House of Commons - Public Accounts

Select Committee on Public Accounts Thirty-Ninth Report

2 Reducing complexity and communicating simply

11. The choice of qualifications at ages 14 and 16 is complex (Figure 2). Unless the arrangements are simplified, young people in England will continue to have to deal with a more complicated qualifications structure than in comparable countries. In the 2005 Education and Skills White Paper, the Government recognised that students and employers found the system confusing and set out its ambition for four broad areas of qualification in the future: general qualifications (such as A levels and GCSEs); Diplomas; Apprenticeships; and a Foundation Level for those students who may have learning difficulties. Diplomas are intended to simplify the system by combining academic and vocational learning and by providing the opportunity to replace some existing qualifications. Because Diplomas are being introduced before rationalising other qualifications, they have added further layer of complexity. Further consultation is proposed with the aim of rationalising qualifications and achieving full consolidation of 14-19 years' education options by 2013.[14]

12. Young people will find it easier to make choices at age 14 and 16 if they can see clearly how each qualification will help them progress into employment or further study. Diplomas will be offered at three different levels, and it will be important that young people are offered clear progression routes. For example, the Department hopes that the lowest level Diploma (level 1)—which will not provide sufficient training for entry into a vocation—will provide a stepping stone to encourage young people to remain longer in education.[15]

13. Unless employers, parents and universities understand and value Diplomas, it will be difficult to advise young people about the benefit of choosing the Diploma route. Universities have been involved in the design of all Diplomas, but a National Audit Office survey found that they are active in less than one-fifth of consortia. The Department does not expect universities to participate in every consortium, but does expect them to take a more active role now that UCAS has recognised Diplomas in its tariff. Likewise, the Department believes that not all employers need to participate in consortia, so long as they understand the value of Diplomas that will be awarded to young people who will become their future employees. Many employers have not yet heard about Diplomas, especially in local authority areas that are not involved in the first phase of delivery. The Department hopes to spread key messages about Diplomas by building on the large number of contacts that schools have with employers through existing work experience programmes.[16]

Figure 2: Choice of learning routes for young people aged 14 to 19

Young people need to make important decisions about their education, which can have long-term implications for employment opportunities, wellbeing and standard of living. The 14-19 reforms are intended to offer every young person learning that is engaging and valuable, to suit different interests and learning styles at all levels. They introduce new Diploma qualifications and build on existing qualifications, such as GCSEs and Apprenticeships. Young people will be able to choose from a range of learning options, each offering a different progression route, as illustrated below.

Age Choice

14-16 GCSEs These qualifications remain and many young people will continue to choose them.
Functional Skills (new) Qualifications in English, maths, and information and communications technology, covering elements that are essential to enable individuals to participate effectively in everyday life, including the workplace. These will be incorporated into GCSEs—it will not be possible to achieve a grade C in these subjects without these elements.
Diplomas (new) Offering a mix of general and applied learning, available at Level 1 (broadly equivalent to five GCSEs at below grade C) and Level 2 (broadly equivalent to six or seven GCSEs at grades A* to C). Functional Skills will be incorporated into Diplomas. Diplomas are the first qualifications to be introduced which are a national education qualification recognising achievement at Level 1. Young people may choose to do one or more GCSEs alongside a Diploma.
Young Apprenticeships These allow study for vocational qualifications, including in college, with training providers and in the workplace. Apprentices spend around two days a week in school studying general subjects.
Foundation Learning Tier (new) Aims to establish progression pathways to Level 2 qualifications, and will focus on skills for life and work, subject and vocation-based learning, and personal and social development.

16-19 A levels These qualifications remain and many young people will continue to choose them.
International Baccalaureate Entails academic study of a wide range of subjects, leading to a single qualification, rather than qualifications in individual subjects.
Diplomas (new) Level 3 qualification (broadly equivalent to three A levels).
Level 1 Diplomas, Level 2 Diplomas, GCSEs and Foundation Learning Tier also available for this age group.
BTECs Vocational qualifications equivalent to A level, which has practical course elements and involve work placements.
Apprenticeships Offering a programme of vocational training which gives young people the opportunity to work for an employer and earn money while they learn.
Other work-based learning For young people who are employed, or based largely at a workplace. Often leads to an accredited NVQ award.

Examples of learning routes incorporating new Diplomas:

Paula is 15 years old and doing her GCSEs at a secondary school in London. She will be one of the first pupils in the country to undertake a Diploma. She will be staying on in sixth form and in year 12 (in 2008) has chosen to study a Level 3 Creative and Media Diploma, which will incorporate English A level as part of her additional and specialist learning. She plans to go to university to study media studies. She was motivated by the fact that media studies gave the highest proportion of full-time employment out of all degree subjects in arts and humanities.

Peter is 14 years old and attending a secondary school in Birmingham. He wants to be an engineer. He has decided to undertake the Level 1 Engineering Diploma and then wishes to progress onto an Apprenticeship at the age of sixteen. He will attend a vocational skills centre as well as school. He will do his Apprenticeship alongside GCSEs in English, maths, science, and information and communications technology, and has already made contact with a large local car manufacturing company to carry out his work experience.

Source: C&AG's Report, Figure 1

14. Information, advice and guidance for young people are central to helping them make the right choices. To be effective, guidance must be objective and tailored to meet the needs of each young person. Funding for study beyond age 16 is linked to student numbers, so there is a risk that young people may be advised to remain in their present institution. This risk should be mitigated by the Education and Skills Bill, which will require schools and colleges to offer impartial advice to young people. Almost 90% of consortia considered that they were working on the processes and procedures to provide learners with impartial, accessible information and personalised advice and guidance. By October 2007, all partnerships had developed online prospectuses presenting information on all qualifications available across a local authority area. The Learning and Skills Council is developing a performance framework to enable local areas to enhance the quality of their prospectuses.[17]

15. Up to six accredited awarding bodies will offer each Diploma, bringing the risk of further complexity. The Department expects that students will only have to deal with one awarding body for each Diploma, rather than separate awarding bodies for the different components of individual Diplomas. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority is responsible for developing an aggregation system that will bring together the marks for each component of the Diploma into a single grade. This will make it easier for employers to assess the relative achievements of prospective employees. The Department has consulted the country's leading experts in assessment methodologies regarding the grading of Diplomas, and was confident that the aggregation system would be ready in time for the start of the first phase of Diplomas in September 2008.[18]



© Parliamentary copyright 2008	Prepared 7 October 2008