Julie McCulloch, Director of Policy at the Association of School
and College Leaders, will today (Saturday 18 March) describe
plans to scrap many popular BTECs and similar qualifications as
“risky and reckless” and call for ministers to reconsider.
Speaking on a fringe panel at the Liberal Democrat Spring
Conference in York, Ms McCulloch will say:
“Ministers are hoping to boost skills education through the
introduction of T-levels, but intend to leverage uptake in these
new qualifications by scrapping many BTECs and other existing and
popular vocational qualifications, even though these provide
established routes to higher education and careers.
“Whereas many BTECs can be taken alongside other qualifications,
T-levels require 16-year-olds to commit to a two-year programme
of study and training in a single area of employment. For young
people who know what career path they want to follow, T-levels
may work well, but for those who are less sure at this age BTECs
provide the flexibility they need.
“Our concern is that scrapping BTECs will leave students with
reduced options and that young people will end up on courses
which do not suit them, leading to poor outcomes and high
drop-out rates.
“We have no idea how many young people may be affected in this
way and neither does the government as far as we know. This is
why we will be asking Education Secretary what risk assessments have
been carried out and what mitigations have been put in place.
“We are particularly concerned about the impact on students with
special educational needs, from deprived backgrounds, and from
ethnic minority backgrounds, because many of these students
currently study BTECs and go on to higher education through this
route.
“As such, scrapping BTECs without any real idea of how this will
impact on young people feels risky and reckless – an exercise
driven by politics rather than common sense – and we urge
ministers to reconsider before it is too late.
“Furthermore, the recent announcement of a last-minute decision
to defer the start of four new T-levels that were due to begin
this September, has left many schools and colleges in disarray,
with confused and disappointed students and parents. This is
surely further evidence that the whole reform and defunding
process must be slowed down by at least a year, which is what the
Protect Student Choice campaign is calling for.”
