Nick LawrenceDeputy Director

Head of Vocational Education Department for Education

The future of Vocational Education – creating a real

alternative to A- Levels.

16-19 year olds in full-time education

What kind of qualifications

are young people taking at

16?

Does this meet young peoples’ (and employers’) needs?

• The UK has the third highest University-level graduation rate in the OECD;

• 82% of students achieve 5 good GCSEs (53% including English and maths) or equivalent and (also well above average).

BUT….. • Vocational education is seen as a poor second to academic study; • Skills shortages are denying young people opportunity:

39% of employers struggle to recruit workers with the advanced, technical and STEM skills - acute concerns in manufacturing, construction and engineering;

32% and 31% respectively are dissatisfied with some school and college leavers basic literacy and numeracy ;

55% say school leavers lack the right work experience, self-management (54%) and problem solving skills (41%); and attitude to work. (35%) (CBI, 2013)

• Many vocational qualifications do not prepare a young person for a specific job: only 7% of students take vocational qualifications at level 3 which prepare

them for a specific job, most take more ‘general’ vocational qualifications. (provisional DfE analysis, 2012).

How do we compare to other countries…

UK’s 15- year- olds in PISA 2009 (65 countries participating):

•Average in reading (rank 25) and mathematics (rank 28), but well below the highest- performing countries;•Boys outperform girls in mathematics and science – the second and third largest gaps in OECD respectively;•Only 1.8% of students in the UK reach the highest level in mathematics, (OECD average 3.1%, 27% in Shanghai-China).

There are significant differences between UK schools. 77% of student performance differences in schools is explained by differing socio- economic circumstances.

How do we compare to other countries…(2)

But

•Only seven OECD countries spend more per student than the UK on education (2009);•UK parents are better educated than in many other countries;•The UK has below average numbers of students from disadvantaged backgrounds;•When UK socio- economic differences are taken into account, there is no relationship between family structure and pupil attainment;•The UK has lower pupil-to-teacher ratios in schools with a high proportion of disadvantaged pupils than most OECD countries; •Student and Principal perceptions of student- teacher relationships score well above the OECD average; •Performance by second generation students with an immigrant background is similar to their peers if they speak the language they are assessed in at home.

What would an internationally competitive alternative to ‘academic’ education look like?

• Strong focus on core skills – English, maths and science, avoiding early specialisation.

• Higher standards - ‘vocational’ not being seen as a poor second to ‘academic’.

• Greater focus on outcomes – eg reporting attainment and progress of students taking vocational qualifications, destination measures.

• Stronger links between employers, schools and colleges – expansion of work experience, involvement of employers in qualification development, delivery and assessment.

• More opportunities for technical education – UTCs, studio schools, 14-16 enrolment in FE, post-16 work experience and traineeships.

• More ‘learn while you work’ options – Apprenticeships, Advanced and Higher Apprenticeships.

Reform of 14-16 vocational qualifications

All non-GCSE qualifications reported in performance tables comply with rigorous new quality standards and all new qualifications are developed to

meet these standards

What was the problem we were trying to fix?

• Students in poor performing schools were being denied broad academic knowledge and skills that are fundamental to employment and education prospects.

• Qualifications which are no longer reported in the performance tables accounted for: 10% of 5+ A*-C GCSE achievements in 513 schools; 20% of 5+ A*-C GCSE achievements in 105 schools; All 5+ A*-C GCSE achievements in 1 school (70% of pupils achieving 5+ A*-C grades).

• Students were being encouraged to develop knowledge and skills of no value for progression to further study and employment.

• Large 4- to 5-GCSE-sized qualifications left little curriculum time for other study, limiting students’ future options.

• No labour market value to vocational qualifications taken at 14-16.

• Age to which young people must participate in education and training is rising to: 17 years from September 2013; 18 years from September 2015. 

• Many qualifications were of poor quality, lacked robust assessment or did not provide progression to further education or training.

KS4 Performance Table Reforms All non-GCSE/iGCSE qualifications have to demonstrate

a tough set of characteristics to be reported in school performance tables.

Only 4% of qualifications taught prior to September 2012 demonstrated these characteristics – all new qualifications now do.

Schools remain free to offer other qualifications accredited and approved for teaching to 14- to 16-year olds.

Each qualification only counts as the ‘equivalent’ to one GCSE.

Two qualifications per pupil that are not GCSEs, established iGCSEs or AS levels will count towards ‘best of’ scores.

Estimated 5% impact on 5*A-C English and maths achievement (but much higher in some schools).

140

3175

2011:

2014:

Number of qualifications that will count in the school performance tables:

118

2015:

Reform of 16-19 vocational qualifications

In March, DfE launched a consultation on reforming vocational qualifications for 16-19 year olds – setting rigorous new quality standards; separating genuinely occupational, more general vocational qualifications and A levels; and securing employer endorsement of occupational qualifications. The outcome will be announced in July.

What is the problem?

• Level 3 vocational qualifications (BTECs, National Diplomas etc..) education are seen as a poor second to academic study.

• Skills shortages are holding back competitiveness and growth;

– one in five vacancies in associate professional roles (e.g. science and engineering technicians, IT technicians, paramedics) are due to skills shortages

• Most vocational qualifications don’t lead to skilled employment.

• The development of employment-related skills is being overlooked;

– over half of employers (55%) experience weaknesses in school leavers' self-management skills and two thirds (69%) believe they have inadequate business and customer awareness (CBI Skills Survey 2013).

Applied General Qualifications are for students wishing to continue their general education at advanced level through applied learning. They equip a student with transferable knowledge and skills and fulfil entry requirements for a range of higher education courses and may enable entry to employment or an Apprenticeship.

Occupational Qualifications are for students wishing to specialise in an occupation or occupational group. They will equip a student with specialist knowledge and skills and enable entry to employment or an Apprenticeship in that occupational group or progression to a related further or higher education course. In some cases they can provide a ‘licence to practise’ or exemption from professional exams.

Proposed reforms – for September 2014

From September 2014 DfE is introducing a Technical Baccalaureate Performance Table measure  which recognises level 3 achievement which includes at least one Occupational Qualification

The Technical Baccalaureate Measure

ambitious, talented students who want to pursue a technical career;

young people interested in occupations that require significant theory and knowledge acquisition, such as:

STEM technicians Service technicians Creative technicians

e.g. lab technicians, IT technicians, engineering technicians, construction professionals

e.g. retail and hospitality management, personal services, junior accounting positions

e.g. digital media, other media, creative industries, sport industry, material/textiles, design

The Technical Baccalaureate Measure is designed to promote the uptake of Occupational Qualifications.

It is for:

How will it work?

The TechBacc measure will be applied to courses beginning in September 2014.

As a performance table measure; not a qualification (like the EBacc):– the right combination of qualifications will be recognised as meeting

a national standard i.e.:

High-value Level 3 qualificationsfrom the DfE list (50% of curriculum time),

including at least one occupational qualification

Core Maths qualification at Level 3 e.g. A level, AS level,

International Baccalaureate maths, applied maths qualification

Extended Project qualification research project with an industry focus

16-19 Study Programmes

From September 2013 16-19 Study Programmes and funding reforms will incentivise schools and Colleges to provide the training employers value most – English and maths, substantial qualifications (large vocational qualifications and A levels) and work experience.

16-19 education was funded per qualification passed…•Funding unfit to support RPA;•Professor Wolf found perverse incentives which didn’t help raise standards;•System is very complex and opaque.

From September 16-19 education will be funded per student retained…•simpler and more transparent; •at the same basic level for all students (with protection for larger programmes);•linked to introduction of 16-19 study programme – tailored programmes of qualification and other activity focused on getting students into university, further training or employment.

Funding per

student

Studyprogrammes

Raising Participation

Age

16-19 Funding

Aim: for 16-19 year olds to study coherent, well thought out programmes which offer breadth and depth and do not limit their options for future study or work.

Principles (monitored by Ofsted): •clear education and/or employment goals tailored to meet the needs of individual students;•a mix of qualification-led and non-qualification activity;•does not narrow a young person’s options in terms of future learning or employment.

Expectations (monitored by the Education Funding Agency):•qualifications of substantial size (A levels of vocational qualifications) or a large programme of work experience or a traineeship;•support activity, e.g. tutorial time, study skills and, particularly for low attaining students, personal and social development;•post-16 work experience, to meet pupil needs and ambitions; •continue with English and maths if they have not achieved GCSE A*-C at age 16.

16-19 Study Programmes

From September 2014 studying mathematics and english to Level 2/ GCSE will become a condition of funding for student places for 16-19 year olds and 

the teaching of further mathematics will also be expanded.

Any questions?