SSAT has been proud to be part the #ProtectStudentChoice campaign, a coalition of 24 organisations that represent and support staff and students in schools, colleges and universities.
On Monday 15 November the second reading of the Skills Bill in the Commons took place and we were delighted that the Secretary of State, Nadhim Zahawi, confirmed that he would delay the planned defunding of BTECs by a year to 2024 at the earliest.
The secretary of state opened the debate by confirming that he was ‘clear that T-Levels and A-levels should be front and centre of the level 3 landscape.’ But went on to say that he felt that ‘many BTECs will play an important role for the foreseeable future’, which implies a permanent reprieve for many Applied General Qualifications.
This is a significant concession and means the campaign has an extra year which it can use to develop a much more evidence-based approach to defunding.
This is clearly not the end of the campaign but does set the tone for a change in direction and a move away from the complete defunding of Applied General Qualifications.
#ProtectStudentChoice
Find out more about the campaign.
