Essential Digital Skills Qualifications (EDSQs)
Essential Digital Skills qualifications are ideal for all learners with low or no digital skills. They can also be used to support learners in addition to their main programme of study, including those on apprenticeship programmes.
Why do we need Essential Digital Skills qualifications?
In the UK, 11.3 million people (21%) lack the full basic range of digital skills and 4.3 million people (8%) have no digital skills at all, giving rise to inequalities in access to opportunities, knowledge, services and goods.
OCN London Essential Digital Skills qualifications at Entry 3 and Level 1 can help alleviate this by equipping the most vulnerable with the right tools to ‘safely benefit from, participate in and contribute to the digital world of today and the future’ (Department for Education, 2019). The Government will provide entitlement funding for learners aged 16-19 and 19+ (employed or unemployed) who have a foundation of limited digital skills and are taking Ofqual approved Essential Digital Skills qualifications.
The content of the qualifications is developed in accordance with the DfE National Standards for Essential Digital Skills and covers the five skills areas:
- Using devices and handling information.
- Creating and editing.
- Communicating.
- Transacting.
- Being safe and responsible online.
Qualifications
Why choose OCN London for your Essential Digital Skills provision?
- Accessible and inclusive assessment design supports a wide range of learners and minimises barriers to achievement
- Assessments feature real-life simulations of practical activities such as booking a train ticket
- Offline assessment and auto-marking papers ensure fast, stress-free turnaround of results
- Use of interactive workbooks enables assessment to be embedded easily into teaching and learning
- On-demand assessment and resits offer greater flexibility
Who are these qualifications for?
- Adult learners as part of a programme of study
- Entry level learners, including those with SEND requirements
- Unemployed people
- ESOL learners
- Older learners who may be less secure in their digital skills
- Learners in a community learning context
Benefits of EDSQs
- Expertise in developing digital skills qualifications
- Outstanding centre support with named contacts for business support, curriculum and quality
- Free EDSQ training for centre staff
- Fully funded qualifications – Digital Entitlement ready
- Work with one of the UK’s most innovative and expanding awarding organisations
Become a Centre
If you are ready to apply to deliver OCN London qualifications and seeking Centre approval, please complete our online form to arrange a meeting with our team and to request the relevant documents.
Become a centreIt’s great working with a smaller, local awarding body who really do go above and beyond what we would expect. The entire process was made so easy by the support and speedy responsiveness of the OCN London team
Camden Council
