ESFA pleads for more traineeships as recruitment struggles continue

The government is pleading with traineeship providers to rapidly boost their recruitment as new figures suggest plans to triple the number of starts on the pre-employment programme will flop for a second year in a row.

In its latest attempt to spur training providers into action, the Education and Skills Funding Agency reminded the sector this week that local authorities have a statutory duty to identify all 16- and 17-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), and support them into training.

The agency asserted that traineeships are a “great” option for the disadvantaged. Officials said if providers are not already working with their local authority to recruit young people, “we will be delighted to facilitate introductions to promote productive sustainable relationships that will both increase your recruitment and raise your profile as a successful traineeship provider”.

Ministers had hoped to achieve 43,000 starts on the traineeships scheme in 2021/22 after investing an additional £126 million through the chancellor’s budget last year.

This was on top of a £111 million investment to achieve 36,700 traineeships in 2020/21 – a target that was missed by more than half, with only 17,400 starts, and which resulted in the Department for Education handing £65 million of the funding back to the Treasury.

The chancellor’s goal was to triple the number of starts on the pre-employment programme after 14,900 were achieved in 2019/20.

The DfE blamed last year’s embarrassing result on several delays in running two separate procurements – one for 16-to-18 contracts and another for 19-to-24s – to increase training provider capacity to deliver the scheme.

A similar underspend is looking likely for this year as figures published last week show just 8,900 traineeship starts in the first half of 2021/22 between August to January. This was a one per cent increase on the 8,800 achieved in the same period in 2020/21, and a six per cent rise on the 8,400 recorded in 2019/20.

Traineeships are eligible for 16-to-24-year-olds and training providers are funded by the ESFA to deliver pre-employment training and arrange unpaid work placements of at least 70 hours. They can last from six weeks to 12 months.

Traineeships used as a ‘sticking plaster’

David Marsh, chief executive of national training provider Babington, told FE Week most employers are currently not seeing traineeships as “easily workable” partly due to the need for the long work placement when they are still trying to recover from Covid-19’s impact on their business.

Other providers previously said other paid employment schemes, such as Kickstart, have displaced many traineeship opportunities.

Responding to the ESFA’s latest plea for more traineeships, Toby Perkins MP, Labour’s shadow skills minister, said: “The government has used traineeships as a ‘sticking plaster’ to make up for their lack of a national strategy.

“It is extraordinary that the funds allocated for this initiative will be sent back to the Treasury at a time of skills shortage.”

The continued sluggish take-up of traineeships comes despite the government reforming funding rules, which included increasing the funding rate for 19-to-24 traineeships by 54 per cent, from £970 to £1,500, and opening them up to people who already hold a level 3 qualification.

Employer cash incentives of £1,000 for each traineeship learner they take on were also introduced in 2020 and can be claimed up to the end of July 2022.

Some providers that have delivered traineeships since their launch in 2013, such as Babington, missed out on funding in the 19-to-24 tender and can now only deliver 16-to-18 traineeships.

Marsh said taking adult traineeship contracts away from established providers “was not sensible” as the programme is not easy to deliver and takes a long time to perfect. He added that having different funding contracts for different age groups is causing a problem for employers.

He told FE Week that his provider is now working “strategically” with some large employers to “make traineeships work for them”.

“We are seeing some real progress, but it takes time,” he added.

Jane Hickie, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, called for the employer work placement payment to be extended beyond July 2022 “to ensure businesses continue to be incentivised to take on trainees”.

She also urged the government to introduce “learner incentives” for trainees to increase demand in the programme, considering that traineeships are unpaid.

NFL Academy set to touchdown in Loughborough College

The National Football League’s first-ever UK-based academy is relocating to Loughborough College in an effort to achieve “ambitious growth” and bag more students a US scholarship.   

Barnet and Southgate College in London has been home to the academy since it set up in 2019 – providing students aged 16 to 19 the opportunity to play National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) college football in the United States by combining full-time education with professional-level American football coaching.   

The NFL reviewed the delivery of the programme earlier this year and decided to put the academy’s location out to tender. The contract was won by Loughborough College and plans have now been announced to move the academy to the Midlands at the end of this academic year.   

From September 2022, all football and academic operations will move to Loughborough under a partnership between the town’s world-renowned sporting college and university.   

The college will provide coaching, education, accommodation and pastoral support to its cohort of players, while the university will provide performance staff and facilities to focus on the physical development of students.   

David Tossell, director of public affairs for the NFL Europe, said the move “shouldn’t be seen as any kind of knock” on Barnet and Southgate College as the college has “done a great job and were just what we needed to help get the academy established”.   

Around 80 students have taken part in the NFL Academy, which attracts students from all over the UK and Europe, since its launch. Five of them have so far received scholarship offers from NCAA Division 1 colleges in the US, such as Arizona State, Vanderbilt and Louisiana Tech.   

‘If you’re looking at a sporting institution, Loughborough has no equal in this country’

Tossell said the academy will continue to host around 80 students but there are hopes of increasing the numbers scoring a US scholarship with the move to Loughborough.   

“If you’re looking at a sporting institution, Loughborough pretty much has no equal in this country. So clearly, partnering with the college and university gives us a greater chance of elevating the sporting results that we achieved through the academy.”   

Recent high-profile names to come out of Loughborough include Olympic gold medallist swimmer Adam Peaty, silver medallist triathlon competitor Alex Yee, British track and field athlete Holly Bradshaw, and Paralympians Thomas Young and Sophie Hahn.   

Other international athletes to come through Loughborough’s pathway include England football internationals Ben Chilwell, Jude Bellingham and Steph Houghton, England netball stars Nat Panagarry and Beth Cobden and Olympic medallist Keely Hodgkinson.   

Loughborough College principal Jo Maher said Loughborough has a track record of “nurturing and developing elite athletes through high-quality pastoral support and teaching” and she “cannot wait to welcome our first cohort of students on the NFL pathway”.   

“This is a golden opportunity for everyone involved to forge a truly impactful and successful academy which creates potential NFL stars of the future, and it’s one we’re delighted to be part of,” she added.   

Barnet and Southgate College principal Neil Coker said his college was “extremely proud” to have been the first FE partner of the NFL and to act as a “robust testing ground for how the model can work and be improved”.   

He told FE Week it was always the intention to review the programme after the first few years and this new partnership “opens up real opportunities for scale and ambitious growth that can now be achieved”.   

The NFL would not reveal how much funding was received by Barnet and Southgate College or Loughborough College to partner with the programme as the values are commercially sensitive. 

Mindful Education – helping colleges and training providers prepare for AAT Q2022

On 1 September this year, a new suite of AAT qualifications will be launched under the banner of Qualifications 2022 (Q2022), representing the biggest change to AAT qualifications in nearly a decade.

Colleges and training providers who were involved in prior rollouts of new AAT syllabuses in 2013 and 2016 will remember the challenges involved, and naturally every delivery team will be keen to plan and prepare for the new specifications as effectively as possible. 

Working in partnership with Mindful Education makes the transition to AAT Q2022 easier for delivery teams – as we have already done much of the preparation to make the new qualifications a success:  

  • Our award-winning Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) have been fully updated for Q2022 with video lessons re-written and re-filmed from scratch, an improved tutor resources section includes all-new course mapping documents and lesson materials, and enhanced accessibility and user experience features have been built in
  • We are offering extensive and unlimited tutor training on delivering the new Q2022 specifications for all our partners 
  • We have worked in partnership with the AAT and Cardiff and Vale College to deliver the UK’s only blended learning pilot of the new Q2022 Level 2 course. This means that our courses have already been road-tested, and feedback from tutors and learners has been excellent 

About Mindful Education 

At Mindful Education we create award-winning online courses and apprenticeships which set a new standard in the digital delivery of education. Our in-house academic, digital and creative teams design media-rich courses that are highly flexible, allowing learners to choose how, when and where they want to study.

We are specialists in blended learning, delivering flexible courses and apprenticeships in partnership with 65+ colleges and training providers across the UK in accounting, management, law and human resources.

Learners have the flexibility of learning online, through Mindful Education’s award-winning Virtual Learning Environments, while also enjoying the benefits of being part of a class that meets regularly with their college tutor. 

Helping Providers to Prepare for Q2022 

Delivering new or updated qualifications can be challenging – requiring a huge time commitment from tutors and managers and posing a significant risk to achievement rates while the new specifications bed in. 

Working in partnership with Mindful Education makes the transition to AAT Q2022 easier for providers – significantly reducing the risk around learner outcomes and the workload for tutors and managers.

Mindful Education has spent the past 18 months preparing for the launch of Q2022. Our VLEs have been fully updated for Q2022, including: 

  • Video lessons have all been re-filmed from scratch
  • Improved tutor resources section
  • All-new mapping documents and lesson materials
  • Enhanced accessibility and user experience features

We are offering unlimited tutor training on delivering the new Q2022 specifications for all our partners – sharing information on the new specifications and best practice for delivery. We will be contacting all our partner colleges with details of this training. 

Q2022 Pilot with Cardiff and Vale College 

We have worked in partnership with the AAT and Cardiff and Vale College to deliver the UK’s only blended learning pilot for Q2022, so our courses have already been road-tested – and feedback from staff and learners has been excellent. 

Emil Evans, Vice Principal at Cardiff and Vale College commented: “The experience of running the Q2022 pilot has been great. There’s always a bit of nervousness when you’ve got a new specification coming out, so that was taken away from us by Mindful. It’s the perfect blend of being able to engage with fellow students on site, but also being able to access their programme online.” 

AAT Lifetime Achievement Award-winner, Michael Webster, has been leading the pilot for Cardiff and Vale College, supported by the Mindful Education team. Mike said: “I’ve been very lucky because Mindful Education has done the legwork for me. The support, the resources – everything that comes from Mindful Education is first class. It really makes my job so much easier.”

Fiona Tierney, Deputy Head of Business at Cardiff and Vale College described the Mindful Education resources as the best the college has seen: “It’s the benchmark for anything we look at in any other sector and, as far as I know, nothing comes close to it.” 

Mindful Education and Cardiff and Vale College are presenting a webinar at the AAT Training Provider Conference on Friday 13 May. This session, sponsored by Mindful Education, aims to give training providers who have not yet started delivering Qualifications 2022, an insight into what to expect and how to prepare.

Mindful Education and Cardiff and Vale College will share experiences with the Q2022 pilot so far, including tips for centres running the new qualifications from 1st September.

Watch our case study video to see how we worked with Cardiff and Vale College on the Q2022 national pilot.

Working in Partnership 

We understand that delivering an outstanding learner experience is a significant effort involving many teams. A central element of our partnerships is to provide extensive support to curriculum, marketing, admissions and employer engagement teams, alongside technical assistance delivered directly to learners. Working hand-in-hand with our partners, our aim is to ensure that learners are fully supported from their first inquiry about the course, right through to achieving their qualification.

Mark Mckenna, Managing Director at Mindful Education, described the launch of the new qualifications: “We’re delighted to provide new Q2022 courses for Levels 2, 3 and 4 this year – five years on from first releasing the AQ16 Level 2 course. We know how crucial flexibility is to both learners and employers, and these new blended learning courses break new ground in terms of the quality and functionality that our partners will enjoy from day one.”

Kelly Warrick, Head of Delivery for Accounting at Mindful Education, explained the benefits that the new Q2022 courses would bring to college and training provider partners: “The changes for Q2022 are far-reaching and significant for AAT centres. Whilst there’s no doubt that the changes will make all AAT qualifications better, there will definitely be some transitional challenges such as the removal of the Accounting Software unit at Level 2, the introduction of business units across all levels, and the adjustment to a brand new set of assessments. Thanks to the work of our course development team, we’ll be able to help our partners proactively manage these changes, helping to protect learner outcomes.”  

Delivering Q2022 courses in Partnership 

We know that no two providers are the same, so we will take the time to meet your key staff and develop delivery plans that will work for your learners and employers. 

The typical time to implement a partnership effectively is around two months – although this could be longer based on staff availability. 

If you would like to explore working in partnership with Mindful Education to deliver Q2022 courses from September onwards, then please do not delay, get in touch now by emailing partnerships@mindful-education.co.uk 

Attend a Free Webinar on Q2022 

The Mindful Education Operations Team is running free webinar sessions during May for tutors and managers from non-partner providers. These sessions will focus on highlighting the key changes in the specifications and outlining Mindful Education’s approach to delivering Q2022 courses. 

To book your session, please click on the link below. 

Click here

Ofqual’s 3-year plan for exams: what you need to know

Exams watchdog Ofqual has pledged to support the use of technology in assessments and investigate better ways to spot bias in tests as part of a new three-year vision.

Chief executive Dr Jo Saxton said she wants to make it “easier” for students and apprentices to see a “clearer choice of options” during her tenure in the plan, published today.

It comes as students prepare to start their GCSE, A-level and other vocational and technical qualification summer exams for the first time since the pandemic begun, in what Saxton described as the “first step in a return to normality”.

Here’s what you need to know from the 2022 to 2025 corporate plan:

  1. Ofqual has pledged to “secure trust and confidence” in exams this year “and beyond”, and “be ready to implement contingency arrangements if needed due to the impact of the pandemic”.
  2. The watchdog will support exam boards to use “innovative practice and technology”, as well as “removing regulatory barriers where innovation promotes valid and efficient assessment”.
  3. It will also look into the use of adaptive testing – a computerised test that adapts to the students’ ability – and whether it could be a possible replacement for tiering in certain GCSEs.
  4. Ofqual will evaluate the “risks and benefits” of remote invigilation, where a student can sit a test at home or the workplace.
  5. It will also look at the “feasibility” of using more objective test questions – where there is usually only one right answer – to “improve reliability and resilience” in exams.
  6. It will evaluate the use of extra-time in exams for disabled students.
  7. Ofqual will research different ways of identifying potential bias in written tests.
  8. It will look how to reduce the impact of the exams system on the environment.
  9. The watchdog will also monitor the “financial health” of awarding bodies in light of the pandemic’s effect on the qualifications market.
  10. Ofqual’s ‘register of regulated qualifications‘ will be “significantly enhanced” and made interactive. This platform can be used to compare qualifications, but Ofqual said its changes will “improve clarity” of the market.

Fit your own mental health oxygen mask before fitting others

If we want our staff to support students, we must prioritise their wellbeing, writes Asfa Sohail

Even though life for many feels it is returning more to ‘normal’ since the pandemic hit, mental health issues show little sign of abating.

Instead, poor mental health is increasing exponentially, currently affecting around one in six young people. It means the role of tutors and other staff is having to extend well beyond teaching.  

This is recognised by Ofsted, with inspectors reporting on students’ mental health and wellbeing under the key judgment area of personal development. 

As education professionals, we invest ourselves and our lives in supporting students, and pastoral care has become a key priority. But to provide this effectively, staff need to be well supported to look after their own wellbeing.

The aviation analogy of “fit your own oxygen mask before helping other people” is entirely apt here. And this applies to senior leadership teams, too. We need to lead by example ̶ looking after ourselves to ensure we are fully able to support others.

More effective wellbeing strategies needed

Working in a college can be stressful for many reasons. The start and end of each academic year are particular pressure points, with the pandemic bringing constant challenges.   

Meanwhile, the mental health and wellbeing of staff and students can be affected at any time for many different, personal reasons. So it’s essential that effective support networks are in place. But much more work is needed to implement effective wellbeing strategies into day-to-day college life.

As a leader, I have never shied away from sharing my own, personal experiences with staff. We are all human and we all experience times of stress and anxiety. I want people to know that if things get too much, you must stop.   

To help establish this message, it’s vital to normalise discussions around mental health.

Suggestions for improvement

The appointment of mental health champions in every curriculum area is an effective starting point.

Staff often feel they can approach their peers more easily than HR or SLT – not for specialist advice, but as a vital first point of contact, who can signpost more specialist support. 

Colleges can have a dedicated staff development day or regular staff forums – people need a safe space to talk about their experiences and this needs to be an integral part of college life. 

This allows specific support to be implemented, aimed at taking a preventative approach. That might range from seemingly small things, such as encouraging positive daily gratitude affirmations and encouraging people not to send emails after 6.30pm or at weekends.

Colleges may also wish to introduce a proactive mental health and wellbeing committee, and training for staff. 

Meanwhile, getting a specialist to develop a mental health action plan for your college can be hugely valuable. This helps to establish your starting point, strengths and what needs to be done.  

There are also many free training opportunities available. I’ve accessed mental health first aid training in the past for myself and a group of staff volunteers.

This helped to show that no hierarchy exists when it comes to mental health. 

Find advocates in college

Importantly, mental health and wellbeing should be articulated to staff as a collective responsibility. I’ve been asked in the past “What is the college doing?”, but I think it’s important to turn this round and ask staff “What do you think we should do?”.

Seeking out and empowering the most passionate people in your organisation to be advocates for staff mental health will positively impact the overall wellbeing of your workforce.  

FE has many challenges (from being underfunded to tough workloads), but it is also an incredibly compassionate and caring sector.

Now 197 colleges (including my own) are signed up to the Association of Colleges’ mental health and wellbeing charter.

Staff choose to work in colleges to change people’s lives. So we must continue to make their own mental health and wellbeing a priority.

The level 2 qualifications review is deafeningly silent on key problems

The review seems unaware of the sell-by dates of its proposals – and that’s only the beginning, writes Gordon Marsden

As a founder member of the Right to Learn group, which advocates for a statutory right to learn throughout life, I was struck by a number of issues as I ploughed my way through the Department for Education’s level 2 and below qualifications review.

I noticed how little was said in the 90-plus pages about unintended consequences, and the concerns of many in FE that in a rapidly changing world, doors should not be closed.

There was also little mention of what credibility this review might have with employers, wearied by a decade of government “initiatives”.

For example, the review says: “In future, all technical provision including work-based study, such as apprenticeships and classroom-based study, will fit within a single framework built from employer-led occupational standards.”

Easy to say but difficult to do.

Previous ministerial attempts to implement the 2012 Richard review, which called for employer-led apprenticeships qualifications, have been dogged by delay, poor definition and exasperation by employers.

This review also shows scant recognition of the possible “sell-by” dates of these proposals, given the unprecedented transformation across multiple sectors and skillsets in the next decade.

Nor does it pay attention to the huge increase in people who will be self-employed, sole traders and working in co-operatives, which the 2018 Taylor report on the future of work spelled out.

Getting the pipeline right for would-be learners to progress into level 2 and beyond is critical. They need a direction of travel in qualifications that are flexible, not micromanaged by Whitehall.

So while observing that “some adults may struggle to access larger qualifications”, the review proposes qualifications that “focus on the essential knowledge, skills and behaviour for that occupation… They will not include the breadth of route-wide content or transferable skills that are included in the larger qualification”.

So learners risk being stuck in the slow lane on narrow qualifications, with the ghost of Mr Gradgrind in the wings (the cold-hearted school leader created by Charles Dickens who sees people only as machines). It could also mean they only access jobs likely to become obsolete.

Learners risk being stuck in the slow lane

The review talks positively about funding progression for young people in “pre-technical groups”. But the example given is hideously complex: “An entry level 3 qualification providing for an introduction to hospitality and catering will lead directly on to a level 1 hospitality and catering, which in turn will support progression to a related level 2 qualification in hospitality and catering or professional cookery.”

The questions pile up. How long will this take? What might the potential drop-out rate be? How might employers, particularly smaller businesses, respond to such a tortuous process?

Proposals for qualifications supporting cross-sectoral skills are welcome. But restricting them for 16- to 19-year-olds ignores those needing a second chance in the 19-to-24 age range and beyond.

Meanwhile, a large number of older people have exited the workforce since the pandemic, research from the Learning and Work Institute has found. A bonfire of entry-level qualifications could exacerbate that exodus.

Another danger is that proposals to link classroom-based qualifications with apprenticeships risk repeating the sorry history of the past decade and the apprenticeship levy, where we have seen big problems with recruitment and retention.

In early March, FE Week ran a front cover stating “1000s of level 2 and below qualifications face the chop”. The story said 72 per cent of level 2 qualifications for 16-to-19-year-olds, and 61 per cent for adults, could go.

But in 2018/19,  21 per cent of 16-year-olds were studying at level 2 and below. Meanwhile, 57 per cent of ESFA funding went to adults at level 2 and below.

Then in edition 386, Adrian Grove of Qube Learning said small qualifications “hold the greatest power as stepping stones” for those who have struggled with education. 

So how many of the roughly 800,000 young people in the NEET category will be levelling up to T Levels, given this review’s diminution of pathways?

If DfE goes ahead with this present review, they risk undermining the very outcomes the ‘levelling up’ agenda is designed to facilitate.

Association of Colleges Beacon Award 2022 winners announced

The “far-reaching impact” of colleges on their students and communities was celebrated today, as part of the Association of Colleges’ Beacon Awards. 

Some twelve colleges from across the country were honoured during a ceremony in Westminster, with nominations in eleven different categories. 

This year’s programme also includes the inaugural winners of the brand new AoC Award for Widening Participation.

“Colleges are brilliant – and the winners of the Beacon Awards are some of the best of the best. Every day colleges are innovating, leading and making change happen,” said David Hughes, chief executive of the AoC. 

“If you want to see the further education sector at its best, I recommend you check out the work of the Beacon Winners.”

Winners at the awards included South Devon College, who won The Nous Group Award for Education for Sustainable Development. 

Other winners were Burton and South Derbyshire College, who won the British Council Award for Internationalism and Exeter College, winners of the City & Guilds Award for College Engagement with Employers. 

“I am always blown away by the work being done by colleges across the country to invest in their local communities, and to equip people with the skills and experiences needed to meet the needs of the economy and get on the path to a good career,” said minister for skills, Alex Burghart. 

“These deserving winners are truly changing lives, and it is fantastic to see them being recognised for their work.”

Full list of winners: 

The Nous Group Award for Education for Sustainable Development: 

South Devon College 

The Copyright Licensing Agency Award for Excellence in Supporting Creativity:

Grimsby Institute of Further & Higher Education (TEC Partnership) 

The National Centre for Diversity Award for Inclusive Learning Leadership:

Cardiff and Vale College

The AoC Award for Widening Participation:

South Eastern Regional College

The NOCN Group Award for Mental Health and Wellbeing:

Chichester College Group

The British Council Award for Internationalism:

Burton and South Derbyshire College

and Isle of Wight College

The Careers and Enterprise Company Award for Innovation in Careers and Enterprise: 

Weston College

The City & Guilds Award for College Engagement with Employers:

Exeter College

The Edge Award for Excellence in Real World Learning:

Walsall College

The Jisc Award for Effective Use of Digital Technology in Further Education:

Weston College

The RCU Award for Support for Students:

South Devon College

DfE begins local skills improvement plans national rollout

The Department for Education has set aside £20.9 million to create local skills improvement plans in 38 areas over the next three years as part of its national rollout of the scheme.

First proposed in the FE white paper, the plans aim to make colleges and training providers align the courses they offer to local employers’ needs.

Pilots with eight employer representative bodies (ERBs) were run in 2021, with the first batch of trailblazer local skills improvement plans being published last month.

Now the government is calling on ERBs to express an interest in becoming the designated ERB for a specific local area. The deadline to do so is June 6, 2022.

“The skills for jobs white paper set out an ambitious employer-led approach aimed at making FE provision more responsive to local skills needs and ultimately local economic needs,” the DfE said in a guide for ERBs published today.

“The aim is to forge a stronger and more dynamic partnership between employers and FE providers that will enable provision to be more responsive to skills needs of employers in local labour markets.”

Some £20.9 million has been set aside for 38 areas (10 mayoral combined authorities, plus the Greater London Authority, plus 27 local enterprise partnership areas) over three years.

The DfE said they expect to be able to designate ERBs for specific areas of the country from early autumn 2022 onwards.

It is hoped that “most” of the country will be covered by an LSIP by summer 2023.

Those who can become ERBs include body corporates that are both independent of government and not a public authority or undertaking the functions of a public authority.

The government also announced a new local skills improvement fund being introduced in 2023-24. This funding will be for providers to “collaborate and collectively respond” to the skills priorities their LSIP says is needed.

Each designated ERB will be able to apply for up to £550,000 to support the development, implementation, and reviews of an LSIP for the period up to March 2025.

There will also be £50,000 start-up funding available immediately upon designation, which will be deducted off the final agreed total funding.

The DfE told FE Week that they will set out further details of funding “in due course”.

DfE guidance makes clear that while its intention is for the LSIPs to have traction, ERBs are not being asked to take a direct role in funding or commissioning skills provision. Those powers will “remain with the ESFA and bodies with devolved powers, including MCAs”.

The geography of a specified area for an LSIP will be largely based upon “current functional economic areas” that providers and other relevant stakeholders operate across to ensure LSIPs have traction and can fully achieve their aims.

This means that in areas that already have devolution, LSIPs will mirror the boundaries of combined authorities, MCAs and the GLA.

In other areas of the country, the LSIP specified areas will follow existing LEP geographies except for the south-east region which will form three areas – Greater Essex (Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock), Kent and Medway and Sussex (East and West Sussex and Brighton and Hove).

Ofqual voices concern over DfE reforms to level 2 and below qualifications

Government plans to reform and simplify level 2 and below qualifications risk adding further confusion to the landscape, Ofqual has warned.

The exams regulator has also flagged “significant risk” with the timeline for implementation as the proposals overlap with changes to level 3 qualifications and could “overwhelm” educators.

Ofqual raised the concerns today in response to the Department for Education’s level 2 and below qualifications consultation which closed last week.

The DfE claims the current landscape is “confusing” with around 8,000 technical and academic qualifications available at these levels, many of which cover the same or similar subjects.

Ministers now plan to axe thousands of the courses. Sector leaders previously called the proposals “devastating” and a “full-frontal assault on the very idea of lifelong learning” which “fly in the face of the ambition to level up the country”.

Under the plans, the surviving qualifications would be placed into 17 new “groups” – eight at level 2; five at level 1; and four at entry level.

Ofqual has now warned: “At present, there is a risk that the large number of proposed groupings are not sufficiently clear or straightforward for students and others to differentiate between.”

The watchdog said its “expert opinion” is that it would be helpful to “segment, and define, the provision based on aspects such as qualification purpose – in effect, combining those of the 17 proposed groupings that have common features”.

Not only will this aid navigability for students, but also provide “clarity with respect to purpose” which is “critical” to supporting good assessment design by awarding organisations.

“This will help ensure that students are tested on the right things, in the right way, to support them in taking their next step, whether this is into work, an apprenticeship, or further academic or technical study,” Ofqual said.

“School and college leaders will, in turn, have a clearer basis on which to design the associated programmes of study.”

The level 2 and below consultation follows a separate contentious review of level 3 qualifications which proposes to remove funding for most courses – including Pearson’s popular BTECs – that overlap with T Levels and A-levels from 2024.

The DfE said it expects the process for deciding which level 2 and below qualifications will remain to be done in a phased way from 2024 to 2027.

Ofqual pointed out that the proposals at level 2 and below – which were originally intended to follow those at level 3 – will now largely be implemented at the same time.

This poses “significant risks in terms of system capacity, which may impact on students’ ability to engage with the new provision”, according to the regulator.

It will also entail challenges for qualification design as, based on the present timeline, some level 2 qualifications are expected to be developed and approved before the corresponding level 3 qualifications – to which in some cases they are intended to progress – are available.

Ofqual pressed that a more phased implementation process of the plans is required to help secure the quality of the provision and the ability of students, and school and college leaders, to engage with it.

The DfE’s level 2 and below review impact assessment estimated that about a third of those aged 16 to 19 who enrol on the qualifications in scope of the reforms are in the most socioeconomically disadvantaged group.

Ofqual said it is important that aspects of the proposals, such as certain sizes of qualification being available only to certain age groups, “do not remove legitimate choices and opportunities for the students who depend on these qualifications”.

The DfE’s response to the consultation, which excludes GCSEs, functional skills and essential digital skills qualifications, is expected to be published later this year.