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A message from Patrick Leeson:

3 October 2017 weekly update

3 October 2017

This week, Patrick summarises the recently revised 14-24 Learning, Employment and Skills Strategy for 2017-2020, which continues to provide a coherent framework for supporting Kent’s young people and adults to become more highly skilled and work ready; and reviews the positive achievements to date and sets out further opportunities and priorities for improvement.

Dear Colleagues

Revised 14-24 Learning, Employment and Skills Strategy 2017-2020

We have recently revised the Strategy for improving the pathways and outcomes for 14-24 year old young people in Kent. Much has been achieved to date but challenges remain to ensure all young people can succeed in the education system to achieve the right destinations for training and employment.

The Strategy sets out our aim for Kent to be the most forward looking area in England for education and learning so that all young people achieve. We aim to ensure every young person to age 18, at least, is engaged in purposeful education and training, and they are well prepared for skilled employment and higher learning. The 14-24 Learning, Employment and Skills Strategy is designed to achieve a fundamental shift in the education system in Kent, towards a more comprehensive technical and vocational offer for young people aged 14 to 24 and to make the changes needed to build a learning and skills system fit for the 21st century.

This is a real challenge at a time when post 16 funding in schools and colleges has been reducing, and the qualifications system has been so volatile.

However, there are new opportunities through new qualifications and apprenticeships to achieve more for young people. We are increasing our effort and capacity to address gaps in provision and transform 14-19 learning pathways and training opportunities so that they are truly excellent. We are doing this through partnership with schools, colleges, training providers and employers, for example through the Area and District 14-19 partnerships, robust data analysis, NEET tracking and reduction strategies, developing new 14-19 pathways, delivering apprenticeship campaigns, and use of supported employment and internship programmes.

This revised strategy will ensure a clearer focus on realising the opportunities for young people to benefit from new qualifications, developing further our employer engagement, linking the curriculum to the world of work, collaborating on the delivery of post 16 English and Mathematics and developing more effective school to school partnerships. Work with employers has significantly increased through the development of eight Sector Guilds, the increased involvement of employers in the Kent and Medway Skills Commission and the development of the Careers Enterprise Company.

The DfE has developed a set of performance measures and outcomes for all post-16 providers and the updated strategy will support schools through these changes. New post-16 accountabilities include level 2 GCSE English and maths data, and entry level, level 1 and level 2 results in other subjects, and separate outcomes for A levels, Applied General qualifications, Academic A levels and Tech levels.

There are further changes to the range of qualifications on offer post-16 and these need to be reflected and pursued into new approaches to 14-19 curriculum design. These include Progress 8, the new Technical Awards, and the International Baccalaureate Careers Related Programme.

Our biggest challenge is low prior attainment at age 16. Prior attainment is key to ensuring good progression post 16 in every type of provision. In the 2017 GCSE results 36% of pupils did not achieve the passport to successful progression to level 3, which is two good passes in Maths and English. We must continue to find solutions to improving this success rate and in cases where this has not happened, to facilitate creative ways of delivering, and being successful in Post 16 maths and English. Whatever a learner’s starting point, the key aim should be progression in these subjects.

High schools, wide ability schools, grammar schools and colleges provide for young people with a range of prior attainment and need to be offering courses which challenge and stretch all students and have currency for further and higher learning and post 16 destinations. This is not always the case. For example, a number of Secondary schools are not delivering minimum standards due to low levels of A level achievement.

Students on free school meals enter post 16 provision with much lower prior attainment than non-FSM students and this lower attainment is reflected in level 3 outcomes upon completion. Disadvantaged students need continued support to make the transition to post 16 learning and to stay the course as the drop out at 17 is unacceptably high. Assistance to access the curriculum and to succeed within it is a key challenge at Key Stage 5.

We are continuing to be successful in reducing the NEET figures and Kent is now down to 1.9% in Year 12 due to preventative action in Year 11 and a more appropriate post 16 offer. The rolling 3 month average for the NEET and Not Known figures combined was 7.6% recently, compared to 10.8% in 2016. A priority for us is to support providers to develop and plan more specialist programmes, with appropriate support, for young people at greatest risk of becoming NEET, including young people with special educational needs.

Kent achieves higher percentages than national figures for destinations which lead to apprenticeships, further education provision and sustained employment. However, the percentage of students moving on to higher education is lower in Kent, including the percentage who go to Russell Group universities and Oxbridge. We could therefore be achieving better for more able young people.

All students should benefit from effective guidance to support their informed choices related to local and wider employment market information and be supported in turn by study programmes which have identified progression to sustainable destinations, including apprenticeships. We are not yet achieving this.

The Strategy, therefore, is focused on improving outcomes, including secure progression into higher or further learning, employment with training, apprenticeships or employment, by:

  • More effective careers education, information, advice and guidance
  • appropriate study programmes leading to relevant qualifications which link to student aspirations, including the opportunity to have a transition year to build the skills and knowledge for further learning.
  • stronger cohesion between the elements of study programmes which deliver employability - which is more apparent in programmes like the IB, IBCP and the Tech Baccalaureate.
  • development of numeracy and literacy whatever the starting point of the learner.

We hope our partners, schools, FE colleges, HE, training providers and employers continue to share these aspirations and that we will collaborate effectively to achieve them.

The revised 14-24 Strategy 2017-2020 continues to provide a coherent framework for supporting Kent’s young people and adults to become more highly skilled and work ready. This updated document reviews the positive achievements to date and sets out further opportunities and priorities for improvement.

Patrick Leeson
Corporate Director 
Children, Young People and Education