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Welcome to FE Soundbite Edition 860: 15th August 2026. Results Day and Talking Therapies… Will the Data Help Shape Qualification Reform and Employability Support?
This is the weekly e-newsletter and e-journal by FE News: ISSN 2732-4095. We know life is busy, so here's a snapshot of the latest announcements and epic thought leadership articles from sector influencers and thought leaders across FE and Skills this week on FE News.
Gavin’s Reflective Perspective
So normally with Results Day Part 1 (Level 3, A Level, AS Level, T Level)... it starts to spell the end of the summer break. People are back in college, in ITPs... planning, AOs are releasing details, and a hive of inquiries is kicking off, all in time for GCSE and Level 1+2 next Thursday.
So it was an interesting set of results this year. I think it is well worth noting the overall percentage of results day this year... this is at least a year lead time (thinking of AS Levels), usually two with A Levels, T Levels and Level 3 VTQs... so will we see very different results in two years' time with new qualification reforms in motion?
Overall Percentage Breakdown Of Results Day
A Levels: 906,425, which is 66.6% of the overall results
VTQs: 300,005, which is 22.0% of the overall results
AS Levels: 134,910 is 9.9% of the overall results
T Levels: 19,665 at 1.4% of the overall results
With curriculum and qualification reform in mind. A Levels will remain.. and looking at the above stats A Levels are 66.6% of the results... AS Levels another nearly 10%... so 76.5%, which is a massive share. VTQs are 22%... T Levels.. the Gov's flagship Technical qualification route... is just 1.4%... under 20,000. Now in saying that.. T Level numbers are increasing, with the number of learners growing from 11,909 in 2025 to 19,665 in 2026, a rise of 65%… and the number of providers delivering T Levels has increased to 307, up from 255 in 2025, a rise of 20.4%... all progress.. but this is a 5-year-old qualification now. 1.4% is tiny!
Lessons for V Levels and Work Experience at School From Year 10
So... what does this mean for V Levels? I have heard from many people who have shared that V Levels will eventually be the most popular qualification... but what lessons can we learn from T Levels? Interestingly, 92.6% of T Level students (18,218) have achieved a pass or above, with over two-thirds achieving Merit or above (68.9%, up from 65.3% in 2025) and 18.1% achieving Distinction or above, up from 15.7%. All progress... the Industry placement completion stands at 97.2%. That is high.. and I think T Levels will be really important for people to learn lessons for V Levels.. but also the Year 10 changes on Technical Education that Andy Burnham wants to roll out in 2028, particularly with more work experience in schools!
Geoffrey Fowler, CEO of London Design & Engineering UTC, wrote a really interesting piece on lessons for technical education and more work placements at school from year 10, with: Don’t Reinvent the Wheel: Britain Already Knows How to Deliver Technical Education at 14.
Why are Talking Therapies interesting for NEETs and Economic Inactivity?
Outside of results day... something that may have flown under your radar... is some analysis by ONS that came out this week titled “The impact of employment advisors in NHS Talking Therapies on benefits receipt, England: April 2014 to April 2024,” examining how Employment Advisor (EA) support within NHS Talking Therapies (NHSTT) affects benefits receipt. The analysis examines the change in the probability of receiving benefits after receiving employment advisor support and psychological therapy, compared with the expected change from psychological therapy alone.
Why is this significant... personally, I think this is massively important. Burnham has mentioned mental health support in work and to help NEETs and Economically Inactive return to work... so the results of this are interesting:
Jobless patients less likely to be claiming benefits after three years.. okay.. I am not surprised by this (as what would be the point type of thing)... but... Employed patients with support are more likely to claim benefits after three years! Huh?
ONS found that among people not working at the start of treatment, those receiving EA support alongside psychological therapy saw an average 2.7 percentage point decrease in the probability of receiving any benefit after three years, compared with the expected change from psychological therapy alone.
However, among people already employed and working at the start of treatment, Employment Advisor support alongside psychological therapy was linked to a 4.2 percentage point increase in the probability of receiving any benefit after three years, compared with the expected change from psychological therapy alone.
So, in fact... the percentage of people who are working and then move onto benefits is higher...
Will this analysis shape the support being developed for NEETs and supporting the economically inactive into work?
Now a lot of the support will be looking at the Keep Britain Working Review... particularly helping people with disabilities and long term health challenges back into work... ONS found... that among individuals not working and reporting a long-term sickness or disability at the start of treatment, those who received EA support alongside therapy were 3.2 percentage points less likely to be receiving Universal Credit or employment support benefits after three years. However, the same group were 2.4 percentage points more likely to be receiving disability benefits over the same period.
This is interesting, and let's see how these findings shape future support for NEETS and those who are under the Keep Britain Working review... as this is significant... and interesting timing.
A couple of things spring to mind... If support can move people onto benefits as easily as off them, are we actually measuring the right outcome? We all agree more thought and support is needed to reduce the 1 Million NEETs.. the 2.7 Million Economically Inactive due to ill health... but do we need better questions about what the support is actually for? Before rolling something out that could actually make the problem worse and cost a chunk in the process!?
It's been an interesting week… will this week's Level 3 results shape the planning of the upcoming qualification reforms, which are moving fast… and will the ONS Talking Therapies findings shape future programmes to support people into work, and off benefits, for the long term?
I hope you enjoy Soundbite this week!
Epic Exclusives Thought Leadership Articles
Our Top 3 Thought Leadership Articles This Week
Skills for Success: Celebrating Level 3 and T Level Results Day By Andy Moss, Interim CEO, City & Guilds
How FE Can Strengthen Employer Understanding of Apprenticeships By Adam Herbert, Chief Executive of Go Live Data
Results Day is the Starting Point, not the Finish Line: How Parents and Carers can Support Young People this Summer By Emily Jones, Head of Services to Young People at Careers Wales
This week, we also had some other Epic Exclusives!
Life is Rarely Linear. Our Education System Should Stop Pretending that it is By Roman Dibden, founder of BREAKOUT
Anyone Can Type ‘Resilient’: Burnham and Gove are on the Wrong Route By Neil Wolstenholme, Chairman of Kloodle
Don’t Reinvent the Wheel: Britain Already Knows How to Deliver Technical Education at 14 By Geoffrey Fowler, CEO of London Design & Engineering UTC
Beyond Technical Skills: Why Young People Need Leadership Skills To Thrive In The Workplace By Petra Wilton, Director of Policy and External Affairs at the Chartered Management Institute (CMI)
What’s New in the World of FE?
Results Day 2026: A level, VTQ and T Level results as Top Grades Slightly Increase
T Levels up 65% in their fifth year, but they’re still just 1.4% of today’s Level 3 results
Announcements
Students receiving T Levels reaches record high with maths A Levels on the rise By the Department for Education (DfE)
AI Bootcamp Launched in North West to Combat Youth Unemployment By the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)
Reports
Disadvantaged Students Miss out on Top Universities, Despite Getting the Grades By the Social Mobility Commission
ONS: NHS Talking Therapies Employment Support Cuts Benefits for Jobless, But… Raises Them for the Employed By the Office for National Statistics (ONS)
Voices
The rise of ‘Granny Crafts’: Why traditional hobbies are a modern mental health solution By Danielle Sterrenburg and Samantha Robertson, Learning for Leisure Team Leaders, at Activate Learning
Digital skills matter as much as A Level results By Richard Anderton, Head of Education at Sync
AI is Reshaping What it Means to be Skilled By Carl Hassell, Chief Operating Officer, NOCN Group
Why Access to HE Diplomas Remain Essential for Adult Education By David Lee, Managing Director at Access Pathways
By Danny O’Meara, Operations Manager, FE News and | 