White Paper: 14-19 Reform

Citation

(2005), "White Paper: 14-19 Reform", Education + Training, Vol. 47 No. 4/5. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2005.00447dab.001

White Paper: 14-19 Reform

Mike Tomlinson’s proposals for fundamental reforms of vocational education (see Education + Training Volume 47 Number 1) have been rejected by the Government in favour of keeping GCSEs and A levels. Nevertheless, the Government maintain that their new White Paper marks “a major shift towards vocational education”. The proposals purport to end the snobbery that has condemned vocational education as “second best” for while “protecting and enhancing the gold standard of GCSE and A levels”.

The four pillars of the White Paper are:

1. 1.

   vocational opportunities from 14 which give clear routes to higher education and/or employment;

2. 2.

   a renewed focus at secondary level on the basics of Maths and English for all;

3. 3.

   stretch for the most able students; and

4. 4.

   ending the disengagement that leads to some pupils leaving education early.

The White Paper sets out proposals for reform offer high quality, high status vocational routes of learning that offer young people real choice and opportunity.

According to the DfES plans include:

• •

  The rationalisation of the 3,500 vocational qualifications currently available and the introduction of 14 specialised diplomas covering a broad range of sectors and skills available at levels 1, 2 and 3. Diplomas will seek to combine the best of academic and vocational content appropriate to the sector. All diplomas will include study in functional Maths and English.

• •

  Securing the basics – every young person to be secure in the basics which they need for life and work. All pupils will master the “3Rs”. There will be a guarantee that nobody achieving high grades at GCSE English and Maths will have done so without having mastered the basics.

• •

  A new general (GCSE) Diploma will be awarded to those that achieve five A*-C GCSEs that include English and Maths. Achievement and attainment tables will be amended to reflect how many young people meet this standard.

• •

  More information on an individual’s performance will be made available to universities such as their exam scores. “We will introduce tougher optional questions at A level after piloting and we will work with universities to find the best ways of making HE modules available to school/college students. No young person will be limited in their progression”.

• •

  The piloting of an extended project.

Ruth Kelly, Secretary of State for Education commented: “Today will mark the end of the divide between vocational and academic study. We will move to a truly comprehensive education system for every teenager by ensuring real choice from the age of 14. We can’t have second class, second best vocational education – it is valued abroad and it must be valued here. We must have a truly world-class workforce. It is vital to the future prosperity of the country.

CBI Director-General Sir Digby Jones said: “Nothing can be more important than equipping young people with the basic skills they need to compete in the globalised economy. Illiteracy and innumeracy must be eradicated from the workplace. Employers have been urging governments for years to accentuate and prioritise vocational training so young people, parents and teachers do not feel their efforts in this direction are inferior to Higher Education initiatives. Keeping GCSEs and A-levels is essential for employers who depend on recognisable standards when employing young people and stretching the brightest pupils is vital if we are to win as a nation in the globally competitive race”.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “While it is disappointing that the Tomlinson proposals have not been fully adopted, the White Paper does at least lay the foundation for an improved vocational approach, which represents a real challenge for business. For years employers have been complaining that school leavers of all ages lack the vital skills to succeed in the workplace. They will now have a much greater role to play, especially in providing a wider range of work placements for young people, and they must prove that they can deliver and make real improvements in areas they have been criticising for so long. The Government must also face up to the fact that colleges are going to be key to the success of this new strategy and need to be rewarded appropriately. Until the further education sector receives a parity of funding and pay with schools vocational education will always remain second best“.

A copy of the White Paper can be found at www.dfes.gov.uk/publications/14-19educationandskills