Nacro’s response to the Education Select Committee’s Inquiry on Further Education (FE) and Skills is based on our experience working with almost 2,000 students each year and our commitment to ensuring their voices and experiences are heard.
Our response highlights the following:
Curriculum and qualifications
- A flexible, modular post-16 curriculum tailored to students is crucial to enabling students, particularly those with disrupted educational pathways, to build their knowledge and skills to progress towards meaningful outcomes.
- A focus on Level 2 qualifications and below is needed as they are vital stepping stones into further learning, training or employment.
- Curriculums should align with Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) to meet regional workforce needs.
- We recommend a ‘Carousel’ model for Entry Level and Level 1 students to rotate through subjects like construction, catering, and employability skills alongside maths and English as this would help them make informed decisions and develop confidence.
- A wide range of enrichment activities should be offered to support students’ personal, social and educational development.
Assessment and standards
- We need a balanced approach to assessment: combination of exams and portfolio-based assessments.
- Quality oversight should consider demographic and contextual factors to fairly assess providers.
- We recommend inclusion of softer measures (e.g., improvements in attendance, engagement, personal development, and employability skills) in accountability frameworks.
Post-16 numeracy and literacy
- Flexibility in GCSE resit timelines to align with students’ readiness and progress would serve students better.
- Functional Skills Qualifications should be comparable to GCSEs, accessible, and widely recognised.
Funding and workforce support
- The current funding model often fails to account for the additional support needed by disadvantaged students, particularly those with complex needs. Equitable funding allocation for all providers is essential.
- Pupil Premium Plus should be extended to cover all disadvantaged groups.
- Workforce support is needed to address recruitment and retention challenges, particularly for Independent Training Providers (ITPs).
- The capital investment strategy should include charitable ITPs who work with some of the most disadvantaged young people.
Skills and employer collaboration
- Qualifications should include transferable skills like teamwork, problem-solving, and digital literacy.
- Establishing stronger collaboration with employers in curriculum design and co-delivery is necessary to address skills gaps. FE must be more closely aligned with employer needs and provide meaningful pathways to employment.
- LSIPs are valuable for planning local provision, but it is important that the development of LSIPs includes all stakeholders.
- We recommend enhancement of work placement opportunities through Government incentives and support.
Discover more about Nacro Education and download our full response below.
Read Nacro’s response to the Education Committee Further Education and Skills Inquiry