NCFE becomes one of first awarding organisations to offer Digital Functional Skills

Educational charity and leader in vocational and technical learning, NCFE, has been approved to offer Digital Functional Skills qualifications (DFSQ) following technical evaluation by Ofqual. 

The awarding organisation is amongst the first of the awarding organisations to gain approval to deliver the qualifications, which will be rolled out from 1 August 2023.  

DFSQ are the latest qualifications to be introduced as part of the Department for Education’s digital skills strategy and complete the Functional Skills reform that began with English and maths.  

The qualifications will be aimed at 16-19 and adult learners who require the relevant digital skills to then apply them in work, life, and education. Not only targeting those looking to move into the job market, the qualifications will also improve the digital skills of existing workforces – particularly given the shift to remote working. 

David Redden, Product Manager and Functional Skills specialist at NCFE, said: “NCFE has worked with providers from a wide range of backgrounds throughout the development process to understand their needs and receive validation on our approach to the qualification, assessment, and resources.  

“We recognise that with new qualifications, providers need a complete product with wraparound support to aid their delivery. That’s why we’ve not only created the qualification but we’re supporting it with initial and diagnostic assessments, learning resources, teaching resources, schemes of work and subject specialist CPD support. We’ve also ensured these qualifications have an external assessment which helps us release results more quickly, provide feedback, and crucially, removes the administration burden from providers. 

“It’s so important that learners are equipped with a good baseline of digital skills in order to access better resources and tools which will support their learning and career progression. We’re delighted to be able to offer these qualifications from August, and positively impact the lives of more learners.”  

DFSQ is a 55 guided learning hours qualification at Entry Level 3 and Level 1. NCFE’s qualifications will include: 

• qualification specifications  
• sample assessments  
• on-demand online assessments  
• both levels assessed by external assessments  
• results in six working days (from the day we receive the assessments)  
• remote invigilation options.   

 Alongside this, NCFE will also provide: 

• initial/diagnostic assessments   
• a quality dashboard (an Ofsted level reporting tool)  
• individual learner skills plans   
• teaching and learning resources  
• schemes of work 
• subject specialist support.  

To find out more about these qualifications at NCFE, visit our Digital Functional Skills homepage.