T-level delays: Colleges face disruption after courses are pushed back

1 year ago 54

By Hazel Shearing

Education correspondent

The authorities has delayed 4 of its flagship T-levels, which had been owed to rotation retired successful England from September.

Technical qualifications successful areas specified arsenic hairsbreadth and quality are among those that had been planned for the coming world year.

But the Department for Education (DfE) said much enactment was needed to guarantee they were of capable quality.

The Association of Colleges (AoC) welcomed that determination but said the quality had caused "massive disruption".

The archetypal students to instrumentality T-levels received their results past year - with a 92% walk rate.

The qualifications started successful 2020 and were taken by 1,029 students successful England.

Six further T-levels were owed to motorboat successful September - but 3 of them are present being delayed until 2024:

hairdressing, barbering and quality therapy
craft and design
media, broadcast and production

A fourth, successful catering, is being delayed until "beyond 2024".

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said T-levels would springiness post-16 students a method enactment of adjacent prime to A-levels.

"T-Level method qualifications volition lone beryllium approved for transportation wherever we are definite they are bully capable and tin beryllium delivered to a precocious standard," she said. And much enactment was needed, which would "not beryllium imaginable successful clip for motorboat this September".

AoC main enforcement David Hughes said the DfE was "right to guarantee lone T Levels of precocious capable prime participate the market" but added: "Colleges volition beryllium massively disrupted by this announcement happening truthful precocious successful the year.

"Colleges already had plans successful spot for however to present these present delayed T-levels and person been selling them to imaginable learners.

"Alternative arrangements volition present request to beryllium made urgently."

Technical levels (T-levels)

developed alongside employers
two-year courses
equivalent to 3 A-levels
accepted by 134 universities and colleges
80% schoolroom learning
20% manufacture placement - astatine slightest 315 hours (about 45 days)
successful students are awarded a pass, merit, favoritism oregon distinction*

T-levels were "an important summation to the qualification landscape", helium said. But caller qualifications progressive "risks" and T-levels should beryllium completed by 2 twelvemonth groups of students earlier different qualifications were defunded.

The authorities has said determination volition beryllium "at slightest 1 year" betwixt the instauration of a T-level and the removal of backing for overlapping qualifications, such arsenic BTecs.

A full of 18 T-levels volition beryllium disposable from September - and the pursuing courses volition rotation retired arsenic planned: