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1. WHAT IS A T-LEVEL?
A T-level is the name for a new vocational programme of study at Level 3 that is designed to be equivalent to three A-levels. It takes two years and contains a new qualification within it. At the end of the qualification, students reach ‘threshold competence’ (see below). T-levels are the Government’s new big idea for vocational education, and are expected to replace other vocational qualifications such as the Early Years Educator (for which Government funding is expected to be axed and redirected to T-levels).
2. WHAT’S THE T-LEVEL FOR CHILDCARE AND HOW IS IT STRUCTURED?
All Level 3 students will be able to take a T-level called ‘Education and Childcare’. The T-level will contain core content, which all students must complete, covers ages birth to 19 and will take up between 20 per cent and 50 per cent of the overall programme. Students then opt for one of three specialisms: ‘early years education and childcare’, ‘assisting teaching’, and ‘supporting and mentoring students in further and higher education’. As to precisely what the divide between core and specialist content will be for each specialism, all the Department for Education will say is ‘we will be confirming exact breakdowns in due course’.
Within the T-level there is a technical qualification – this should meet EYE requirements for the early years education and childcare specialism (see overleaf). The programme is expected to be certificated as a ‘T-level in childcare and education’ with the relevant specialism listed.
The idea is that students who don’t yet know what they want to do, but know they are interested in education and/or childcare, can start with some core content and then specialise later.
The outline content has been designed by a panel of professionals, including consultant Penny Tassoni, learning and development manager at London Early Years Foundation Gill Springer, plus college and children’s centre heads. The awarding organisation (AO) is to furnish the finer detail later. The panel’s remit does not include assessment.
3. HOW WILL IT FIT WITH THE APPRENTICESHIP STANDARDS?
The standard created by trailblazer groups and used for apprenticeships is also the basis for the outline content of a T-level. In the case of childcare, because the Level 3 standard is based on the Early Years Educator qualification, it is expected that the T-level will also be based on the EYE, with the chosen AO using the standard to develop a full technical qualification specification. What will then be awarded will be a T-level in Education and Childcare, not an EYE.
4. WILL A T-LEVEL GIVE LICENCE TO PRACTICE AT LEVEL 3?
The skills and apprenticeships minister Anne Milton has said, ‘When developing the T-level, we will make sure that it aligns to the early years criteria which will allow a practitioner to be included in the ratios.’ However, the devil is in the detail. As things stand, there are several reasons a T-level may fail to meet EYE requirements and not give a licence to practice.
T-levels must have work placements of 45 days – which equates to about 270 hours maximum, while current two-year college-based EYE qualifications have a 730-750 hour benchmark. The consultation documents say, ‘Employers have been clear that this is the absolute minimum number of days that should be considered for a placement, and would ideally be significantly more for Education and Childcare T-levels. We are considering how to take this forward.’
The DfE was unable to provide any sense of how and when, though it is understood they are taking soundings from early years experts. However, it has confirmed that the T-level placements are currently being piloted at just 40 days. In its consultation response, CACHE says, ‘We would like to see further placement hours allocated to ensure full competence and the achievement of EYE status. Without the opportunity to gain a licence to practice, the impact to the workforce would be potentially far reaching in its devastation, further reducing access to L3 staff.’
Assessment is another area of concern. The EYE criteria don’t prescribe a number of assessment hours, but skills must be tested in a real-world setting and observed by someone independent. If the new T-level relegates this to a tick-box exercise then that won’t constitute competency, experts say.
T-level panel member Penny Tassoni says, ‘The outline content for the T-level early years specialism is sound but a lot will depend on how strong the assessment is and the detail that goes into them from the awarding body.’
5. WHAT IS ‘THRESHOLD COMPETENCE’ AND HOW DOES THIS FIT WITH THE ABOVE?
According to the consultation, ‘achievement of threshold competence signals that a student is well-placed to develop full occupational competence, with further support and development, once in work (including an apprenticeship)’.
With an EYE, employers did not expect to have to do further training immediately because of the substantial placement and rigorous assessment. CACHE’s consultation response calls for the placement to be extended for this reason – to give ‘not only threshold competence but full competence’.
6. HOW WILL THEY BE ASSESSED?
The core specialism will be assessed through an externally set test and an employer-set project (this should be a ‘substantial piece of work’, though we have no detail yet as to what this means). We know that the AO will develop objectives that students must demonstrate for this project, employers will set a brief with the AO’s help and the project must be approved by the AO. The Institute for Apprenticeships will have final say as to whether the project or the exam are the best forum for assessing the candidate on particular skills and whether the project is fit for purpose.
The specialist content will be assessed ‘synoptically [testing understanding of how information links together] through rigorous practical assignments’ against performance outcomes. What this looks like is as yet unclear, as is how placements will be assessed. For example, how much will be set down by the AO who writes the qualification, and how much it will come from the DfE/IfA?
7. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF ONE AWARDING BODY PER T-LEVEL?
Under the plans, one AO or a consortium delivers each T-level qualification under exclusive licence. Each licence would last about five years. An AO will be responsible for designing the content of the qualification, upskilling providers, providing materials, and assessing qualifications.
The idea is to reduce the number of qualifications and awarding bodies. But it has been controversial: issuing a licence to only one awarding organisation could ‘reduce market competition, choice and innovation’, the DfE has acknowledged. There are concerns AOs won’t be able to stay skilled up in a sector they are not working in for this amount of time. AOs, unsurprisingly, are unhappy about the single licence approach.
When it comes to the childcare T-level, the big three, CACHE, City & Guilds and Pearson, are all expected to be in the running. The contract is said to be awarded on a weighting of 80 per cent quality vs 20 per cent cost, but there are fears it could go to the cheapest bidder. One area where this could play out is the placement issue, as assessment is expensive to deliver relative to teaching, and thus longer placements cost more.
Sources say there is nervousness that while there is support among AOs to keep 750 hours, one of them could ‘break ranks’ to deliver a cheaper bid. Interestingly, it will be IfA appearing on the certificate – and not the AO. Could market recognition of AOs drop?
8. WHAT ARE THE ENGLISH AND MATHS REQUIREMENTS?
Level 2 via GCSEs or functional skills, though the T-level panels can in theory put higher requirements in place. ICT skills will be developed through the qualification and are involved every single learning outcome. The DfE says, ‘We will fund maths and English for students who have not yet achieved Level 2.’
9. HOW WILL T-LEVELS FEED INTO OTHER QUALIFICATIONS?
There are calls for the T-level to be awarded UCAS points as this has not yet been clarified. However, the DfE is making encouraging noises, saying, ‘We would expect students to be able to progress to study at a higher level in the same industry area and are planning to undertake further work with higher education institutes and UCAS to support this.’ Ministers also say that someone with an apprenticeship could go on to study a T-level – despite T-levels only conferring Level 3.
10. WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS?
AOs will bid for exclusive licences from this autumn. Final contracts are expected to be issued in 2019, after which T-Level qualifications will be developed.
In 2020, the Education and Childcare T-level will be launched. The rest of the programme will roll out between 2021 and 2022, though the unofficial expectation is that full roll-out won’t happen until 2024.
11. WHAT'S THE BACKGROUND TO T LEVELS?
T levels happened following the Sainsbury review into vocational education. This found that there were too many qualifications, and it was hard for students to know which were of value. It said what was needed was ‘a well-understood national system of qualifications that works in the marketplace’ – and that employers didn’t always understand current vocational qualifications.
The Government adopted all of the recommendations in the Sainsbury review and devised its Skills Plan on the back of it.
Ministers have said this is the biggest reform to technical education for 70 years and have said that T-levels will help end the perception that university provides the only route to success.
12. HAS THERE BEEN ANY CONTROVERSY ABOUT T LEVELS GENERALLY?
Yes. Several, including from within the civil service, have said the timetable for roll-out is unrealistic.
Jonathan Slater, the permanent secretary, has openly questioned the ‘regularity, propriety, value for money and feasibility’ of spending £500 million on T-levels.
City & Guilds chief executive Chris Jones last week, who tweeted: ‘So despite advice from their own economics advisor over risk of system failure and concerns expressed by the qualifications regulator, @educationgovuk press on with reforms.
'I hope the market engagement helps them see sense and adjust position but I fear it will not.’
Ofqual, the body that regulates qualifications in England, has since said it 'advised on the risks related to the single-provider model.' It has also not been confirmed that Ofqual will regulate the qualifications within T levels.
