March 2010
Over the next couple of months young people in schools and
colleges face some of their most important educational choices. But
how have the 14-19 reforms enhanced the options available? And how
can staff be best prepared to deal with questions that come their
way?
Connexions adviser Maggie Cowan has been giving careers and
education guidance to young people for more than 20 years.
The period between January and March, when students aged 14 and
above traditionally decide what they want to do next, is one of her
favourite times of year - because she gets a glimpse of the
aspirations that students hold for the future.
“It’s a large part of my job to speak to young people about
their hopes for work or university,” she says. “When a 16 year old
comes to you with the seed of an idea, it can be incredibly
rewarding to work with them and their parents to figure out the
best pathway to take them towards that ultimate goal.”
But Maggie has always felt that options available to 14-19 year
olds could become even more flexible, so that every young person
can find their preferred route.
“Some qualifications from previous years, such as GNVQs, didn’t
provide the flexibility for young people to move onto university if
they wanted to,” she says.
It’s for reasons such as this that the government has introduced
reforms to 14-19 education over the past two years. Not all young
people were being provided with suitable progression routes and
some became disengaged from the education system, dropped out and
underachieved.
But now there is no shortage of options. Everyone has the
opportunity to follow a style of learning that best suits their
individual needs and enables them to fulfil their
potential.
In addition to new GCSEs and A levels, students can study for
the Diploma at Foundation, Higher or
Advanced levels. Foundation Learning has also been introduced to
offer vocational or subject learning for students working below
level 2.
Other changes include:
- Functional skills qualifications – a central part of the
Diploma, Foundation Learning, Apprenticeships and new GCSEs – being
introduced to all schools and colleges nationally from September
2010. These will help young people to get the most out of education
and training, and to become more independent and more employable as
a result
- The Extended Project – available to A level students and as
part of the Advanced Diploma – allowing students to develop their
research skills by studying a topic in depth
- Personal, learning and thinking skills such as team work, time
management, self management and presentation, embedded across the
14-19 curriculum
- More Apprenticeships available for students looking to
specialise in particular industries
Lesley Chadwick, 14-19 Curriculum Development Manager for
Liverpool City Council, believes that the changes are very positive
news.
“The 14-19 reforms mean we have the most exciting and
comprehensive suite of options that I can remember,” she says. “Now
every young person can find something that’s right for them –
whatever their background, whatever their ability and whatever
their ambitions.”
She cites the introduction of the Diploma – the largest of the
reforms – as one way that the bank of options now available to
young people has been enhanced:
“We’ve never had a qualification that fuses practical and
theoretical achievement so well. The young people in the Liverpool
area who are studying the Diploma get so much out of it because it
takes them to places that they wouldn’t otherwise go, and puts them
in situations that they wouldn’t otherwise be in.
“Recently, some of our students studying the Diploma in
Information Technology had to present ideas for a website to a
local employer, who sent them away twice to think about refinements
that he wanted to make to the design.
“That’s real life – not everything is going to be perfect first
time – but it just made the young people more ambitious and more
determined to come up with the best possible end product.”
The options are there. But buy-in from teachers and tutors is
the key if we’re to meet the challenge of equipping the nation’s
ambitious young people with the skills they need for future
success.
Importantly, the launch of the Information, Advice and Guidance
(IAG) strategy in October 2009 signalled additional support to help
young people make the learning and work choices that are right for
them as individuals. The strategy sets out a new vision to
encourage students to aspire to fulfil their potential, and places
schools and colleges, and teachers and tutors, at the heart of the
process.
So it’s vital that staff fully understand the recent changes to
14-19 education.
“The 14-19 reforms have been a fantastic step forward, and
during this options period I hope everyone will take the time to
understand the different routes that are now available,” says
Lesley.
Maggie Cowan shares this view. “What we have now is a range of
choices that enables every young person to find a learning route
that suits them – so the choice that all teachers need to make is
to do a bit of homework on the 14-19 reforms ahead of options
time.”
The 14-19 reforms: fast facts and useful links
The Diploma:
- A two year programme that combines practical and theoretical
achievement into one award to help bridge the academic-vocational
divide.
- Available at three levels – Foundation, Higher (both usually
taken between the ages of 14 and 16) and the Advanced Diploma
(which is a post-16 qualification that can be taken as a route into
university)..
- Young people can also choose from a range of other courses to
study as part of their Diploma – including GCSEs, A levels and
BTECs.
Foundation Learning:
- Provides a clear route for young people working below level 2,
and uses a tailored learning programme to prepare them for level 2
and beyond.
- Is made up of a range of suitable qualifications that provide
social and personal development as well as functional skills in
literacy, numeracy and ICT.
- Foundation Learning can have a positive impact on engagement,
motivation and attainment of the students participating on the
programme.
The Extended Project:
- A one-off assignment undertaken either as a standalone
qualification or as a compulsory part of the Advanced Diploma. Once
achieved, the Extended Project is worth half an A level.
- The focus of Extended Projects is chosen by students
themselves, with approval by tutors. This can be an aspect of the
subject they are studying, a topic they have a vested interest in,
or an area they enjoy.
- The main elements of the Extended Project are planning,
research, the product or artefact itself that students produce (eg.
an animated film, a performance, an artefact, a report of an
investigation or a dissertation), evaluation and presentation
Functional skills:
- Now part of the Diploma, Apprenticeships and Foundation
Learning to ensure that everyone learns the essential components of
English, maths and ICT to operate confidently, effectively and
independently in life and work.
- Functional skills will be taught to all secondary school pupils
from September 2010.
- Achievement in functional skills tests will be incentivised
through the School Report Card.
GCSEs / A levels:
- Functional skills incorporated into GCSEs in English, ICT and
mathematics
- Revised A levels place more emphasis on thinking and problem
solving and are designed to be more challenging and stimulating to
students to better prepare them for higher education and
employment
Apprenticeships:
- Are now available to young people on a wider scale in a larger
variety of subject areas
IAG strategy:
- The government is improving the quality and accessibility of
the information, advice and guidance (IAG) available, to prepare
young people for a rapidly-changing jobs market, and help them to
aspire to fulfil their potential.
- The new IAG strategy (Quality, choice and aspiration, October
2009) places schools and colleges at the heart of delivering IAG;
gives local authorities strategic responsibility for leading
improvement at local level; promises to help parents help their
children make the right decisions; commits to raising young
people’s aspirations through wider choices and experiences of the
world of work; and sets out plans deliver more interactive and
accessible online IAG services
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