Feature Diploma doubts

‘It’s definitely an advantage’ >

and ICT. The tests were originally designed as a prerequisite for apprenticeship frameworks and GCSEs as well as diplomas. But the link with GCSEs was broken and that with apprenticeships delayed — leaving those teaching the diploma at a disadvantage. The independent projects that students

had to complete weren’t necessarily given the timetable space it required. And one lecturer complained about the lack of contact time with the students — two days a week — and the gap between his internal assessments and exam boards’ results. Pauline Blayney is deputy head of Thamesview School in Gravesend, Kent, visited by CM last year (CM, April 2009). She also feels that the scoring and assessment systems across the six components were unclear, including the method used to “aggregate” separate marks into an overall pass. “There was some dissatisfaction with

the way they calculate the diploma, and uncertainty about how many UCAS points [for university admissions] are awarded,” she says. “The thing is, if I haven’t quite worked it out, how can I explain it to the young people?” she asks. But Blayney can be proud of her young

people, all of whom achieved a diploma. Seven Advanced students are now advancing to higher education, but this success story nearly didn’t happen. “We had a great fight getting them into uni — staff had to go in person and explain it,” she recalls. “The unis were prepared to listen, the doors were open, but we did have to convince them.” Many of the complaints listed here

could, and no doubt will, be sorted out at school and college level. But the underlying problem of just one in three students reaching the required standard will require a more fundamental review. In a statement, ConstructionSkills said:

“The C&BE Diploma Development Partnership of Sector Skills Councils and their employer communities consider the Diploma to have huge potential and are discussing with the Department for Education, OfQual, awarding bodies such as Edexcel and the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust a continuing delivery strategy including how this qualification can be made less complex in the future.” Speaking to CM, ConstructionSkills’ Gooderson suggests a “diploma lite” could

22 | OCTOBER 2010 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

A defining feature of the diploma has been the involvement of construction employers, which have hosted students on hundreds of site and office visits in pursuit of the diploma’s marketing strapline – “Bringing learning to life”. ConstructionSkills says that more than 1,170 are already involved, including Wates, Balfour Beatty, Lovell, G&J Seddon, Kier Group and Bovis Lend Lease. Many diploma consortia

have taken advantage of the coincidental timing of the BSF and Learning and Skills Council building programmes to establish partnerships with the contractors building local facilities. Contractor ISG, for instance,

has just opened an education centre on the site of its project for North Warwickshire and Hinckley College, allowing the college’s diploma students weekly access to the expertise of ISG’s site staff. Alan Robson, a lecturer at the

college, says he had little problem recruiting employer partners. “The employers are all waiting for these guys [to finish the diploma]. We talked to a dozen, and all of them were extremely keen. We chose ISG partly because they’re building our new college, but others, like Wates and Bam, are also heavily into the diploma. I’ve seen the glint in their eyes — they’re saying ‘we’ll be watching you next year’.” Robson, along with every

other diploma teacher CM spoke to, is convinced of the value of employer involvement. “The learners are stunned by the fact that if we’re talking about planning, we can go to the education centre and a planner and designer will be there. It’s not ‘one teacher fits all’, so they have more impetus to learn.” Bruce Boughton, people

development manager of Lovell Partnerships, is a member of the Diploma Employers Champions Network, which brings together 138 representatives of employers in different diploma subjects. James Wates PCIOB, is also the lead national employer diploma

champion for construction. It’s not just about public spiritedness: the diploma could ensure a supply of motivated young applicants to fill apprenticeship and management trainee vacancies. Lovell’s website already states that having the C&BE diploma is an advantage for applicants. “In a year or two, we’ll be

fighting for good-quality site managers and QSs,” says Boughton. “I can see the diploma feeding directly into our management training programme. it would definitely be an advantage to take on youngsters who have already spent two or four years talking construction.” Lovell recently hosted eight

16-year-old higher diploma students on a five-day project, where they “built” one of the firm’s recently completed housing developments. “It adds a lot of value to the curriculum,” he says. And the students aren’t the

only beneficiaries. “One of the advantages of employers engaging is that the staff develop a lot themselves - young people can be challenging and ask some tough questions.” As the diploma undergoes a

shake-up after just two years in operation, it seems clear that the new qualification will need its network of employer supporters now more than ever.

be the way forward. “We could simplify it to just the Principal Learning, by omitting the Additional Specialist Learning and Functional Skills. [At Higher and Foundation level] it would be still be the equivalent of five GCSEs,” he says. “The parents of many 14-year-olds don’t necessarily want their youngster on a large qualification, they prefer small bite- sized chunks. So there’s scope to look again at the offering we’ve got.” As for the Advanced Diploma, he points

out the Principal Learning was worth two A-levels, and that future students might prefer to take this alongside traditional A-levels. If this is the future of the diploma, it

would be endorsed by John Stopani at Croydon College, who believes Principal Learning could have been a qualification in its own right. “There wasn’t a fall- back qualification for someone who got three out of the six components, it was a very big qualification.” But not everyone agrees. “If the

diploma was simplified, it would almost become another BTEC, but there already is a qualification out there that suits. We’re trying to get [14-16-year-old] learners into the mindset to do an Advanced diploma and go on to Higher Education,” says Alan Robson, a lecturer at North Warwickshire and Hinckley College. And Thamesview’s Blayney also believes that rigorous academic standards would set diploma-holders apart from the crowd. Clearly, the diploma has the potential to

strengthen the industry in the future, bringing young students forward into apprenticeships, on-the-job training and degree courses. But the realisation that the bar may have been set too high, combined with the impact of the government’s backtracking on “entitlement”, mean that it’s far too soon to take the diploma for granted. In fact, the Department for Education

last month launched a review of 14-19 vocational education, due to report next spring. “Let’s hope the review is well- informed,” says Croydon College’s Stopani. “Vocational learning is so important to a large number of school students, perhaps 50-60%. You could see how the students on our course started to relate their learning more to the outside world, you could see the light go on.” CM

“ We had a great fight getting them into uni with the diplomas – staff had to go in person to explain it.” Pauline Blayney, Thamesview School