DIPLOMAS


Despite the government abandoning the Diploma, the qualifications are still being successfully delivered. Kerry Lowe and Rebecca Gossage argue why the Diploma still has a role


examine this success to explain why the Diploma is a valuable and cost-effective qualification that still has a place on the curriculum. When 21 students enrolled on the Diploma in August


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2010 we anticipated that there would be setbacks and problems along the way, as with any new qualification. However, the success and highlights were pleasantly unexpected and have cemented the qualification within the curriculum offer at the college. The course kicked off with a team-building trip that


laid the necessary foundations for the type of learning environment that is conducive to a course that is built around a plethora of group work tasks. It also enabled the class to gain evidence for both their teamwork and communication assignments and their PLTS (personal, learning and thinking skills) portfolio. This holistic approach has been at the centre of


the Diploma at KGV, compulsory components of the course such as Functional Skills and work experience have been used to gain assessment evidence for several units. Week one of the work experience requirement was


completed in February of this year and projects were set to enable them to produce evidence for units on careers and finance. We have also successfully used college staff and


their expertise – from the Learning Resource Centre staff delivering research skills sessions to support the Extended Diploma to the Functional Skills tutors in English supporting students with presentation skills. College support staff have also had an instrumental role in providing vital evidence by allowing students to shadow them over a seven-week period.


N SEPTEMBER 2010, after months of preparation, staff training, and successful recruitment, King George V College (KGV) opened its doors to its inaugural Business, Administration and Finance (BAF) Diploma cohort. Since then the Diploma has become a huge success at the college and this article will


Forging ahead


Hands-on: Students studying the Buiness, Administration and Finance Diploma at King George V College pictured on their course Further events are planned with the local Education


Business Partnership including enterprise days and interview workshops which will not only support the Diploma students but are also being rolled out to BTEC Extended Diploma and A level students to both enrich the learning experience for all and to ensure that such events are value for money. In this economic climate, cost-effectiveness is a


vital consideration when planning the delivery of the course. We have successfully combined certificated


enrichment courses with the Principal Learning, such as Young Enterprise and the Certificate for Financial Studies (CeFS), which has resulted in increased funding for the college and an impressive qualification portfolio for the students without having to increase guided learning hours and ultimately staffing costs. However, as with any new qualification, many challenges faced us from the course planning and recruiting of students to the timetabling and delivery of the course. We found that our decision to deliver the


more practical units in year one was not beneficial for either the students or the staff. Such units are not only time-intensive but require a


good grounding of the theory which has been difficult to deliver alongside units such as Business Enterprise. We therefore are proposing to move some of the more practical units to the second year of the course for the cohort of students starting in September 2011. The Diploma course is very demanding and requires


a lot of hard work and independent study. Our marketing strategy was to target students who were interested in applying to the BTEC in Business Studies. Our thinking was that as there is a lot of coursework


on the Diploma, so it would suit students who were interested in another coursework-based course. What we found was that due to the lower entry


criteria at our college for the BTEC compared to the A level at our college, some of the students struggled with the level and pace of the work as well of the level of independence needed. In addition, we usually only accept students with at least five Bs onto our A level programmes. Those


students who did not achieve this but did achieve the five Cs for Diploma entry struggled with the demands of the additional A level they had to take on as their Additional and Specialist Learning (ASL). Bearing this in mind we have devised an ASL model


that uses the average GCSE score of the students to ascertain the most appropriate Level 3 ASL course for the student to ensure they meet their full potential. Despite the initial teething problems we are confident


that the Diploma will continue to be a success. The controlled assessment that is required for a number of the Principal Learning units really stands the qualification aside from other coursework based courses. We have seen students taking ownership of their


studies and not relying on second and third submissions to achieve their expected grades, and the results speak for themselves.


SecEd


• Kerry Lowe is subject leader in business and Rebecca Gossage BAF Diploma co-ordinator at King George V Sixth Form College in Southport, Merseyside. Visit www.kgv.ac.uk


News in the classroom


Current affairs can often link into many parts of the


curriculum. National journalistMiranda Green, who has set up a news website for schools, explains


experimental coalition government and the death of the world’s most wanted man, Osama bin Laden. Even the most avid adult fan of current affairs is


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reeling – so how are young people taking it? It seems the truth is far from the stereotype of the


apathetic teenager and the teacher too busy to raise their eyes from the daily grind: since launching The Day at the start of January, we have found a strong appetite from teachers and pupils for news of the “Big Wide World”. And this hunger has been sharpened by strong


hints that the government’s review of the national curriculum could see citizenship sidelined. A campaign has been mounted to try to save it, and we have become involved. This is partly because we are hearing about the


O FAR, 2011 has been an extraordinary year for news, both internationally and at home. We have witnessed Egypt, Libya and the rest of the Middle East rising up against its rulers, Japan’s disasters natural and manmade, a royal wedding, a historic referendum unsettling this


positive effects on a class which might, for example, rather than catching up on homework or reading, now spend tutor time in the morning discussing their reactions to a provocative speech on multiculturalism by David Cameron, or the implications of Osama bin Laden’s killing for East-West relations. The benefits of politics and current affairs in


schools, offered in a classroom-friendly format, are immense. Recent research shows, for example, that boys’ literacy can get a boost from them being offered reading matter about the real world. The new GCSE English specifications about “speaking and listening” are helped by regular, lively classroom debate about issues in the news. Regular exposure to figures and statistics – together with a motive for understanding


them because they relate to the real world – helps functional maths. But most of all, perhaps, there is a growing feeling


that awareness of current affairs and news gives some students an advantage because they develop a level of what you might call “political literacy”. Employers’ organisations and specialist university


entrance tutors have told us that pupils who are unable to demonstrate a good understanding of the world in which they live miss out on opportunities and are not equipped for today’s cut-throat competition for college places and graduate jobs. A candidate that can understand context will trump one with only a narrow understanding. The intangible benefits that come from confidence


about how to interpret the news and debate the issues can also feed into a positive cycle of building self- esteem. As academics in the US found in a study of teenagers’ news consumption habits, some young people can find a new sense of pride in their growing ability to understand and interpret current events and make sense of media reports. The same piece of research found that this is not


always the case, however, and contains a warning for parents, teachers and media organisations: a fearful spiral can push some teenagers towards ignorance. Young people need news coverage that caters to


their particular needs for background information and explanation, and their desire to take positive action on a topic that interests them. This is because, the academics write, mainstream news does not just leave teenagers cold, it makes them anxious and stressed about the state of the world. This anxiety – and a repulsion from the endless


negativity and bias they detect in a lot of mainstream news – is behind much of the tendency to switch off, either literally or figuratively, from news coverage. If we let his happen, the apathy spreads. Particularly


if citizenship, and all the expertise in teaching and curriculum design that has built up in the last few years, is allowed to wither on the vine as an optional extra. Early, regular help in deciphering world events and


unpicking what’s really at stake in the domestic political debate can help build a new generation of switched-on, engaged and aware citizens, and – a selfish point here from a lifelong journalist – the audience, as well as the Jeremy Paxmans, of the future.


SecEd


• Miranda Green is a freelance journalist who writes for a range of national newspapers and is editor of The Day


Further information


The Day is an online daily news service for schools and colleges offering international, national and quirky news stories, together with background materials, debating points, classroom and homework activities. Visit www. theday.co.uk


SecEd • June 9 2011


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