Two providers will no longer deliver the first wave of T-levels after one received a low Ofsted rating and another was found to be too “specialist”.
The Department for Education confirmed today that the London Design and Engineering UTC and Big Creative Training had been removed from the list of providers who will be delivering T-levels in 2020-21.
Big Creative Training had been due to deliver the digital route, and London Design and Engineering UTC was set to provide the construction pathway.
However, the DfE said the London Design and Engineering UTC would no longer be part of the first wave of the specialist technical qualifications after it received a ‘requires improvement’ rating from Ofsted.
The report, which was published on November 26 after an inspection in October, warned of an “inconsistency in the quality of teaching”.
“Leaders have faced significant challenges and are now taking the right decisions to improve the school,” it said. “However, there has not been enough time for their decisions to have had the desired impact.”
Big Creative Training, also based in London, has been removed after the DfE said that the digital pathway available in 2020 does not “fit with the specialist nature of their current provision”.
A spokesperson for the DfE said the government “always expected the list of providers to fluctuate as we progress towards September 2020”.
“However, we continue to have an excellent group with good coverage of provider types and across our opportunity areas,” she added.
Fifty providers remain on the list for 2020.
In October, the DfE removed three schools from the first wave after one received a low Ofsted grade and two others “decided not to” take part. It also added Suffolk New College to the list of those delivering the T-levels.
Big Creative Training and the London Design and Engineering UTC were both contacted for comment.
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