14-16 Education Reform is a Golden Opportunity to Finally Change the Narrative 

My first job in the civil service was working on the team delivering plans for 14-19 Diplomas in response to the Tomlinson Review. It was a really exciting time, remembered by many, including former DfE Permanent Secretary David Bell, as the great opportunity of the last 30 years. However, plans for 14-19 Diplomas were ultimately abandoned following Labour’s departure from office in 2010. 

Two decades on, the vision for a unified post-14 education system that bridges the academic and vocational divide remains unfulfilled. Over that period, changes to the 14-16 phase have boosted academic attainment, most notably through the shift towards a ‘knowledge-rich’ curriculum under the Coalition Government. Meanwhile, technical and vocational options at Key Stage 4 have fallen by the wayside, squeezed out of a curriculum that has increasingly consisted of a narrow range of academic subjects at GCSE. 

The Prime Minister’s recent announcement of plans to create “high-quality technical education routes” from age 14 is a long- awaited and much-needed move to address this imbalance in our education system. As Edge has advocated for the past twenty years, we urgently need a broad and balanced curriculum that affords students the opportunity to explore technical subjects and develop essential skills, alongside an assessment system that values deeper learning rather than incentivising knowledge-recall. Andy Burnham’s announcement is a step in the right direction. 

Boosting relevance and access to vocational education…

Edge’s “Young Lives, Young Futures” research found that for nearly 1 in 2 young people aged 15-16, secondary school is not an enjoyable or meaningful experience, but is something they feel they need to ‘get through’. This has been driven in part by an accountability system that has swung too far towards academic subjects and an assessment system that generally prioritises only written exams. Research by Edge and others, including the White Working-Class Outcomes inquiry, shows that many young people struggle to see the relevance in what they study at GCSE level. It’s essential that when a young person asks ‘what am I learning this for’ the answer is not just ‘for the exam’ but because it provides an opportunity to explore the real-world application of the rich knowledge they are learning.

High-quality vocational education, aligned with local growth sectors (as in the case of the MBacc) is a key part of this – where better to see the relevance of deep maths concepts than in engineering or medicine, or of constructing a strong English language argument than in law. Supported by high quality careers guidance, work experience and encounters with employers, this approach can help all young people to visualise themselves in a future career and understand the skills required to get there. 

…doesn’t mean ripping up the progress that has been made 

The Curriculum and Assessment Review rightly identified challenges around the amount of school time taken up by the national curriculum and the need to reduce examination time at GCSE. It also set in motion much-needed changes to the EBacc and Progress 8 accountability measures, paving the way for the next phase of 14-16 reform. We don’t need to re-visit the Curriculum and Assessment Review to radically change post-14 technical education. It’s time to move beyond the hackneyed stereotypes of Tradition and Progressive, Knowledge and Skills. It’s also time to leave behind the casual references to vocational education as just for those who are disengaged.

All young people need access to the development of knowledge, skills and behaviours as they prepare for their future life and work. All young people need to understand the relevance of what they are learning to the real world. All young people need a ‘line of sight’ to the future. All young people need access to a richer diet of subjects including vocational ones. There are lots of examples of this already working in our own Deeper Learning network – from University Technical Colleges to the Compass Curriculum. 

It’s time to move beyond the ‘dumbing down’ debate, time to look to how the labour market is changing and what employers are looking for, listen to young people themselves and offer a ‘both/and’ approach. A richer range of subjects, a wider range of approaches to pedagogy, a multi-modal assessment system and above all an opportunity to contextualise knowledge in the real world. 

 By Olly Newton, Executive Director, Edge Foundation