Skills for Life teaching qualifications

Pre-September 2007 Skills for Life Teaching Qualifications

The Tariff considers teaching qualifications and, therefore, includes those pre-2007 Skills for Life teaching qualifications that included teaching skills as well as subject specialism knowledge and understanding i.e. jointly endorsed and approved integrated qualifications (generic teaching training with a Skills for Life subject specialism).  To see the coverage for these qualifications enter the phrase 'Skills for Life' in the Tariff search box.
 
The Tariff also includes qualifications for teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages held by a substantial number of the workforce e.g.:
  • Cambridge Certificate/Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages  
  • Trinity Certificate/Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
Practitioners may hold other qualifications that come under the generic class of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL).  These qualifications are offered by numerous organisations under various titles.  For the purpose of determining APEL for these qualifications, practitioners are advised to contact the awarding organisation for details of their qualification and present them as evidence for APEL to the ITT awarding institution with which they wish to enrol.
 
Pre-September 2007 Stand alone subject specialist qualifications
This category covers those level 4 subject specific qualifications introduced under DfES policy requirements for literacy and numeracy (2002) and ESOL (2003).  These qualifications are not included in the Tariff as they are subject specialism qualifications and not teaching qualifications on their own.
 
Teachers holding these qualifications and fulfilling the requirements under the previous regulations are not subject to additional requirements in terms of their Skills for Life subject specialism(s) under the 2007 regulations.
 
The level 4 subject specific qualifications mentioned above were replaced with the level 5 Additional Diplomas (English, Mathematics and ESOL); these being part of the post 2007 subject specific qualifications framework required for teaching skills for life in the lifelong learning sector.
 
Other qualifications for teaching basic skills
Some practitioners may also hold other qualifications which were available as an introduction to teaching basic skills (the phrase used for this area of learning before being replaced with Skills for Life) e.g. Initial Certificate in Teaching Adult Literacy, Numeracy or ESOL offered by City and Guilds under the scheme numbers 9281/2/3/4/5.
 
These qualifications are not included in the Tariff as they were not intended to be full teaching qualifications.  They no longer have any currency and were replaced by the level 3 subject support (see below) and level 4 subject specific qualifications referred to above. 
 
Learner/Learning Support Qualifications
These qualifications, such as the level 3 subject support qualifications or level 2 Adult Learner Support Certificate are not included in the Tariff as they were intended to be learner/learning support qualifications and not teaching qualifications.
 
Further information and advice
Lifelong Learning UK has a dedicated information and advice service offering free, confidential advice on all aspects of working in the lifelong learning sector including teaching skills for life. The service can be contacted via their website: www.lluk.org/2825.htm ,by calling 0300 303 1877 or by email: advice@lluk.org
 
New entrants to skills for life teaching
The requirements for new entrants wishing to teach Skills for Life i.e. adult literacy, numeracy and ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) are outlined in the following documents:
The Further Education Teachers’ Qualifications (England) Regulations 2007 (link opens in new window)
The Further Education Teachers’ Continuing Professional Development and Registration (England) Regulations 2007 (link opens in new window)
A Guide to the Further Education Teachers' Qualifications (England) Regulations 2007 (pdf 51KB - paragraph 8)
 
Further information is available on the Lifelong Learning UK website: http://www.lluk.org/3038.htm