T Level results: A third achieve top grades but digital proves toughest subject

More than a third of students have achieved top grades in the first ever set of T Level results – but digital has proven to be the most difficult subject.

Overall, 34.6 per cent of the 1,029 T Level students receiving results today were awarded a Distinction or Distinction*. The overall pass rate was 92.2 per cent.

The 482 students on the education and childcare pathway performed the best as 40.2 per cent achieved top grades and a 93.4 per cent pass rate. The proportion of the 207 students on the design, surveying and planning for construction T Level scoring top grades was 35.8 per cent as 93.7 per cent passed.

But only 25.9 per cent of the 340 students on the digital production, design and development T Level got top grades as 89.7 per cent passed.

T Level results in full

Today’s data shows that 10 per cent of digital students did not complete the full T Level and only partially achieved. A “partial achievement” means they completed at least one component of the course – core, occupational specialism or industry placement – but didn’t achieve all three.

In construction, 5.3 per cent of students only partially achieved and in education and childcare, that figure wa 6.4 per cent.

Sector leaders suspected that digital would prove to be the toughest subject to achieve in especially for students in rural areas, largely because of the challenge of finding employers to take them on for the mandatory 45-day work placement.

This cohort of T Level students were allowed to spend up to 40 per cent of their placement hours remotely after the Department for Education temporarily watered down the policy to reflect the impact of Covid-19. Today’s data shows that 94 per cent of all T Level students completed an industry placement.

T Levels are the government’s flagship new post-16 qualifications, designed to be the technical equivalent to A-levels.

The two-year courses launched for the first time in September 2020 in three subjects: education and childcare; design, surveying and planning for construction; and digital production, design and development.

They have been delivered by 44 colleges and schools.

The first T Level students received a one-off grading adjustment to reflect the impact of Covid, the government said yesterday. Awarding organisations were asked to be “generous” in their awards in line with the approach being taken for A-levels in the first year that exams have been sat since the pandemic.

The DfE previously said that around 1,300 students began the qualifications two years ago, but today’s shows that only 1,029 have received results. FE Week has asked the DfE to confirm whether this means that a fifth dropped out.

Education secretary James Cleverly said: “Today is a really exciting time for our pioneering T Level students, as the first ever group to take this qualification will pick up their results. I have no doubt they will be the first of many and embark on successful careers.”

Two awarding organisations were chosen to design and award the first three T Levels: NCFE took on education and childcare, while Pearson was responsible for digital and construction.

Zac Aldridge, director of qualifications and assessment at NCFE, said: “This is a hugely important day that signifies years of hard work from across the sector and government to strengthen the options available to young people and tackle the widening skills gap.

“We’ve seen first-hand just how much students – and employers – can gain from T Levels, and we’re incredibly proud of this first cohort as they receive their results, particularly given the challenges posed by the pandemic. A huge congratulations, too, to the teachers, providers and businesses for their hard work in bringing these qualifications to life.”

Exams can’t close the attainment gap. We must address the underlying causes

Disadvantaged students are more likely to see their grades adversely affected by the Covid pandemic, but expecting the exams system alone to eradicate these inequalities is unrealistic, write Dr Michelle Meadows and Professor Jo-Anne Baird.

Tomorrow’s A-level, AS, BTEC and T-level results represent students’ achievements in a system that is returning to normal. Examinations have never been so popular as when they were not available during the pandemic and they are back in most subjects this year.

This year the assessments have had some adaptations, such as forewarning of topics that would be covered, or changing practical activities in science.

Students taking this year’s exams have been studying for the courses over the pandemic and their final year of GCSE study was affected too.

The adaptations and this year’s grading are designed to recognise the challenges that students have faced.

The impact of the pandemic on educational opportunities has been complex. Even some young people from relatively well-off backgrounds will have been hard hit and will have had to work exceptionally hard to catch-up. 

For example, parents such as medics and teachers may not have been able to give their children support because they were working flat out. 

That said, even with the additional support in place, on average the performance of students from disadvantaged backgrounds will be impacted more than other students.

Learning loss is greater for poorer students

Research has shown that the impact of the pandemic on learning loss has been greater for disadvantaged students, such as those receiving free school meals.  

We know that young people from economically disadvantaged families, single-parent households and with less educated parents spent less time learning than their advantaged peers.  

Those with SEND had a great deal of trouble accessing the equipment and support they needed to engage with education.

And then of course there was the issue of digital poverty. No wonder commentators are sceptical about the impact of England’s national tutoring programme. 

There is no evidence that the adaptations or this year’s grading policy will eradicate inequalities. After all, that would be an unrealistic expectation of the qualification system.

For the past two years, teacher assessment bailed the qualification system out, so that young people could progress to the next stage of their education or employment. 

Grades from teacher assessment are well known to be higher than from examinations, almost universally, wherever they are used. Returning to pre-pandemic standards was never going to be easy.  

Grades issued over this period need to be interpreted in the context in which the qualifications were taken.  

Rather than reverting to 2019 standards in one fell swoop, there has been a transition, with the 2022 standards representing a mid-way point between 2021 and 2019 outcomes.  

This is a sensible policy; an immediate return to 2019 standards would have been highly disruptive at a time when stability is sorely required.  

Likewise, a whole new set of standards through wholesale qualification reform would take time and requires a level of resourcing that is not available in the education system presently.

‘Don’t feel dismayed by comparisons with last year’

Teachers, lecturers and school and college leaders analysing the results should not feel dismayed by comparisons with last year.  

Instead, a more sensible comparison to make would be with 2019 results, or better still, with an average of 2021 and 2019 results.  

But schools and colleges typically have small numbers of learners entering for each subject and results can be volatile with small numbers of students.  

Now more than ever, university admissions tutors should take account of the context in which the grades were gained, to appreciate applicants’ capabilities in the face of varying levels of educational support.

The pandemic has shone a light on, as well as exacerbated educational inequality. Reviews of the qualification systems in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have started and calls for reforms in England are being made.  

Addressing issues of inclusion, diversity and equality are consistent themes. Whilst qualification reform is a necessary element to impact on these issues, it will not be enough in itself.

‘We must overcome educational barriers’

Privileged groups are able to turn systems to their advantage wherever there are levers that can be used, so closing attainment gaps has to go beyond qualification design to the underlying causes of differences in attainment – to the educational barriers and opportunities themselves.  

Policies that appear to be helpful, counter-intuitively, can turn out to be no help at all. For example, we know from research that modular examinations did not close attainment gaps and offering more options in examinations does not help either. 

Qualification reform for A-levels is surely necessary in the next few years of pandemic recovery, since it was last undertaken wholesale in 2010.  

A static qualification system does not spell high quality. However, reforms will need to be accompanied by good teacher supply, professional development and appropriate funding for schools and colleges.  

The economy of the future involves changing careers for young people, so we need a qualification system that allows for second chances, for changing trajectory and that engages with issues of local, national and international skills needs. 

A healthy choice of vocational qualifications also needs to form part of that mix. 

Dr Michelle Meadows was Ofqual’s deputy chief regulator and executive director for strategy, risk and research until September 2021. She is now associate professor in the Department of Education at the University of Oxford.

Dr Jo-Anne Baird sits on the Ofqual standards advisory group and is a commissioner for the Independent Assessment Commission. She is director of the Department of Education at Oxford.

First T Level students to receive one-off grading adjustment

The first T Level students will receive a one-off grading adjustment in tomorrow’s results to reflect the impact of Covid.

Awarding organisations have been asked to be “generous” in their awards to the 1,000-odd T Level learners – like the approach being taken for A-levels in the first year that exams have been sat since the pandemic.

T Level students will receive an overall Pass, Merit, Distinction or Distinction*, which is derived from the grades they achieved on the core and the occupational specialism components – those assessed by exams – of the qualification.

A student must also complete the mandatory 45-day industry placement to achieve their T Level – although this requirement has been watered down and allowed to be partially completed virtually to reflect Covid related barriers faced by employers.

The Department for Education told FE Week that senior examiners reviewed the quality of student work for the occupational specialism and the core over a range of marks, before recommending grade boundaries based on all of the available evidence. Awarding organisations were then responsible for setting grade boundaries, overseen by Ofqual.

Grade boundaries will not be released until results are published tomorrow morning.

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, which is responsible for the technical qualification element of T Levels, said it agreed with exams regulator Ofqual to “take into account the impact of the pandemic before awarding took place – not in response to having seen any grades”.

“This was to keep T Levels in line with the approach taken by DfE for A Levels. The aim was to help ensure that T Level students were not disadvantaged,” a spokesperson added.

T Levels are the government’s flagship new post-16 qualifications, designed to be the technical equivalent of A-levels.

Tomorrow’s results will be for the first wave of T Level subjects, started in September 2020: education and childcare awarded by NCFE; design, surveying and planning for construction; and digital production, design and development awarded by Pearson.

The DfE previously said that around 1,300 students began the qualifications two years ago, but this week said that only around 1,000 will receive their results tomorrow.

It is unclear what level of detail will be published.

Students who have met all of the requirements of their T Level will receive a certificate with their overall grade and component grades. But students who have not met all of the requirements will receive a “statement of achievement” listing the components and grades they have achieved. It will not include an overall grade but the government said it will still have “value to employers, higher education providers and others”.

T Level results will be published alongside A-level and other vocational and technical qualification results tomorrow morning at 9.30am.

Leaked AQA chemistry A-level paper was stolen from Parcelforce van

Students who had “full access” to an A-level chemistry paper stolen from a Parcelforce van and then leaked online have been disqualified, AQA has confirmed.

The exam board said it reported the theft to police after students who sat chemistry paper 2 on June 20 said they recognised questions that had previously been posted online.

Today, the board confirmed the paper was stolen as it was in transit to a school. Police are “still working to find those responsible”, AQA said in an email to leaders, seen by FE Week’s sister paper, Schools Week.

Where the board has identified students who had “full access” to the paper before the exam, they have been disqualified. However, images circulated on social media were of too poor quality to offer a “clear advantage”, AQA said.

But after completing “extensive analysis” on the impact of grades, AQA said it had ruled out “a gain in marks or performance that would impact the grade boundaries”.

“This means that the students who sat this paper have performed just as we expected them to.”

A Parcelforce Worldwide spokesperson said they “cannot comment further on what is an ongoing police investigation”.

‘Not possible’ to replace paper

AQA said while images of the paper were circulating on social media, “they were of such poor quality that they would not have offered a significant clear advantage to students who saw these small extracts of the paper”. 

“Nor would students seeing those images have known that they were of the actual paper, as many other revision aids, including past paper images were being legitimately shared. 

“We understand that some of you were disappointed that we did not replace the paper, but unfortunately it really was not possible to replace this paper with a suitable alternative in the time we had.”   

AQA said its analysis included looking at performance statistics on all three chemistry papers and compared results between 2022 and 2019 paper two exams. 

It also modelled predicted performance and cross checked it against “the intelligence available to our exams Integrity team about individual students”.

The board added: “We’re very disappointed this happened, especially after all the hard work you and your students have put into these last two years to prepare. 

“We hope that this offers you the reassurance you and your students need to feel satisfied that the results issued to our students are accurate, and that we’ve taken appropriate action against individuals known to have had an unfair advantage.”

Not the first theft of exam papers

An AQA spokesperson said: “We reported the theft of this exam paper to the police and are continuing to work with them to find those responsible. Our exams integrity team identified students who had full access to the paper before the exam and they’ve been disqualified from the qualification.

“Our research team carried out extensive analysis of students’ performance on the paper, and also compared it with performance on the same paper in 2019, and this investigation has found that students who sat this paper have performed just as we expected them to. This means there’s been no impact on grade boundaries.”

It is not the first time exam boards have had to take action following thefts of papers or the vans transporting them.

In 2003, AQA had to rewrite papers for half a million students after a Parcelforce van was stolen. 

In 2005, a rewrite on a similar scale was required because papers were stolen from one van and lost from another.

Another theft of a Parcelforce van in 2008 prompted the rewriting of 46 papers, and AQA had to rewrite a batch of papers again in 2015 after the same thing happened.

More recently, in 2019, AQA had to replace four exam papers already sent to schools after a batch was stolen from a van.

Large accountancy apprenticeship provider excels with grade 1 in first Ofsted inspection

An independent learning provider training more than 600 accountancy apprentices has been given an ‘outstanding’ rating after its first full inspection by Ofsted.

The education watchdog visited First Intuition Cambridge Ltd in June, and in its report published today gave the firm grade ones in all areas.

At the time of the visit just over 600 apprentices were in training across levels 3, 4 and 7 qualifications, with more than half on level 7 accountancy taxation courses.

Amy Forrest, managing director of First Intuition Cambridge, said: “We are incredibly proud, it’s such an achievement to receive that grade, and to have our apprenticeship programmes recognised as outstanding is fantastic.

“Receiving the outstanding rating demonstrates the brilliant impact that these programmes have for our employers and our apprentices.”

The inspectors reported that “apprentices feel proud to be part of the accountancy profession,” with Forrest citing the firm’s relationship with employers that help design the programmes as a key part of that.

Amy Forrest, managing director of First Intuition Cambridge Ltd, said she was delighted with the Ofsted grade

The report said the mutual respect from staff allowed learners to take responsibility for their studies, noting that they “develop important skills such as preparing to deal with difficult clients and prioritising work”.

It said that “extensive support” is provided to prepare apprentices for end of course assessments, while workplace mentors are “highly valued” by learners to “rapidly improve their skills”.

Inspectors said that most tutors continue to work as accountants so that up-to-date industry standards are maintained.

Tutors are aware of individual training needs for apprentices, inspectors said, adding that they used “highly effective teaching strategies”.

The firm started 13 years ago, with Forrest saying the firm was about “continuous improvement,” having managed to grow its numbers while maintaining the quality of teaching. It began delivering apprenticeships for the first time in 2017.

An urgent call to demystify apprenticeships

As we approach exam results, the option for a young person to undertake an apprenticeship needs to be a mainstream consideration, equal to that of choosing to study at university. To reach the point that both pathways are seen in equal terms, we need to make sure apprenticeships are better understood by students, the teachers who support them and their parents or carers who wish to help them pursue their ambitions. 

The challenge, as shown in a recent report from PLMR’s Education Practice, is that teachers in schools are not confidently well-equipped to signpost students to information about apprenticeships or how to apply for one. Whilst staff in further education and sixth form colleges are better prepared to do so, there is a paucity of clear, easily-accessible information available and known to teachers, students and their parents or carers. UCAS has been making strides in this space but we need to do much more.

So-called ‘careers advice’ needs to be about what is right for students, not institutions.

Advice tends towards university options by default as schools and colleges certainly use entries into university as a measure of success promoted to prospective and current students and their families. University degrees are what the majority of teachers and many parents easily understand as they themselves are university graduates. And even for those parents who don’t have a degree, going to university may well be something they aspire to for their children without realising this may not be the best route into work. 

It is not easy to advise young people about different options if you have limited understanding or experience yourself of what those entail. Yet, while universities can provide brilliant opportunities, it is not going to be the best route for every student into a meaningful, rewarding lifetime of work – so we need to make it as easy as possible for people to understand all the options.

To achieve this, we need to change the way we think about careers advice – especially as many people hear ‘career’ and automatically think of white collar jobs. We need to think more about how we advise young people to get on the right path to gain the skills they will need to work in the sectors that ignite their passion and excitement for what lies ahead – an apprenticeship is a brilliant way to kick off that road to success.

Parents and carers have a significant impact on the choices young people make. Interestingly, it may be grandparents who understand apprenticeships better than parents or carers, as people their age and older may well have started off as an apprentice in accountancy, nursing or another industry. Apprenticeship routes for those lines of work fell out of favour in a clamour for university degrees, and apprenticeships became more associated with learning a trade. 

Yet, there is now a huge range of apprenticeships available for school leavers, including with organisations ranging from Airbus to the NHS to management consultancies like KPMG. These apprenticeships are available at a variety of levels from L2 (GCSE equivalent) up to L6 (degree equivalent) and beyond. Apprenticeships are versatile enough to be suitable both for young people who are high academic achievers or for those who may have struggled in the classroom environment or prefer to learn on-the-job. 

We are continuing to deal with the ramifications of the pandemic and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. If we are going help young people take their next steps in this environment, and indeed tackle these sorts of challenges as the adults in the society of the future, we need to ensure they are well-advised about their options. Government needs to work closely with the education sector, including UCAS, to urgently demystify apprenticeships so students, teachers, parents and carers can better understand all available options and the life-changing opportunities an apprenticeship can offer.

Education inequalities study reports ‘dearth’ of second chances for learners

There is a “dearth of second chances and lifelong learning opportunities” in the UK’s education system, a new report assessing education inequalities has warned – prompting fresh calls for significant investment in FE.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has published a report on inequalities in the education system ahead of an online event this morning, in which it says that disadvantaged pupils are frequently behind their peers in a system that is not succeeding in addressing the education gap.

While the report covers the whole of the school and education system, in the further education sector the report found that for those looking to pursue vocational qualifications outside of the academic GCSE-A Level-university route the system was difficult to navigate, and information less readily available.

It cited a “proliferation” of vocational qualifications that meant there was not an obvious pathway between levels in vocational studies.

It continued that for higher level learners in universities, government-backed loans covered both tuition fees and maintenance, but further education courses typically used advanced learner loans which do not cover the maintenance element. In addition, the equivalent or lower education rule meant loans were not available for those studying an equivalent or lower level qualification than they had already, making it difficult to reskill.

It said: “Over the past decade, there has also been a significant decline in public spending on basic adult education and training, while for learners wishing to study more advanced vocational qualifications it is often a struggle to access funding.

“This combination of factors leads to a dearth of ‘second chances’ and lifelong learning opportunities in the UK’s education system, which limits the scope for existing educational gaps to be closed.”

The report found that real-terms spending on adult education in 2019/20 was nearly 50 per cent lower than 2009/10, and two thirds lower than 2003/04, while the number of adult learners has also halved in the last decade.

It added: “For adults with low levels of education, these trends have made it more difficult to access opportunities to upskill through formal education or through training – meaning that existing educational gaps among adults may not be closed and may even be widening.”

The study found that nearly half of pupils without five good GCSEs at 16 still didn’t have any by 19, and less than 15 per cent of those with fewer than five good GCSEs achieved a level 3 qualification by the age of 19.

In addition, the document reports that 16-year-olds eligible for free school meals are around 27 percent less likely to earn good GCSEs than their better-off peers, while the Covid-19 pandemic has worsened inequalities because disadvantaged children had fewer resources to learn at home.

The report recognised that the government is in the process of overhauling some parts of the system, such as the new lifelong learning entitlement, but said it was “too early to know whether these reforms will address all of the issues that exist with the financing of advanced vocational and university education”.

The report’s authors have called for policymakers to ensure the system offers “chances and viable alternatives” for those who fall behind while at school, clearer communication on learning options available and “significant investment” – particularly in the FE sector.

Professor Sandra McNally, professor at the University of Surrey, director of the Centre for Vocational Education Research and one of the report’s authors, said the options for young people who don’t secure good GCSE grades at 16 are “limited, confusing, and often not very lucrative,” and pathways to higher learning were “opaque”.

She added: “The post-compulsory system in general can lead towards narrow choices with little opportunity for second chances later on.”

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said there was a “depressingly close alignment between family income and educational attainment,” with government policy a “rut of meaningless targets, empty rhetoric and pitiful levels of funding”.

He added: “We need to see investment in early years education, better support for schools which face the greatest challenges, funding for schools and post-16 education which matches the level of need, and a rethink of qualifications and curriculum so that they work well for all learners.”

A spokesperson from the Department for Education said: “Since 2011, we have narrowed the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers at every stage of education up to the pandemic, and recent figures show that a record proportion of the most disadvantaged students are progressing to higher education.”

The spokesperson said nearly £5 billion in pandemic recovery funding had been invested, which included tutoring courses for two million pupils in need of them most.

They added: “We are also making £2.7 billion available by 2025 to support businesses of all sizes to create more apprenticeships, in addition to investing over £260 million in the last year to expand popular adult training schemes, such as skills bootcamps and free courses for jobs, which thousands of individuals have taken advantage of.”

AQA staff to strike on A-level and GCSE results days, Unison confirms

Staff at exam board AQA are planning to strike over pay on A-level and GCSE results days, as schools minister Will Quince hits out at “scaremongering” from their union over disruption claims.

The 180 workers, including results managers, heads of curriculum and customers service staff, will stage a five-day walkout from August 17 to 21.

The union has suggested that “thousands” of teenagers trying to contact AQA on A-level results day, Thursday August 18, could face difficulties getting through as a result.

But the exam board has again rebutted disruption claims, emphasising that results would not be delayed and that “robust contingency plans” were in place.

It marks the third walkout in the pay dispute, with 79 staff taking part in industrial action last month and another strike planned for August 12 to 15.

Today, Unison confirmed a fourth round of strike action from August 24 to 28. GCSE results day is on August 25.

While Unison said striking is the “last thing” staff want to do, it added that employees had been left with “no alternative” after the exam board refused to budge beyond a pay offer below current inflation.

Staff on strike

Unison and Unite have rejected a 3 per cent pay increase plus a £500 payment for staff, claiming the charity is “failing its staff and pupils by holding down pay”. AQA says the average pay increase works out at 5.6 per cent.

The current UK rate of inflation is 9.4 per cent. Last week, the Bank of England said inflation could hit 13 per cent by the autumn.

Unison’s North West regional manager Vicky Knight said the “results ‘machine’” could not “work effectively” without its members.

“We understand that there may be an impact on results day, particularly around student queries, administrative errors, customer service enquiries etc,” she added.

“Employees at AQA are disappointed the company will neither talk to them nor come back with a realistic pay offer. This leaves staff with no choice but to escalate their action.

“Disrupting A-level results day is not a decision anyone has taken lightly. However, AQA staff have been treated appallingly and only bold action will get their employer to the table.

“AQA must come with a serious offer to prevent any further disruption.”

But AQA has repeatedly set out to reassure students that results day would not be impacted by strikes, including by pointing out that those taking part make up a small proportion of its workforce. The exam board has around 1,200 staff in total.

A spokesperson added: “We’re dismayed that Unison has chosen to deliberately target students like this, but it won’t stop us from delivering the exam results our learners so richly deserve or supporting everyone afterwards.

“We have robust contingency plans in place to ensure that industrial action has no effect on results, and we successfully tested these plans during the previous industrial action in July.

“Our records show that only 4% of our total workforce took part in that industrial action – and the remaining 96% are absolutely committed to never letting our learners down.”

Schools minister Will Quince has also criticised the union for “scaremongering”.

“I think young people have enough to worry about and be concerned about, ahead of examination results anyway,” he told the PA news agency.

“To add this into the mix as a potential worry about whether their papers will be marked and their results will come through on time is totally unnecessary.

“I’ve had assurance that they won’t have any impact but unfortunately scaremongering of this sort of nature by unions is deeply regrettable.”

This is how training providers can prepare for more devolution in the Adult Education Budget

Don’t duplicate your bid applications and do look elsewhere for inspiration, writes Steve Morris

In February 2022, the government published its white paper which confirms a commitment to developing a new devolution framework.

This means every part of England that wants a devolution deal will have one by 2030. So, county devolution is born (these are local authorities in non-metropolitan areas of the country).

With over 40 per cent of the population already living in regions with devolved funding for adult skills training, this percentage is only set to increase.

Recently, York and North Yorkshire announced they will be devolved. The next regions to join them are Cornwall, Derby and Derbyshire, Devon, Plymouth and Torbay, Durham, Hull and East Yorkshire, Leicestershire, Norfolk, Nottinghamshire, Nottingham, and Suffolk.

It certainly feels like we have come a long way since the first devolution deal in England was concluded in 2014 by the coalition government. That deal was done with local authorities from the Greater Manchester area.

But the next decade looks like the change will be even more granular and pronounced.

What does this mean for independent training providers?

The word devolution comes from the Latin verb ‘devolvere’, meaning to roll something down, in this case funding.

The benefit of devolution is that local leaders are given the authority to make decisions regarding the funding of education and training, most notably the Adult Education Budget and National Skills Fund. Local leaders are best placed to make decisions on their residents.

This poses new challenges and opportunities for independent training providers.

National or regional independent training providers no longer have one bite of the ESFA cherry but instead need to engage with multiple regional providers of funding.

This brings a logistical challenge which goes way beyond the resource requirement needed to submit multiple bids, where previously just one bid would suffice.

At LCG, we needed to evolve our thinking on how to approach this opportunity.

LCG deliver over £30 million of skills funding per year with the ESFA and across most of the devolved regions.

This is coupled with our portfolio of services that support FE providers across all current and proposed devolved areas to reach their targets, allowing us to support over 200,000 learners a year to achieve nationally recognised qualifications.

While we are always reluctant to tell other providers what they should do, we are always willing to share the learning journey we have been on throughout these changes.

Top tips for a successful devolution bid:

1. Be flexible – each region has their own priorities and not all want the same process or outcome.

2. Think locally and regionally, not nationally – It’s important to focus on the regional challenges that local authorities are looking to solve.

3. Never copy and paste – Duplicating previously submitted bids could be a barrier, as devolution could mean the content is no longer relevant.

4. Listen to your local experts – Boots on the ground are worth their weight in gold so make sure you canvass local opinion in your team.

5. Do your research – Ensure that you are proposing solutions based on local LMI data and not looking at the national picture.

6. Use the right examples – If you have local examples, use them! Even if it means writing new case studies rather than relying on old favourites.

7. Share what has worked elsewhere – Never be frightened to share what has worked in other regions if you do not have direct experience in the region you are bidding for.

8. Support your bid team – to preserve the health and wellbeing of your bid team ensure you have additional resource.