Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their white paper Skills for jobs: lifelong learning for opportunity and growth, published on 21 January, what steps they are taking (1) to ensure equality of opportunities for Gypsy, Traveller and Roma children and young people of compulsory education age who are out of school or not in education, employment or training to gain the Maths and English Level 2 qualifications required to access further education and training, including apprenticeships, and (2) to ensure that careers advice and guidance is accessible to Gypsy, Traveller and Roma students who have missed out on schooling; and what plans they have to ensure that all Government-backed careers advisors receive training on Gypsy, Traveller and Roma culture.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The participation age has been raised so that young people are now required to continue in education or training until their 18th birthday. Young people can do this through full-time education, a job or volunteering combined with part-time study, or by undertaking an apprenticeship or traineeship. The government has invested nearly £7 billion during the academic year 2020/21, to ensure there is a place in education or training for every 16 to 19 year old.
Local authorities have a statutory duty to identify and track the participation of 16 and 17 year olds, supporting those who are not participating to do so and making sure that there is sufficient and suitable education and training provision to meet their needs.
The September Guarantee places a further duty on local authorities to ensure that all year 11 pupils (and year 12 pupils on one year courses) receive an offer of a place in education or training for the following September. It aims to ensure that all young people, regardless of what they achieved in school, understand that there are opportunities that will help them to progress, and to ensure that they get the advice and support they need to find a suitable place.
A range of provision is available for young people aged 16 to 24 to equip them with the skills and experience they need to progress. This includes traineeships, which provide unemployed young people with employability training, work experience and English and maths, and Supported Internships which offer tailored support for young people aged 16 to 25 who have special educational needs and disabilities.
We know students who leave school with a good grasp of English and maths increase their chances of securing a job or going on to further education, which is why students who do not achieve a GCSE grade 4 at age 16 must continue to study these subjects in Post-16 (it is also known as the ‘condition of funding’). Students who just missed out on a GCSE grade 4 are given the opportunity to achieve a GCSE. We recognise that for students with prior attainment of a GCSE grade 2 or below, a level 2 Functional Skills qualification may be more appropriate.
Alongside this, English and maths are crucial elements of a T Level and apprenticeship. Each T Level student and apprentice must ensure they have achieved a prescribed level of English and maths in order to successfully complete their programme.
The government is committed to ensuring that young people and adults are provided with high-quality careers information, advice, and guidance, regardless of their background.
We have provided specific support for pupils from disadvantaged groups such as Gypsy, Traveller and Roma, special educational needs, and looked after children. This includes investing over £1.7 million to test new approaches to broaden aspirations and raise awareness of pathways into training and work.
Our statutory guidance, first introduced in September 2012, requires that schools secure independent and impartial careers guidance on the full range of education and training options.
Members of the careers profession, including careers advisers are trained to give impartial careers, information, advice and guidance. They work closely with school leaders to develop careers plans that reflect a pupil’s personal circumstance. They also take into account a pupil’s background and aspirations when giving them impartial careers advice. We will continue working with members of the careers profession, including the Careers Development Institute, to ensure careers advisers and other professionals receive adequate training to enable them to deal with pupils from all backgrounds, including those from the traveller community.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the percentage of apprentices required to complete Functional Skills Level 2 qualifications in (1) Maths, (2) English, and (3) Information and Communication Technology, during the course of their apprenticeship; and how this figure varies by ethnicity.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
We publish data which shows the number of apprentices enrolling on funded level 2 functional skills qualifications during their apprenticeship. We cannot determine if these qualifications are required in order to achieve the overall apprenticeship. We do not publish breakdowns of this data by ethnicity.
Not all apprentices are required to achieve level 2 functional skills by the end of their apprenticeship. An apprentice may have already obtained the required level of English and maths for the apprenticeship either via GCSEs, functional skills qualifications, or accepted equivalent qualifications, prior to starting their apprenticeship. The current and prior qualifications accepted as meeting the minimum English and maths requirements for apprenticeships can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/english-and-maths-requirements-in-apprenticeship-standards-at-level-2-and-above.
In general, level 2 apprentices without the required level of English and maths will need to achieve level 1 functional skills, and apprentices at level 3 and above will need to achieve level 2 functional skills. There are exceptions to the regular English and maths minimum requirements for people with special educational needs, learning difficulties or disabilities. These are set out in the apprenticeship funding rules: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apprenticeship-funding-rules. The achievement of information and communication technology functional skills is only a requirement of some apprenticeships.