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º£½ÇÉçÇø (º£½ÇÉçÇø) has responded to the Department for Education’s (DfE) call for evidence as part of the current , led by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The call for evidence, launched in late September 2024 and closing today, encouraged stakeholders to share their views on potential improvements to the current curriculum, assessment system and qualifications pathways.

In responding to the call for evidence, º£½ÇÉçÇø consulted Further Education (FE) and Skills leaders as part of its CEO’s sector leaders steering group representing Colleges, Independent Training Providers, SEND and Adult education organisations. Our members were also consulted through º£½ÇÉçÇø’s Practitioner Advisory Group. Thank you to everybody who shared their expertise as part of this process.

Feedback and reflections from all those consulted helped to shape 10 key recommendations about the current curriculum and assessment system, which formed the basis of º£½ÇÉçÇø’s response to DfE. These recommendations, summarised as follows, call for:

1. Policy commitment and investment in the quality of teaching and learning, including clarity on the requirements of initial teacher education, a clear career progression framework supported by Continuous Professional Development, and ongoing national recognition of º£½ÇÉçÇø’s professional standards; curriculum change needs to ensure that the necessary pedagogic skills are developed in tandem to ensure that the desired positive learning outcomes are secured
2. Promotion and support of an outcomes-driven system focusing on impact and trust rather than a process driven system focusing on heavy regulation and continuous review; simplification of regulation is key
3. A system that recognises the importance of social value and the impact of FE and Skills on changing people’s lives through outcomes such as increased confidence, communication, and social skills; this will enable us to drive professionalism and sector improvement
4. Commitment to a broad curriculum that celebrates inclusion and diversity, is representative of society, and engages with the contributions of diverse groups including LGBTQ+ people, disabled people, and people from the global majority
5. Development of a curriculum that contains more relevant and practical topics such as financial literacy, preparing for employment, emotional intelligence and critical thinking (particularly in the context of AI and misinformation)
6. Increased flexibility in modes of assessment, moving away from an exam-centric model with high-stakes end-point assessments, and allowing for more practical assessments and/or multiple assessment points to benefit learner outcomes and wellbeing including recognition of prior experiential learning
7. Support and incentivisation to strengthen relationships between employers/ industry and the FE and Skills sector, helping to prepare learners for work whilst also supporting the currency of subject matter expertise of educators
8. Investment in skills and high-quality teaching in industries that are central to the Government’s five missions to rebuild Britain, and use this to address any related employment gaps (for example, via T Levels or appropriate other qualification in construction to provide new homes for the country)
9. Recognition that T Levels will not be able to deliver all of the industrial strategy asks, resolve all local employment gaps, or automatically align with jobs that learners are motivated by
10. Commitment and investment in increasing the research capacity around the FE and Skills sector, including facilitating better collaboration between FE and Higher Education (HE) to ensure we continue to have the evidence base to inform current and future curriculum reform.

You can read further details in our full response.