Functional Skills
Functional skills
Meet the Academic Team
Lucy Widdicombe
Lead Functional Skills Tutor
Emma Marsden
Functional Skills Learning Support Assistant
Owen Raven
Interventions Learning Support Mentor
Milo Kressinger
Marketing Apprentice
Bekka Wormalll
Hair and Beauty Tutor and Therapeutic Interventions
Functional Skills English & Maths
Build the essential literacy and numeracy skills that unlock success in work, training, and everyday life—delivered the CTSW way: practical, flexible, and tailored to each learner.
Why Functional Skills?
Real-world focus
Apply English and Maths to authentic tasks—emails, reports, budgeting, measurements, and data.
Recognised progression
Ofqual-regulated qualifications valued by employers, colleges, and apprenticeship providers.
Ideal alongside vocational learning
Content is contextualised to each learner’s trade or sector, making skills immediately useful.
How CTSW Delivers: Specialist Tutors, Real Impact
Subject specialists
Experienced English and Maths tutors with strong vocational insight help learners connect classroom skills to on-the-job tasks.
Contextualised teaching
Lessons link directly to industry scenarios (e.g., writing workplace communications, interpreting technical instructions, calculating materials and costs).
Flexible delivery
On-site, online, or blended—plus roll-on/roll-off starts to fit employer and learner schedules.
Small groups & 1:1 support
Targeted intervention where it makes the biggest difference, including stretch for confident learners.
Differentiation & Additional Support
We tailor academic content so every learner can progress confidently:
- Initial & diagnostic assessment: Identify strengths, gaps, and preferred learning styles to set a personalised starting point.
- Individual Learning Plans (ILPs): Clear, achievable goals with milestone reviews and tutor feedback.
- Scaffolding & step-by-step teaching: Model answers, worked examples, sentence starters, and structured problem-solving frameworks.
- Multi-sensory approaches: Visual organisers, manipulatives, and practical tasks embedded into sessions.
- Assistive technology: Read-aloud tools, speech-to-text, tinted backgrounds, and adjustable formatting to reduce barriers.
- Access arrangements: Where eligible, reasonable adjustments for assessment (e.g., extra time, readers/scribes, rest breaks).
- ESOL and SEND-aware practice: Plain English, chunked instructions, dual-coding of key terms, and built-in vocabulary support.
- Frequent, low-stakes checking: Quick quizzes and mini-tasks to build confidence and inform next steps.
Perfectly Paired with Vocational Learning
Co-planning with vocational trainers
English and Maths reinforce current units and live workplace tasks.
Project-based application
Learners evidence Functional Skills through meaningful, sector-specific mini-projects.
Employer value
Improved communication, problem-solving, and accuracy—skills that show up on the job from day one.
