Surge in early years apprenticeship applications after GCSE requirement scrapped

Replacing the GCSE maths and English requirement in favour of functional skills has boosted recruitment to the early years sector, a new report suggests
20th March 2018, 4:52pm

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Surge in early years apprenticeship applications after GCSE requirement scrapped

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There has been a “surge” in early years apprenticeship applications after the GCSE maths and English requirements were dropped, according to a new report.

In 2014 the government introduced a requirement for level 3 early years educators (EYE) to hold to a minimum qualification level of GCSE English and maths at grade A* to C.

Early years education providers complained this was hampering recruitment efforts, so last April, the Department for Education dropped the level 3 maths and English requirement to level 2 - meaning functional skills would be an acceptable alternative.

Sharp increase

And training providers have reported a sharp increase in the number of apprentices signing up for level 3 EYE since the GCSE requirement was repealed.

But with much of the evidence anecdotal, the authors of the Early Years Workforce report, the Education Policy Institute, say: “The reinstatement of functional skills as acceptable alternatives will need time to produce effects and recent data on the number of level 3 staff might not yet be reflective of it,” as the fall in recruitment was so steep after the rules were introduced four years ago.

Mental health problems

There have been calls from some in the FE sector to drop the GCSE resit as a funding condition for colleges in favour of functional skills. The condition was introduced in 2015-16 and means students who have no achieved a “good” pass in English or maths have to retake the qualification.

Since the policy was introduced only around a third of 17-plus learners have achieved a level 4 or higher in GCSE maths or English. Stuart Rimmer, chair of the Association of Colleges’ (AoC) mental health policy group told the education select committee in January that the pressures created by compulsory resits in English and maths were adding to the anxiety and stress experienced by college students.

The Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) and the chair of the education select committee Robert Halfon are among those to back calls to scrap GCSE resits.

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