Fresh scrutiny has been levelled at the T Level rollout after the education secretary was forced to delay four of the new flagship courses just six months before they were due to launch.
Gillian Keegan announced on Thursday that three T Levels to be offered by awarding body NCFE from September 2023 – in hair, beauty and aesthetics; craft and design; and media broadcast and production – have been pushed back by a year because of quality concerns.
Another T Level, which is being developed by Highfield in catering, has been delayed to 2025 at the earliest.
The decision was taken jointly between the Department for Education and the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE). Keegan said that T Levels will be approved only when “we are sure they are good enough”.
