The new government has paused reforms to post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below, halting the planned defunding of some BTECs and other alternatives to T-levels.
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, pledged to pause and review the reforms last year, as revealed by our sister paper FE Week.
Today, she told the House of Commons she was “pleased to announce that the department will undertake a short pause and review of post 16 qualification reform at level 3 and below, concluding before the end of the year”.
“This means that the defunding scheduled for next week will be paused.”
She added that the coming year “will also see further developments in the rollout of new T-levels, which will ensure that young people continue to benefit from high quality technical qualifications that help them to thrive”.
“And I will update the house shortly with more detail tomorrow.”
Pepe Di’Iasio, general aecretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the announcement was “hugely welcome”.
“However, while the confirmation that the review will be concluded by the end of the year is very encouraging, there is not yet detail on how long the pause will be in place.
“School and college leaders, and their students, need certainty about the courses that can be run for the next two years. We therefore urge the government to extend the pause until 2027 for all of the current applied general qualifications.”
More to follow.
