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Revealed: Councils chosen to lead local SEND inclusion plans

Thirty-one local authorities have been selected by ministers to pilot key SEND reforms through a £70 million “change programme”.

The Department for Education has also confirmed seven new special free schools, which will open in areas with SEND budget black holes, bringing the total number of new special free schools nationwide up to 41 amid a critical shortage of special school places.

The seven extra schools – totalling over 1,000 places – have been approved through the “safety valve” route, a £1 billion programme where councils make sweeping changes in exchange for government bailouts to plug high needs deficits.

Selected local authorities will create local area inclusion plans and help inform the development of new national standards, key planks of the government’s SEND reform agenda.

SEND minister Claire Coutinho MP — Coutinho

One of the few post-16 policies in the SEND plan was an £18 million pledge to double the number of supported internships to 5,000 by 2025.

Writing for FE Week, families minister Claire Coutinho said the DfE will be “rolling out a pilot from autumn to test supported internships with young people with SEND who do not have EHC plans, so even more can benefit from this opportunity.”

Pilot councils to ‘work closely’ with families and young people

Most regions will have one lead council working in partnership with up to three neighbouring councils. The exceptions are the south west and the east midlands where each selected council will be joint leaders.

These local partnerships, known as change programme partnerships, will “work closely” with families and young people to “ensure they are involved in the teaching, learning and development” of the reforms.

They will “bring together education and health services” to develop new inclusion plans.

The DfE said an example would be “making sure a child with special educational needs who is behind in reading is quickly assessed and given the right support.”

“This addresses feedback from families that the current system is often fragmented with agencies not working together.”

Reforms to the SEND system were criticised earlier this year by FE and post-16 specialist colleges for not addressing issues that were particularly prevalent in post-16 settings, such as access to capital funding and specialist staff.

Specialist college body Natspec told FE Week it has joined forces with the Association of Colleges (AoC) to offer “16-25 focused support” to the DfE and/or change programme partnerships directly.

The offers include data sources and report suggestions to support 16-25 planning as well as suggested strategic objectives and actions. Both organisations are also encouraging partnerships to “fully engage” with FE partners locally and have at least one strategic objective focused on 16-25-year-olds or post-school provision.

Partnerships will receive “extensive hands-on support and expertise” from the DfE’s delivery partner, a consortium called Reaching Excellence and Ambition for All Children (REACh).

PA Consulting will lead the consortium, which includes consultancy IMPOWER, the Council for Disabled Children (CDC) and Olive Academies.

The delivery partner role could be worth up to £9.8 million, according to previous contract documents.

More schools for cash-strapped areas

The government announced 33 new special schools in March, as well as a new special free school in Bury as part of the safety valve programme.

Today Norfolk, Kent and Cambridgeshire have been granted two new schools each while Merton has one.

It means that 18 of the 41 new schools will open in areas with “safety valve” deals. A further 21 schools are in areas under the lower tier of government intervention, called the delivering better value in SEND programme.

These schools are on top of a further 49 already in the pipeline.

The DfE say once all are complete, it will almost double the number of special free school places available across the country – from around 8,500 to 19,000.

However, these schools can take years to open, as FE Week’s sister publication Schools Week revealed last year.

The schools are funded through the £2.6 billion high needs capital funding, allocated in the 2021 spending review.

The deadline to run one of the 33 schools closes next week while organisations will have until November 3 to apply for the seven new latest schools.

The SEND change programme partnerships (lead councils are in bold):

East Midlands: Leicester, Leicestershire, Rutland
East of England: Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, Luton
London: Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Islington
North East: Hartlepool, Durham, Gateshead, Stockton on Tees
North West: Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Trafford 
South East: Portsmouth, Brighton, East Sussex, West Sussex
South West: Gloucestershire, Swindon 
West Midlands: Telford and Wrekin, Herefordshire, Shropshire
Yorkshire and Humber: Wakefield, Bradford, Calderdale, Leeds

The seven new SEND schools

Merton, 120 place all-through in Morden
Norfolk, 170 place all-through in Great Yarmouth
Norfolk, 100 place all-through in Down Market
Kent, 250 place all-through in Swanley
Kent, 120 place all-through in Whitstable
Cambridgeshire, 210 place all-through in Fenland
Cambridgeshire, 60 place secondary in Gamlingay

Families face a postcode lottery for SEND support. That needs to change

Around 17 per cent of pupils are now identified as having a special educational need (SEND), and this figure is only rising.

Across the country families, teachers and special needs staff have been working tirelessly to meet this area of need and ensure every child gets the opportunity of a great education.

Often though, this job has been too hard.

I have travelled the country from Ipswich to Bolsover learning about teachers’ and parents’ experiences.

Parents often recount to me the moment after diagnosis when they feel alone, concerned about the battle ahead and worry about what this means for their child’s life prospects.

Too often families tell me that despite their best efforts, they struggle to get the educational assessments and services their child needs.

Support is often fragmented, and families face a postcode lottery in whether they will get good quality support for their children.

‘Early identification at the heart of our plans’

In March we laid the foundation for transformational change, by publishing our SEND and alternative provision improvement plan to improve services for families across the country.

At the heart of these plans is early identification and ensuring children’s needs are met as early as possible so that they don’t escalate.

We began to prime the system to deliver these transformed outcomes by making sure the right resources were in place – almost doubling the pipeline of new special free schools alongside £2.6 billion capital funding, and injecting significant investment into the high needs budget.

From the time that the prime minister was chancellor until now, high needs funding has increased to record levels. (Editor’s note: pupil numbers are also at record levels).

And there will be a further increase of £440 million in 24-25 to bring total funding to £10.5 billion – an increase of over 60 per cent since 2019-20.

Revealed: Councils chosen to lead local SEND inclusion plans

Today we’re announcing new partnerships with local authorities across the country to test and refine the reforms we set out in the Improvement Plan.

The change programme, backed by £70 million, will find the best ways to improve SEND and AP provision, and how to make support consistent across schools and specialist services.

‘Finding the right school can be daunting’

It will also look at a range of issues within the system that need reforming, from creating a standardised format for education, health and care (EHC) plans, improving the application and assessment processes in place to diagnose children, to creating stronger partnerships between health, schools and family services to create more seamless EHCP processes.

This work is vital to producing the successful, sustainable reforms that will carry generations to come.

Parents tell me that searching for the right school for their child with SEND can be daunting, as many are oversubscribed.

To respond to this demand, today we are building on the 33 new schools we announced earlier this year, and announcing a further seven new free schools for children with special educational needs. This is a welcome boost to SEND provision where it’s most needed, as the schools chosen specifically meet the needs and shortfalls of their local areas.

I’m particularly proud to announce two of these schools will be built in Kent, where more and better provision is so clearly needed.

‘Supported internships are a brilliant next step’

When the time comes to move on from school, I want young people with SEND to be ambitious about their futures.

Work builds young people’s confidence, self-esteem and social life – all things that parents want for their children in adulthood.

Supported internships provide a brilliant next step for young people with SEND, offering a way into work. They are work-based study programmes for 16 to 24-year-olds with an EHC Plan.

I’m really pleased that we’re rolling out a pilot from autumn to test supported internships with young people with SEND who do not have EHC plans, so even more can benefit from this opportunity.

This builds on our £18 million investment to double the number of supported internships from around 2,500 to 5,000 by 2025.

When I meet the families of young people with SEND, I am always amazed by their love for their children, shown in their efforts to get them what they need to succeed in life.

I want government to match that love with an equal dedication to getting things right, first time, for every child.

Today’s updates will help develop these reforms, so we can bring about the changes that families urgently need.

DfE green-lights three ‘elite’ Eton Star sixth forms

Three “elite” sixth forms proposed by a partnership between Eton College and Star Academies are among 15 new free school bids given the go-ahead by the government this week.

Twelve of the 15 new schools have been approved with post-16 provision, including two new University Technical Colleges (UTCs).

The Eton Star 16 to 19 free schools will open in Dudley, Teesside and Oldham, with the government hoping to push up education standards and get more pupils from the north and midlands into Oxbridge.

But the Sixth Form Colleges Association (SFCA) has warned the move could lead to existing “high-performing” provision being “unnecessarily disrupted”.

Eton, the £50,000-a-year private school that educated the likes of Boris Johnson, David Cameron and princes William and Harry, will provide financial and extra-curricular support to the new sixth forms through its partnership with Star.

Headteacher Simon Henderson said the new schools had the “potential to be transformative both for the young people who attend and for the wider communities they will serve”.

Neil Thomas, principal and chief executive of Dudley College of Technology, which neighbours a new Eton sixth form, told FE Week he was disappointed that a new “exclusive” sixth form will be opening on his doorstep:

“The borough of Dudley is already home to a number of fantastic A-level providers. I am sure these providers, including Dudley Sixth, would have welcomed the opportunity to work collaboratively with Eton College to enhance this existing provision to support our local community.

“It is therefore disappointing that the decision has instead been to spend public money creating a stand-alone competitive and exclusive centre.”

The government committed to opening “a number” of “high-quality, academic-focused” 16 to 19 free schools in education investment areas (EIAs) in its levelling up white paper.

“We want to make more good school places available to families, and these 15 new free schools will bring brand new opportunities to young people from Bradford to Bristol,” said education secretary Gillian Keegan today.

New UTCs among successful bids

More than 60 applications to the latest wave of the DfE’s free school application process were revealed back in January. It was known only one in four would be approved.

Two University Technology Colleges, as well as secondary and primary schools are among the accepted bids. A proposal for a new UTC in Southampton was led by UTC Portsmouth while UTC Doncaster secured a new health sciences and green technology centre.

The UTCs are the first to be approved in five years. It comes against a backdrop of closures, with 13 having ceased operation since their inception in 2010.

But Lord Baker, chairman of the Baker Dearing Educational Trust, said the move was “further proof of the success of the UTC concept”.

“I greatly appreciate the well-founded faith that the Department for Education has now placed in the UTC programme,” he added.

The government announced over the weekend that the prominent BRIT School – a performing arts college in London – was also among the successful bidders with its application to open a sixth form in Bradford.

However, plans to open more elite schools have proved controversial, with fears their selective nature could exclude disadvantaged students, and that they could “destabilise” existing provision.

A study from Education Datalab last year found “elite” sixth forms taught fewer poorer students and recruited heavily from neighbouring areas. Eton has promised a “laser-like focus” on ensuring poorer students benefit.

Funding capital costs for the new free schools could cost the DfE around £250 million, according to estimates by the Association of Colleges deputy chief executive Julian Gravatt.

“It is right to focus on education investment in disadvantaged areas but the practical impact of these new institutions will be more A level places at a time when there is a need to shift the focus to technical education, and greater competition for scarce teaching staff,” Gravatt warned.

Fears for existing provision

Analysis by FE Week last year found there were already 1,414 sixth forms and colleges in the 55 education investment areas. Of those, 303 teach fewer than 200 students, the DfE’s benchmark for a financially viable sixth form.

Bill Watkin, chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association, said he had pressed the DfE to ensure decisions were based on “detailed evidence” demonstrating local need. “It doesn’t make sense to double up on what is already,” he added.

He also pointed to the fact “some high-profile examples” were trailed in the media “before applications had even opened, and long before evidence could be gathered”.

“The result is that some new, untried and untested, free schools are set to open in communities where there is already sufficient, high-quality provision, while areas with much greater need of additional high-quality sixth form places continue to be neglected.

“This presents the risk of existing and high-performing sixth form provision being unnecessarily disrupted.”

But Watkin welcomed the establishment of new comprehensive 16-19 free schools “in the context” of a rise in 18-year-olds this decade, “in areas where there is an identified need”.

College leaders to fight ‘destabilising’ free school bids

Locations of some free schools prompt warnings

There has also been concern about the clustering of new free schools in certain areas of the country. Three of the 15 successful free schools will open in West Yorkshire.

In February, five colleges from the West Yorkshire Consortium of Colleges wrote to the DfE’s free school assessment team opposing a series of planned new free schools in the region that they claimed would be “destabilising”.

But four of the seven proposals in the region were not successful, including the iExel Elite STEM Sixth Form for Females, which would have been based in Bradford.

The Consortium, made up of Leeds City College, Keighley College, Wakefield College, Leeds College of Building, Kirklees College and Bradford College, has said it wasn’t consulted on the free school applications in its area:

“We are frustrated that throughout the application process, we have not been consulted and our concerns around duplication have not been addressed.

“Our view remains that the free schools that have been approved will be a potential waste of taxpayer money and could lead to some providers being forced to close.”

Two other bids for elite sixth forms were also turned down – the Cornwall Academy of Excellence and Mercian Sixth – The Queen Mary’s Partnership in the West Midlands.

Opening dates for the 15 new free schools are not yet known, but the usual trajectory of a free school from winning a bid to opening is around three to four years.

Wave 15: The successful free schools

Eton Star, a 16-19 school in Dudley
Eton Star, a 16-19 school in Teesside
Eton Star, a 16-19 school in Oldham
BRIT School North, a 16-19 school in Bradford
Great Stall East Academy, an all through school from ages four to 16 in Swindon
Lotmead Primary School in Swindon
Dixons Victoria Academy, a secondary school in Manchester
Dixons Wythenshawe Sixth Form, a 16-19 school in Manchester
Eden Girls’ Leadership Academy, a secondary school in Liverpool
Bolsover Sixth Form, a 16-19 school in Derbyshire
Cabot Sixth Form, a 16-19 school in Bristol
New College Keighley, a 16-19 school in Bradford
Thorpe Park College, a 16-19 school in Leeds
UTC Southampton
Doncaster UTC – Health Sciences and Green Technologies

‘Judicious’ digital training provider scoops ‘outstanding’

Derby-based training provider Althaus Digital has scooped an ‘outstanding’ rating in its first Ofsted report.

Inspectors lauded the provider for its “high-quality, structured and organised” training in an inspection back in June, which was published today.

The provider works with adult learners and apprentices in digital marketing, IT and cybersecurity, across the Midlands.

At the time of the inspection, it had 211 adult learners on skills bootcamps and 57 apprentices on level three courses in IT solutions and digital marketing. It does not work with any subcontractors.

The provider welcomed the rating and said its mission is “to unleash the digital leaders of tomorrow”.

“We only do that by quality of delivery that matches up to ever-evolving industry demands. This report not only showcases how we’re equipping learners with the skills that they need now, but also how we are providing employers with talented individuals to meet the needs of their businesses in the future, too,” it added.

The report also comes as Althaus Digital records 1000 learners across its programmes for the first time.

‘Well prepared for their next steps’

The report followed a positive monitoring visit in February 2022, and highlighted a “very high” standard of work among the learners and apprentices.

Inspectors said the high standard of courses means learners are all “quickly equipped” with technical skills they can use in the workplace, and that many apprentices stay with their employer at the end of their studies or are promoted. Many of the apprentices also get distinction grades in their studies.

The provider also received praise for its “judicious” management of the “well planned and logically sequenced” curriculums, and its decision to focus on specialisms which its staff are experienced in. Inspectors also highlighted a push to check understanding and commit knowledge to long term memory in the report.

Trainers at the provider are meanwhile “highly experienced” and provide bespoke and specialist online training resources, Ofsted said.

Leaders at the provider were praised too for their “very high expectations and ambitions for staff, learners and apprentices”. Ofsted also pointed to “extensive links” between the provider and employers, which they used to tackle local and regional skills gap. That relationship led to Althaus Digital offering level three courses in cybersecurity after a gap was identified.

Confidence and resilience

Ofsted also highlighted Althaus Digital’s career guidance programme which meant adult learners say they feel well prepared for their next steps. But inspectors also said apprentices do not always receive enough information about their own career progression.

But guidance and support from staff at the provider means learners and apprentices all develop “confidence and resilience” while on their training.

Safeguarding at the provider is also “effective”, while learners know who to go to with any concerns.

On its website, the provider says its aim is to “to become the UK’s number one digitally focused talent solutions provider.”

Remit Training gets first Ofsted ‘outstanding’

National apprenticeship provider Remit Training has received top marks from Ofsted for the first time.

Inspectors awarded the provider ‘outstanding’ overall in an inspection carried out in early July and published today for its “high-quality” teaching resources and strong partnerships with well-known employers like Scania, Volvo, and Waitrose.

The top rating is the first for the Nottingham-based provider, which was established in 1983, operating under the name ReMIT when it was owned by the Retail Motor Industry Federation.

Now trading as Remit Group, the provider was training 2,296 apprentices at the time of inspection, almost half of which were studying automotive courses. The remaining learners were enrolled in retail, commercial, business and management apprenticeships.

Today’s report said since its last inspection, which was a short inspection in 2018, the company changed its business model to no longer offer adult learning courses or traineeships and it no longer subcontracts. Remit teaches apprentices face-to-face in four training academies across the country and through online learning.

Remit’s chief executive Sue Pittock said the achievement was a “testament to the exemplary teamwork seen among our apprentices, clients and colleagues” and has been made in the face of a “very challenging environment for apprenticeship training providers”.

Ofsted’s report said that apprentices’ behaviour and attitudes to learning were of a very high standard, especially young learners living away from home, some for the first time, to attend block learning weeks.

“They work productively and show respect for their development coaches and their peers. They talk positively about their learning experiences and how this supports them well for their future careers,” inspectors noted.

They also praised apprentices’ involvement in competitions to showcase their skills, such as WorldSkills. “These competitions recognise apprentices’ success very well and inspire others to take part,” the report said.

‘Very committed’ to staff development

Inspectors found Remit was “very committed” to staff development by giving access to professional development courses to development coaches, for example.

Ofsted noted how effectively development coaches plan the topics they teach in a logical and considered order so that apprentices can effectively build their knowledge over time.

Inspectors also observed that Remit’s automotive apprentices learn in “exceptionally equipped classrooms and workshops that match the latest industry standards”.

Pittock, who was made an OBE in the 2023 new year honours list, said: “Our apprentices never fail to impress with their enthusiasm and commitment to their apprenticeship, and we couldn’t be prouder of them.

“A massive heartfelt thank-you goes to our amazing Remit Training colleagues.”

The watchdog commended the provider’s relationship with employers, highlighting its consultation with automotive employers at the development stage of apprenticeships to decide the content, training methods and timetabling.

Pittock said the rating was welcome amidst a “challenging environment” for apprenticeship providers.

“The sector needs government support with an emergency uplift in apprenticeship funding bands and a reduction in the complexity of functional skills with appropriate funding to support this area,” she added.

Students and apprentices need AI-informed educators to get ahead in the 4th industrial revolution

The speed at which AI is being introduced to all sectors of society has presented new challenges, certainly, but also opportunities – and none more so than in the field of training.

AI – and its capabilities – is something that needs to be understood by everyone, but especially trainers and educators. Its influence and growth is already with us.

Concerns about emerging technology are nothing new and the education world is not immune.

That is why, while some students and apprentices may worry about how their jobs may be affected, it is incumbent on educators to give them a curriculum and the careers guidance to make sure their decisions are informed.

After decades in the construction and aviation industries, we are both of the view that AI should be explained thoroughly and honestly, but grounded in industry insights so it can meaningfully factor into an apprentice’s career choices.

Informed apprentices should embark on their careers with their eyes wide open about the different ways AI will impact their future roles.

Put simply, there is no point in an apprentice coming out of training with the mistaken belief that the way things are done now will be the way they’re done in ten, five or even two years. Everyday practices like recording results, ordering products and taking measurements will be increasingly digitised and automated.

Those jobs could even be performed by artificial intelligence at some point but – and this is crucial – there will still need to be a person feeding in data and pointing AI in the right direction. Training apprentices to control AI will be fundamental for educators.

What employers want

AI is already changing the way that core jobs and tasks in both aviation and construction are carried out and both industries are already innovating at a rapid rate.

Passengers will increasingly see AI taking an active role in their travels. It is being used to visually scan airport baggage and connect it with a passenger, superseding labelling systems, and there’s even ongoing research into how AI might clear pilots for take-off.

In construction, AI is improving building design at such a pace that it is proving a turning point in the sector and increasing efficiency. It is also being used to forecast different scenarios in construction projects and calculate different outcomes.

That means training providers should be equipping students with at least a basic concept of AI and how it works in their chosen sector.

Employers we’re working with are on the lookout for people with these skills, or at least the capability to learn them, so give your students a head start by preparing them for that reality.

AI-informed modules

Teaching construction-related AI should be about guiding students towards taking a critical view of the different technologies and then allowing them to structure projects that demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the subject. Perhaps technology experts could be brought in to share their experiences.

Part of a module might teach how a cloud-based digital twin technology platform connects the physical and digital worlds to offer real-time operational insight into the performance of building facilities, for example.

On the more physical side, teaching apprentices about bricklaying might involve AI data analysis from motion-capture suits that track a worker’s posture to offer guidance on how to carry bricks with less strain on the joints.

So how, with a class of students in front of you, do you teach them about their future interaction with AI?

While a vast part of any course will still be about teaching core skills such as working in a team or managing projects, individual modules could allow students to specialise in digital approaches appropriate for their career path.

AI is of course changing the nature of jobs but there are tens of thousands of vacancies and the future for apprentices is exciting.

Evolution, not revolution, in training

Will there need to be tweaks to the curriculum and additional qualifications? Yes, that is almost certain – but it should be evolution, not revolution. Educators have for decades been doing a great job preparing apprentices for work and will certainly be up to this important task.

Overall, AI will impact on us all and must be understood by those who teach, but it should always be remembered that most technology still requires a degree of human intervention.

There has been a lot written about AI and the jobs market but it’s the ‘how, where and when’ around AI that is key and very much in the hands of business leaders.

Keeping pace, predicting and working with our academic partners will be crucial in supporting the next generation of recruits. The really intelligent way of working is to maintain older, more traditional skills and integrate them with new skills and ways of working.

We are entering the fourth industrial revolution and it’s happening at a pace in front of our eyes. The best thing to do is embrace it. We are proud to support the latest AI-based early career opportunities at Talentview Construction and Talentview Aviation.

Major training group launches legal action against ESFA over ‘unlawful’ AEB tender

A major group of training providers is suing the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) for damages and demanding a re-run of the national adult education budget procurement following its unsuccessful bids.

Learning Curve Group and its seven offshoots have filed a claim in the High Court of Justice against the ESFA, alleging that the government agency “acted unlawfully” in evaluating the providers’ bids for an AEB contract.

Court documents, seen by FE Week, claim that the providers’ low tender scores awarded by the ESFA were supported by “brief” and “vague” reasons and did not enable the claimants to “understand the reasons for the decisions”.

Learning Curve Group claims it was “deprived of a real chance of winning a contract” and the agency has “unlawfully failed to create or retain lawful, sufficient contemporaneous records of the reasons for the scores awarded”.

The eight claimants are demanding the ESFA carries out the following: acknowledge that the agency acted unlawfully, re-run the AEB procurement and/or Learning Curve’s evaluation again, pay out damages and costs, and award the companies a contract.

Learning Curve Group was one of the big names that lost out on a contract from the £75 million tender, announced earlier in July. For the 2021/22 academic year, the group was collectively awarded nearly £5 million in AEB contracts from the ESFA.

National AEB tender winners 2023 revealed

Brenda McLeish, chief executive of Learning Curve Group, told FE Week that the provider is in “constructive communications” with the ESFA about the dispute.

During the procurement process, bidders were required to complete a number of technical questions and a volumes and value spreadsheet for consideration.

Responses to technical questions Q1B1 in the procurement required minimum score of 75 (good) to be considered.

Learning Curve and its subsidiaries were awarded a score of 50 for Q1B1 and so were excluded. The provider claims that the ESFA gave “brief, vague” reasons for not awarding them the minimum required score to be awarded a contract. One reason was that the providers had not listed the number of learners for each course in the required mobilisation plan template.

In the particulars of claim, representatives of Learning Curve Group state that the ESFA has a legal obligation to follow the Public Contract Regulations 2015, and to treat each claimant “equally, transparently and in a proportionate way”.

They say the ESFA had breached its duty in the evaluation and scoring of Q1B1 responses, and breached transparency duties to: (i) provide lawful reasons, and (ii) ensure lawful, transparent records of reasons.

The ESFA was approached for comment.

Results 2023: 7 VTQ and T Level key trends

Results for students taking vocational and technical qualifications (VTQ) as well as T Levels are out today – here’s FE Week’s round up of the key trends.

1. ‘No surprises’ as 378k VTQ results handed out

Last year’s results day was mired by the delay of tens of thousands of BTEC and other VTQ grades, which prompted exams regulator Ofqual to launch an action plan which imposed a series of new strict deadlines on schools, colleges and awarding bodies to ensure the problem was not repeated.

Those efforts appear to have worked as Ofqual data shows over 378,000 results across 575 VTQs have been issued and chief regulator Jo Saxton has stated that there are no unexpected late results.

Under 180 results have been “routinely withheld” pending the outcome of internal processing due to, for example, malpractice or late special consideration requests, which “happens in any year”, according to Ofqual.

And in line with students’ plans changing or because they need more time to complete their qualification, there are nearly 30,000 results where awarding organisations and schools or colleges have agreed to defer the result or have it withdrawn.

Saxton said Ofqual is committed to taking a similar approach next year, continuing with a “term-time checkpoint and a clear deadline for awarding organisations to issue results”.

2. Top grades for 9% of VTQs in performance tables

Of the 378,000 total VTQ results, 255,000 are for applied generals, like BTECs, or tech levels included in the government’s performance league tables.

Today’s data shows 9 per cent – 23,500 – of those achieved top grades of either A* or distinction* depending on the grading scale their qualification uses.

The three performance table subjects with the most certificates issued against them are business, administration and law – 61,200, health, public services and care – 36,900, and social sciences – 36,500.

3. 90.5% pass rate for T Levels – but a third drop out

A total of 3,448 students received T Level results today, a third lower than the 5,210 the government reported had started the two-year course in 2021.

Of those picking up results, 22.2 per cent of students achieved the top distinction and distinction* grades. Nearly half, 47.1 per cent, achieved a merit and 21.2 per cent scored a pass.

A Department for Education spokesperson said the government will “work with providers and other partners to understand more about the reasons for students dropping out and what can be done to improve retention” (click here for full story).

4. Digital hardest T Level to pass

There were 10 T Levels available for those starting in 2021 across four routes.

DfE data shows that health had the highest percentage of students achieving pass or above (96 per cent) whilst those on digital business services had the lowest (70 per cent).

The T Level pathway in which the highest percentage of students achieved a distinction or above was education and early years (34.5 per cent), whilst digital business services again had the lowest (2.5 per cent).

5. Females outperform males

Of the 3,448 students picking up T Level results today, 1,775 are female and 1,650 are male.

The overall pass rate was higher for females (94.9 per cent) than males (85.8 per cent).

More females also achieved distinction or above than males (29.9 per cent compared with 14.1 per cent).

6. Few females choose construction and engineering

A big gender divide has developed for some T Levels, namely construction and engineering, digital and education and childcare.

The data shows there was just one female student on the onsite construction pathway compared to 74 males, and only three females were on the building services engineering pathway compared to 204 males.

Similarly, just eight females were on the digital support services pathway compared to 174 males, and only 65 females took the digital production, design and development T Level compared to 612 males.

Meanwhile education and early years had just 47 males compared to 938 females. There were also 614 females on the health pathway compared to 58 males.

7. 175 students didn’t complete their industry placement

Students are required to complete a placement lasting at least 315 hours (approximately 45 days) to achieve a T Level.

Today’s data shows that 3,219 (93.4 per cent) T Level students completed their placement in full, 54 (1.6 per cent) completed it with a “special consideration”, and 175 (5.1 per cent) failed to complete a placement.

A special consideration is available where a student has experienced adverse circumstances and has not been able to complete the minimum placement hours but has demonstrated “sufficient progress” towards their learning goals and worked directly to an external employer.

There were small differences in the proportions completing the industry placement between T Level pathways. The highest proportion of students completing, including those completing with special consideration, was in onsite construction (98.7 per cent) and the lowest was in building services engineering (89.9 per cent).

Digital placements were among the pathways with consistently high non-completion rates.

A-level results 2023: London and south east pupils pull further ahead

Students in London and the south east recorded the largest rise in top A-level results compared to 2019 as grade standards settled back to the new post-pandemic normal, with those in the north east hardest-hit.

Results this year have mostly returned to pre-pandemic standards after three years of grade inflation following the cancelation of exams.

However the regional picture varies.

The north east now has the lowest proportion of A* or A grades (22 per cent).

It has been surpassed by both the east and West Midlands, whose top grades rose to 22.3 per cent and 22.9 per cent respectively.

Both the north east and Yorkshire and the Humber have a lower proportion of top grades this year than in 2019.

Comparing top grades this year to 2019, London and the south east have recorded the biggest rises.

A level Regional divide table | Schools Week

It means the gap between the two top-performing regions and the rest of the country has widened this year.

After a similar trend last year, regional spokespeople said the disparities are down to the “disproportionate impact of the pandemic facing regions like the north east”.

We don’t have attendance data for year 13 pupils. However, the changes do seem to mirror attendance rates for year 11 pupils in a study by Education Datalab.

London year 11s had the best attendance rates, while those in the north east had among the worst. However, the south east also had relatively high absence rates, according to the analysis.