In collaboration with NEU, Education and Employers, and the Education Foundation
Today, the House of Lords’ Education for 11-16 Year Olds Committee, chaired by Lord Jo Johnson, publishes its highly-anticipated final report, Requires improvement: urgent change for 11–16 education, following a ten month, in-depth inquiry into the secondary phase of education. Back in April, our very own Executive Director Olly Newton gave oral evidence to the Committee to help shape its thinking, building on our written evidence submission, and we are delighted to see our policy asks and research reflected in the final report.
The Committee makes a series of welcome, punchy recommendations for a broader and more balanced curriculum – and notes that the “overloaded” 11-16 curriculum and high-stakes exams at KS4, coupled with the flexibilities afforded to academies, has led to the practice of some schools shortening KS3, forcing early specialisation as soon as the end of Year 8. As our Executive Director made clear in his evidence:
Olly Newton, Executive Director, Edge Foundation, described key stage 3 as “sacrosanct” and stated that “the third year needs to be part of it”. He argued that key stage 3 “should be a golden time” when pupils can “get excited about the whole range of things they could do”, but that it is often just a “different part of the treadmill”. (Paragraph 37, Page 24)
We strongly agree with the Committee’s view that “it is vital that pupils experience a wide range of subjects and curriculum content up to the age of 14 to keep their future options open, inform their subsequent choices and ensure they receive a broad and balanced education” and their calls on the Government to clamp down on this practice of shortening KS3.
The prioritisation of content over depth of understanding has also squeezed out space for the development of both technical and essential skills in the classroom and as part of wider school life, with significant consequences for young people’s enjoyment of learning – and life chances. As our recent Schools for All? report with Young Lives, Young Futures (KCL) highlighted, nearly half of 15–16-year-olds do not find school to be an enjoyable or meaningful experience.
The Committee's evidence suggested that the 11–16 curriculum is overly focused on academic learning, with technical and vocational education insufficiently valued – caused, in part, by the EBacc accountability measure.
In turn, we have seen a decline in the take-up of technical qualifications at KS4, as subjects like D&T, which support a truly broad and balanced curriculum and the development of skills for critical shortage areas like engineering and technology, have been demoted. Edge’s regular Skills Shortages Bulletins reiterates the point that the skills employers are looking for are not being prioritised within the education system.
We also know from our February 2023 report exploring learners’ perspectives on employability skills that much more work needs to be done to prioritise these skills in schools (pupils reported that creativity was the skill least developed in school, after digital skills) and students’ understanding of what this looks like in practice.
As the Committee notes, there is important work being done at a regional level to tackle this in Greater Manchester. The Greater Manchester Baccalaureate (MBacc), announced by Mayor Andy Burnham in May 2023, would encourage learners to explore a broader range of subjects beyond the EBacc to support pathways into the fastest growing industries in the Greater Manchester economy.
Edge is pleased to be supporting the GMCA with the design of the MBacc and we welcome the Committee’s recommendation that the Government engages closely with colleagues in the GMCA as the MBacc develops.
But the emphasis on ‘academic’ pathways flows right the way through the system, and trickles into Careers, Information, Advice and Guidance.
We fully support the Committee’s recommendation that all careers education, information, advice and guidance in the Key Stage 3 phase gives “equal status to the full range of post-16 pathways, including technical and vocational qualifications, such as BTECs, and apprenticeships’ and that the Government develops ‘potential solutions to the problem of schools being overly incentivised to encourage pupils to follow academic routes”.
The interim report of our Young Lives, Young Futures study, funded by the ESRC, found that many young people enter vocational and technical routes at 16 without a clear understanding of their options and career pathways, seeing vocational education and training as more of a ‘back-up’ option to the more prestigious academic pathway of A-Levels and university.
Meaningful opportunities to engage with employers is key to reversing this. We’re pleased to see recognition for the schools we highlighted in our evidence submission taking bold strides to develop an integrated curriculum at KS3.
The Edge Foundation noted how Cowes Enterprise College has adapted its key stage 3 curriculum in partnership with local maritime employers, to focus on “applying the knowledge and skills learned to real-world problems such as the mechanics of a boat.” They suggested this had led to “increased engagement and attainment particularly amongst its most disadvantaged students.” (Paragraph 152, Page 56)
And there’s so much more to get into amongst the Committee’s full list of short and longer-term proposals for change. We look forward to the Government’s response by February 2024.