Functional Skills

My name is Nelida Evans and I absolutely love teaching, mentoring, coaching and leading learners to success.

I have been teaching English, Math, ESOL, ICT, Employability and Languages in UK for over 8 years – teaching adult education thanks to my PGCE.

Additionally, I am also a Translator and Interpreter.

I find teaching one of the most rewarding jobs, like all vocational jobs… What I find most rewarding is the happiness in knowing others succeed and that I am part of their path to self-actualization.

"I am a Functional Skills Officer with significant experience in delivering Functional Skills Maths and English in a college and for private training providers.

I have also created and delivered training within the care sector.

My hobbies include travelling and listening to music. I also have a passion for writing children’s stories and once had one turned into a podcast which was narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch. I am excited to have joined Busy Bees and I am looking forward to supporting apprentices to achieve their Functional Skills."

"I am a qualified Teacher of Mathematics, with 7 years experience working in a secondary school. During that time, I gained valuable experience of teaching and learning, differentiating and scaffolding information for learners so it is more understandable and manageable, creating engaging resources and delivering lessons to yield good progress. Prior to going in to teaching, I graduated from Bangor University with a 2:1 Degree in Psychology; this has always been a huge interest for me, especially how we learn and build memories.

As a Functional Skills Officer I teach online sessions, both Maths and English, to aid learners with their understanding of topics covered on the functional skills examinations. In these sessions, I encourage learners to ask and answer questions to deepen their understanding and aid them to meet their goals. In order for these sessions to be successful, I create resources that are informative and engaging, that cover all the necessary topics. I also mark mock exams and provide feedback to Development Coaches about where their learner’s have excelled and possible areas for improvement for them to focus on. Alongside this, I work with a small caseload of learners on a one-to-one basis to provide additional support when it is needed.

My favourite part of my role is the interaction with learners. Teaching the online sessions and working with learners on a one-to-one basis gives me great satisfaction, seeing that moment when a learner understands something that they have previously struggled with, or providing the perfect answer to a question"

"I have worked for Busy Bees for 22 years and started off as a Nursery Nurse working in Rotherham nursery looking after the toddlers. I have worked as a Nursery Manager, Business Support Administrator, and Central Enquiry Management Team manager. For the past 7 years or so I have worked as part of the Functional Skills Team.

I help to deliver the online English, Maths and ICT sessions, as well as providing further support for learners who need extra help with their Functional Skills. I also help to create Functional Skills resources, from online videos to work sheets.

I really enjoy carrying out the stand-up support sessions and watching as the learner suddenly 'gets it', and they have that light bulb moment. Often they then go on and pass the exam later on that day."

"Hi, my name is Dana Sudworth and I have been in teaching for over 30 years. I first began teaching Functional Skills (or Key Skills as it known then) in Information Technology, Maths and English around 20 years ago before taking a break to home educate my sons who are now studying at 6th Form and University. I enjoy teaching each of the various topics, but I especially enjoy the delivery of English and was thrilled when each son achieved an A* and a 9 in their iGCSE English Language results.

Before starting at Busy Bees in January 2022, I began my Part-time MA in Education with Glyndwr University. The course is on-line and proving to be a wonderful means of updating my teaching practice and knowledge especially in relation to the use of technology within teaching which has come a long way since I was last in the classroom! As a member of the functional skills teams, most of my day-to-day work is also done online and as such it’s a happy coincidence that my studies support the application of software that enhance teaching and learning practice.

One of the best parts about my role as a functional skills officer is the variety of the tasks that I undertake on a day-to-day basis, however the task that I enjoy most of all is meeting the learners online - listening to their stories and adapting my delivery to suit their individual learning styles."

"Hello - I'm Julie Stacey, an FSO with Busy Bees, and I teach maths and English.

I've been with this company for almost a year now. I have worked with many adult learners and apprentices in my 12 years of teaching. I have experience from a wide variety of settings including FE colleges and prisons, community learning hubs and library sessions, and in private tuition. I teach GCSE English subjects, and Functional Skills here and elsewhere. Good daily literacy skills are a must-have in our lives and in the workplace. I love teaching English.

Originally, I graduated with BA (Hons) English Language and Literature and my first love will always be English. I am an avid reader and writer of short form fiction and gained my MA Creative Writing in 2022. I hope to publish three works-in-progress over the next year (two collections of short stories and a collection of poetry).

I do enjoy maths, though! I have been teaching maths at Functional Skills levels for many years and can see the relevance and usefulness of good numeracy skills applied in workplaces and our personal lives. Try working out the cost of your new carpet or the discounts at the local supermarket, and you'll see what I mean. I love teaching maths.

When I'm not working for Busy Bees, I can be found at a live music gig or festival, working on/with local radio, and in theatres watching something dramatic.

When I am working for Busy Bees, you can find me: online, by email, on the mobile, through Teams, with an SMS text, or in your OneFile messages inbox. I'm accessible and enjoy supporting learners on their journey to achieving Functional Skills maths and English qualifications."