With almost 100 completed responses already, early
results are promising. More than 70% of you value this newsletter and as a good
or excellent source of news which is very gratifying. More importantly early
results from the survey also show:
- More than 50% of you think that mandatory GCSE
re-sits are a “terrible idea”, whereas 65% think schools should offer
Functional Skills from year 10 for learners with vocational ambitions.
- A surprising 90% are confident that Functional
Skills level 2 is a rigorous qualification, only 70% think the same about
GCSE. Almost 60% report that learners enjoy Functional Skills, the
equivalent GCSE number is 40%.
- NCFE will be pleased that the top requests for
additional services from Awarding Organisations are “free initial
assessment and diagnostic tools” and “faster results turnaround”.
Some great quotes too:
- “I am seeing more and more 16-19 year olds who
can ‘perform’ maths skills but cannot apply them to everyday situations –
how is this preparing them for working life?”
- “Expecting the FE to upgrade students to at
least a C in one year of teaching (when schools have not succeeded in 5)
is creating lots of barriers to learning”
- “The choice of Functional Skills or GCSE
should be appropriate for the learner, not dictated by funding”
- “Recent Government changes to grade boundaries
at GCSE have made the qualification worthless to employers”
- “End this GCSE re-sit madness – it’s
destroying the confidence of students”
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