Interim curriculum review: GCSE resit rules need ‘greater nuance’

Students who fail to pass GCSE English and maths at school should still be required to study the subjects in post-16 education – but with “greater nuance in measures”, the government’s curriculum and assessment review (CAR) has said.

The panel, led by chair Becky Francis, published an interim report today which hinted that there should be a change to the current English and maths condition of funding resit rules imposed on colleges.

It also outlines the challenge for students who do not take A-levels or a T Level, stating that other options must sit alongside them amid the government’s plans to defund applied general qualifications like BTECs.

But the independent panel backs the government’s view that T Levels are the “gold standard” technical qualification despite “teething problems”.

The interim report sets a direction of travel rather than full recommendations, which will be included in the review’s final report this autumn.

Continue to mandate English and maths study

Since 2014, students who fail to achieve a grade 4/C – a government pass – by age 16 have been forced to continue to work towards achieving these qualifications as a condition of their places being funded.

The DfE does not require learners to resit exams as part of the condition of funding, but the policy expectation is that they do so over the course of their 16 to 19 study, and the large majority do.

Today’s interim report outlined the importance of achieving a grade 4 in English and maths but highlighted stats that show around 40 per cent of young people do not achieve this level by age 16 – and fewer than one in three of these teenagers go on to achieve this by age 19.

Students from disadvantaged backgrounds, those with SEND and those with lower grades at school are less likely to go on to pass the courses than their counterparts in post-16 education. 

But resit rules need fine tuning

The review panel said that given the challenges presented on attainment, progress, providers’ behaviour and the impact on students, “we need to reconsider the available pathways so that all learners have the best opportunity to reach level 2 in maths and English by the end of their 16 to 19 study”.

It hinted at potentially recommending changes to the condition of funding rules by different groups of young people.  

The interim report said: “Above all, given the relationship between achieving grade 4 and above at GCSE maths and English and access to future opportunities and life chances, we think the expectation for study of maths and English should remain, but with greater nuance in measures to ensure that as many learners as possible can achieve positive outcomes.”

David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of College, said the report’s call for nuance is “very welcome, as is its promise to work closely with the sector to identify solutions”, but he added: “Sadly the review seems to fall short of considering whether the GCSEs are the best or right qualifications for this age group.”

T Levels are ‘gold standard’

The review states that it will pay “particular attention to how best to support learners who do not study A-levels or T Levels” during the rest of its work.

The interim report said the A-level route is “seen as strong, well-respected and widely recognised” which should continue.

And “despite the early challenges of implementing them”, the panel “heard repeatedly that T Levels are becoming an established brand and supporting successful outcomes for learners taking them”.

The report goes as far to conclude that, in its independent opinion, the review “considers T Levels to be the gold-standard technical qualification”, while acknowledging that the courses are taken by just 2 per cent of 16 to 17-year-olds and the “high numbers of drop-outs compared with other technical/vocational routes”.

But don’t write-off other options

But “even with changes”, the review said it is “clear that they [T Levels] are not suitable as the only technical/vocational pathway”. 

It claimed that the high number of “differently branded and graded qualifications means that learners and employers are unclear about the purpose and value of some study programmes”.

This can lead to “churn in the system, with learners switching between courses, and, as a result, poor outcomes for them and for the economy”.

The panel will “consider carefully what level 3 qualifications may need to exist alongside T Levels to ensure a simpler, high-quality offer that serves the needs of all learners”.

Bill Watkin, chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association, which leads the Protect Student Choice campaign, said: “We are pleased that today’s report underlines the importance of retaining a middle pathway between A-level and T Levels.

“This applied pathway should be held in the same esteem as the academic and technical pathways and it is important that applied qualifications continue to be available in small, medium and large sizes.”

Four ‘outstanding’ reports in a row for Huddersfield sixth form college

A Huddersfield sixth form college has been awarded its fourth consecutive ‘outstanding’ from Ofsted today.

Greenhead College has maintained its top mark after its latest inspection report found “exceptionally ambitious” leaders and high-achieving students.

The college was inspected between February 4 to 7 and had 2,738 students enrolled at the time, 20 per cent of which had SEND needs. All students were studying A-levels or a combination of A-level and applied general courses.

The sixth form college was found to be making a “strong” contribution to meeting skills needs through its “highly effective” work with local councils, other post-16 providers, local schools, universities and employers to develop the curriculum and mindset of students.

The watchdog was impressed by leaders’ focus on fostering soft and technical skills that employers value and that meet West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s priorities for growth.

Mo Bunter, principal at Greenhead College said she was “incredibly proud” of the achievement.

“Maintaining outstanding in all judgement areas and securing strong for the college’s contribution to meeting skills needs, reflects the hard work, dedication and commitment of all staff,” she said. 

“It demonstrates the level of support and opportunities afforded to our students, to enable them to achieve to their full potential.” 

Inspectors valued the college’s investment in resources that students need to develop for employment in priority sectors. 

“For example, students studying science subjects develop their clinical practice in specialist laboratories and learning centres to prepare them for work in the growing pharmaceutical, life science and health and well-being sectors,” the report noted.

Meanwhile, inspectors heaped praise onto students for their “exemplary” attendance, behaviour and their “eager to learn” attitudes.

“Students value highly the very disciplined learning environments that their expert teachers create,” the report said. 

It added: “[Students] routinely extend their learning beyond the classroom in the college’s library and many study spaces. Consequently, students develop rapidly the habits and routines that they need to be successful now and in their next steps.”

The college’s “expert” teachers spark students’ interest by giving modern insights into subjects, the report added.

Inspectors praised teachers’ use of assessment, which uses low-stakes tasks in lessons and more formal assessments at key points throughout the year to check learning.

Students also benefit from personalised support in readiness for university and apprenticeship interviews, including coaching and sessions on critical thinking and high-quality work placements and complete employer-set projects to understand more about the world of work.

Bunter said: “Greenhead College has a focus on developing resilient, well-rounded, respectful young people who are effectively prepared for their next steps, whether that is university, apprenticeships or employment.”

The college also had a “highly skilled” board of governors who frequent the college and provide support to leaders to maintain its “very high” standards.

Richard Armstrong, chair of governors, said: “The success is testament to the talented and hardworking staff, committed students and a governing body and college leadership team who consider students and staff at the heart of key strategic decisions, ensuring that the college is proactive, outward facing and innovative in approach.  Like students, the whole college strives to be ‘the best version’ of itself every day.”

Cornwall College marks turnaround with ‘historic’ Ofsted result

The “extraordinary” turnaround of a south west college has been marked with a “historic” Ofsted ‘outstanding’ judgment.

The Cornwall College Group (TCCG), which spent eight years in government intervention and was rated ‘requires improvement five years ago, received grade ones in all-but-one area in a report published today.

The college was praised for its commitment to “exceptional learning opportunities”, “highly effective partnerships to meet the local training needs” and learners who are “highly motivated to learn in aspirational environments”.

Inspectors said the college “powerfully tackles the social, economic and geographical disadvantages of its learners and apprentices”.

Principal and CEO, Rob Bosworth, who took over from John Evans in July who stepped into the post in 2019 following a £30 million government bailout, said: “This is a historic moment for Cornwall College Group, and is an outcome of the relentless dedication of our staff, the ambition of our learners and the invaluable support of our partners.”

TCCG teaches around 6,000 learners made up of young people on study programmes, including T Levels and those with high needs, adults on courses like skills bootcamps, and 1,500 apprentices. The group comprises eight centres in Cornwall and two in Devon.

Inspectors praised the group of colleges, noting the “excellent learning spaces that staff have created contribute to learners and apprentices being highly motivated”, while providing “an inclusive, welcoming and caring environment”.

“Leaders successfully and effectively use partnerships to meet training needs in Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and Devon,” the report said, noting that the group makes a “strong” contribution to skills needs.

Ofsted highlighted how leaders have taken “very effective actions to create a productive developmental culture where teachers take responsibility for their own professional development”.

Teachers were noted as “subject specialists with relevant and substantial industry knowledge and expertise” who use their experience “very well to enrich learning”.

Governors were meanwhile labelled as “highly ambitious” for learners and apprentices and “committed to and passionate about the contribution the college makes to the economy and the communities it serves”.

TCCG was in financial trouble for about a decade – beginning with a turbulent period that included the rapid restructuring of campuses into a single college group, multiple leadership changes, shrinking funding and learner numbers. The financial problems eventually hit its Ofsted rating.

The group has since undergone multi-million-pound redevelopments and was withdrawn from government intervention last year.

Luke Bazeley, head of Cornwall College’s campus in Camborne, said: “The evolution of Cornwall College Camborne over the last ten years has been nothing short of extraordinary. We have worked tirelessly to create an environment where students thrive, where businesses find skilled professionals and where the community feels supported and empowered.”

Patrick Newberry, chair of TCCG, said: “The governors could not be prouder of what has been achieved and, on a personal note, I would like to thank my fellow governors and the college’s staff for their commitment and dedication, which was noted by the Ofsted team. We look forward to ensuring the college continues to provide outstanding opportunities for learners, apprentices and the wider communities that we serve.”

‘Let’s get off on the right foot with Skills England’, ex-IfATE boss pleads

FE leaders have been urged not to put Skills England “under siege” to ensure the new government body avoids the “bunker mentality” of its predecessor.  

Rob Nitsch, the former second-in-command at the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE), opened up about the “adversarial launch” of the organisation, which opened in 2017 only to close his year. 

He told FE Week’s Apprenticeships and Training Conference: “Having been in IfATE since the beginning, it was quite a bunker mentality as everybody was attacking it. 

 “It’s not the best way to get the best from people and it actually led to quite an adversarial launch.  

“We need to get behind Skills England and help it be brilliant. It’s really, really important that we don’t go away from this conference – or any other gathering – looking to see what we can do to embarrass the people who are in it or embarrass the government. It is the only show in town. We need to make it work.” 

The government has come under fire for setting up Skills England as an executive agency within the DfE, rather than as an independent body like IfATE.  

Critics are also concerned the chief executive role of Skills England is too junior to have an impact. The position is at the senior civil service director grade, reporting to Julia Kinniburgh, the director general for skills.  

Nitsch, now CEO of the Federation of Awarding Bodies, spoke to FE Week after his on-stage comments and explained the pressure that IfATE felt from employers who were nervous about the introduction of the apprenticeship levy, from providers who were “losing control and having to change”, and from awarding bodies in terms of assessment.  

He said IfATE “didn’t appeal to stakeholders” and what that “fundamentally did was it impacted the perspective of the institute, which, instead of being outward facing, it felt under siege”. 

“There was a lot of energy absorbed in trying to manage the press. Instead of IfATE being able to put as much energy as it could do into betterment, we put a lot of lot of energy into defence.   

“There was a lot of trying to counter things, work out what to do, trying to manage the agenda and that became extremely absorbing and difficult.  

“It led IfATE to almost withdraw from public discussion and public debate. This further fuelled the cycle of disquiet, because people were saying, ‘well, they’re not speaking to anybody, why won’t they talk to us?’”  

Nitsch believes that a more collaborative approach would have led to a better outcome “had there not been this atmosphere”.  

“We as a sector need to learn from that. We do not want Skills England to feel threatened by the sector.” 

Mayors reboot Kickstart scheme for employment score

Mayors are rebooting a paid work experience programme trialled by the government during the pandemic in a bid to help more people into jobs.

Kickstart was a £1.1 billion government scheme that offered about 163,000 subsidised work placements for young people on universal credit from 2020 to 2022.

The scheme was initially criticised for being “chaotic” and questionable value for money, but experts agree that such subsidised work experience schemes “add value” to government employment strategies.

West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) is now planning to launch a local version using “inactivity trailblazer” funding.

The government is releasing this funding to eight areas in England and Wales to stimulate a more joined-up “place-based” approach to employment, health, and skills support.

WYCA estimates that £4 million would fund minimum wages and “wraparound support” for about 400 placements each year.

Its new work, health, and skills plan said other actions to tackle inactivity would include “strengthened health and employment leadership,” addressing “SME barriers to recruiting,” and “continued backing of the voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) sector.”

Rising NEET problem

The proposals come weeks after the Office for National Statistics released estimates showing 987,000 young people aged 16 to 24 (13.4 per cent of the age group) were classed as NEET (not in education, employment, or training).

WYCA’s plan is funded by £125 million for eight areas in England, announced last year in the government’s Get Britain Working white paper.

This is alongside £45 million in funding for eight “youth guarantee trailblazer” areas.

Experts have welcomed work experience funding, although most are cautious about how much should be invested.

The Institute for Employment Studies (IES), which analysed several past youth employment subsidy schemes in the UK and Europe, said they have a “low positive impact and high cost.”

However, the IES also stated that “the costs were outweighed by the benefits.”

Becci Newton, the director of public policy research at the institute, said: “Subsidies can add value at times when a particular group is at risk, but are generally seen as a short-term solution.”

“We know employers are interested to see a reprise of a Kickstart-type intervention, but we also need to find lower-cost and longer-term solutions to support young people into jobs that are supportive of health and wellbeing.”

West Midlands Combined Authority told FE Week its £5 million share of youth trailblazer funding would fund a new “subsidised work experience programme.”

A spokesperson said: “These programmes have demonstrated success in the past at progressing residents into the labour market.”

“We are building on successful components of these to develop a new model targeted at young people.”

Steve Rotheram, the mayor of Liverpool City Region, appears to be the first to set up a regional subsidised work scheme.

In January last year, he approved a three-year scheme offering up to 240 “wage incentives” of £3,000 for employers who recruited 18-to-24-year-olds.

Kickstart’s impact?

In 2022, MPs on the influential Public Accounts Committee described the Kickstart scheme’s rollout as “chaotic.”

The committee cited its rushed implementation and a failure to collect “basic management information” to track young people’s progress.

However, an internal Department for Work and Pensions evaluation, published last year, suggested that for every 100 people who participated, an additional 11 were in employment after two years compared with a similar group who did not participate.

A cost benefit analysis estimated the scheme made a loss of 73p on every pound spent by the taxpayer after two years, with an average cost of £6,850 per participant.

This improved to a gain of 18p when “wider societal impacts” were considered.

Spend it carefully

Stephen Evans, the chief executive of Learning and Work (L&W), said a Kickstart-style scheme “could” be an effective part of “broad-based” government action to boost employment.

“But it would need to be very carefully targeted on those who need the most help, such as those with no work experience and who’ve been out of work for a longer time, given its higher cost.”

“It also needs to be part of a broader plan for joined-up work, health, and skills services.”

Although the £125 million in inactivity trailblazer funding is available from April, West Yorkshire is the only one of the eight regions to confirm what kind of initiatives it would fund.

The “economic inactivity trailblazer” areas are North East, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, York and North Yorkshire, two areas under the Greater London Authority, and one in Wales.

The youth trailblazer areas are Liverpool City Region, West Midlands, Tees Valley, East Midlands, West of England, Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, and two under the Greater London Authority.

Former Middlesbrough College principal and deputy FE commissioner remembered

A former college principal and deputy FE commissioner has been described as “one of a kind” by colleagues following his recent death.

John Hogg, 71, who led Middlesbrough College for a decade, left an “enduring mark” thanks to his wisdom and warmth, according to current principal and chief executive Zoe Lewis.

Lewis said: “Once met, never forgotten, he could light up any room with his Northern Irish wit and irresistible charm. Our college owes him so much.”

“John not only believed in me but also guided and encouraged me, helping me see the possibility of a future life as a principal, as I am sure he did for many others.

In a video released online, Middlesbrough College said Hogg was a “much loved, admired and respected principal” whose “legacy lives on”.

Hogg’s career in further education started in the late 70s and spanned more than four decades, first as a law lecturer in Coventry and Birmingham before moving to Middlesbrough College in the 1990s.

He became principal and chief executive from 2000 to 2010, during which he oversaw the unification of four former campuses into one £68 million building in Middlehaven, a historic dockland area of the city.

Lewis said the move was a strategic transformation that “still shapes our college today”.

In the early 2010s he stepped in to lead the 5,700 student City of Wolverhampton College as interim principal following an ‘inadequate’ Ofsted grade in 2012, helping its grade increase to ‘requires improvement’ the following year.

He moved on to lead City College Coventry for a year following an ‘inadequate’ Ofsted grade in 2013, before becoming a deputy Further Education commissioner in 2014.

Following a four-year stint as a deputy FE commissioner, during a rocky period of financial instability for many colleges, Hogg publicly urged principals to take a team-oriented approach rather than attempting to be “charismatic” and master every aspect of college management.

He also advised his colleagues to ensure their pay reflects the financial wellbeing of their college.

In 2020, the former principal was drafted in as interim chair of Gateshead College after a £6 million deficit was discovered and its chair and principal, the highest paid in the country at the time, stepped down in quick succession.

Mark White, former chair of Education Training Collective, said: “As principal and chief executive of Middlesbrough College at a critically important time, as deputy FE commissioner, as a university governor and as a leader at numerous other organisations, he was transformative and inspirational.

“John was a magnificent leader and a wonderful person.”

Middlesbrough College governor Morgan McClintock said: “When I first arrived at Teesside Polytechnic as the coordinator of BTEC courses, it was suggested that I should meet John Hogg, a young lecturer at Kirby College who was dealing with similar challenges.

“John and I connected well at this first meeting, partly because we had both experienced our formative years in Northern Ireland, but also because we seemed to have shared values, including a similar outlook on education.

“John always seemed in his element leading a conversation, adapting his style to suit strangers or friends; but I suspect that few of these events gave him as much pleasure as his regular solo trips back to Ireland, walking along coast and countryside, and enjoying the music in a local bar.

“Middlesbrough College is fortunate to have had the benefit of his leadership, and I was privileged to have been one of his colleagues.”

Friends and family will gather for a funeral service this afternoon.

Middlesbrough College will host an event to celebrate Hogg’s life at its Waterside Brasserie on April 28. The college has asked that anyone interested in attending email marketing@mbro.ac.uk.

Coventry College recovers after three consecutive ‘requires improvements’

Coventry College has improved to ‘good’ after eight years and three consecutive ‘requires improvement’ judgments. 

The West Midlands college ended its Ofsted grade 3 streak with a report published today following a full inspection last month. 

Inspectors found the near-5,000 learner college to be ‘good’ in each sub-judgment, noting “leaders have substantially improved the education learners receive.”

This is a marked improvement for the college from its November 2022 inspection, which saw it graded ‘requires improvement’ for the third time in a row and an ‘inadequate’ grade for its apprenticeships put an end to that provision. 

A standout improvement for the college has been the proportion of learners that achieve and progress. T Levels were highlighted among “several courses” that still need to improve. However, leaders “have clear actions and support in place”.

Since the last inspection, a “Coventry College quality mark” has been introduced to raise teaching standards and improve the quality of lessons. Alongside, the college has “significantly invested” in teacher training through dedicated coaches that work with curriculum teams. 

Carol Thomas, who has been principal of Coventry College since 2020, said the inspection outcome was a “huge step forward.”

“In just four years, our staff have driven remarkable change, and you can feel the difference the moment you walk into the college.”

Thomas told FE Week the college “will be reviewing its position regarding apprenticeships with both the ESFA and the board of governors.”

Quality of education, personal development, leadership and management, programmes for young people, adult learning and provision for high needs learners were all uprated to ‘good’ from ‘requires improvement’.

Inspectors also uprated the college’s score for contributing to local skills needs from ‘limited’ to ‘reasonable’.

High needs learners achieve “at least as well as their peers” at the college with increasing access to work experience opportunities and supported internships. 

The report notes governors’ understanding of the college’s strengths and weaknesses and leaders’ oversight of subcontracted teaching. 

To improve further, Ofsted advised the college to provide consistent feedback to all learners, provide enrichment activities for more learners, improve the kitchen learning facilities for life skills learners and increase achievement in the “small” number of courses where it’s “not yet high enough.”

Thomas added: “This success is a collective achievement, and I want to thank everyone who made it possible. Moving forward, we will continue to improve and provide high-quality education.”

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: EDITION 490

Freya Thomas Monk

Managing Director, Pearson Qualifications, Pearson

Start date: March 2025

Previous Job: Managing Director – Vocational Qualifications & Training, Pearson

Interesting fact: Freya cycles around London every single day come rain or shine.

Diana Martin

Chief Executive and Principal, Dudley College of Technology

Start date: March 2025

Previous Job: Vice Principal, Dudley College of Technology

Interesting fact: Diana is a secret avid fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, owning every one of the 144 episodes on DVD, admiring the complex and relatable storylines and taking inspiration from the strong female lead (and on occasion going full Buffy for a fancy dress party).

Anthony Painter

Director of Strategic Engagement, Ufi VocTech Trust

Start date: March 2025

Previous Job: Director of Policy and External Affairs, Chartered Management Institute

Interesting fact: Anthony has had some interesting jobs, including a fairground ride operator – ghost train and Mexican hat – on Santa Cruz boardwalk, and been a salaryman in Tokyo for an international logistics company.

Colleges want to bring apprentice assessment in-house to ease delays

Colleges are calling for the power to carry out assessments of their own apprentices instead of relying on external bodies after new research suggests assessor capacity is causing lengthy delays. 

Forty-three per cent of colleges claim to have waited three months or longer for apprentices to receive their end-point assessment (EPA) once they have reached gateway and 82 per cent have experienced delays of more than a month.  

Nearly all (94 per cent) said the availability of an assessor contributed to the delays, according to data obtained through an Association of Colleges (AoC) survey shared exclusively with FE Week.  

But the body representing end-point assessment organisations (EPAOs) warned the findings were “at variance with broader-based research” conducted by Ofqual, while another expert said allowing colleges to mark their own homework would reduce trust and confidence in the apprenticeship system.

Capacity concern 

Apprentices have had to pass an EPA to fully achieve their apprenticeship since 2017.  

The assessments are carried out by independent and regulated EPAOs, chosen by the apprentice’s employer or training provider.  

FE Week understands the government is concerned that the cost, complexity and limited capacity of EPAOs is hampering apprenticeship completion and achievement rates.  

In a drive to cut red tape, ministers announced last month that colleges and training providers will soon be allowed to sign off on parts of their own apprentices’ assessments.  

College bosses want the government to go a step further and bring EPA fully in-house.  

Natalie Wilson, vice-principal for curriculum and skills at Luminate Education Group, said: “The current system places impractical pressures on colleges, particularly within the current funding environment. Empowering colleges to be more closely involved in the delivery of EPA could improve the experience for apprentices while also reducing the financial and administrative pressures on colleges.”  

Report author Clare Barker, a senior policy manager for skills and industry at the AoC, said: “The delays identified … make a compelling case for colleges to take charge of their own EPAs, to break down barriers to apprentices’ career progression ensuring they can complete in a timely, straightforward manner.” 

Source: AoC

 But experts warn that allowing colleges to conduct every aspect of EPA is risky.  

Simon Ashworth, the deputy chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, agreed there were issues around capacity, leading to delays “especially around the peak demand periods between April and July”. Providers and employers “should be able to contribute towards EPA”.  

However, allowing institutions to mark their own homework would decrease “trust and confidence”, he said. 

Accuracy doubts 

Rob Nitsch, the chief executive of the Federation of Awarding Bodies, which represents many EPAOs, cast doubt on the accuracy of the AoC’s findings. 

He pointed to Ofqual research, presented at this week’s Apprenticeships and Training Conference, which showed 78 per cent of an unspecified number of EPAOs did not consider that the “availability of assessors impacts on the timely delivery of assessment”.   

“The implication that there would be betterment if colleges delivered assessments is not substantiated by the evidence contained in the [AoC] report; for example, there is no analysis of how college-delivered EPA would address the shortcomings,” Nitsch said.

He added that the “evidence on the ground” is that AoC’s recommendation “does not represent the views of all apprenticeship providers, including colleges, nor does it properly consider the preference employers have for independent assessment”.  

Colleges were responsible for just over 58,000 (17 per cent) of the 340,000 apprenticeships starts in England in 2023-24. AoC’s data on EPA delays was based on responses from 83 colleges.  

‘A challenge we would be happy to address’ 

Chris Todd, the chief executive of Derwentside College, said that bringing EPA in-house “would be challenging to deliver in the short term” , but was a “challenge we would be happy to address”. 

“The key to successful implementation here is to agree a manageable transition and timetable for the change, allowing colleges to develop their capacity prior to implementation.”  

The AoC also used Individual Learner Record (ILR) data, submitted by 170 colleges, to find the cost of EPA to colleges has been consistent at 13 per cent of their apprenticeship income for the past three academic years.   

In 2023-24 apprenticeship payments to colleges totalled £261.3 million and EPA cost was £34.2 million.  

However, the AoC said the true cost was likely to be a higher percentage because of the cost of resits and the additional physical resources required that were not taken into account by the ILR data.  

Latest Ofqual data shows that 90 per cent of all apprentices pass their EPA at the first attempt.  

AoC’s survey found 34 per cent of colleges worked with 11 to 20 EPAO and 11 per cent worked with 21 or more, which “creates additional administration burden”.  

Todd argued that EPA should be scrapped altogether as it was “not necessarily needed or wanted by many employers”.  

“It’s very expensive to operate, you only have to look at some of the awarding bodies to see that their profit margins have risen (and continue to rise) as a result of the growing volume of EPA activity. This is all money that is going outside of the sector and away from learners.  

“If EPA was removed, we could move back to an assessment regime more akin with what we do in other provision types, at a fraction of the cost, and with little impact on quality.”  

A DfE spokesperson refused to say whether the department would consider allowing colleges to conduct their own EPA.