left hand and right hand?

Lots today on the news and in the guardian about diplomas.
The chief of edexcel has waded in and depending on who's reported it "Diplomas in trouble" or "Nearly there" could be the headline.
Polly Curtis of the Guardian in her long report says that schools, exam boards teachers are broadly supportive of diplomas and recognise it's the only game in town but that more needs to be done on

Understanding the structure and working of consoriutm
Getting resources in place to support the diplomas
Making sure teachers understand the new structures of teaching - especially that of functional skills.

She says that Mr Jarvis of Edexcel is similarly supportive and flagging issues now, he means to move things forward not stop things from happening. The government remains hugely supportive of course, and sometimes it looks just a bit too supportive and perhpas should recognise that problems do exist but there is a will to put them right.

Jonathan

Vocational or Academic?

There was a nice piece in the Guardian last week which really was focussed on asking the question - Are diplomas supposed to be vocational or academic?

I think that's a great question.

The difficulty in answering it, or even thinking about what the answer is, is that they are being "sold" as the be all and end all, and maybe that's a problem that QCA/DCFS need to overcome. They don't want to say that a Diploma is either Academic or Vocational for fear of alientating the others but by sitting on the fence, there is a risk that neither "side" will see them as a solution, leaving them on the fence for all time.

Comments?

Simplifying the qualifications?

The clean out has started with some of the qualifications that are not being taken up by providers and students.

TES reported this week that a number of BTEC, OCR Nationals and City and Guilds are likely to disappear or be subsumed into the new Diploma qualifications.

Surprise for me is that Applied A levels are also going – now these are quite a new qualification anyway. It seems sensible but I feel a little sorry for students who have these now and they’ll quickly become something that few people understand. Also going are AEA which I have to confess I didn’t even know existed. Reading a little deeper it states they are like the old S levels that only the very clever and very committed did when I was at school. My daughter has just done A levels and she wasn’t offered an AEA option.

A big advantage of the clean up will be simplicity I hope. I think this will be supported by the statement presumably from QCA that any future qualification will have to show that no other GCSE, Diploma, A level, Apprenticeship or Foundation Course.

I have to say – it all looks very sensible!

Publicity Activity in 14-19

Even the local paper is getting in on the act.
A two page "advertsiing feature" on Dilomas in the TES last week.
Today I see a full page on the local 14-19 partnership in Sundelrand launced in the Newcastle Journal! Lots of cous on NEETS and on the Diplomas as you'd expect.
I thought that Iwas good at keeping up with things but wow - there's so much to keep up with.

Big announcement expected today

DFS are going to announce a new testing regime becuase the old one is so hard to manage.
From today, 16 years olds will be able to test themeselves and decide what qualifications they should have.
This ne regime will allow teachers to focus more on teaching as they won't have to worry about exams said the spokesman from DFS.
Apparently, if kids give themselves 1 qualification, then they can take another absoutely free in a special offer running through to SUnday night anfd they get four years to apy - the first year being free!

Diplomas are a vehicle for a shift in learning

“We are ready for a shift in learning – Diplomas offer a vehicle for this. It is a vehicle that is a juggernaut, but which does not need slowing but needs steering”
A quote from the letters page in the TES from Dr Barry Wratten, Headteacher of Churchill Community School in North Somerset.

Sort of sums it up very well really!

75% of schools offering Diplomas - really?

DCFS have said that nearly 75% of schools and 88% of colleges will offer the new diplomas in September.
Now that's a big number and in my experience, it seems to be a lot bigger (in schools) than I find on the ground!
It also doesn't check out with the stats on the excellent "Diploma Video" which quotes 40,000 learners across 1300 institutions.
I reckon that's about a third of secondary schools.

Mind it would be great if it was 75% of schools!