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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| T-level delays: Colleges face disruption after courses are pushed back | T-level delays: Colleges face disruption after courses are pushed back |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| The government has delayed four of its flagship T-levels, which had been due to roll out in England from September. | The government has delayed four of its flagship T-levels, which had been due to roll out in England from September. |
| Technical qualifications in areas such as hair and beauty are among those that had been planned for the coming academic year. | Technical qualifications in areas such as hair and beauty are among those that had been planned for the coming academic year. |
| But the Department for Education (DfE) said more work was needed to ensure they were of sufficient quality. | But the Department for Education (DfE) said more work was needed to ensure they were of sufficient quality. |
| The Association of Colleges (AoC) welcomed that decision but said the news had caused "massive disruption". | The Association of Colleges (AoC) welcomed that decision but said the news had caused "massive disruption". |
| School leaders' union ASCL was concerned about the impact on students who had planned to start the courses in September. | |
| The first T-level results were given out to 1,029 students in England last year - with a 92% pass rate. | |
| Six further T-levels were due to launch in September - but three of them are now being delayed until 2024: | Six further T-levels were due to launch in September - but three of them are now being delayed until 2024: |
| hairdressing, barbering and beauty therapy | hairdressing, barbering and beauty therapy |
| craft and design | craft and design |
| media, broadcast and production | media, broadcast and production |
| A fourth, in catering, is being delayed until "beyond 2024". | A fourth, in catering, is being delayed until "beyond 2024". |
| Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said T-levels would give post-16 students a technical option of equal quality to A-levels. | Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said T-levels would give post-16 students a technical option of equal quality to A-levels. |
| "T-Level technical qualifications will only be approved for delivery where we are sure they are good enough and can be delivered to a high standard," she said. And more work was needed, which would "not be possible in time for launch this September". | "T-Level technical qualifications will only be approved for delivery where we are sure they are good enough and can be delivered to a high standard," she said. And more work was needed, which would "not be possible in time for launch this September". |
| Kevin Gilmartin, of the ASCL school leaders' union, warned that Year 11 students who had planned to study the delayed T-levels "may now have missed the opportunity to apply for alternative courses and this will be a real distraction just months before they sit their GCSEs". | |
| He added that the DfE's timescale for broader changes to 16-19 qualifications by 2025 - which includes approving funding for Level 3 qualifications other than A-levels and T-levels - was "simply unworkable". | |
| AoC chief executive David Hughes said the DfE was "right to ensure only T-Levels of high enough quality enter the market", but added: "Colleges will be massively disrupted by this announcement happening so late in the year. | |
| "Colleges already had plans in place for how to deliver these now delayed T-levels, and have been marketing them to potential learners. | |
| "Alternative arrangements will now need to be made urgently." | "Alternative arrangements will now need to be made urgently." |
| Technical levels (T-levels) | Technical levels (T-levels) |
| developed alongside employers | developed alongside employers |
| two-year courses | two-year courses |
| equivalent to three A-levels | equivalent to three A-levels |
| accepted by 134 universities and colleges | accepted by 134 universities and colleges |
| 80% classroom learning | 80% classroom learning |
| 20% industry placement - at least 315 hours (about 45 days) | 20% industry placement - at least 315 hours (about 45 days) |
| successful students are awarded a pass, merit, distinction or distinction* | successful students are awarded a pass, merit, distinction or distinction* |
| Qualifications that overlap with the delayed T-levels, such as BTecs, were due to have their funding cut from 2025, by which time the T-levels were meant to have been in place for two years. | |
| However, Ms Keegan said this time frame would remain the case for the three qualifications being pushed back to 2024, despite the delay to their introduction. | |
| She said there would be "at least one year" between the introduction of a T-level and the removal of funding for overlapping qualifications, and that the implications for qualifications that overlap with the catering T-level - being moved to 2025 - would be announced at a later date. | |
| Mr Hughes said that, while T-levels were "an important addition to the qualification landscape", they should be completed by two year groups of students before other qualifications were defunded. | |
| James Kewin, of the Sixth Form Colleges Association, said it made "absolutely no sense to press ahead with plans to scrap existing Level 3 qualifications" in the delayed subject areas. | |
| A total of 18 T-levels will be available from September - and the following new courses will roll out as planned: | |
| legal services (2023) | legal services (2023) |
| agriculture, land management and production (2023) | agriculture, land management and production (2023) |
| animal care and management (2024) | animal care and management (2024) |
| marketing (2025) | marketing (2025) |
| Related Topics | Related Topics |
| Colleges | Colleges |
| Schools | Schools |
| Universities | Universities |