Functional Skills Level 2 Maths lesson notebook
A free 124-page PDF that teaches the whole Level 2 course in 28 lessons, one for each content point, from numbers, place value and negatives to scatter diagrams and correlation. Every lesson explains the method, works through a real-life problem and ends with three short checks.
This is a teaching book, not a set of practice papers. Learn a topic here, then practise it in the matching Level 2 Exam Practice Notebook, which uses the same topic numbers.
Free to download. No sign up, no email required. Independent resources for the shared England content, not produced, approved or endorsed by any awarding organisation, Ofqual or the DfE.
What is in the Level 2 lesson notebook?
One PDF with 28 lessons and 84 short checks, answers explained at the back. Practise each topic afterwards with the Level 2 practice questions, or use the Level 2 revision guides to plan and repair.
Lesson Notebook
The complete Level 2 course, one three-page lesson per content point, with 28 coached real-life problems and explained answers to every check.
Download the Lesson NotebookEvery board in England
The lessons follow the Level 2 content shared by Pearson Edexcel, City & Guilds, NCFE and the other awarding organisations, so they work for any of them.
Then practise
The Level 2 Exam Practice Notebook has a practice set for every lesson, with worked solutions and two 60-mark mocks.
See the practice questionsHow is each lesson organised?
Every lesson takes three pages and follows the same order, so a learner always knows what comes next. The short checks are answered with the method, not just the number, on pages 95 to 108.
The three-page lesson
- Understand: the method taught with examples and a note on what to check
- Choose, calculate, explain: a coached problem in a real setting, with the decision behind each step
- Record: the learner writes the key rule and a method on the notebook page
- Check: three short questions on the method just learned
- Review: model answers at the back and a space to explain any error
What else is inside
- a starting-point diagnostic with answers and foundation repair notes
- 5 extension lessons with answers: line graphs, pie charts, supplied shape formulae, probability trees, and currency, unit prices and pay
- an exam routine, a reference bank of methods and a maths language and error log
- a progress tracker and a tutor guide for handing over to independent practice
- 124 printable A4 pages
Which lessons does the lesson notebook cover?
The 28 lessons follow the numbered Level 2 content points in order. The same numbers are used in the Exam Practice Notebook, so lesson 14 and topic set 14 are the same topic.
Lessons 1 to 14: Number and finance
- Numbers, place value and negatives
- Whole-number calculation and checking
- Expressions and formulae
- Fractions, decimals and percentages
- Percentages of amounts
- Percentage change and original amounts
- Adding, subtracting and ordering fractions
- Fractions of quantities
- Decimals and sensible accuracy
- Calculating with decimals
- Ratio and proportion
- Order of operations and powers
- Money, tax, budgets and compound interest
- Units, conversion factors and graphs
Lessons 15 to 28: Measures, geometry and data
- Speed, density, pay and time
- Perimeter, area and composite shapes
- Volume and surface area
- Scale drawings and actual dimensions
- Coordinates in four quadrants
- Solids, nets and views
- Drawing solids, plans and elevations
- Angles and geometric reasoning
- Median, mode and organised data
- Estimated mean from grouped data
- Comparing data and evaluating charts
- Combined events and two-way tables
- Probability forms and expected frequencies
- Scatter diagrams and correlation
How should a learner use it?
Work through the lessons in order for the full course, or use the starting diagnostic to find the gaps and begin there. Short regular sessions work better than long ones: learn a method, explain it aloud, and come back to it another day.
Starting the course
Do the diagnostic first, then follow the lessons in order. Finish each lesson’s three checks before moving on, and return to the worked example for any check that goes wrong.
Fixing one weak topic
Find the topic in the lesson list, read the teaching page and coached problem, then do the checks. When they come out right, try the matching set in the practice notebook.
Working with a tutor
Each lesson can be one tutor session: teach the first page, talk through the coached problem together, then set the checks as independent work.
Functional Skills Level 2 Maths tutoring
What Level 2 Maths covers, why learners lose marks on it, and how one to one lessons work, starting with a free 30-minute skills check.
See Level 2 Maths tutoringFunctional Skills Level 2
An overview of our Functional Skills Level 2 tutoring in maths and English, for adults, apprentices and college learners.
Read about Level 2GCSE Maths resit
When a GCSE Maths resit is the better route than Functional Skills, and how resit tutoring is planned.
See GCSE resit tutoringLesson Notebook questions
The lesson notebook is free, covers every Level 2 content point and works for every board in England. These answers cover boards, calculators, answers, practice and licensing.
Which exam boards are these for?
All of them in England. Functional Skills Maths Level 2 has shared subject content set by the Department for Education, and every Ofqual-regulated awarding organisation assesses it, including Pearson Edexcel, City & Guilds, NCFE, NOCN, Open Awards and Highfield. Paper layout, timing, onscreen tools and equipment differ by board, so check those with your centre.
Does it cover the whole Level 2 course?
Yes. There is one lesson for each of the 28 numbered Level 2 content points, in the order the specifications list them, covering number, measures, shape and space, and handling data.
Are there answers?
Yes. All 84 short checks have explained answers on pages 95 to 108, showing the method as well as the result, so a learner can see where a wrong answer went off track.
Is there a non-calculator section?
Yes. Ofqual requires 25% of the marks to be gained without a calculator and 75% with one, so every board has a non-calculator section. The books mark which work is non-calculator, and the practice mocks put that section first, as the real assessments do.
Is this the same as a past paper?
No. The lesson notebook teaches the methods, and it is not a set of practice papers. For exam practice, use the Level 2 Exam Practice Notebook, then a current official sample paper from your own awarding organisation.
Are they free? What is the licence?
The books are free to download for personal and household educational use, with no sign up and no email. Tutors and schools need permission before copying them for learners, and resale, paid redistribution and third-party uploading are not permitted.
What if the checks keep going wrong?
If the same topic is still wrong after the coached problem and a second try on another day, the method usually needs reteaching. We tutor Functional Skills Level 2 Maths one to one, and the first 30 minutes are a free skills check.
Practice finds the gaps. A tutor closes them
Functional Skills Level 2 Maths tutoring is one to one on Zoom at £30 a lesson, with no minimum, and the first 30 minutes are a free skills check with no card details. If the same topic keeps losing marks after the repair routine, that is the moment to have the method retaught.