Ministers will press ahead with a wide-ranging digital V Level despite fewer than half of consultation respondents backing its proposed content. The Department for Education has published final subject content for the first V Levels and new level 2 qualifications due to be taught from September 2027. But just 45 per cent of the 59 responses to its digital systems and data V Level consultation said the content as proposed would fully or mostly enable students to achieve the qualification’s aims. Another 45 per cent said it would only partly do so, while 6 per cent said “not at all” and 7 per cent were unsure. The DfE received 260 responses across eight consultations covering three V Levels, two foundation certificates and three occupational certificates. FE Week reported in March that the first V Levels would launch in education, digital systems and data, and accounting and finance. They have been designed to be the same size as one A Level with 360 guided learning hours, and can be combined with other V Levels or A Levels as part of a young person’s post-16 study programme. The nationally set content is intended to ensure learners studying the same subject gain comparable knowledge and skills wherever they are. Broad digital course retained Respondents welcomed the proposed digital V Level’s coverage of data analysis, cyber security and digital solution design. However, the DfE said a “consistent theme” was it was “overly broad for a single qualification”, creating a risk that teaching several complex areas would limit depth. Concerns were also raised about gaps in core IT skills, programming fundamentals and database concepts. Some respondents also believed there was too much emphasis on data and artificial intelligence in the proposed content, instead of networking, hardware and general IT. Some respondents questioned whether learners without previous digital knowledge could access the content effectively, while others warned that limited technical depth could leave students insufficiently prepared for degree-level study and technical pathways. The consultation surfaced deliverability issues, including whether providers would have staff with expertise spanning all of the specialist areas, as well as access to hardware, software and secure environments for practical cyber security learning. Respondents also warned the volume of content could not be taught effectively within the available guided learning hours. The DfE said it had made “targeted refinements”, including making programming logic, systems understanding and digital solution design more explicit, and strengthening requirements around data quality, limitations and bias. But it has “retained the broad applied structure”, arguing the V Level is intended to provide a sector focus rather than a specialist route. Headline feedback about the level 2 digital foundation certificate content was more positive, with 77 per cent saying it fully or mostly achieved its aims. However, “many” respondents still considered it too demanding for level 2 learners because of its breadth and expectations around programming, networking and analytical skills. The other foundation certificate has been renamed from “education and early years” to “education”, although early-years content will remain. The DfE said the new title better reflected its broad scope across different ages and education settings. Early years occupational course hours cut Only 53 per cent of respondents fully or mostly backed the proposed level 2 early years practitioner occupational certificate. Feedback suggested the proposed content was too theoretical and did not place enough emphasis on practical skills and day-to-day work in early years settings. However, the DfE said many respondents appeared to have mistaken the introductory content for the full curriculum, when it was intended to sit alongside its existing “full and relevant” criteria. Others warned about the availability of high-quality placements, staffing and workplace assessment capacity, while the proposed two-year length risked affecting learner engagement and delaying progression into work. The DfE responded by cutting the qualification from 600 to 540 guided learning hours and adding a section setting out the additional content that awarding organisations must include to meet “full and relevant” early years requirements. Meanwhile, the accounting and finance and education V Levels received stronger support, with 63 and 73 per cent of respondents respectively saying the proposed content fully or mostly met the qualifications’ aims. Respondents to the education consultation nevertheless questioned whether a qualification intended to prepare learners for employment in the sector should include a compulsory placement or practical experience. The DfE has not added a mandatory placement, but said links between core knowledge and work-related purposes had been strengthened to support the application of educational knowledge in context.