Setting up Functional Skills in Aptem

This article explains how Functional Skills aims reach a learner's ILR, when the Functional Skills section and criteria show for a learner, and how results and reporting work. For problems with Functional Skills, see Functional Skills: Troubleshooting guide.

Functional Skills aims are added to a learner's ILR in two ways:

• From the ILR template of the programme or sub-programme, when the learner is enrolled.

• From a Qualification learning plan component. If a Qualification component in the programme or an attached sub-programme has Functional Skills aims and Update ILR selected, those aims are added to the learner's ILR. This happens even when the programme's ILR token has no Functional Skills detail.

Aims deleted from a learner's ILR don't come back if the learner is enrolled on the same programme again. If you re-enrol a learner whose Functional Skills aims were deleted, add the aims to their ILR manually.

An achievement end date isn't mandatory for Functional Skills aims, but we recommend adding one. It shows in the learner's ILR that the aim is complete, and when it was achieved.

In Aptem Classic, the Functional Skills section shows on a learner's profile when at least one of these applies to the programme they're enrolled on:

• a review type has the Functional Skills section enabled

• the Functional Skills step is enabled in the Onboarding Wizard token

• the Learning Plan token has at least one component of the Functional Skills Initial Assessment or Functional Skills Diagnostic Revision type.

After you set up one of these, the section can take about 10 minutes to show.

Functional Skills criteria show on the learner dashboard if they're added to the Learning Plan token of the learner's programme in Programme Builder. They show even if the learner is exempt and Functional Skills have been removed from their profile and ILR.

You can't remove a criteria set from a programme while learners are enrolled on it. To remove it, make sure no learners are enrolled on the programme first.

To add exemptions, see Add a Functional skills exemption to a learner's profile.

How you record Functional Skills results depends on whether your organisation has an API with a Functional Skills platform.

• Without an API: add results manually on the learner's profile. See Add a new assessment outcome for a Functional Skills qualification.

• With the Skills Forward (NCFE) or bksb API enabled: you can't enter results manually on the learner's profile. Results come through automatically from Functional Skills diagnostic components in the learning plan. Add the components to the programme's learning plan, configure them, then sync them to all relevant learners on the programme.

For more on the integrations, see Integrating your Functional Skills software with Aptem.

NCFE was formerly Skills Forward.

• If the learner's programme has only a Functional Skills step in the Onboarding Wizard, they're registered when they select any of the assessment links.

• If the programme has an NCFE Functional Skills learning plan component (Initial assessment or Diagnostic), they're registered when they're applied to the programme.

We recommend using Aptem Console to view diagnostic results. In Aptem Console, select View Result to open the attached assessment report. Aptem Classic shows only "-" and the assessment date.

In User Generic Reports (UGR):

• the initial assessment (IA) levels and exemption fields come from learner profiles

• other fields, such as Reading, Writing and SLC, come from progress reviews with the Functional Skills section turned on.

• Functional Skills: Troubleshooting guide

• Add a Functional skills exemption to a learner's profile

• Manually amend a learner's Functional Skills exemption

• Add a new assessment outcome for a Functional Skills qualification

• Integrating your Functional Skills software with Aptem