Written BTEC and other vocational exams planned for February and March should not go ahead, the education secretary has said.

But students taking competency-based assessment including apprenticeships can continue with “protective measures put in place”.

Gavin Williamson outlined the plans in a letter to Ofqual’s interim chief regulator Simon Lebus this morning before justifying the action during a hearing with the education select committee.

It follows a chaotic start to the spring term which saw the closure of schools and colleges to most students, the government insisting that all January vocational and technical qualification (VTQ) exams should still go ahead before backtracking and placing the decision in the hands of college leaders.

Williamson’s letter explained that given the disruption, it is “no longer viable” for written VTQ exams scheduled in February and March to go ahead.

However, where these assessments enable a student to “demonstrate the proficiency required to enter directly into employment, are needed  to  complete  an  apprenticeship, or assessments are available ‘on-demand’ such as functional skills or English as a Second Language (ESOL)”, they should “continue to proceed with protective measures put in place to ensure they are conducted in line with PHE measures”.

“This is to ensure these students can continue to progress fairly with their studies or into employment  and  employers  are assured that students have reached the necessary level of occupational skill,” the letter added.

MPs on the education select committee this morning questioned why the DfE allowed all VTQ exams to go ahead in January but not in February and March.

Williamson did not give a clear answer regarding written exams, but said: “With a lot of technical and vocational qualifications there is almost a license to practice that many youngsters have to have. If they are not able to gain and demonstrate that competency level in the area they are working in it can often create a barrier for them to enter the place of work.

“We took the decision that it would be best to have a permissive approach where we were able to let colleges make those decisions that they know their students best.”

He added that “about a third of colleges” chose to continue with VTQ exams in January.

The Department for Education’s permanent secretary Susan Acland-Hood then stepped in to explain the reason for allowing written exams to go ahead in January but not over the next two months.

“The reason for that was because got quite strong views, not all pointing in the same direction, from the sector themselves,” she said.

“Some were saying the children are ready to sit the exams and we want to enable them to do that and others saying they should be cancelled.

“The permissive approach allowed those who wanted to sit them to go ahead and others not to.

“I think it is different when you look forward to February and March where you have got the ability to plan and you do not have the same situation of children literally being on the point of taking a qualification as the decision was taken.”

Ofqual’s upcoming consultation on summer exam replacements is expected to put forward proposals for awarding grades to VTQ learners unable to sit their assessments.

Association of Colleges chief executive David Hughes said: “The decision to cancel written exams in February and March is a good one, but so is the priority given to ensuring that assessments can go ahead when safe for students taking competency-based assessment including apprenticeships.

“The letters helpfully highlight the challenge of completing college-based programmes in areas key to economic recovery such as construction and where students need to to practise their skills before taking assessment.

“Those students will need to return to college at the earliest opportunity, once it is safe to do so, to complete their training and be ready for the assessment which unlocks job opportunities.”

Toby Perkins, Labour’s shadow apprenticeships and lifelong learning minister, said: “Labour has called for BTEC and other vocational exams to be cancelled, so it’s welcome that the government finally has bowed to the inevitable and cancelled February and March assessments.

“Sadly, Gavin Williamson’s U-turn has come too late for thousands of worried learners, alongside school and college staff who were placed in an incredibly difficult situation over whether to go ahead with January exams.

“The government’s indecision has now created a divide between those students who did January exams and others, creating further confusion for students and colleges. Gavin Williamson must urgently set out how these qualifications will be awarded and stop treating BTEC and vocational students as an afterthought.”

Trade unions and sector representative bodies have combined forces to call on the government to prioritise education staff in the second phase of Covid-19 vaccinations.

The organisations, including the Association of Colleges, the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, Sixth Form Colleges Association and the University and College Union, have today co-signed a letter to health secretary Matt Hancock, education secretary Gavin Williamson and vaccinations minister Nadhim Zahawi.

It comes after FE Week reported a growing opinion among college leaders that further education staff ought to be prioritised for the jab in order to fully reopen safely.

The letter asks ministers to “urgently consider raising the priority level for all staff in early years, school, college, adult education, and independent training provider settings to receive the Covid-19 vaccination”.

It goes on to outline the case for prioritising education staff in the second phase of vaccinations, which will start once care home residents, frontline health and social care workers, extremely clinically vulnerable people, and all those aged over 70 are vaccinated by around the spring.

“Fully reopening education settings is a national priority, the moment it is safe to do so,” the letter highlights, adding that learning often takes place indoors, in close contact, with large numbers of students in multiple groups, which puts staff “at high risk of both catching and transmitting the virus”.

Prioritising them for vaccination, combined with mass testing, “would be a sure way to reduce transmissions, remove any further disruption to the education of our young people and to support the resumption of economic activity by reducing the burden of home schooling on working parents”.

The letter further suggests a sub-group of education staff – those working in early years, specialist settings and those whose role involves elements of health care and very close contact – should be the first of their number to be vaccinated.

Association of Colleges chief executive David Hughes said: “The strength of feeling from all voices within the education sector on vaccinating teachers and education staff could not be clearer.

“Today’s letter is a sign that prioritising vaccinations for teachers and staff who work in education is the best way to support the national effort to reopen all education settings as soon as it is safe to do so.”

University and College Union general secretary Jo Grady said: “The government was right to belatedly move teaching online at colleges last week as part of the new lockdown.

“But college staff and students have too often been treated as an afterthought during the Covid pandemic.

“Any safe return to in-person teaching in colleges must include a commitment to prioritise offering the vaccine to college staff.”

The letter has been signed by the AoC, ASCL, AELP, HOLEX, Landex, Natspec, SFCA, Early Years Alliance and GMB UCU, Unison, Unite and NEU.

Almost 50 colleges set to deliver T Levels from 2021 will share £48.5 million to refurbish their buildings.

Successful projects include a new civil engineering centre at the Lakes College in Cumbria, and a brand new teaching block at Burnley College that will include classrooms, an elite athlete gym and a sports therapy space.

The £48.5 million being dished out today comes from the £95 million capital pot set aside for wave two T Level providers. The remaining funding has been held back to allocate to providers so they can upgrade specialist equipment. The government expect to confirm amounts for equipment for each provider in February.

The government has also today launched a new £135 million capital fund for providers offering T Levels from 2023 (click here for full story).

The first three T Levels – the technical equivalent to A-levels – in construction, digital and education and childcare were launched in September 2020.

A further seven will be available from 2021 in subjects including health, science and onsite construction and subjects including finance, media and legal will be introduced from 2022 and 2023.

A total of 49 colleges have been awarded a slice of the capital funding announced today, which between them bid for 56 projects.

The DfE has not released the values of each allocation.

The successful colleges:

Projects approved in principle:

Warning over results ‘looking different’ to previous years

When exams were going ahead, Ofqual had pledged that results would be as generous as those issued last year. However the new plan seems to have changed that.

Lebus warned it was “important that the consultation makes clear to all, especially those who rely on the results to make selection decisions, that overall outcomes this year will likely look different from 2020 and previous years”.

He said told Williamson this will be “important for your work with the post-16 and higher education sectors to secure orderly progression and to protect the interests of disadvantaged students”.

Colleges and training providers in the third wave of the T Level rollout are being invited to bid for a slice of £135 million to help upgrade their facilities.

The capital fund, launched today, is being made available to those that will offer the new technical qualifications from 2022. It follows previous funds that totalled £38 million for wave one, and £95 million for wave two.

Winning bidders can use the cash to upgrade classrooms and buildings, as well as to pay for specialist kit that meet industry standards.

The first three T Levels – the technical equivalent to A-levels – in construction, digital and education and childcare were launched in September 2020.

A further seven will be available from 2021 in subjects including health, science and onsite construction and subjects including finance, media and legal will be introduced from 2022 and 2023.

Education secretary Gavin Williamson said: “The successful launch of T Levels earlier this year represents the start of a transformation in our technical education system – giving young people the vital skills they need to get ahead and giving employers the talented workforce they need to thrive as we build back better from the pandemic.

“To deliver world class qualifications providers need to have world class facilities and cutting-edge equipment, this funding will help to make sure students have the skills and knowledge to succeed when they finish their T Levels.”

As previously revealed by FE Week, colleges and training providers will have to keep on running T Levels for at least 20 years if they want to avoid handing back the millions they will receive in capital funding.

Forty four providers are in wave one of T Levels delivery. A further 64 will begin offering the qualifications in 2021, and a further 88 have been chosen for wave three beginning in 2022.

All providers delivering 16 to 19 study programmes will be able to deliver T Levels from 2024.

The deadline for bids to the wave three capital fund is 26 March 2021.

Ofsted’s planned monitoring visits will take place remotely until after the February half term, the watchdog has announced.

The inspectorate had been due to begin in-person “supportive” inspections of schools from next week, but had yet to say whether its plans for restarting FE provider monitoring visits would go ahead during the national lockdown.

However, Ofsted said tonight that in “light of a change in emphasis from the government and clear advice to ‘act as if you have the virus’ over the next few weeks, we have decided that all planned inspection activity will be undertaken remotely until after the February half term”.

This applies to schools, early years and further education.

“We have sought regular advice from Public Health England and we remain satisfied that our planned on-site activity would be safe and appropriate under current restrictions. However, the new government messages and the practical challenges of deploying inspectors across England have prompted this change,” a statement said.

Remote inspections of schools and FE providers will begin from the 25 January.

Ofsted announced in December that monitoring visits, including to those with grade three and four ratings and new apprenticeship providers, would resume in January.

Inspectors were also planning ‘support and assurance’ visits to colleges, which would result in a report, but no grade, similar to the interim visits which took place last term.

The popular level 7 senior leader apprenticeship will have its funding slashed by 22 per cent when a revised version is made available in March and its controversial MBA component is axed.

In a blog post published this afternoon, the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education announced that the revision of the standard is now complete following a request for it to be reviewed by education secretary Gavin Williamson last February.

The funding band for the standard had previously sat at £18,000, but will now be lowered to £14,000 when it is launched for new starts on 29 March 2021.

Funding has been cut owing to changes in the content of the apprenticeship. Today’s blog confirmed the “removal of the Masters qualification as a mandated part of the apprenticeship”.

However, it made clear that an employer “would still be free to use such a qualification to deliver the apprenticeship, so long as it aligns to the knowledge, skills and behaviours” that apprentices learn, as previously reported by FE Week.

“Apart from registration and certification costs, these would still be fundable under the levy up to the funding band limit,” the IfATE said.

The institute added: “The knowledge, skills and behaviours apprentices must learn as part of the apprenticeship standard and end-point assessment have been brought right up to date and the apprenticeship continues to align to Institute of Leadership and Management and Chartered Management Institute professional recognition.

“We are confident that this impressive training programme will serve the employers, apprentices and the wider economy well for years to come.”

The MBA component of the programme was set for the chop after Williamson said he was “unconvinced” it provides value for money.

The Department for Education has released a “remote education framework” to support colleges and training providers to identify “areas for improvement” in their online teaching.

The voluntary framework has been designed to be adapted to “fit the context of your provider” and to “signpost them to resources that can help them improve their practice”. 

It comes days after the DfE published operational guidance which asks FE providers to “use your best endeavours to deliver as much of students’ planned hours as possible” during the national lockdown.

There are two framework documents: one for schools and another for FE.

The FE document states that it can help providers to meet “basic requirements” using the resources and tools they “currently have (digital or physical) and to take your remote education provision further”.

It encourages FE leaders to allocate a score of between 1 and 5 to a number of “statements”, which involve six categories: leadership, student engagement, curriculum planning and delivery, capacity and delivery, communication and safeguarding.

“Where possible, identify strengths and areas for improvement, and discuss next steps with members of the senior leadership Team and governors,” the framework says.

“The framework offers suggested actions and links to relevant support depending on scores and any gaps identified.”

For example, under curriculum and delivery, the document asks if the FE provider is “working with employers to ensure continuity of off-the-job training, assessor reviews and planning for end-point assessments”.

There are boxes for the provider to then explain their ‘strengths’ and ‘gaps’ in this area, and directs them to the DfE’s guidance on how to deliver apprenticeships during the Covid outbreak.

Providers are encouraged to work through the entire framework with the senior leadership team, which should take approximately one hour to complete, or “focus on specific sections that have been previously identified as priorities”.