Increase in Apprenticeship funding and adjustments to funding rates

Learning and Skills Council (LSC) have announced a £41 million (3 per cent) increase in the budget for Apprenticeships. This above inflation rise will fund the increasing success levels achieved by apprentices. However, we are concerned that this is to be accompanied by adjustments to the funding rates of some Apprenticeships.

This readjustment means that in cases where the “real” cost of delivering Apprenticeships has been underestimated there will be a slight increase in their funding, whilst others, where the cost of delivery was found to be less than the funding paid for, will see a fall in funding.

One of the discrepancies highlighted is between the work required for Level 2 and Level 3 Apprenticeships and the cost of delivery. The conclusion of the LSC review is a need to adjust the balance to allocate more resource at Level 2 and less at Level 3. There will also be reduced funding for learners progressing to their Advanced Apprenticeship if they have already completed an Apprenticeship, reflecting the fact that less time will be required to complete the Advanced Apprenticeship.

Both these implications seemingly conflict with the consensus view that we need more employees at technician level (Level 3). By 2012 it is estimated that two thirds of jobs in the UK will require skills at Level 3 or above, cutting funding for progression will seriously jeopardise this target. Especially considering the already higher than average costs for employers associated with taking on engineering apprentices.

A copy of the press release can be found here

Review of Foundation Degrees
This report presents an overview of the findings from a programme of reviews of Foundation Degrees in England commissioned by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and conducted by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) for Higher Education.

Foundation Degrees were set up by HEFCE, with the Department for Education and Skills, in 2001-02, as a new two-year higher education qualification, to provide people the intermediate technical and professional skills that are in demand from employers, and to create more flexible and accessible ways of studying.

The ETB welcomes many of the findings from this report. Notably, the good progression routes to Honours Degree, over 50 per cent of the graduates from the Foundation Degree programmes surveyed progressed in this way, and also the support of employers in designing new programmes.

The report also highlights areas that require further attention. The ETB and Foundation Degree Forward are planning to work together on a project to bring the findings of the QAA report forward.

The full report on Foundation Degrees is available on the QAA website

Maths and science teacher deployment study

Following from the review of the two-tier mathematics GCSE pilot (UPDATE issue 2), the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) have published their report on science and mathematics staff deployment at secondary school. The study, produced by the National Foundation for Educational Research, examined deployment in one in four maintained secondary schools in England during 2004-05.

The headline figures belie a worrying lack of science specialists in secondary education. Although 93 per cent of those teaching science have a background, either at university or at initial teacher training, there is a large imbalance in the representation of different disciplines. In total 44 per cent who taught science had a specialism in biology, compared to 25 per cent who were chemistry specialists and only 19 per cent who were physics specialists.

The findings highlight the importance of a continued focus on attracting more science specialists into the profession. Students are receiving less exposure to specialists, in particular physics. As a result ‘physics is in danger of disappearing as an identifiable subject from much of state education, through redefinition to general science and teacher shortage’.

The figures for maths are more encouraging, where 76 per cent of teachers have a suitable specialism. However, even here we need to raise a note of caution. The report indicates that a lack of specialists in maths impacts those most disaffected in education. It is the pupils in low attaining and deprived schools that are most likely to be taught by teachers lacking specialist knowledge.

To download the DfES Maths and Science report click here
Click here for a similar report on Physics from the Centre for Education and Employment

The Nuffield Review report into HE is published
The chief purpose of this interim report was to investigate the outcomes that Higher Education lecturers and admissions staff seek from the 14-19 Education and Training system in relation to the types of knowledge, skills, attitudes and dispositions they would ideally like to see being developed in new students.

Amongst the general observations, including concerns regarding basic literacy and numeric skills, there was evidence of a capacity to work hard, as well as possession of a broad range of social and problem-solving skills. Specific recommendations were also made regarding science, engineering and technology.

For example, in more vocational areas, including engineering, Higher Education Institutes often look for personal attributes and dispositions over and above the academic attainment and potential. In science subjects the desire was for a small core of mathematics concepts, especially algebra, that could be used reliably rather than trying to cover too much material superficially.

Such issues are currently being discussed in subject associations, and with the Sector Skills Councils developing the diplomas. More discussion of this sort is required and needs to be fed back effectively into the procedures for qualification and curriculum design.

The report is available on the Nuffield Review website

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