ESFA failing to curb apprentice assessment ‘bundling’

Awarding bodies are demanding clarity over the government’s position on “bundling” of apprenticeship end-point assessments (EPA), after officials watered down the rules on the banned tactic.

It comes after years of allegations that professional bodies are unfairly offering extra perks or inducements to their EPA offer despite being ineligible costs, with no decisive action from officials to curb the behaviour.

The additional services can include, for example, membership, chartered status, or additional materials free of charge to apprentices who have their EPA carried out by the professional body.

Other end-point assessment organisations (EPAOs) have long complained this practice disadvantages apprentices who undertake their EPA with a different EPAO and has created an uneven playing field.

Education and Skills Funding Agency policy was previously clear that EPAOs “must not” bundle in any extra products or services into their EPA offer. Officials have also issued multiple warnings to the sector, including in March 2023 when an update revealed “we have had several instances of ‘bundling’ brought to our attention in recent weeks” with a vow to identify and clamp down on individual culprits.

But in September 2023, the ESFA launched the new apprenticeship provider and assessment register (APAR) and weakened the wording of its rules to state that officials now only “do not expect you to promote or offer any additional financial reward, service or membership to improve your likelihood of being chosen by a provider”.

Smaller EPAOs allege that “bundling” is still rife and providers are being strongarmed into doing their EPA with professional bodies. They are calling on the government to enforce their rule or be clear that the behaviour is now allowed.

David Pearson, chief executive of DSW Learning, said: “The bundling of products and services alongside end-point assessment violates ESFA conditions and it does so for good reason; the practice disadvantages apprentices, brings EPA into disrepute, launders the levy, and restricts competition. 

“DSW are one of several end-point assessment organisations that have repeatedly reported the issue. We would like the ESFA to take decisive action against this practice, or to confirm that the bundling of additional services is now tolerated, and in doing so enable those organisations that play by the rules to do so on a level playing field.”

Jacqui Molkenthin, an independent EPAO consultant, told FE Week the ESFA has failed to take any enforcement action despite bundling “hiding in plain sight on some EPAO websites”.

She said the ESFA has caused “disillusionment” that officials will ever act on an issue that is “directly negatively impacting the marketplace”, adding that the agency “need to make a choice, do they, or do they not permit bundling, and if they do not then they must enforce their condition”.

The Department for Education refused to clarify its position when approached by FE Week, and instead repeated that the ESFA “do not expect EPAOs to promote or offer any additional financial reward, service, or membership to improve the likelihood of their being chosen by a provider”.

Websites altered as bodies deny bundling

Every apprentice takes an end-point assessment at the end of their training to confirm the person meets the required occupational standard. Each EPA must be conducted by an independent organisation, and it is up to training providers and employers to choose the EPAO at the beginning of the apprenticeship.

Competition in the EPAO space is fierce and has allegedly led to the deployment of extra incentives by some professional bodies. The practice can include explicit bundling, such as including membership to a professional body, or implicit bundling such as exempting some apprentices from examinations and fees to gain professional status based on their choice of EPAO.

Professional bodies have also been accused of offering discounts on their non-EPA products or services if they are used for EPA, such as discounted qualifications; or threatening that discounts will no longer apply on the non-EPA products if they are not used for the EPA.

FE Week approached multiple professional bodies who had been accused of such behaviour, but all denied any wrongdoing.

Several have however changed their websites since FE Week’s approach.

The Chartered Management Institute’s website has for years stated that “CMI is the only professional body who can award chartered manager status and has it embedded in the EPA”. 

Another section said: “If you’re completing EPA only through CMI then on confirmation of your apprenticeship result you are eligible for: foundation/full chartered manager status (depending on your apprenticeship standard); three months free CMI membership”.

A CMI spokesperson denied that it includes any additional services in its EPA offer and insisted that “any” apprentice who has successfully passed the relevant EPA can apply for chartered status at their own cost, no matter which organisation they do EPA with.

The institute then altered the wording on its website to state that CMI “is the only professional body who can award chartered manager status which apprentices can apply for, following their EPA”.

Another section now reads: “If you have completed your EPA only with CMI or have completed your EPA with another end point assessment organisation, you will have met the knowledge criteria for becoming a chartered manager.”

While not permitting bundling is an ESFA condition, EPAOs must also comply with Ofqual’s conditions, one of which says: “An awarding organisation must not advertise or promote its qualifications in a manner that is likely to be misleading to users of qualifications.”

Molkenthin pointed out that if an EPAO does not bundle then it must not market in such as way as to mislead users to think it does.

The Institute of Sales Professionals (ISP) was also alleged to offer free membership to training provider staff and apprentices that only use the institute for EPA. Its website said: “Every training provider and learner studying towards an ISP-assessed apprenticeship standard will get the added benefit of a free associate membership.”

But an ISP spokesperson claimed the institute did not “bundle” and insisted this offer was open to all provider staff and apprentices on sales-based apprenticeships, regardless of which EPAO they did their assessment with. 

The institute’s website was changed after its response to FE Week to say: “Every training provider and learner studying towards a sales-related apprenticeship standard will get the added benefit of an optional, complimentary student membership.”

Competitor EPAOs and providers also alleged the ISP mandates an additional qualification be taken in the sales executive level 4 apprenticeship, which is not included in the assessment plan and is being bundled with EPA.

ISP’s spokesperson admitted the institute does make an additional qualification available as an option, which comes with additional charges if providers choose to include it, but denied the offer was mandatory.

“It is a however requirement that any training provider or educational organisation offering any ISP-Ofqual regulated qualifications must be approved by the ISP as the awarding body, for which additional charges are applied outside the eligible costs of end point assessment,” the spokesperson said.

They added that the ISP has been “aware for some time” about the concerns of bundling, but said the institute has not been approached by the ESFA or any other regulatory body in connection with this issue. 

It has however sought assurances that the way it makes student membership and ISP certification available to apprentices is appropriate twice over the past 12 months.

On both occasions the ESFA said they “did not regard our approach as bundling”, the spokesperson said.

‘We have been fully transparent on our approach’

Elsewhere, apprentices who successfully complete their senior people professional apprenticeship EPA with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) are automatically entitled to apply for chartered membership, subject to standard membership and joining and fees.

But if an apprentice completes the same apprenticeship EPA with a different EPAO they are asked to undertake an upgrading assessment, with a cost of £120 for a telephone assessment and £60 for a form-based assessment, to determine whether they can apply for chartered membership.

A CIPD spokesperson denied this was bundling additional services within its EPA provision, adding the institute has been “fully transparent on our approach with both ESFA and the relevant regulatory bodies”.

The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) has meanwhile allegedly told providers that apprentices who use the professional body as their EPAO are eligible for free student membership, but apprentices with other EPAOs would have to pay a fee.

CIH refuted this and claimed it has always offered free membership to all apprentices studying housing, no matter which organisation does their EPA.

It has however decided to start charging £78 for membership to all learners from April 1, 2024.

Active IQ is another EPAO accused of “bundling”, specifically that it offers free qualification registration with a range of EPAs, including sports coach, team leader and early years.

A section on its website, which has been removed since FE Week’s contact, said: “Our EPA fee includes comprehensive apprentice and teaching resources, as well as free additional, supplementary qualifications where available.”

Jenny Patrickson, Active IQ managing director, said: “Where an apprenticeship provider wishes to purchase further services in addition to our EPA delivery for them, they are required to go through Active IQ’s centre approval process.

“This incurs additional costs and process for them, which we administer completely separately, to ensure that any supplementary qualification delivery, assessment, or quality assurance activity is distinct from the EPA services being provided. We are currently reviewing our marketing materials and web pages to ensure clarity for all providers on our offering.”

Prior to the launch of APAR, the DfE told the sector on multiple occasions it would remove EPAOs from the apprenticeship market if they breach its conditions including by “bundling”. 

The department refused to say whether it has taken any direct action against a bundling culprit to date.

Alternative provision in ‘desperate need of reform’, damning Ofsted and CQC report says

Alternative provision in England is in “desperate need of reform” amid “systemic issues” that lead to “inconsistent outcomes” for young people, two watchdogs have said in a critical report today.

Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission said absence of national standards and a lack of clarity on responsibilities for AP commissioning and oversight is leading to “inconsistent and ineffective practice”.

They found this is often exacerbated by “underdeveloped strategic planning, an insufficiently clear purpose of AP and a lack of monitoring of children’s outcomes”.

The report, published today, looks at how education, health and care partners commission and oversee AP, making recommendations for improvement.

Schools or local authorities commission AP for pupils who have been excluded or cannot attend mainstream school.

The report was based on Ofsted and CQC visits to six local authority areas, and more than 700 survey responses from those within the AP system. The primary purpose of AP in the areas it visited was to prevent children from being permanently excluded. It also functions to help young people reintegrate into education.

But the report found key agencies often fail to “strategically collaborate” and decisions on moving young people in AP into post-16 education were “often delayed” and there was “a lack of a clear exit plan or family involvement”.

The report notes there was “little joint working between health, education and care professionals” to support children’s access and progression to post-16 education and “the overall picture is of a system in desperate need of reform”.

It said “inconsistent and often ineffective” commissioning and strategic planning meant support for children planning the next step into post-16 was “highly variable”.

Support for young people after they’d entered post-16 provision was “not consistent”.

“One parent described this as ‘a sense of a cliff edge’. Sometimes, it felt abrupt when support from professionals who had been working with children and young people stopped. Some young people were unable to sustain their placement,” the report said.

However, it also flagged instances of good practice of children successfully reintegrating into mainstream education and post-16 destinations, such as FE institutions hosting open days and career weeks.

“Many providers were supporting children to plan for their next steps,” the report said. “They were developing strong working relationships with further education institutions and organising visits to college open days. Children could familiarise themselves with the courses on offer, class sizes and behavioural expectations. This helped them make informed choices.”

The report also noted that secondary-aged children needed more careers guidance and often remained in AP until the end of Year 11 “without clear plans for the most suitable post-16 pathway and provider, or for how to achieve their goals.”

Ofsted ‘concerned’ over standards

Ofsted said a mix of registered and unregistered settings means the “quality of oversight for children in AP is highly variable”.

The report also found “limited specialist provision led to children being placed inappropriately in provision that was not resourced to meet their needs.. often for long periods of time”.

Sir Martyn Oliver, Ofsted’s chief Inspector, said: “We are concerned that some children’s education and care falls below the standard they deserve.

“We need more clarity about how AP can be used effectively so that children have consistently positive experiences.

“We also remain concerned about the widespread problems with unregistered AP – after 12 years of calling for the mandatory registration for all AP, it is clear that the need for reform is more urgent than ever”.

WEA threatens legal action against combined authority amid grant funding row

One of England’s oldest and largest adult education organisations is considering legal action after it was denied grant funding from a new combined authority.

The “shocking and devastating” decision by the North East Mayoral Combined Authority (NEMCA) to refuse a guaranteed annual adult education budget (AEB) contract to the WEA puts around 1,600 learning places and over 70 jobs at risk. 

Simon Parkinson, chief executive and general secretary of the charity formerly called the Workers’ Educational Association, told FE Week the verdict was sudden and unexpected given the organisation’s grant-funding contracts in other devolved mayoral combined authorities and assurances from the Department for Education that WEA is eligible for grant funding.

The decision to “defund” WEA’s work in the area amounts to £1.3 million hit to the charity’s budget. 

Parkinson said: “The WEA has been a trusted partner in the region for over a hundred years, working collaboratively to address the learning needs of thousands of adults across the region.

“The lack of clarity behind this sudden decision is concerning and comes at a challenging time when the demand for our services is both high and more critical than ever.

“We will be issuing FOI requests and exploring other legal and statutory routes to formally challenge this decision.”

The combined authority said the WEA will be able to bid in its AEB procurement round instead of receiving an automatic contract every year.

A NEMCA spokesperson told FE Week the authority was “establishing new providers to deliver AEB through open and competitive procurement processes.

“The vast majority of providers, such as national providers, will secure contracts in this way following our well-publicised processes. This year successful providers will be in place from August 2024.”

Mayoral combined authorities typically provide adult education funding through grants for colleges, designated institutions, and local authority services. Private sector companies can only receive funding through competitive procurement rounds.

The WEA currently delivers AEB for the North of Tyne Combined Authority which will be replaced by NEMCA this May. It’s received around £350,000 a year, through a grant, for the last three years from that combined authority, though current contracts come to an end in July. 

It is also grant-funded for AEB with mayoral combined authorities in West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Midlands, West of England and the Greater London Authority. 

NEMCA has already informed local colleges and local authorities that they will be grant-funded, FE Week understands.

WEA is legally a designated institution, a specific category of further education institutions defined in law. The designated institutions were reclassified as public sector organisations alongside colleges by the Office for National Statistics in November 2022. Other designated institutions include London’s City Lit, The Mary Ward Centre and Fircroft College in Birmingham.

Parkinson said the WEA was in the process of writing to its 1,600 learners in the area to inform them that courses will no longer be available from the end of July. 

Courses on offer in the region include beginner English and maths, pre-entry ESOL, cooking on a budget, fitness and mental health qualifications. 

NEMCA is not the first new mayoral combined authority to attempt to deprive WEA of grant funding. 

In 2021, the new South Yorkshire Combined Authority initially rejected WEA’s bid for funding, stating it was ineligible to receive a grant and was unsuccessful in its procurement round. 

But this was later overturned. Parkinson said South Yorkshire “misunderstood” WEA’s legal status and “realised they made a mistake”. WEA received £312,345 from South Yorkshire in 2022/23. 

The government signed off on an expanded devolution deal for the north east in December 2022 which replaces the North of Tyne Combined Authority, the non-mayoral North East Combined Authority and the North East LEP with NEMCA. Elections for the first NEMCA mayor take place on May 2.

The new combined authority will have an adult education budget worth £51 million in 2024/25. Budget documents state the authority will take a near 5 per cent top slice of £2.1 million for administration costs. NEMCA’s leadership board forecast an increased £64 million annual AEB from 2025/26 to 2028/29.

Parkinson hopes NEMCA will follow South Yorkshire and “urgently re-consider its decision”.

WorldSkills: Pearson announced as official Team UK partner

Education giant Pearson has been announced as the official partner of Team UK for WorldSkills Lyon, taking place this September.

WorldSkills UK said the partnership will provide a boost to their efforts to improve standards of technical education and apprenticeships in the UK learning from global best practices seen at international skills competitions.

The news marks the first official Team UK partnership for 13 years. It last partnered with City & Guilds, Edge Foundation and charity Brathay for WorldSkills London in 2011.

Leaders said that training insights gleaned from other countries will be shared with colleges, training providers, coaches and employers in an effort to “set new benchmarks of excellence” in the UK.

WorldSkills UK will also tap into Pearson’s reach in the FE sector to send Team UK members and WorldSkills UK ambassadors to events to showcase their talents and inspire young people “from all backgrounds” into apprenticeships and technical education.

Ben Blackledge, chief executive of WorldSkills UK said: “We are delighted that Pearson has chosen to partner with us to support Team UK on their journey to WorldSkills Lyon 2024. 

“WorldSkills UK and Pearson share a passion for technical education, and we will be working together over the next 12 months to showcase the world-class skills that exist in the UK and to emphasise the importance of technical education for investment, jobs and growth right across the country.”

Freya Thomas Monk, managing director of vocational skills and training at Pearson, said: “Pearson shares many goals with WorldSkills UK – celebrating the best of vocational and technical education, raising awareness and the prestige of the sector and supporting young people to set new benchmarks of excellence in their chosen fields.  We’re thrilled to be supporting Team UK for WorldSkills Lyon 2024.”

Squad UK picked for two more skills

Eva Voma, additive manufacturing competitor from Grŵp Llandrillo Menai, part of Squad UK

WorldSkills UK has also selected eight young people to join Squad UK for the renewable energy and additive manufacturing competitions for this year’s global competition.

This comes as the UK makes its debut in the two competitions at WorldSkills Lyon this September.

Members of Squad UK will be picked to join Team UK this May, who will go on to compete in Lyon. The event will see 1,500 young people from over 65 countries compete in 62 different technical skill disciplines.

In renewable energy, Danny McBean is one of the four competitors selected for Squad UK – selected at an event at the South Yorkshire Institute of Technology (IOT). He won gold in electrical installation at the WorldSkills UK National Finals last year.  He attended UHI Moray and works for Grants Dufftown.

McBean said: “It is fantastic to have secured a place in Squad UK, after winning the gold medal last year.  I feel really proud to be part of the group in training with the hope of winning a place to represent the UK in renewable energy, it certainly feels like we are leading the way in such an important sector.”

The three other competitors for renewable energy are Madeline Warburton from Grŵp Llandrillo Menai, Harry Stewart from Glasgow Clyde College and Thomas Turner from JTL.

Christopher Turnbull, who works at Didactic Services, has been appointed WorldSkills UK training manager for renewable energy.

At the first renewable energy competition at the WorldSkills Special Edition 2022, competitors were assessed on the operation, troubleshooting and maintenance of wind turbines. 

Meanwhile, competitors in the additive manufacturing skill – also known as 3D printing – are tested on their understanding of 3D printing and scanning, along with geometry, and computer aided design and engineering.

The Squad UK members for the additive manufacturing competitions are Oscar McNaughton from University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Eva Voma from Grŵp Llandrillo Menai, Jakub Strzelczyk from MTC and Lucas Langley from UTC Sheffield.

At a selection event at Coleg Menai’s Energy Centre, Voma, who earned bronze in the WorldSkills UK National Final last year, said: “The tasks at the selection event were definitely a step up from the previous level and challenged us. It revealed where I am strong and where I need sharpening.  During the selection event, we were definitely being prepared for what the international stage is like – even the sounds and distractions were simulated for us during the competition.”

Bryn Jones and Iwan Robets, lectures at Coleg Menai, have been appointed WorldSkills UK training managers for additive manufacturing.

FE Week is the official media partner for Team UK.

71 courses face the axe in favour of wave 4 T Levels

Over 70 courses taken by more than 32,000 students are set to be cut by the government in effort to make way for the fourth wave of T Levels.

Popular creative media practice and animal management BTECs will be among those to have their funding withdrawn from August 1, 2025, the Department for Education announced today.

Officials outlined a provisional list of 71 qualifications to be defunded after they were deemed to overlap with wave four T Levels, which are being rolled out in or before August 2024 in five subjects: agriculture and land management; animal care; craft and design; legal; and media, broadcast and production.

The at-risk courses with the most enrolments are Pearson’s BTEC level 3 national extended diploma in creative media practice and Pearson’s BTEC Level 3 national 540 diploma in creative media practice. 

The pair drew in nearly 6,500 student enrolments between them in the 2021/22 academic year.

The government launched a defunding process of level 3 qualifications that “overlap” with T Levels in 2022. It previously confirmed plans to axe 134 courses from August 2024 that compete with waves 1 and 2 T Levels, and a further 85 courses that compete with wave 3 will have their funding withdrawn a year later.

Officials are moving ahead with the controversial defunding plans despite prime minister Rishi Sunak’s announcement that he wants to replace T Levels with a new baccalaureate-style qualification for 16- to- 19-year-olds over the next decade – the Advanced British Standard (ABS).

The Labour Party has however promised to pause and review the reforms if it wins the upcoming general election.

James Kewin, deputy chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association, slammed the government’s “misguided reforms”.

“The Protect Student Choice campaign has warmly welcomed the commitment made by Labour and the Liberal Democrats to pause and review the government’s plan to scrap BTECs, but today’s announcement shows that the government intends to plough ahead with its misguided reforms,” he said. 

“We’d like to see the current three-route model of A levels, BTECs and T Levels remain available to young people now and into the future.”

Catherine Sezen, director of education policy at the Association of Colleges, said: “We once again urge the government to pause defunding and undertake a review of the decisions made on qualifications for the future. The Department for Education must address the sector’s valid concerns about the impact on students and deliverability of T levels at scale.”

Today’s axe list shows four qualifications offered by Pearson and City & Guilds in animal management will be replaced by the animal care and management T Level. 

The courses, which include Pearson BTEC Level 3 foundation and extended diploma in animal management, had nearly 10,000 students enrolled.

Pearson is the most affected awarding organisation, with 23 qualifications due to be axed. City & Guilds will have funding for 21 qualifications removed and RSL has 14 courses affected, all in the media and communication space.

Meanwhile, 11 qualifications in the list had zero enrolments. These include City & Guilds level 3 diploma in work-based trees and timber and IMI level 3 certificate in land-based technology (VRQ).

Other affected awarding bodies include OCR, NCFE, SEG, IMI, Open College Network West Midlands, and RHS. 

Female learners, white students and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities will be most affected by the funding removal, according to an equalities impact assessment published by DfE today.

Awarding bodies are able to submit appeals to save their qualifications from today. The appeal process closes on March 26.

The DfE also announced today that the planned hair and beauty T Level has been scrapped (full story here).

Kewin said this is “another example of the chaos and confusion that has characterised the government’s reform of level 3 qualifications”.

He also condemned the government for “consistently refusing to publish meaningful data on student performance or destinations” for T Levels while rolling out the changes.

“Just 15,000 young people are currently studying a T Level despite £1.8 billion of public investment since 2019. It is also a flagship that will not be sailing for much longer, given the government’s plan to replace it with the Advanced British Standard,” he added.

Skills minister Robert Halfon said: “We remain fully committed to the roll out of T Levels, which will form the backbone of the prime minister’s ambitious ABS and help us build a skills and apprenticeship nation.”

Provisional list of qualifications overlapping with wave 4 T Levels

TitleSector Subject Area Tier 216-19 study programme enrolments
(academic year 2021/22)
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Creative Media PracticeMedia and communication3270
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National 540 Diploma in Creative Media PracticeMedia and communication3220
City & Guilds Level 3 Advanced Technical Extended Diploma in Animal Management (1080)Animal care and veterinary science2800
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Foundation Diploma in Animal Management Animal care and veterinary science2560
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Animal ManagementAnimal care and veterinary science2460
City & Guilds Level 3 Advanced Technical Diploma in Animal Management (540)Animal care and veterinary science1960
RSL Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma for Music PractitionersPerforming arts1180
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Creative Digital Media ProductionMedia and communication1140
OCR Level 3 Cambridge Technical Diploma in Digital Media Media and communication1120
RSL Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma in the Creative Music IndustryPerforming arts950
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma in Film and Television ProductionMedia and communication820
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate in Animal Management Animal care and veterinary science820
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate in Digital Music ProductionCrafts creative arts and design780
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate in Digital Film and Video Production Media and communication770
RSL Level 3 Extended Diploma in the Creative Music IndustryPerforming arts670
City & Guilds Level 3 Advanced Technical Extended Diploma in Animal Management (720)Animal care and veterinary science660
City & Guilds Level 3 Advanced Technical  Extended Diploma in Agriculture (1080)Agriculture620
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate in Sound EngineeringCrafts creative arts and design530
RSL Level 3 Extended Diploma in Creative Digital MediaMedia and communication510
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma in Animal ManagementAnimal care and veterinary science500
RSL Level 3 Extended Diploma For Music PractitionersPerforming arts500
City & Guilds Level 3 Advanced Technical Certificate in Animal ManagementAnimal care and veterinary science480
City & Guilds Level 3 Advanced Technical  Diploma in Agriculture (540)Agriculture450
RSL Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma in Creative Digital MediaMedia and communication420
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Foundation Diploma in Production Arts PracticePerforming arts300
Pearson BTEC Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma in Music Technology (QCF)Performing arts280
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma in AgricultureAgriculture260
OCR Level 3 Cambridge Technical Foundation Diploma in Digital Media Media and communication200
City & Guilds Level 3 Advanced Technical Extended Diploma in Land-based Engineering (1080)Agriculture190
City & Guilds Level 3 Advanced Technical Extended Diploma in Forestry and Arboriculture (1080)Horticulture and forestry180
Pearson BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Creative Media Production (QCF)Media and communication160
Pearson BTEC Level 3 Certificate in Music Technology (QCF)Performing arts150
SEG Awards Level 3 Certificate in Practical Animal Care SkillsAnimal care and veterinary science150
OCR Level 3 Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma in Digital MediaMedia and communication130
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma in Music Technology Crafts creative arts and design100
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Foundation Diploma in Music TechnologyPerforming arts100
RSL Level 3 Extended Certificate in the Creative Music IndustryPerforming arts90
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Music Technology Crafts creative arts and design70
City & Guilds Level 3 Advanced Technical Diploma in Horticulture (540)Horticulture and forestry70
City & Guilds Level 3 Advanced Technical Diploma in Floristry (540)Horticulture and forestry60
City & Guilds Level 3 Advanced Technical Extended Diploma in Horticulture (1080) Horticulture and forestry50
RSL Level 3 Diploma in the Creative Music IndustryPerforming arts50
RSL level 3 Subsidiary Diploma for Creative Industries PractitionersPerforming arts50
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Foundation Diploma in HorticultureHorticulture and forestry40
RSL Level 3 Extended Certificate in Creative Digital MediaMedia and communication40
City & Guilds  Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma in Land-based TechnologyAgriculture30
City & Guilds Level 3 Diploma in Furniture Design and MakingManufacturing technologies30
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma in HorticultureHorticulture and forestry30
City & Guilds  Level 3 Diploma in Land-based TechnologyAgriculture20
RSL Level 3 Diploma in Creative Digital MediaMedia and communication20
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma in HorticultureHorticulture and forestry20
City & Guilds  Level 3 Diploma in Work-based HorticultureHorticulture and forestry10
City & Guilds  Level 3 Diploma in Forestry and ArboricultureHorticulture and forestry10
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate in HorticultureHorticulture and forestry10
NCFE Level 3 Certificate in Creative CraftCrafts creative arts and design10
City & Guilds  Level 3 Diploma in Work-based AgricultureAgriculture0
City & Guilds Level 3 Diploma In Work-based Trees and TimberAgriculture0
IMI Level 3 Certificate in Land-Based Technology (VRQ)Agriculture0
IMI Level 3 Extended Diploma in Land-based Engineering Technology (VRQ)Agriculture0
Open College Network West Midlands Level 3 Diploma in Feline Care, Behaviour and WelfareAnimal care and veterinary science0
RSL Level 3 Award in Creative Digital MediaMedia and communication0
Open College Network West Midlands Level 3 Award in Canine Care, Behaviour and WelfareAnimal care and veterinary science0
Open College Network West Midlands Level 3 Diploma in Canine Care, Behaviour and WelfareAnimal care and veterinary science0
RSL Level 3 Extended Diploma for Creative Industries PractitionersPerforming arts0
RHS Level 3 Certificate in The Principles of Plant Growth, Health and Applied PropagationHorticulture and forestry0
Open College Network West Midlands Level 3 Award in Feline Care, Behaviour and WelfareAnimal care and veterinary science0
SEG Awards Level 3 Diploma in Work-Based Animal Care and Welfare Animal care and veterinary scienceX
City & Guilds Level 3 Certificate in Land-based Technology Agriculturelow
City & Guilds Level 3 90-Credit Diploma in Forestry and ArboricultureHorticulture and forestrylow
RSL Level 3 Certificate in Creative Digital MediaMedia and communicationlow
City & Guilds Level 3 90-Credit Diploma in Land-based TechnologyAgriculturelow
Source: Department for Education

‘Shock’ as ministers suddenly scrap hairdressing and barbering T Levels

Ministers have scrapped plans to introduce T Levels in hairdressing and barbering after two years of development – with proposals for a beauty therapy qualification pushed back to at least 2025.

The courses were originally due to be taught from September 2023 but were delayed to September 2024 after education secretary Gillian Keegan flagged quality concerns, saying at the time awarding organisations had “more work to do” to meet “the high-quality bar required”.

Awarding organisation NCFE was contracted to develop the hairdressing, barbering and beauty therapy T Levels in partnership with VTCT. They began developing the qualification in October 2021.

It has now emerged that the hair and barbering qualifications have been scrapped altogether.

Employers warned years ago that hairdressing T Levels wouldn’t cut it

The Association of Colleges (AoC) said this news is a “huge shock” to colleges as they have already begun enrolling students on the courses for September.

Catherine Sezen, director of education policy at AoC, said: “While we can see that it is logical for a level 2 hair qualification to lead to an apprenticeship, we have to question why it has taken so long to reach this decision.”

Experts from the hair industry appear to have shunned the qualification. 

Skills minister Robert Halfon said today the government now believes the best routes for students in that sector are existing level 2 and 3 apprenticeships and level 2 classroom qualifications. 

The government is “exploring” a standalone T Level in beauty and aesthetics that could be introduced “after 2025” as the industry wants a “good quality level 3 classroom-based progression route”.

However, in Halfon’s statement to parliament today, he said this “differs from feedback we have had from representatives in the hair sector” who have said they prefer existing apprenticeships and qualifications. 

“As such, we will no longer be introducing a combined T Level,” he said. 

FE Week understands the two awarding organisations, NCFE and VTCT, will now conduct a scoping exercise with the beauty sector to test whether a standalone T Level is viable.

This comes as the Department for Education published a provisional list of 71 qualifications at risk of losing their funding because they overlap with wave four T Levels. Wave four includes qualifications in agriculture, land management and production; animal care and management; craft and design; legal services and media broadcast and production. 

Kevin Gilmartin, post-16 specialist at the Association of Schools and College Leaders, said today’s announcements will leave many schools and colleges “in limbo who have spent time and money getting ready for teaching these qualifications this year, and will have offered places to students as a result”.

He added: “This will mean considerable disruption and disappointment for many. It begs the question as to why there is such a rush to dispense with so many BTECs and similar qualifications before T Levels have been properly embedded. The government should suspend the defunding process so that the rushed rollout of T Levels doesn’t leave thousands of students without a viable post-16 pathway.”

Halfon said: “We remain fully committed to the roll out of T Levels, which will form the backbone of the Prime Minister’s ambitious Advanced British Standard and help us build a skills and apprenticeship nation.”

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: EDITION 449

Henry Taylor Toone

Chief Financial Officer, Trafford and Stockport College Group

Start date: January 2024

Previous Job: Deputy Principal, Chesterfield College

Interesting fact: Henry owns a small sheep farm in the Peak District with 30 ewes, 2 pigs, 3 chickens, 4 cows and a donkey – a challenging but very fulfilling endeavour, much like working in FE

Richard Ransom

National Sales Manager, Parenta

Start date: January 2024

Previous Job: Head of Sales, Hawk Training

Interesting fact: Enjoys city breaks, a favourite being New York City, where he recently accomplished ‘The Beam’ experience, with his son at the top of the Rockefeller building, an opportunity to recreate the iconic 1932 photo depicting 11 ironworkers lunching precariously on a steel beam, 69 stories high above the city skyline

Ofqual: Functional skills exams ‘not too challenging’

Functional skills assessments are not as difficult as people think, despite low pass rates, exams regulator Ofqual has said. 

An evaluation of functional skills (FSQs) assessments was conducted after concerns were raised that FSQ exams were “too academic” and “challenging” for students who were unable to pass GCSEs. 

Ofqual concluded there was no “need for a change to the overall approach to assessment” and deemed “the level of demand in the reformed assessments appears to be appropriate”.

In a report published today, Ofqual acknowledged other complications that might have negatively impacted pass rates, particularly in maths, and given teachers and providers and providers the impression the reformed assessments were harder to pass. 

Reformed functional skills qualifications launched in 2019 with revised content and assessment requirements. The aim was to give the qualifications greater credibility with employers.

Functional skills pass rates currently sit at around 75 per cent, down from 84 per cent before the pandemic and before the reformed qualifications were introduced. 

It comes as the Association of Employment and Learning Providers published their own report suggesting underfunding of FSQs has led to them becoming financially unviable for training providers.

Ofqual explained that comparing pass rates pre- and post-reform is problematic because of “changes over time in the types of students” taking FSQs, and pointed to centre assessed grades during the pandemic leading to “variability” in students’ results.

Around a third of students and teachers who took part in the evaluation said they thought FSQ pass rates were lower than before, particularly in maths, because the qualifications are more difficult to pass. 

However Ofqual judged the demand in the reformed assessments “to be appropriate” against the content set out by the DfE.

But the exam body acknowledged “potential contributing factors” that might explain why students have been struggling. 

It said changes made by DfE included moving some content down a level, which means level 2 questions might now appear in level 1 of students’ assessments. 

Regulators indicated too that there might not have been adequate time for learning providers to have “become familiar with the changes to the qualifications, particularly in light of the disruption arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.” 

A problem with problem-solving

The report also said: “Ofqual has also identified a potential issue specific to level 1 and 2 maths. 

“This relates to the assessment of problem-solving. When reviewing papers as part of the evaluation, Ofqual found that awarding organisations’ approaches to problem-solving questions may have contributed to an additional reading load. 

“It may also have led to more questions being based around a context than necessary. Both of these may have contributed to stakeholder feedback that some students found it difficult to understand the questions.”

Ofqual has promised more research into FSQs and how exams are set out and assessed. 

“Where the evaluation has identified issues with awarding organisations’ approaches, Ofqual will require that these are addressed,” the report said. 

Further reviews by Ofqual on the delivery of assessment questions, with new research into both English and maths FSQs are on the way. 

The exam body added it will “consider stakeholder feedback” on making adjustments to the qualifications overall “with a view to improving their practice.”

Functional skills ‘commercially unviable’, research suggests

Training providers are still making a loss on functional skills qualifications even after this month’s funding boost, according to a new report. 

The Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) said historic underfunding of functional skills qualifications (FSQs) has led to larger class sizes, increased online delivery and higher entry requirements for apprenticeships.

FSQs have got “harder to pass,” are “no longer in line with their vocational intent,” and “have now become unviable,” today’s report asserts.

Funding for functional skills in apprenticeships was increased significantly for new learners this month.

A 54 per cent increase from £471 to £724 was announced by the government last year for eligible learners. The increased funding rate for apprentices now matches funding for non-apprentice functional skills through the adult education budget. 

But even that increased funding rate falls below the average cost of delivery of the qualifications. 

AELP’s report, ‘Spelling it out, making it count’, used financial data from 11 training providers and found that the average cost of delivering functional skills to apprentices was £911 per learner for English and £893 per learner for maths. 

Some providers were found to be spending over £1,000 per apprentice per qualification. 

Functional skills qualifications are alternatives for GCSEs. Learners without grades 4-9 in GCSE English and/or maths have to continue to study those subjects until they achieve a pass. This is a mandatory requirement to achieve an apprenticeship. 

Using average costs of delivery for non-apprenticeship FSQs, which were already funded at the higher £724 funding rate, providers on average lost £20 per learner for English and £39 per learner for maths. 

This is before any resit costs, which affect up to a third of learners, that are unfunded. One resit, adding £35 worth of costs, would increase the per-learner loss to around £69, the report said. 

“It is clear that apprenticeship providers have been incurring significant losses on mandated FSQ deliver for many years, which may go a significant way to explaining the current parlous state of many apprenticeship provider’s finances,” the report stated.

Those losses are likely to be higher though as it costs more to deliver FSQs to apprentices than to non-apprentices. Those extra costs include more one-to-one teaching, travel and additional retakes.

Before this month’s funding uplift, providers were losing on average £440 per FSQ English apprentice and £422 per FSQ maths apprentice.

Ben Rowland

The Department for Education was approached for comment. 

Ben Rowland, chief executive of AELP, said: “It is clear that the rate of losses incurred in delivering qualifications that bear increasingly little relevance to workplace scenarios is unsustainable. Urgent change is needed, and it is needed now.”

‘Commercially unviable’

The report claims that reforms to FSQs in recent years have made the qualifications “more academic in nature” with less vocational context to the main subjects learners are studying, with more content and assessment coming from GCSEs. 

Providers reported varying first-time pass rates for functional skills learners.

For apprentices, 65 per cent of apprentices pass FSQ English at their first attempt. For maths that was just 45 per cent. For some providers though, first time pass rates were as low as 19 per cent and 7 per cent respectively.  

Training providers with higher proportions of SEND apprentices and those with more open entry requirements were more likely to report making losses on FSQ delivery. 

Researchers reported more providers and employers now require English and maths entry requirements for apprenticeships to get around the requirements to deliver functional skills. This, they said, “diminished learner choice and adversely impacted on social mobility.”

One of the report’s case studies, an apprenticeship training provider, stated: “We are not in a position to progress candidates who do not currently have level 2 English and maths. This is for two main reasons: it is not commercially viable to re-train apprentices in exams which they have recently taken. Secondly, there is a higher risk they will not pass their assessment, leading to non-completions.”

AELP has called for an immediate 10 per cent uplift to FSQ funding rates, to £796, though this would still fall short of the reported average costs of delivery for apprentices. Had the rate kept up with inflation, it would now stand at £875, AELP said. 

The research was carried out with the University of Warwick’s Institute for Employment Research, with support from the Edge Foundation and Gatsby Charitable Foundation.