Lord Baker deserves a big pat on the back for his victory in the House of Lords this week.
The Baker Clause, as it will inevitably come to be known, will force the hand of many in schools that are clearly biased against post-16 skills training.
They haven’t done enough to steer students more suited to vocational study away from A-levels.
Now colleges and independent training providers will hopefully be given a fair chance to sell the valuable alternative they offer to young people who will benefit.
I will certainly be interested to see what impact this has on post-14 UTC learner recruitment, which has failed to take off so far.
It’s also worth noting that the resident minister in the House, Lord Nash, backed the amendment.
It hopefully shows that the government has finally accepted the era of obsessing over academic routes is over. FE’s time has come!
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