National Association of Head Teachers

1 Heath Square, Boltro Road, Haywards Heath, RH16 1BL

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NAHT Response to give written evidence on the Specialised Diplomas

 

Executive Summary

1. NAHT welcome the opportunity to give evidence on the subject of the Specialised Diplomas and would also appreciate the opportunity to give oral evidence in support of our concerns.

 

2. The setting aside of the Tomlinson report was an opportunity missed to resolve the difficulties and dilemmas facing 14-19 education. The Diplomas are a part of the proposed solution which could lead to the reform of the secondary examination system but announcements which carry mixed messages are in danger of jeopardising their progress. There is a real danger of a lack of cohesion in the planning of the future curriculum.

 

3. NAHT has great concerns about the timescale of the Specialised Diploma and the lack of involvement of practitioners at an early stage of their development. There are major issues relating to workforce development and the preparation of school and college staff to deliver the Diplomas. This is too important an initiative to be allowed to fail.

 

4. Diplomas are intended to be a solution to several different difficulties and run the risk of addressing none of the needs adequately. There is considerable confusion about their purpose and it is unreasonable to expect the same qualification to address, simultaneously, issues of parity of esteem for vocational and academic routes, university discrimination and disaffected young people.

 

5. NAHT would wish to comment on the difficulties facing schools and colleges in a world in which League Tables, funding pressures, Ofsted inspections and market forces place pressures which militate against trust and collaboration.

 

Design and development of the diploma

What progress has been made on the development of diplomas to date? Where have been the sticking points?

 

6. The timescale for the introduction of diplomas has been inappropriately and unrealistically short, considering the magnitude of the new initiative. There are also problems which arise from the juxtaposition of this initiative with the KS3 and other KS4 changes.

 

7. There has been an unrealistic assumption that the employers, with little or no detailed experience of curriculum and qualification design, could play the lead role with so little time for exploration and understanding of the potential impact of the new Diplomas. The work of QCA has been impressive, but so many complex issues have been introduced that their impact has been weakened.

 

8. The Diploma is intended to solve a number of curricular problems in one process. The issues associated with finding a motivating and appropriate course for the disaffected are very different from the issues facing a bright student who wishes to use a vocational-style educational experience as a way into Higher Education. There are also issues relating to the Diploma as an alternative course within mainstream GCSE work during Years 10 and 11. For the Diploma to be the answer to all these questions was too ambitious given the time allowed for its development.

 

What role have employers and the Sector Skills Councils played in the development of diplomas?

 

9. Sector Skills Councils and employers have been centrally involved in the design and definition of the Diplomas. Unfortunately, the Awarding Bodies and schools and colleges were involved at too late a stage in the design process and this has caused considerable difficulty. The importance of the experience of practitioners was not sufficiently recognised at the outset. The different SSCs had different expectations and ambitions for the qualification and for this to be reconciled and moulded into a motivating and appropriate practical qualification which would appeal to the age range and would be manageable in school and college settings was extremely ambitious.

 

10. There remain major concerns about the content and the approach of the Diplomas but it is an achievement that they have more or less managed to deliver something within the timescale, however flawed.

 

Who is responsible for the co-ordination and development of diplomas?

 

11. QCA have played a major role in the co-ordination and development of diplomas and have been assiduous in involving schools, in some cases through the teacher associations and other bodies, which has helped to develop the Diploma to its current point.

 

12. The problems outlined earlier, however, remain and it is far from certain whether or not the Diplomas will be the successful product as initially envisaged.

 

Is there a case for a stronger co-ordinating role for one of the agencies involved, or for the appointment of a senior responsible officer or champion?

 

13. The QCA role, working alongside the professionals within the Awarding Bodies could be strengthened and recognised. The team are well aware of the potential pitfalls and problems and have systematically raised concerns about the timescale and the difficulties inherent in introducing such an ambitious system.

 

Is there a clear system for accrediting and awarding the diplomas?

 

14. QCA have commissioned consultants and have taken this forward with the Awarding Bodies. Considerable financial investment will be made in the infrastructure which will support the introduction of the complex qualification, with its modules and key elements.

 

15. Considerable work, with consultation, has been undertaken in this respect and, while all the difficulties have not yet been fully resolved, work is clearly in progress to make this a valid and reliable mode of assessment.

 

16. Given the cost and resources of this initiative, it is essential that the Diploma is given every chance of success. A less frenetic timescale, with more opportunity for schools and colleges, and in their turn, parents and students, to understand the opportunities and the realities of the new qualification is essential.

 

 

Teacher and lecturer training

What are current levels of teacher/lecturer training activity in preparation for diplomas? Is this sufficient to make diplomas a success?

 

17. NAHT has learned that work is being undertaken by the SSAT and QIA, along with the TDA, to prepare resources for the introduction of the Diplomas in September 2008. It is our understanding that these will be available from September 2007 and at that point only available to those partnerships which have successfully gone through the Gateway. This is clearly too short a timescale and does nothing to secure the future development of this qualification.

 

18. What is not clear is the nature of these materials. It appears that the NCSL have made available their coaching training to all schools and colleges who have applied to go through the "Gateway", irrespective of their success, but this is too little and too late.

 

19. Schools and colleges are expected to make decisions about the new qualification with very little information about the content (although some of this information about the first five lines is now available.) It is our understanding that the resources made available will focus on CPD aspects and not on the resources which will be required to deliver the Diplomas in the workplace and classroom. A side effect of the Diploma may well be that school staffing is unavoidably divided into a cohort of staff for KS3 and a different group of staff for 14-19. This would be undesirable and unhelpful.

 

20. Schools and colleges will be expected to deliver the Diplomas with industry-standard resources and by staff with high levels of experience within the industrial context. Staffing decisions need to be made well in advance of the introduction of a new course and professional development is vital in this process. Even for the second and third year introduction of the Diplomas, there is a difficulty with the timescale, in particular as those partnerships who are not early adopters will require even more support to reach the standards.

 

21. There has been no consultation or involvement of teacher associations and those bodies representing college lecturers in this work. This is a major omission which could have dire consequences.

 

Co-ordination between schools and colleges

What is the current level of co-ordination between colleges and schools in local areas?

 

22. Across the Local Authorities there is a huge variation in the levels of collaboration and the experience of working together. There is an alarming difference between those areas where pathfinders have been identified and the majority of the other Local Authorities.

 

23. Setting aside the practical difficulties of collaboration, i.e. transport and travel difficulties as in rural areas and issues relating to joint timetabling, there are far too many areas where they lag behind the leaders in joint 14-19 provision.

 

24. Collaboration is not supported by many of the divisive policies and approaches which have been developed in recent years. Schools who are in serious competition for students find it harder to work together with their perceived "rivals". League tables, funding pressures, headteacher and teacher shortages have exacerbated this situation and act as a disincentive to work together. The opportunities for some schools to expand and introduce sixth forms may work against the Local Authority's strategic role to plan places within their areas.

 

25. There is a surprising enthusiasm in most parts of the country for new developments in the 14-19 curriculum. Many schools and colleges have worked together to introduce the Increased Flexibility Programme and imaginative options for youngsters at 14. The great strides achieved with the BTEC qualification is a powerful example of the potential of working together and personalisation. Any suggestion that BTEC funding may be discontinued has proved unhelpful and alarming for many of our members. There is little point in destroying a qualification that is proving successful and developing opportunities for youngsters until or unless a better alternative is proven.

 

26. The announcement of the International Baccalaureate possibilities has not helped. This new development was not even mentioned in the 14-19 Implementation Plan which is supposed to be the blueprint for all of the new developments. It is for the Local Authority partnerships to decide who the IB provider may be. In reality, the schools and sixth forms most likely to be in a position to offer such an elite qualification are least likely to be in the forefront of Diploma offers and it is not clear how the Gateway process might work in this situation.

 

 

What are the barriers to co-ordination?

 

27. The schools and college system is still too built on competition and market forces for open and shared provision to be easy. Falling rolls in the secondary sector, shortages of teachers in certain subject areas and likely financial pressures may deter some from early involvement in innovative qualifications such as the Diplomas.

 

28. If the new Diplomas do not provide an interesting and robust qualification that attracts young people, the obstacles will be even more difficult to overcome.

 

29. In practical terms, sharing students from 14 presents difficulties. These include the huge expenses of transport costs and the logistics of these. In some areas of the country, for example in some areas of London, the social context presents further problems (e.g. gang areas can deter some youngsters from taking risks of personal safety to access courses in some establishments on "the wrong side of the tracks.")

 

30. There are funding difficulties. Currently there is a lack of clarity on the 14-19 funding, with the different models for 14-16 and 16-19. How will the less popular courses be supported (freedom of choice and market forces may be incompatible and we do not have a mechanism for cross-subsidy at this point).

 

What are the lessons that can be learned from areas where there is strong co-ordination on 14-19?

 

31. In the most successful partnerships, Headteachers and school staff have worked closely with Colleges in an atmosphere of trust, supported by the Local Authority and the LSC. The practitioners have taken the lead and have real ownership of the project. (A clear example of this is Wolverhampton where the Heads opted to fund, full-time, one of their colleagues to develop 14-19 across the city. It was the Heads who took the initiative and it has borne fruit.)

 

32. Where the Local Authority or the LSC seeks to pressure or impose arrangements, it is unlikely to encourage schools to take the risks needed for the move to shared provision to succeed.

 

What are intermediary bodies such as LEAs and LSCs doing to foster co-operation?

 

33. This varies across the country. Some Local Authorities are well placed and strongly capable of fostering 14-19 links. Some schools, colleges, LAs and LSCs have good relationships in their areas, although this has been damaged in some places through the difficulties inherent in LSC reorganisation.

 

34. Elsewhere, there is a range of readiness, from hesitantly enthusiastic to frighteningly unaware.

 

How engaged are head teachers and college principals in the diploma agenda?

 

35. Head teachers and College Principals are committed to working for their students and recognise that this means collaboration. Many were extremely disappointed by the rejection of the Tomlinson agenda, which offered a planned and coherent re-structuring of the qualification system at a time when it was badly needed. Many had contributed to the debate and, although the report has been placed aside, the principles and the enthusiasm still represent distilled thinking about the secondary curriculum.

 

36. Many, however, are keen to find a way forward and have unwarranted optimism about the Diplomas. It is essential that the Diplomas are not allowed to fail. Too many schools, colleges and, in particular, students have too much to lose.

 

How are the rules on post 16 expansion likely to affect the rollout of diplomas?

 

37. As outlined above, the possibility for schools to develop sixth forms and the competition regulations, could potentially work against trust and collaboration.

 

38. In many areas, the clientele is delicately balanced and the introduction of a new Academy, or a new sixth form could threaten the viability of existing provision in an unplanned and unforeseen way.

 

 

 

 

20 December 2006