It is a Government requirement to have Level 2 English and Maths qualifications to do an apprenticeship in the UK. The English and Maths Level 2 qualification requirement is set by the government as part of their apprenticeship funding rules. The rules dictate that we can only accept specific qualifications equivalent to Level 2 Functional Skills in English and Maths. You can find the full list of qualifications and notes on equivalent/higher level qualifications here, under Level 3 + Apprenticeships.

All evidence is subject to pre-emptive checks to ensure successful completion of the apprenticeship and the decision ultimately lies with the End Point Assessment Organisation.

During application apprentices should submit evidence of Level 2 qualifications in maths and English.

For Career Starter candidates (who are applying for apprenticeship roles at a potential new employer) you must submit acceptable evidence to be able to be approved for roles.

For those applying for an apprenticeship with their current employer, we highly recommend uploading evidence at the time you apply, if you can, as this will ensure that our team can review them quickly, and will avoid a potential delay in processing your application. If you cannot submit acceptable evidence during the application, you must pass both initial assessments to have your application accepted and are then required to either submit evidence within 42 days or complete the Level 2 Functional Skills exams during the programme with the support from the Functional Skills team.

For those who applied for an apprenticeship with their current employer and were approved, Functional Skills evidence can be submitted up to 42 days after your Flying Start. This should be done using the chat widget on the bottom right of this page - you can type 'submit Functional Skills certificates'. Any apprentices who do not meet this deadline or who have not been granted an extension will then be enrolled in Functional Skills exams.

Please note: if you upload your certificates to your platform account after your Flying Start but do not contact us using the chat widget, your evidence will not be reviewed.

We can accept any of the following types of evidence:

We are not able to accept any of the following types of evidence:

Evidence of name change will be required as additional evidence if the name on your Level 2 evidence differs from your registered name on programme. Acceptable evidence of name change includes:

Name changes can be nuanced, and a member of our support team will be able to provide additional guidance where needed.

For UK qualifications we can accept any of the below types:

The government list of UK qualifications dictates what is acceptable evidence of Level 2 qualifications in Maths and English.

If you hold international qualifications, you can find details regarding the types of qualifications we can accept below:

The majority of international secondary school qualifications can be accepted for Maths but not for English. This is because English is usually studied as a second language, and the ECCTIS guidance states that English must be studied as a first language in order for it to be equivalent to a level 2 qualification.

We use ECCTIS to determine equivalence for international qualifications and ultimately the final decision on what is acceptable rests with ECCTIS. In each case, the Functional Skills team will support you in understanding the guidance and next steps to ensure you can successfully meet the apprenticeship requirements e.g. Sitting Functional Skills Exams.

We will need to see a copy of your certificate and the evidence of the grade/s that you achieved, in the form of a grade sheet or transcript.

International countries that will require a certified translation are:

School may seem like a lifetime ago for some of us right? If you completed level 2 qualifications in the past but cannot locate your certificates, don't worry- we’ve got you covered! Below we have put together some guidance to support you to locate the correct exam board to retrieve your certificates.

Luckily if you passed a school qualification in the UK (e.g. GCSE, O Level, CSE, A Level), this record will be held at one of the exam boards. There are only a few exam boards left in the UK, and if an exam board no longer exists, this page indicates where its records are now held. Check this page to see if any names ring a bell to give you an indication.

The fastest way to obtain your records would be to apply for certificates/certified statements of results from all exam boards, though this would have a high cost associated with it. If you’re at the start of your programme, you can determine which exam board your qualifications were completed with.

Due to GDPR, you’re able to request the information that exam boards have about you through a subject access request. The exam board will email you this information, usually within 30 days, and while cannot accept this as a form of evidence it will indicate which board you can retrieve your evidence from. See below for information on how to do this for each exam board:

Once you have received a response from all exam boards, you’ll be able to request a certificate or certified statement of results from the correct exam board(s).

The majority of Level 4 (degree level) qualifications cannot be accepted as they do not have Maths or English in the title. e.g. Bachelor of Engineering. The government guidance outlines that we cannot accept units studied as evidence of Level 2 qualifications.

The process of recognising International evidence can be complex, as it can include correspondence with third parties e.g. ECCTIS to verify certificates. Ultimately the final decision on what is acceptable rests with ECCTIS and in each case we will support apprentices in understanding the guidance and then with next steps e.g. Sitting Functional Skills Exams.

All UK-based Maths and/or English qualifications completed on or after 2012 will be included on an individual's Personalised Learning Record. PLR checks can be run by the Admissions and Functional Skills team during the application or once on programme.

You can submit evidence or forms by typing ‘submit evidence’ in the chatbot on the bottom right of this page. If you click ‘submit evidence’, it will ask you if you have attended your Flying Start. Once you answer this, you can upload your evidence and this will be directed to the correct team to review.