ROUND UP
Landmark report makes the case for 14-19 phase of education
can, and those who need more time can find where their talents lie without the stigma of failure at 16 and the revolving door of resits. For students who have already found their passion, Edge proposes the reintroduction of Young Apprenticeships at 14, which gives young people the opportunity to learn in the workplace one day a week.
Edge is aware of the challenges schools face in providing their students with quality careers information, advice and guidance which is why we are proposing that the £450 million which funded the abolished Connexions service be redirected to schools. Even if 20% were given to the Treasury, it would provide £106,000 for every secondary school to ensure every young person has a clear, planned programme of career and employer interventions with mandatory work experience.
This is particularly valuable for the most disadvantaged young people who don’t have the social capital of their better off peers. Research shows that every helpful interaction with an employer adds an average 3.7% on to a future salary; a significant factor in driving social mobility as well as broadening horizons and raising aspirations.
O
ur world is changing rapidly in three fundamental ways. There are widening skills gaps in our economy; the digital revolution is dramatically changing the nature of work as many roles become automated; Brexit will restrict the movement of skilled labour.
For example, we need 745,000 workers with digital skills by the end of 2017; this gap costs the economy £63 million each year. Meanwhile, the narrow academic EBacc is impacting on the very technical and creative subjects our economy
needs. Since 2013, entries for Design and Technology have fallen almost a quarter. Our 20th century curriculum was designed for children in the Victorian era, not for digitally savvy young people in the 21st century. The Edge Foundation’s latest report, Our plan for 14-19 Education; Coherent, Unified, Holistic, brings together compelling international, historical, educational and economic evidence to support the need for a broad curriculum incorporating creative and technical education, and outlines our eight point plan for a phase of 14-19 education. By making computer science one of the science options, creating a slot for a creative subject and one for a technical subject, the curriculum broadens opportunities for all students. This could become a true Baccalaureate at 19 which allows all young people to show their full range of talents and skills to employers and universities, not just academic grades.
A student from Blackburn College on work experience with Skoda
All educationalists know that children develop at different paces, yet students are constrained by the cliff-edge of GCSEs when they reach 16. The GCSE catch-up provision is clearly not working with just 12% of students who do not achieve and A*-C grade in English or maths at 16, going on to do so at 19. Needless to say this impacts on confidence; as 18-year-old student Georgina says, ‘I’ve failed my maths GCSE four times. It’s horrible because you feel like you’re stupid. You feel like there’s something wrong with you.’ By taking an ‘stage not age’ approach, those who are ready can progress as far and fast as they
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www.education-today.co.uk
Of course teachers are at the core of our education system and we know many are demoralised by ‘exam factory’ teaching and the small education and narrow measures which undervalue the potential, vitality and successes of our children. Nearly 10% left the profession last year. Edge proposes giving teachers more support, more training and more freedom.
Year 4 children at a Career Footsteps event
By removing the cliff edge of GCSEs at 16, shifting accountability to destinations and broadening the curriculum to allow more opportunities to bring ‘learning to life’, Edge believes teaching not only becomes a more attractive and rewarding profession, but will drive up quality.
Our report features lots of schools and case studies. To download a free copy of Our plan for 14-19 Education, please visit
www.edge.co.uk
July/August 2017
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