Memorandum submitted by the National Union
of Teachers
1. The National Union of Teachers welcomes
the opportunity to contribute to the Education and Skills Committee's
Enquiry into the Government's proposals for the provision of 14-19
education for young people, and into the work of the Working Group
on 14-19 reform in the context of the National Skills Strategy.
The purpose of this memorandum is to promote a brief outline on
the NUT's policies in this area.
2. The NUT agrees with the 14-19 Working
Group view that 14-19 learning should build on learning at earlier
ages in order to:
"ensure that all young people acquire the
general learning, skills, knowledge and attributes that they will
need for effective engagement in further learning and adult life;"[7]
to be achieved:
"by integrating acquisition of general skills,
knowledge and personal attributes into all learning programmes".
3. The NUT believes that a coherent 14-19
system of education should raise the status of vocational pathways
for all students, and develop the skills needed for employment
and work-related learning. It is important, therefore, that the
14-19 Working Group continues to engage with employers, trade
unions and their representatives in taking forward a national
skills strategy. Whilst recognising the necessity for an overall
skills strategy, which seeks the commitment of employers in maintaining
and improving workforce development, the wider skills of IT, numeracy,
communication, problem-solving, team building and self-evaluation
should be fully integrated into a statutory core curriculum for
14-19 students. These wider skills should feature in any review
of the curriculum for post-14 students.
4. A qualifications system which would deliver
a wide range and variety of skills and knowledge on an integrated
basis for all young people should be based on a diploma framework.
The NUT would emphasise that the "general core" of the
diploma, as described by the 14-19 Working Group report, should
include wider generic and/or key skills as team work as it is
proposed.
5. The NUT recognises that, by 2010, 65%
of jobs will require level 3 (A-level equivalent) qualifications.[8]
It is important, therefore, that a broader curriculum for 14-19
year olds should be developed that incorporates wider skills and
topics related to the work place. It is not enough that only literacy
and numeracy are targeted in any new 14-19 phase of education.
Greater flexibility is a skill that not only employers value,
but also is a life skill that provides the basis for lifelong
learning. Education which develops a wide range of skills can
be incorporated into a new system, not just to provide young people
with a foundation of learning to work, but also to contribute
to each young person's lifelong learning needs.
6. The NUT supports the statement made by
the Learning and Skills council that:
"changing patterns of demand for occupation
and formal qualifications tell only part of the story. Another
important aspect is the changing pattern of demand for both job
specific and technical skills and more generic skill types. They
cut across sectors and occupations. They include both basic skills,
such as literacy and numeracy, and other key or core skills, such
as communication, team working, planning, problem-solving, IT
and management skills."[9]
7. More of an emphasis should be placed
on teaching young people a full range of skills which will provide
a foundation for the development of those skills beyond the statutory
school leaving age and into their adult lives. In addition, the
NUT would see the definition of vocational education widen to
include, for example, educational experiences such as ICT, drama
and dance.
8. The NUT welcomes Mike Tomlinson's statement
that, "this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to shape
14-19 provision into a system which better meets the needs of
all young people, whilst retaining the best features of the present
arrangements". It is difficult, however, to envisage how
a common curriculum can be put into place when the Government
is promoting the concept of "diversity" within the education
system. If vocational programmes are to expand both in FE colleges
and schools, this will have major resource and training implications
for both types of institutions. Reforms to 14-19 education, based
on securing equality of access for all young people, will only
succeed if there is a level "playing field" between
institutions with sufficient and equitable funding.
9. The 14-19 curriculum which is flexible
enough to be adapted to student's needs should be developed around
a core requirements accompanied by options. The core should consist
of areas of knowledge and a range of skills integrated into a
curriculum framework.
10. Whatever the nature of 14-19 reform,
the NUT believes that students/parents should be given a "guided
choice" about what to study. Counselling systems, such as
the Connexions Service, should be available in every secondary
school in order that pupils can be given higher quality advice
on 14-19 programmes.
11. GCSEs have now been in place since the
late 1980s. They have been modified and adapted with relatively
little controversy and are now an integral part of Year 11 qualifications.
Teachers are familiar with their structure and specifications.
Parents, Higher Education Tutors and employers recognise and relate
to the qualifications. Changes to GCSE have to take into account
this success. Reform of GCSE will trigger opposition from teachers
on the basis that "if it isn't broke, why fix it". This
is a legitimate concern given the success of GCSE. Any reforms
will have to build on, not replace, the success of this qualification.
12. In fact, there are six principles which
the NUT believes the Inquiry should take on board as well as the
Government in relation to 14-19 examination reform. They are an
essential requisite to any change. They are:
— agreement with the teaching profession
that the new qualification is the right one;
— proper, thorough piloting so that
glitches can be ironed out;
— proper training in the new exam for
teachers;
— existing syllabuses must not be discarded
wholesale. There may be whole tranches which would require no
adaptation for a new exam; and
— a minimum 10-year lead-in period
for any new qualification.
13. The positive features of the GCSE examination
framework which needs to be retained include regular assessment,
the freedom to choose subjects, and the maintenance of a curriculum
syllabus. Each domain of any new award whether "occupational",
"vocational" or "general" should have the
same content volume and status, and be covered by one set of qualifications
and levels, each providing a stepping point to higher education.
The NUT would emphasise that a key part of the new system would
be to increase the status and "visibility" of vocational
education. Vocational A-levels have proved to be too academic.
There is some evidence that students are favouring more work-orientated
qualifications in preference to this qualification. The number
of school students enrolling on Edexcel's BTEC national qualification—a
work-based alternative to A-levels—increased from 700 to
1,600 this year.
14. The debacle which ensued when the previous
Government introduced the new Curriculum 2000 examinations should
not be repeated. Pilots must be used to inform change. Any move
to a new exam must not take place before even the books and technology
are available to meet the new specifications.
15. The NUT welcomes the engagement with
higher education institutions, particularly admissions tutors
and employers with the proposed reforms outlined by the 14-19
Working Group. The attitude of each group to different types of
curriculum models will impact greatly on the future options of
young people when they leave full-time education or seek to progress
to further and higher education.
16. The NUT is particularly concerned, however,
that Oxford and Cambridge universities are turning their back
on A-levels and re-introducing their own entrance papers after
being overwhelmed by candidates with top grades this year. It
has only been a decade since Oxford scrapped its entrance examination
because it was felt that this system intimidated State school
education candidates. This latest strategy will devalue the benchmark
set by A-levels and will only serve to give admissions tutors
in a small number of self-defined elite universities an easier
time. The Government should take a much tougher stance with university
admissions tutors by requiring them to have regard to statutory
guidelines on what post-16 qualifications and courses are acceptable.
17. There needs to be an improvement in
the transparency and simplicity of the structure of 14-19 qualifications.
The NUT welcomes, therefore, the 14-19 Working Group's proposal
that students should be clear about whether they are intending
to go into higher education or into employment when taking vocational
A levels.
18. Most schools do not have the capacity
to develop specific high level industrial skills. Such skills
can only be developed by industry itself. The strength of education
is that it can provide young people with more general skills which
can provide a basis for the development of more specific occupational
skills at work.
19. As Tomlinson's initial report suggests,
there needs to be an evaluation of teacher-led diagnostic and
formative assessment. Currently, there is an over-reliance on
written external examination for progression and selection purposes.
A review of different types of assessment should be undertaken
which would consider the validity and appropriateness of other
assessment indicators. The NUT agrees that the role of assessment
based on the professional judgement of teacher and trainers should
be reinforced.
20. The NUT would emphasise that the Government's
continuing pressure on secondary schools through performance tables
to achieve a target of five or more A*-C grades at GCSE, or equivalent
performance, has led to the neglect of achievements at grades
D-G at GCSE and similar grades in other examinations. Achieving
such grades represent significant achievements for pupils and
their teachers. If Tomlinson's proposals are to work, then school
performance tables and their narrow focus on defining achievement
must be dropped.
21. The NUT has maintained consistently
that the achievements of all students should be marked and celebrated
including those who have not achieved five or more grades A*-C
at GCSE. Recognition of those who achieve Foundation level and
indeed those that are "pre-Foundation" level would better
motivate young people to aspire to the proposed intermediate levels
and beyond.
22. A new 14-19 framework should offer clear
progression routes to at least level 3 for all students whether
their starting point is entry level or higher. The NUT believes
that a single overarching certificate, or "Diploma of Achievement"
should be developed. It should be made available for a range of
levels and would incorporate different types of qualifications
and wider achievements. The 14-19 structure should allow options
for greater coursework flexibility and accredited accumulation
where this is appropriate to student needs. Students with special
educational needs should have the greatest possible access to
a balanced and broadly based curriculum. Accreditation for such
students should be based on the same scale of progression as for
all students.
23. The NUT believes that progress through
levels in any 14-19 diploma should be capable of accreditation
at any stage.
24. Any new Overarching Award should bring
together both formal qualifications at levels 2 and 3 and recognise
a wider range of activities. The NUT welcomes, therefore, the
proposal by the 14-19 Working Group that the diploma should offer
positive recognition of all levels of achievement through diplomas
at entry level and levels 1, 2 and 3. The NUT welcomes also the
14-19 Group's emphasis on the need to recognise the achievements
of young people with special educational needs.
25. There needs to be a rationalisation
of how much external assessment is needed. The development of
any new 14-19 phase of education needs to ensure that the learning
assessment burden that now exists is reduced.
26. With fewer qualification steps during
the 14-19 phase, it should be possible to develop assessment procedures
that are more relevant and appropriate to the learner's needs.
There needs to be a rationalisation of how much external assessment
is needed.
16 December 2003
7 Working Group on 14-19 Reform "Principles for
Reforms of 14-19 Learning Programmes and Qualifications". Back
8
Chris Humphries-Director General of City and Guilds. TES: 6 June
2003. Back
9
Learning and Skills Councils: "Key Messages from Skills
in England: 2002". Back
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