Select committee: Education Committee
Recommendation 47
Third Report - The future of post-16 qualifications
Published 28 Apr 2023
Paragraph 188
Addressed to Department for Education
Education Committee The future of post-16 qualifications All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
An A level maths qualification will evidently not be appropriate for all students. A level 3 core maths qualification provides applied, real-world maths skills, including financial skills, and we believe that more students should have the opportunity to study this qualification. The Government should consider a qualification or accreditation in numeracy for those who currently miss out on level 4 grades as an alternative to repeated retakes of GCSE Mathematics.
From: Education Committee, Third Report - The future of post-16 qualifications (HC 55), paragraph 188, 28 April 2023
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 5 July 2023 (deadline 28 June 2023).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government welcomes the Committee's report and says it shares its views on the importance of post-16 education, while setting out its own reforms and responding to individual recommendations.
- On Applied General Qualifications, the government does not support a moratorium on defunding; it says it is reforming Level 3 qualifications because too many have low or no enrolments and do not progress young people to related occupations.
- On T Level data, it says it is "not possible to fast-track" destination data, but plans to publish findings from the first cohort of the Technical Education Learner Survey in "late 2023 / early 2024".
- On the employer incentive for T Level placements, it has "no intention to continue or reinstate" it, but says a £12m employer support fund was launched earlier this year to compensate employers for placement costs.
- On maths to 18, it says it has already convened an expert advisory group, and commits to launch a fully funded mathematics NPQ for primary school maths leads, expected to be available to all primary schools "from February 2024".