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Kudos to V which has, with other partners, worked so hard on the #ProtectStudentChoice campaign to pause the scrapping of some core BTECs and other similar quals. This is such a welcome development! Pearson BTEC and Apprenticeships Bridget Phillipson

Some good news for our brilliant Association of Colleges (AoC) SFCA Colleges today 👇

The Eton Star plans strike me as slightly odd in terms of division of labour. It’s hard to argue that Eton doesn’t have an established tradition of working successfully in a selective environment and of getting students to certain universities. 1/

Of course it doesn’t have deep experience of socio-economic disadvantage. Star can lay claim to having operated in EIAs, but its experience of sixth form education at scale is limited - data shows some excellent results but less impressive destinations. 2/

So why is, at the risk of oversimplifying, Eton doing the pastoral load and Star doing the academic load?

How would Dylan Wiliam design sixth form education today if he had a magic wand available? ICYMI, he had a look at that question for us this spring... Perfect reading for the long weekend and recommended for everyone in education! sixthformcolleges.org/1412/blog-6/po… #sixthformmatters

Great article by Kaleigh Watterson on need to #RaisetheRate of sixth form funding. Principal Charles Bartholomew and students at the amazing LIPA Sixth Form College did the sector proud on BBC Politics North West this morning. Read article here: bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

Some thoughts about the deeply disappointing and disturbing volte face in today’s pause and review announcement:

in reality, there is no pause of the plans to defund AGQs; the original defunding dates remain more deeply than ever etched in stone.

The very limited review will be carried out by the DfE and will conclude at the end of next term; it will only look at which AGQs are being defunded and if any might be retained.

Schools and colleges will find out for certain by the end of December 2024 what they will be able to offer to incoming students at the start of September 2025: just over six months’ notice is simply not enough.

They will already have held their Open Evenings, published their Prospectus, recruited their staff for the year ahead.

When, over a year ago, a commitment was made to pause the conservatives’ plans to defund BTECs and review the Level 3 qualifications, I thought the two main reasons for doing so were clear and agreed.

Firstly, evidence showed that the pace of the defunding was too fast. T Levels were not yet established and still suffered from significant teething problems; and schools and colleges certainly needed a longer lead-in time…

…to change their curriculum offer, to be sure that young people understood what options were available to them, and teachers had the necessary skills.

Secondly, it was clear that huge numbers of 16 year olds were going to be left without a viable pathway and this would be catastrophic for social mobility, for the labour market and the economy.

Today’s announcement leaves young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, in an even worse place than they were in yesterday:

No pause of the defunding plans, and a review that will not even have the prospect of a middle pathway in its scope.

The detail tomorrow will reveal if young people will really have their education choices and career opportunities protected by a genuine pause of the conservative plans to defund BTECs. Today’s announcement suggests not and it leaves the future for 150k+ students looking bleak.

Excellent article. 1. What will 150k students do without BTECs? 2. How will colleges afford pay rises without the funding schools get? Colleges close attainment gaps & deliver social mobility, plus the skills and professionals needed for economic recovery. theguardian.com/commentisfree/…