The government is right to ensure that all students pursue English and maths, but the GCSE resit policy is not working and requires urgent change, an expert panel has concluded.
At a roundtable discussion on the future of post-16 English and maths, co-hosted by TES and UKFEchat, teachers and college leaders, along with representatives from the Association of Colleges (AoC), the Education and Training Foundation (ETF), Ofsted, the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, the NUS students’ union, and the Learning and Work Institute, called on the government to change the policy in time for the start of the new academic year in September.
The conditions of funding for post-16 providers stipulate that students with a grade D in either of the subjects at school must continue to study it as part of their post-GCSE programme. As a result, the number taking GCSEs in colleges has rocketed: there were more than 300,000 entries from 17-plus learners last summer, a third more than in 2015.
At the same time, the pass rate for 17-plus learners in both subjects has dropped, with less than 30 per cent of entries resulting in a grade C or better in English and maths.
The increase in entries has led to significant logistical challenges for colleges, with many being forced to use external venues, hire additional staff and cancel classes in order to accommodate large exam sittings.
And the experts heard concerns that the number of entries was likely to soar further because of the introduction of new tougher GCSEs in English and maths, with the bar for a “good pass” being raised even higher.
‘Unsuitable’ courses
The experts argued that funding being tied to GCSEs meant students were doing unsuitable courses. The consensus was that teachers should be given the freedom to exercise their professional judgement in choosing an appropriate qualification for each individual.
AoC president Ian Ashman told the meeting, which took place at TES’ headquarters in central London: “We need a clear set of options. Each should meet conditionality of funding.”
David Russell, chief executive of the ETF, pointed out that the government was considering changes to functional skills that his organisation had been developing, while Shakira Martin, NUS vice-president for FE, said it was vital that English and maths were made relevant to students’ courses.
The group agreed that changes had to be made quickly to avoid thousands more people over the coming months entering a system that was not working. Shadow skills minister Gordon Marsden, who also took part in the event, said: “What concerns me is that there is now an element of particular urgency.”
