Our response to the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper
This week’s release of the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper marks an important step forward in creating fairer routes into work and lifelong learning.
We are pleased to see several announcements that reflect long-standing asks from the FEA and our members. In particular, the introduction of the new level 1 ‘stepping stone’ qualifications in GCSE English and Maths, represents a positive shift away from a one-size-fits-all model towards a more equitable and responsive system.
The White Paper confirms vital increases in funding attached to the new stepping stone qualifications; however, closing the post-16 disadvantage gap remains critical, and we’ll continue to work with the Get Further-led 16-19 pupil premium coalition to advocate for this investment.
Our Alliance believes that every young person needs a route to fair and stable employment, and we welcome the clarity and support that new V-Levels present for young people and employers. The use of data to provide information about employment outcomes associated with different qualifications is a much-needed addition which will help to demystify the complex landscape of post-16 options. We look forward to hearing from members on how this should be implemented.
One of our Fair Education Priorities: Prepare young people to contribute to tomorrow’s world
We also welcome the new role for Strategic Authorities (formerly known as Combined Authorities) in ensuring the skills system can respond to local economic needs. Enabling stronger collaboration between education providers, employers, and other local partners has the potential to create employment outcomes that work better for young people and employers alike.
At our Fair Education Summit on Monday 8 December, we’ll be taking two big steps forward on this:
We’ll be announcing the three Mayoral Combined authorities we’ll be building collaboration partnerships with, connecting FEA members, schools, colleges, youth organisations, employers, local authorities and community partners to align efforts around shared goals for children and young people.
We’ll be kicking off our Jobs for Tomorrow thematic collaboration, bringing together members and key stakeholders to work together to ensure every young person is prepared to enter and thrive in the world of work.
Make sure your organisation is signed up to attend to get involved!
Tom Symons
Head of Policy Insights
Tom has recently joined the FEA as Head of Policy Insights. He was previously Deputy Director of the Fairer Start mission at Nesta, and has worked in a range of policy roles in local government, think tanks and membership organisations.