It is now more than three months since the government announced it was conducting a “short review of post-16 qualification reforms at level 3 and below”. A last-ditch appeal from 455 school and college leaders urging ministers to introduce a corresponding pause to the defunding of applied general qualifications (AGQs) such as BTECs was unsuccessful.
But now the review is underway, there are signs that the government’s approach is evolving. For a start, the focus of the review has narrowed considerably: from qualifications at Level 3 and below, to Level 3 only and finally just to Level 3 qualifications due to be defunded in 2025.
This has reduced the number of qualifications in scope from around 5,700 to around 500, but it is still a tall order to make considered decisions on the future of courses studied by tens of thousands of young people between now and the end of the year.
Skills minister Jacqui Smith’s recent opinion piece in FE Week also struck a more conciliatory tone and indicated that the new government now sees a bigger role for applied general and other qualifications alongside A and T Levels.
This is welcome news, but does it mean the review will now lead to a better outcome for young people? The Protect Student Choice campaign believes it can, if the government implements the following three recommendations that we shared with ministers last month:
Retain funding for 21 AGQs in key subjects
Just 38 of the 500 qualifications within the scope of the review are applied general qualifications. We have identified 21 courses with significant enrolments that are essential to retain in key subjects such as applied science, health and social care, IT and engineering.
All meet the government’s criteria of high levels of demand/take-up by learners, supporting the skills needs of employers, offering good progression to related employment and successful outcomes in higher education, and offering good outcomes for learners from different backgrounds and different levels of prior attainment.
Confirm that students can enrol on these until 2026/27
If the government confirms its position on these 21 AGQs by December, that will provide colleges and schools with some much-needed certainty for the 2025/26 academic year.
However, given the lateness of the decision, that will soon be replaced by uncertainty for the following year. To address this, students should be able to enrol on AGQs approved through the review up to and including 2026/27.
No restrictions on combining qualifications
The previous government planned to introduce funding rules that would stipulate the applied subjects that students could study alongside A Levels, and other restrictions that would limit the size and number of AGQs that could be included in study programmes.
These restrictions should not be introduced. Colleges and schools must retain the autonomy to decide the combination of qualifications that will lead to the best outcomes for their students.
These sorts of restrictions do not apply to A Level-only study programmes, and they should not apply to students pursuing AGQs.
Implementing these three recommendations would be hugely beneficial to young people and hugely reassuring to colleges and schools.
The campaign’s immediate priority is the current review and securing a sensible outcome in December. But other challenges are close at hand.
For example, it remains unclear when decisions will be made about the Level 3 qualifications that are outside the scope of the government’s review; all have an uncertain future beyond September 2025 (including 79 AGQs in subjects such as business).
The campaign is focused on AGQs because we believe it is vital to retain a genuine three-route qualification system at Level 3.
Asking what qualifications should sit alongside A and T Levels in the future isthe wrong starting point. The right starting point is to ask how we ensure there are high-quality academic, applied and technical qualifications to meet the needs of all young people and employers.
That’s the fundamental point the Protect Student Choice campaign will continue to make, while remaining focused on encouraging the government to adopt our three practical recommendations next month.
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