At 10.49am last Wednesday, a gov.uk email dropped into my inbox.
For uninitiated, the anodyne-sounding subject line “16 to 19 funding: maths and English condition of funding” might have led to the email being deleted without a click. But no one in the FE sector needs reminding that it is this condition of funding that is behind the explosion in English and maths GCSE resits that has come to dominate colleges in recent years.
Having read through the note from the Education and Skills Funding Agency, it was hard not to feel a little underwhelmed, bearing in mind the emotive subject concerned.
On reflection, though, what may appear a small step in the right direction for colleges amounts to a far more significant move for the Department for Education.
In a sector that prides itself on offering second chances, the narrative of students retaking their GCSEs as many as nine times and failing to overcome the “brick wall” has a real resonance.
Whatever your views on the importance of GCSEs, the fact that not even a quarter of older students who took GCSE maths last summer achieved a grade 4 shows that, for many, the current policy isn’t working.
Let’s not forget that two years ago, the GCSE resits policy came within the thickness of a question paper of being scrapped altogether.
But over the past month well-placed sources began to reveal that GCSE resits was once more back on the table for discussion, with concrete news expected in March. But then, all of a sudden, the announcement cropped up sooner than anyone had expected.
So what does this change mean? On the face of it, not that much. It affects those with a grade 2 or lower. Currently, these students can choose between a GCSE or level 2 functional skills qualification. But once they have achieved the latter, there will now be “no requirement to undertake further maths or English qualifications to meet the condition of funding”.
The policy change should affect a small but significant number of young people: around 20,000 students with a grade 2 in each subject, the Association of Colleges has estimated, plus the even smaller number with a grade 1.
For colleges and providers, the overall impact will be limited. But make no mistake: for the DfE, this is a big deal.
Stephen Exley is FE editor at Tes
