your first year you will have at least 1 weekly lesson in one of our Essential Skills learning areas. The structured lessons are taught by qualified teachers who will help you gather the required evidence and practice gaining the skills for the test.

You will also have access to our purpose built learning centres that are well equipped with the latest computer hardware and software. There is also a range of materials that will help you to improve your skills in the areas of Numeracy, Literacy and Information Communication Technology.

These include:

Resources dedicated to Numeracy and Literacy

Training videos

Assignment material

IT worksheets and on line exercises

CD-ROM materials and the college Virtual Learning Environment which is constantly being updated.

How you will be assessed

Essential Skills are assessed in two ways:

By gathering together a portfolio of practical work (Key Skills only)

By sitting an external test (Key and Basic Skills)

It is possible to make use of practical work carried out for your main subjects as Key Skills evidence for your portfolio as well as the practical work that you will carry out each lesson.

Other complementary subjects

As you will be studying Essential Skills alongside your main programme of study it will improve your all round skills and help you in your other subjects.

What you can do after this course

Essential Skills will help you cope with the transition

from school or college to university and mean that you start off with sound underpinning skills to follow degree programmes successfully. Many University courses accept tarif points for Key Skills, and many more take account of Key Skills achievements.

You will also increase your employability by demonstrating excellent Key Skills to meet the requirements of employers.

What the students say

It helped me have more confidence in writing.

The course was enjoyable which made it easy to learn.