Cuts mean sixth-form students will get part-time education, says report

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/mar/10/cuts-sixth-form-part-time-education

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Sixth form students will get little more than a part-time education as a result of funding cuts that will bite next year, according to a new report.

Sixth form colleges will be forced to cut direct tuition from 18 hours to 15, which is half what their peers in high-performing education systems such as those in Shanghai and Singapore receive, the report claims.

Amid the ongoing battle over education funding ahead of May’s general election, the report by the Sixth Form Colleges Association warns that English sixth formers risk being left behind by international competitors as a result of a “low hours, short duration” sixth form model.

In Asian/Pacific countries which excel in the PISA global league tables, students receive 30+ hours a week of tuition; in Nordic countries such as Sweden students are allowed to fewer hours but extended over three years of study.

Prof Ken Spours of the UCL Institute of Education, which carried out the international comparison in the SFCA report, said: “Our research suggests that state-funded sixth form education in England is out of step with other international systems and the weakness of our low-hours, short-duration model is being exacerbated by ongoing cuts to funding.

“This will make it increasingly difficult for young people in England to compete for jobs and opportunities in the global economy.”

Educationalists agree that a rounded sixth form curriculum should be based on a baccalaureate model which, as well as qualifications, values enrichment activities and work experience to develop the “soft” skills essential to higher study and employability.

However, an analysis in the report of sixth form college finances by independent analysts London Economics has shown that there is a significant gap between this aspiration and the financial reality. Survey evidence shows sixth form colleges reduced the teaching workforce by 13% between 2010 and 2012, at the same time as student numbers increased by 1.5%.

By 2016-17, the report says, sixth form colleges will require extra funding to support an additional 7-10 hours of direct teaching if they are to deliver a worthwhile curriculum, which will cost at least £1,000 more per student than the current planned settlement.

David Igoe, chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association, said: “The government will maintain that it is funding sixth formers to study on a full-time basis. But there is a big difference between the way the Department for Education defines full-time study for funding purposes and the reality of what a full-time education actually involves.

“From next year, institutions will only be able to afford to put a teacher in front of students for around half the 30 hours they are actually in college. Our young people miss out on having that direct teaching and support which is vital to their progress.”