Functional Skills tutors for English and maths

For Functional Skills maths in England, learning spans number, measures, shape and space, and handling information and data. Entry Level maths focuses on simple problems in familiar situations. Level 1 includes connected steps, while Level 2 requires complex problems with at least two connected steps. A lesson should establish whether the difficulty is the calculation itself, reading the problem or deciding which steps to use.

Level 1 includes simple percentage increases and decreases in multiples of 5%. Here is an illustrative task for that skill, not an official exam question. A jacket costs £80 and has a 15% discount. A learner subtracts £15 and answers £65, treating a percentage as a cash amount. Instead, find 10% of £80 (£8), then 5% (£4). The discount is £12, so the sale price is £80 − £12 = £68. The unit matters: 15% describes a proportion of the original price.

To check understanding, try a £60 jacket with the same 15% discount: 10% is £6, 5% is £3 and the sale price is £51. Explain why the discount is different even though the percentage is unchanged. If finding 10% is still difficult, practise that first; if the calculation is secure, move to a different context and explain why the method fits. Use your own course materials to choose work at the appropriate level.

At Level 2, you may also need to find an original value after a percentage change. If the sale price is £68 after 15% off, £68 represents 85% of the original: £68 ÷ 0.85 = £80. Adding 15% to £68 would use the wrong starting amount. That difference is a useful check when discussing the level of help you need.

Functional Skills English in England includes reading, writing, and speaking, listening and communicating. Entry Level work progresses from short, simple messages towards structured, straightforward texts. Level 1 includes comparing ideas across texts; Level 2 adds attention to how ideas are conveyed and to implicit meaning. Tell the tutor which component needs work. Someone who can explain an idea aloud may need help organising it in writing; someone who reads each word accurately may still miss the action requested in a notice.

For an illustrative reading-to-writing task, use this notice: “Your appointment is on Tuesday at 10 am. If you cannot attend, call before Monday at 4 pm.” A learner who says “I need to call on Tuesday” has found the appointment day but missed the separate deadline. Mark the appointment time and the time by which the call must be made, then explain which one answers the question.

For a writing follow-up, imagine the practice task asks for an email requesting a different appointment. “I can’t come” leaves the reader to guess which appointment and what is needed. A clearer response is: “I cannot attend my appointment on Tuesday at 10 am. Could you offer another time, please?” Identify the purpose, include the necessary detail, then check sentence endings and spelling. This is writing practice; the original notice still instructs the person to telephone.

For spoken communication, rehearse explaining the request and answering a follow-up question. Ask the tutor to use the actual level’s criteria when choosing texts, writing tasks and discussions.

During a free introductory meeting, describe what happens when a task becomes difficult. Do you lose your place in a long question, forget a sequence of steps, avoid reading aloud, or need longer to organise an answer? Ask the tutor how they would respond, and about their relevant experience. This meeting is for discussing fit and arrangements, rather than a full teaching lesson.

If you have dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADHD or another learning need, discuss the particular barrier and any strategies that already help. Agree possible lesson changes with the tutor, such as one instruction at a time, uncluttered text, a written step list or planned pauses. Review whether each change helps you complete the task with less prompting.

Bring a recent attempt, including unfinished work. The useful starting point is what you can do independently and where help becomes necessary. Agree a small number of priorities and a date to review them.