The analysis, carried out by the Education Policy Institute (EPI), examines the impact of removing funding from alternative qualifications to T-Levels and assesses the barriers ahead for the recently introduced qualifications. It considers specifically the impact on 2021’s cohort of students and looks at Wave 1 and Wave 2 T-Levels covering the education, construction, digital and health sectors.
It finds that 77 per cent of the cohort of students across all routes were not ready for T-levels because they had not achieved a grade 4 in GCSE maths and English. This was particularly true for education, health and digital students.
Although there is no Government mandated entry requirement for GCSE English and maths grades, the EPI says it understands that most providers will require a grade 4 or above in both subjects.
Another barrier to T-Levels, according to the research, was the size of the qualification.
Equivalent to three A-Levels, T-Levels combine classroom study with industry placements. The first three T-Levels to be introduced were in Education & Childcare, construction and digital. A further seven in different sectors became available last September, with more being introduced this year and subsequent years, until more than 20 are available.
The analysis also looks at how 2021’s cohort of students would have been affected by the removal of qualifications that overlap with the T-Levels introduced in the first two years of the staggered rollout.
In its efforts to streamline technical qualifications, the Government announced it would remove qualifications with similar content and outcomes to T-Levels. A provisional list of 160 overlapping qualifications, which will be defunded from 2024 was published in May.
The EPI’s research finds that education courses were the most heavily impacted, with 86 per cent of students taking overlapping qualifications, while healthcare courses are least affected.
'The success of these qualifications may be limited without further improvements'
David Robinson, EPI’s director for post-16 education and skills, said, ‘Ultimately, the success of T-Levels will be measured against their popularity among students, providers and employers. Analysis of recent data suggests a key barrier to the take up of T-Levels will be in swathes of otherwise interested students not attaining the necessary maths and English grades. The success of these new qualifications may be limited without further improvements in literacy and numeracy skills within schools.’
- The analysis is available here