Functional Skills Qualifications (FSQ) outcomes




This interactive visualisation shows data on reformed Functional Skills Qualifications (FSQs) in English and maths at level 1 and level 2 taken by students in England.

Use the tabs to show FSQ English or FSQ maths. Use the selections to show data for each qualification level and different student age groups.








FSQ English includes a third assessment not displayed here: Speaking, Listening and Communicating. No accurate data on this assessment is currently available. Please see the Questions & Answers tab for more information.










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For any feedback on these graphs, please contact [email protected].

Return to the Ofqual Analytics home page.

If you need an accessible version of this information to meet specific accessibility requirements, please email [email protected] with details of your request.

This interactive visualisation shows data on the number of reformed Functional Skills Qualifications (FSQs) awarded and student outcomes from July 2021 (Quarter 3, 2021) onwards. The data is for FSQ English and FSQ maths at level 1 and level 2. It only covers data for England.

  • The top graph shows the number of FSQs awarded in each individual quarter, and in each 12 months to quarter end period.
  • The bottom graph shows the number of students who have taken an FSQ assessment between July 2021 (Q3 2021) and the latest available quarter. Student outcomes are shown as the percentage of students who have achieved a pass result in any of their attempts at the assessment during that period.

You can use the drop-down selections to change the data in both graphs. You can choose to show data for each qualification level (Level 1 or Level 2) and for different student age groups (All students, students aged up to 18 years, students aged 19 years or older). Using the tabs you can switch between data for FSQ English and FSQ maths.

A quarter is a 3 month period. A year is split into four quarters:

  • Q1: 1 January to 31 March
  • Q2: 1 April to 30 June
  • Q3: 1 July to 30 September
  • Q4: 1 October to 31 December

A 12 months to quarter end period includes the current quarter, and the three previous quarters.

Regulated qualifications are assigned a level from entry level through to level 8 broadly indicating the relative level of demand of the qualification. Levels are assigned by the qualification’s awarding organisation with reference to Ofqual’s published level descriptors .

This interactive visualisation includes data on reformed Functional Skills Qualifications in English and Maths at level 1 and level 2.

Reformed FSQs were first made available from September 2019. This interactive visualisation only presents data from July 2021 onwards. This is because FSQ assessments did not take place during the Covid 19 pandemic and some students were instead awarded Centre Assessed Grades.

FSQs in English and Maths are predominantly taken on demand and qualifications are awarded all year round. More details on reformed Functional Skills Qualifications can be found in the requirements and guidance for Functional Skills qualifications and in the review of the assessment of reformed Functional Skills Qualifications in English and maths .

This interactive visualisation only includes students who have taken at least one FSQ English or FSQ maths assessment at level 1 or level 2 between July 2021 (Q3 2021) and the latest available quarter. It only includes students who have taken FSQ assessments in England.

FSQs are taken by a diverse cohort of students for a wide range of purposes. FSQs are currently taken by apprentices (both 16- to 18-year-olds and adults), students who have not obtained a grade 3 or above at GCSE, and adults seeking to improve their skills for the workplace, amongst others. Within these groups, there is significant diversity – for example, these qualifications can play an important role for students in prison, as well as those with special educational needs and disabilities.

This interactive visualisation shows the percentage of students who have achieved a pass result in the timespan between July 2021 (Q3 2021) and the latest available quarter. Note that each student is only included once, regardless of how many attempts they had at the assessment.

For FSQ maths, results are shown at qualification level. For FSQ English, results are shown at component level (but not for the Speaking, Listening and Communicating component).

FSQ maths comprises a single component. Passing this component is equivalent to passing the qualification. For some awarding organisations, this component includes multiple assessments.

FSQ English comprises 3 components: Reading, Writing, and Speaking, Listening and Communicating. Assessments for the different components can be taken at different times and can individually be re-taken after a fail result. To pass the qualification, all components must be passed.

For FSQ English, results are shown for the Reading and Writing components and for students who have taken both components. No data is shown for the Speaking, Listening and Communicating component.

The Speaking, Listening and Communicating component is internally assessed and centres may not record fail attempts. As a result, no accurate data on the number of students attempting assessments in the Speaking, Listening and Communicating component is currently available.

To be awarded a Functional Skills Qualification in English, students need to pass assessments for all three components: Reading, Writing, and Speaking, Listening and Communicating. In the time period covered in the data, students may have taken assessments in any or all components and achieved a pass result in any, all or none of the assessments.

Data on FSQ outcomes is sent to Ofqual twice a year by awarding organisations.

We are publishing this data so that students, schools, policy makers and other stakeholders can easily access and explore information on qualifications and outcomes.

For any feedback on these graphs, please contact [email protected].

Return to the Ofqual Analytics home page.

If you need an accessible version of this information to meet specific accessibility requirements, please email [email protected] with details of your request.