A campaign group demanding a U-turn on the scrapping of enforced English and maths resits for adult apprentices has been launched.
The English and Maths Coalition (EMC) claims apprenticeship functional skills exams and the government’s forced GCSE resit policy, introduced in 2014, improved attainment in what are “fundamental skills” for work and life.
And it argues the government should “aim for higher success” among the 16-to-19 age group by setting a target of at least 90 per cent of 19 year olds achieving a level 2 English and maths qualification by 2030 – a 15 percentage point increase from the current rate of 75.8 per cent.
Organisations and experts specialising in English and maths have signed up, including the Learning and Work Institute (L&W), education and employment funding charity Impetus, and English and maths charity Get Further.
L&W chief executive Stephen Evans said apprentices already had “less general education” than those in best-practice countries such as Germany and Norway.
He added: “OECD data shows that 8.5 million adults in England have low literacy and/or numeracy skills, so we should take every opportunity to support people to get these fundamental skills for work and for life.
“That means investing in English and maths, and testing out new ways to support apprentices to succeed – not watering down standards.”
Why were English and maths requirements axed?
Until February, any apprentice who had not achieved a pass in GCSE English or maths had to pass the qualifications at the relevant level through functional skills exams in order to complete their apprenticeship.
Ministers then decided this exit requirement should become optional for apprentices aged 19 and over, believing 10,000 more learners could then complete their apprenticeships each year.
A spokesperson argued the move would help “drive growth and meet government targets” in sectors such as housebuilding, healthcare and social care.
Sector bodies such as the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) had argued against enforced GCSE resits, saying the exams put off learners and employers “in their droves”.
The representative body described the written functional skills tests as a “crude” way of assessing real-world abilities, and “cruel” for learners who already struggled with English and maths at school.
AELP deputy chief executive officer Simon Ashworth said: “Strong English and maths skills are vital for life and work, but the previous functional skills requirement became a huge barrier affecting both learners and employers.
“A well-intentioned policy ended up excluding far too many people from starting and completing apprenticeships.”
The EMC’s website calls on the government to “reinstate the English and maths study and exit requirement for adult apprentices” and adds: “Do not give up on tackling our nation’s very low levels of adult literacy and numeracy.”
Keep up ‘transformative success’
The divisive “condition of funding” policy, introduced in 2014, means colleges must help students who failed to achieve a pass – grade 4 or above – to retake their GCSEs, or else risk losing funding.
The EMC coalition argues this English and maths resit policy has “uniquely” helped close the “gaps” in achievement rates seen in students from disadvantaged backgrounds, different ethnicities and genders.
Department for Education data released last month shows 75.8 per cent of people achieved a level 2 in the subjects by age 19 in 2023-24, the second highest figure on record following a peak of 78.1 per cent in 2022-23.
This compares to 67.8 per cent in 2013-14, the year before the forced resits policy was introduced, and 52 per cent in 2007-08.
The number of young people raising their grade to a level 2 pass in both English and maths, known as ‘progression’, between age 16 and 19 has also increased from 17 to 29 per cent between 2013-14 and 2018-19, the year before the Covid-19 pandemic.
This progression figure fell to 18.7 per cent in 2023-24 but this was “due to changes in assessments during the Covid-19 pandemic… more of this cohort achieved level 2 at age 16 leading to less post-16 progression than in previous years”, the DfE said.
EMC founding member and regular FE Week columnist Andrew Otty, formerly the DfE’s lead for post-16 English and maths, said: “As exams begin, we want to make sure FE English and maths teachers feel recognised and celebrated for all they have achieved in the last decade.
“The recent 16 to 19 data release from DfE shows that once again the disadvantage, SEND, and gender gaps all close slightly in 16-19.
“On top of that, from the introduction of the resit policy up to Covid, when data gets messy, achievement had improved by 67 per cent. Nowhere else in education has had that kind of transformative success.”
Ahead of the final Curriculum and Assessment Review Report, led by Professor Becky Francis, the EMC is also calling for “better funding and support” for English and maths teaching to continue to improve achievement levels for those aged 16 and above.
This could include professional development for FE teachers, tailored support for students, and publishing resit measures at provider level.
The Curriculum and Assessment Review’s interim report, released in March, said while the education system should continue to aim for grade 4 passes in English and maths for “as many learners as possible”, it also heard “clear evidence” that the policy is failing to deliver its “intended purpose” and a “greater nuance in measures” was required.
The DfE was contacted for comment.
All the government need to do is reintroduce the need to do Functional Skills, but the programme should be tailored to suit the learner’s sector/role. Heck, it could even have stretch and challenge components to help the learner with future career prospects, which would then go part way to satisfy the career guidance that Ofsted look for. If the learner wants to sit the exam for FS, great, if they don’t pass, the percentage they get should still be seen as an achievement of some sort, distanced travelled if you will. This is especially good for below Level 1 learners.
This policy of some ITP’s just deciding to cut FS tutor teams is much too soon until the sector settles and we see how all this plays out in real time. They have vital knowledge that can support Apprenticeship Assessors with helping learners in their respective roles to achieve the best outcomes. The reality is, too many providers just see it as instant cash savings without thinking long term or outside the box.
What say ye?
Bit of a damp squib – published the same day the DFE make further changes to soften English and maths requirements on foundation apprenticeships!
I agree it shouldn’t be a requirement to pass a course, especially for apprenticeships. Apprentices in most cases are on day release, and for those struggling to pass Math or English even functional skills, it’s going to be difficult for them to gain the skills required in one day a week.
Making it compulsory to resit it, without the outcome impacting whether you pass a course or not would be a better implementation.
If it is optional, are you allowed to resit multiple times, or do education providers only give you one opportunity.
It’s important that education providers aren’t making admin errors when assigning students to classes. As someone who’s been through the process, my education provider incorrectly assigned me into a functional skills class instead of a GCSE class, and never reassigned me. Even after asking to be reassigned it never happened, and I missed an opportunity to retake GCSE’s.
Getting people to pass is something that the Mod seems to be good at. Teaching you everything then giving you the test straight away. Perhaps this is a method that should be employed for students taking resits, as exams aren’t testing your true knowledge, they’re simply testing your knowledge retention.
I will say, having functional skills level 2, GCSE’s or any equivalent can help you later in life, not with the knowledge gain, but if you want to go on to do higher up courses. Sometime after leaving college with a level 3, I decided to pursue a different career path and undertake a level 4 apprenticeship, which requirements were to have a level 2 functional skills or GCSE in Maths and English, so it did help massively. Know one can predict where you might end up and some people at 19 on apprenticeships just want to work and earn money, they aren’t thinking about higher up education, so maybe appealing to their better nature and explaining that with a higher education level you could earn more money, they might be more enthusiastic about resisting English and Maths.