14-19: extending opportunities, raising standards

A Commentary and Response from NIACE
Published: May 2002

Introduction

1. This documents forms the response of NIACE to the green paper '14-19: Extending Opportunities, Raising Standards' (Cm 5342) published in February 2002. It takes the form of a commentary on the paper followed by an overall assessment on its potential impact on adult learning and adult learners. In addition, where NIACE has specific responses to make to the fifty questions asked in the text of the paper, these are included within the commentary on each chapter.

2. Should the proposals succeed, they will have the effect of continuing the initial education of more and more young people beyond the age of 16 but without raising the age of compulsory schooling. They have the potential to raise skill levels and widen participation - and in that respect, can only be welcome.

3. The green paper seeks to downgrade the significance of 16 as the age at which compulsory schooling ends and to develop 14-19 into a coherent phase of educational and personal development. It proposes the introduction of greater flexibility into the national curriculum at Key Stage 4; give increasing attention to vocational courses; introduces a new “Matriculation Diploma” at age 19; and strengthens the information, advice and guidance available to young people.

4. As well as the obvious implications for 14-16 education policy and 16-19 education and training policy, the paper has implications for higher education (especially the 50% target for 18-30 year olds) and while the implications for post- 19 education and training policy are less direct, they are still important - in particular for the effect they may have upon FE college provision where, once more, there is a concern that the needs of the minority of young, full-time students will take precedence over the needs of far greater numbers of older part-time students.

Commentary on the paper

5. The green paper comprises a foreword by Estelle Morris; nine chapters with specific questions for consultation; and two appendices (an illustrative timetable for the implementation of proposals and a list of key facts).

Chapter 1 - The Vision

6. The term “education and training” is used throughout to cover vocational education as well as work-based training. The green paper affirms that the division between education and training must be broken down and emphasises that "all pathways contribute to employability and responsible citizenship" (Paragraph 1.1).

7. The vision calls for end of the traditional break for education at 16 and an extension to 19. The proposed aim of the 14-19 phase of education and training in England is to:

8. The objectives of the proposed reforms are:

9. The 14-19 system must cater for increasing numbers of young adults entering HE by 30 as well as young adults not entering HE by that date (Paragraph 1.11).

Chapter 2 - 14-19s: Marking the Start of the Phase

10. The chapter summary states that:

"The 14-19 phase of learning should be marked by a clear beginning, middle and end. The phase should start with a review of achievement towards the end of Key Stage 3. This will provisionally identify longer-term career and learning goals, including the achievement of the Matriculation Diploma by age 19. It will inform of the review might be recorded in an individual learning plan to form the basis of monitoring and review throughout the 14-19 phase. GCSEs and equivalent qualifications should become a progress check around the midpoint phase."

 

Chapter 3 - The Content of the 14-19 Curriculum

11. The summary states:

"We reaffirm our belief that up to age 19 all young people be entitled to experience breadth and balance in their learning. We acknowledge, however, that the current structure of the curriculum at Key Stage 4 can be a barrier to student motivation and the flexibility of individual programmes."

"We propose a new structure for the national Curriculum at Key Stage 4. We believe there should be a core of compulsory subjects that are essential for progression and development beyond the end of compulsory schooling. All pupils should study mathematics, English, science and ICT, alongside citizenship, religious education, careers education, sex education, physical (PE) and work-related learning."

"We propose a new statutory entitlement of access to a subject within each of modern foreign languages, design and technology, the arts of the humanities."

"We intend to develop more vocational qualifications and new hybrid qualifications that combine traditional general subjects with their vocational applications. We will ensure that new qualifications are robust and high-quality. We propose to enable the most able students to demonstrate a greater depth of understanding at advanced level through introducing more demanding questions into A2 papers, leading to a new distinction grade for the high achievers. The new generation of Modern Apprenticeships will form an important part of a 14-19 vocational pathway."

"We propose that all 16-19 year olds should be entitled to continue to study literacy, numeracy and ICT until they have reached at least Level 2."

 

12. The DfES envisages a coherent 4-year pathway although it does not propose to do away with GCSEs at 16, nor to raise the school leaving age. Pre-16 it proposes to introduce greater flexibility in the national curriculum in order to accommodate a shaper focus of personal and vocational learning. This will entail a core of compulsory subjects (English, maths, science and ICT) being studied by all 14-16 year-olds alongside citizenship, RE, careers education, sex and health education and PE. Other subjects such as languages, design and technology and the arts and humanities would not be compulsory but there would be a new statutory entitlement requiring schools to make these subjects available to any pupil wishing to study them. In addition the paper proposes that all young people should undertake some work-related learning through study and work experience.. Pupils may replace non-compulsory subjects with vocationally-orientated ones.

13. Post-16 there are no plans for significant change to the system of A/AS levels introduced in Curriculum 2000 although the current A2 exam (old A level) may be merged with a new Advanced Extension Award. It is also proposed to raise the status of vocational A levels and adopt the recommendations of the Cassels review of Modern Apprenticeships. The QCA is also to be invited to review the National Qualifications Framework established by the 1997 Education Act (Paragraph 3.52)

Chapter 4 - Recognising Achievement - A New Award

14. The summary states that:

"To inspire and motivate all young people to stay in learning beyond 16, a new overarching award could market the completion of the 14-19 phase. Based around existing qualifications, it would offer all learners a common, challenging goal."

"The award would be built around achievements in literacy, numeracy and ICT to at least Level 2 (the equivalent to five good GCSEs); recognise all main qualifications in academic and vocational subjects; and might also cover participation in wider activities."

"We wish to consult on the precise form of the award and then to test it in practice. We believe there is merit in an award that recognizes and motivates young people towards three levels of achievement….."

"A simpler alternative might be to provide all young people with a Certificate consolidating all their achievements and undifferentiated by level."

 

15. The Paper proposes envisages a new over-arching award to offer all young people at age nineteen a common award (the Matriculation Diploma) with three levels:

Chapter 5 - Pace and Progression

16. The summary to this short chapter states that:

"Young people should be able to develop at a pace consistent with their abilities, whether faster or slower. Those going faster might skip some examinations or take them early and use the time gained to study some subjects in greater depth or start new ones. Those progressing more slowly might take GCSEs or equivalent later than age 16."

17. A faster pace of learning can take the form of fast-track sets and pupil identification. The new arrangements should allow for accelerated learning but not at the expense of other learners. Examples include by-passing GCSE examinations in some subjects and beginning AS programmes. It is suggested that a faster pace of learning can offer a number of opportunities including broader and deeper study in other areas, and a gap year before entry into higher education. At the same time, a slower learning pace should enable students to sit GCSEs after 16 (Paragraphs 5.7-5.10).

Chapter 6 - Advice, Guidance and Support for Young People

18. The summary states that:

"Young people will need good, independent advice, guidance and support at key points if they are to benefit from the reforms proposed. Careers education will need to prepare young people for the wider range of choices available at age 14. parents have a key role to play, as have the Connexions Service and its partner agencies including the Youth Service. Financial support from Education Maintenance Allowances, the Connexions Card and Access Funds improves retention post-16."

19. Key points include:

Chapter 7 - Drivers and Support for Change

20. The summary states that:

"Targets and performance tables will continue to play an important role in driving-up standards. We propose changes to school performance tables to recognize differing rates of progress at age 16 and to school and college performance tables to reflect national targets for achievement at Level 2 and Level 3. We will ask the Inspectorates to report on the breadth of learning opportunities for young people in individual institutions. We will continue to provide support to schools to drive-up quality and will be extending similar measures to the FE sector."

21. Key points include:

Chapter 8 - Implementation

22. The summary states that:

"Implementation will be carefully phased in over several years. Changes to the curriculum, qualifications, regulations and guidance will be subject to consultation. We will be testing out enhanced collaborative arrangements between schools, colleges, training providers and employers, from 2002/03, subject to the availability of resources. We will encourage collaboration by removing barriers; by rewarding and recognizing good practice, and by providing some financial assistance. Some additional resources are already available, and we will be looking to increase our investment as resources permit. We will minimize the implications of our proposals for teacher workloads and for teacher supply."

23. Main changes scheduled up to 2005-06 are given in an appendix, current funding allocations are:

24. References are also made to the funding methodology for vocational courses provided by schools and other providers. Paragraphs 8.22/8.23 state that:

"There may be a question about the funding of vocational courses at 14-16. The FE sector has long had a flexible system of funding that can cope with courses at 14-16. The FE sector has long had a flexible system of funding that can cope with courses that cost more than others, and with students that cost more than others, and with students who attend for different lengths of time. These flexibilities will extend to the funding of sixth forms from 2002/03 as the LSC takes over their funding. It is for consideration whether these funding flexibilities should also extend to the 14-16 phase in schools. Many vocational courses are likely to be more expensive than traditional general courses. There would be a case for applying additional weightings to pupils taking these courses: either a single weighting for those on vocational courses, which would relatively simple; or a variety of weightings such as would be used by the LSC post-16. These weightings would need to be applied in the finding assessments from Government to LEAs and the formula used by LEAs to fund schools."

"We do not think the case is yet fully made for complicating the funding of 14-16 year olds with weightings of this type. We propose to try out various approaches - without weighting, with a single weighting, and with a range of weightings - during the pathfinder phase."

Chapter 9 - Next Steps

25. The summary states that:

"We suggest a range of ways of obtaining the views of key players on our proposals. We shall be holding a series of workshops around the country between March and May to bring together representatives of schools, colleges and training providers, as well as LEAs, the local LSCs, employers, Connexions Partnerships and representatives of higher education. The views of young people themselves will be crucial, and we propose consultation meetings and focus groups. We intend also to consult partners, higher education and employers. The consultation during the summer, with the first pathfinders."

 

Assessment: General

26. The green paper is explicit in wishing to create a coherent phase of 14-19 education and training, signalling that work-related training is seen as being of equal importance as general education and vocational education for people aged 14-19. This represents an advance for views which see preparation for the labour market as an important function of schooling. The critical year will be 2005/2006. This is the year of national roll out and the year by which technical issues on funding must be resolved, and aggregate funding for 14-19 will be known in the light of the 2004 Spending Review setting out public spending for 2005/06-2007/08.

27. Before that date pathfinder projects must resolve the issue of funding vocational provision for 14-16 year olds outside of schools and the use of weightings to fund vocational provision by schools and other providers. The DfES will need to assess whether the LSC funding methodology would apply to 14-16 year olds with funding linked to the proposed Individual Learning Plans or whether alternative funding arrangements would need to be established.

28. The proposals will impact on:

29. Fundamentally, however, the green paper does not really address the extent to which its proposals are attractive enough to persuade increasing numbers of 17-18 year olds in employment but not in full-time or part-time study or training to remain in full-time or part-time education and training to achieve Level 3 qualifications before they are 19.

Assessment: Impact on HE

30. The green paper concludes that the reforms will:

"contribute significantly to meeting the target that 50% of young people up to the age of 30 will participate in higher education by 2010."(Paragraph 9.11)

This prompts the question whether the 14-19 reforms are intended to achieve the 50% target of participation in the HE system as currently organized or whether via a changed HE system composed of “access universities” and “selector universities”.

31. By proposing a 'vocationalising' of the 14-19 curriculum, the green paper might encourage more 14-16 year olds - some who would have taken GCSEs - to undertake vocational options linked to their early careers. In turn, more 18-19 year olds who achieve vocational Level 3 qualifications might be attracted to employment rather than full-time study. They might wish to participate in HE later (although there is no evidence that this would be before they are 30) but it is likely that this would be on a part-time rather than a full-time basis whilst in employment. This implies a very different type of HE system to achieve the 50% target. Indeed, the green paper states "At least half our young adults should at some stage enter higher education if our economy is to have enough people with higher-level skills.". The words “at some stage” suggest a weakening of the age-related target.

32. One very important area will be how the reforms proposed in the paper integrate with the Partnerships for Progression initiative for which the LSC and HEFCE are seeking funds. There will be a clear need to ensure coherence and synergy.

Assessment: Impact on adult learners

33. NIACE’s main concern is to ensure that enhanced provision for 14-19 year olds, especially in colleges but also in workplace-led learning, is not bought at the expense of opportunities for adults wishing to raise their skill levels or to change career.

34. If the changes proposed can be made without detriment to adult learners, we welcome the green paper’s commitment to extend opportunity and raise standards among 14 - 19 year olds and thus lay strong foundations for lifelong learning.

35. Any comments or questions about this response should be directed to the Policy, Analysis and Development team at NIACE.

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