Robert Halfon – 2023 Statement on Reform of Post-16 Qualifications

The statement made by Robert Halfon, the Minister of State at the Department for Education, in the House of Commons on 10 January 2023.

Today, I am notifying Parliament of the next stage in the Government’s review of post-16 qualifications at level 3 in England—the publication of new criteria for alternative academic and technical qualifications funded from 2025.

In July 2021, we published the Government response to the second stage consultation of the review of post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below. Here, we made clear our intentions to streamline the qualifications landscape, simplify choices for students and only fund qualifications that are high quality and lead to good progression outcomes. It is vitally important for social mobility to ensure that everyone, no matter their background, is able to access the education and skills opportunities which lead to good jobs.

The reforms are taking place in three stages.

In July 2022, we completed the first phase of streamlining the qualifications landscape by removing funding approval from around 5,500 qualifications at level 3 and below in England that had very low numbers or no new students enrolled on them.

By August 2025, we will also have removed funding approval from qualifications that overlap with our new, highly rigorous T-levels, so that T-levels have the space they need to flourish as the main technical route for 16 to 19-year-olds. In October 2022, we published details of the first 106 qualifications that will have funding approval removed from 1 August 2024 because they overlap with a T-level in Education and Childcare, Digital, or Construction and the Built Environment. Funding approval will also be removed from qualifications that overlap with the Health and Science T-levels and we will publish this list once the review of the outline content of those T-levels has concluded. Funding approval will be removed in August 2025 for qualifications which overlap with T-levels in waves 3 and 4—Legal, Finance and Accounting; Engineering and Manufacturing; Business and Administration; Hair and Beauty; Catering and Hospitality; Creative and Design; and Agriculture, Environmental and Animal Care. A provisional list of these qualifications will be published in spring 2023.

From August 2025, all alternative academic and technical qualifications in scope of the review will be required to demonstrate that they serve a clear and distinct purpose and meet new quality and funding criteria, irrespective of the T-level overlap assessment process. Details of the new approval process, which all qualifications at level 3 in scope of the review must go through in order to be publicly funded from 2025, are being published today. This includes full details of the types of qualifications and subjects that we will fund, and the criteria that awarding organisations must meet to secure funding approval.

For academic qualifications, this includes progression to higher education, evidence of demand and a clear statement of why the qualification is needed. Technical qualifications will be required to meet new occupational relevance and employer demand tests developed by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE). This will ensure that technical qualifications deliver the content that truly matters to employers, and that the skills system is simpler for learners, training providers and employers to navigate. All qualifications must also meet regulatory requirements set by the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual).

Our reforms do not constitute a binary choice between T-levels and A-levels. We have listened to feedback and recognise the need for additional qualifications, including alternative qualifications such as some BTECs designed to be taken as part of a mixed study programme including A-levels. These alternative qualifications are an important part of how we will support diverse student needs and deliver skills that employers need for a productive future economy, in areas that A-levels and T-levels do not cover. In addition, the T-level Transition Programme provides a high-quality route on to T-levels, for students who would benefit from the additional study time and preparation that it will give them before they start their T-level.

The Government also recognise that there are still too many people who are being held back by poor maths. The Prime Minister has set out his intention that all students in England should study some form of maths to age 18, to ensure they are better equipped for the jobs of the future. Further detail on this measure will be set out at a later date.

Today’s announcement marks the start of the final stage of the reforms to post-16 qualifications and will give the education sector clarity on the shape of the future post-16 qualifications landscape.

I look forward to engaging with parliamentarians and colleagues in awarding bodies and further education as we implement these important reforms.