Serving the forgotten half
by Matt Grist
Conservative MP Elizabeth Truss has published a report arguing that poorer students are being pushed into taking less academic subjects, harming their chances of progressing into higher education and employment. This report comes shortly after the Wolf Review recommended that vocational options be curtailed for 14-16 year-olds to no more than 20 per cent of the curriculum.
What these two reports have in common is a rejection of young people studying for useless qualifications at the expense of core ‘academic skills’. Demos’ recent report the Forgotten Half similarly argued for much more effort to be put into raising the literacy and numeracy skills of young people, including reading and numeracy recovery programmes at the beginning of Key Stage 4. As Andy Burnham argued last week, GCSE passes in maths and English should be achieved by the overwhelming majority.
In The Forgotten Half we found that a young person taking an apprenticeship at level 2 (‘equivalent’ to five good GCSEs) would likely only take level 1 NVQ ‘key skills’ components in literacy and numeracy, which lead to lower wages. GCSEs in English and maths on the other hand, are used by employers as a sifting mechanism and teach valuable skills, leading to substantial wage returns (10-15 per cent higher).
Part of the problem is that league tables drive schools to up their scores by pushing students into doing vocational subjects that have been deemed ‘equivalent’ to ‘traditional’ academic subjects by Ofqual and the QCDA, although FE and HE institutions, and employers, rarely agree. In the Forgotten Half we argue for objective advice to young people on which qualifications have value, as well as much more ambition about imparting core skills in literacy and numeracy to many more learners (e.g. insisting that maths GCSE be part of level 2 apprenticeships, rather than useless ‘key skills’ modules).
So both Professor Wolf and Elizabeth Truss are right to be concerned that young people study courses allowing for progression in education and the labour market. But it is important not to get into a vocational versus academic qualifications mindset. Rather, there should also be a focus on a healthy diversity of teaching methods and curricula that impart core academic skills in more practical and imaginative ways. Paragons of educational excellence such as South Korea, Finland and Hong Kong, all put great emphasis on core skills in English and maths, as well as diverse and creative pedagogies capable of motivating and teaching the widest spectrum of learners. What goes on in schools, between teachers and learners, matters and cannot be fixed by quotas for kinds of qualifications.
David Vinter
I have a large measure of sympathy for those with little in the way of qualifications, however of course there can be many causes. For example a teenage child may well get stuck with looking after a very sick parent for many years.
I myself was 'very encouraged' to leave grammar school at 15, as father had bought a bigger farm 32 miles away. Being borrowed to the hilt, labour was unaffordable. So at 15 I began working as a full time farm lad, missing out on the 'O'levels I had studied for. However fortunately I was a stubborn sod, and over a period of years caught up with most of them. And later was able to take the
'Special entrance exam'' at Nottingham for mature student, age 32.Fortunately I passed, and then took my degree in the next 3 years. So, youngsters, all is not lost but it is a tough road, but a great fun one. That in my case paid for itself many times over, in both cash and personal satisfaction. But I would not have dared to take this route today with current fees--plus a wife!
Nevertheless as an undergraduate, I found myself dishing out lots of advice to the 19yo, as to solving car and motorcycle maintenance problems at the cheapest price!
Rob Martin
Whilst I agree with the sentiment in your article, your view about "useless" key skills modules does not reflect my experience. Over the past 15 years, the most creative, inspiring and effective teaching & learning I have encountered has been far more frequent in what you describe as useless modules. Young people and adults who have achieved key skills units have developed both the appetite and ability to apply their skills in a meaningful context - both through work and life.
Putting the effectiveness of the learning experience to one side, if we consider the content of such modules versus GCSES, then not only do less than half the young people leaving Key Stage 4 not achieve a sound grasp of critical literacy and numeracy skills (as represented as 5 GCSEs A*-C including English and maths), but taking into consideration comments from employers such as the annual CBI skills report - then the content of these qualifications do not equip young people with the necessary literacy and numeracy to operate in a modern workforce.
I fully support the view that league tables have had a negative effect on the quality of support and teaching for young people, but if we continue to see learning as distinct topics such as a national curriculum GCSE model - then we set our young people in the wrong direction.
There is much to be learnt by mainstream secondary schools from high quality and engaging vocational learning (including key skills !). We have a failing education system where more young people do not achieve a GCSE A*-C in 5 subjects including English and maths. Perhaps, in times of uncertainty it is best to seek the oracle of all knowledge....... just as I watched the Simpsons last night, should we keep mainstream students back if they do not reach an academic standard at the end of each year?
Richard Jarrald
I commend your paper, which offers practical policy recommendations that largely make sense to me and chime with what I have seen work with young people across my career in both schools and colleges.
Early intervention is critically important as is the focus on literacy and numeracy. There are some extremely effective practices occurring in several infant schools in our local area, which focus on the core 'premiums' you explore including those associated with character. I have also see aspects of this practice in colleges such as ours - City College Norwich - as well as across several Norfolk 14-19 partnerships and in a number of Norfolk's 11-16 secondary schools.
Many of the approaches featured in your recommendations are coming to the fore as we develop the Norfolk University Technical College (UTC). This new school, sponsored by CCN and the University of East Anglia is developing an approach that includes (amongst other things): 'injecting character into the curriculum'; an opening of the UTC to meaningful employer engagement and curriculum involvement; a core aim to improve the experiences of young people to the world of work - largely through our Technical Challenge approach; as well as developing their inherent employability and enterprise skills.
With the reports from Professor Wolf and Elizabeth Truss (one of local MPs) also recently published we are indeed in the midst of a Spring of new thinking.