The Government needs to act urgently on T level recruitment and share how it plans to close the pay gap between school and college staff, says the Association of Colleges.
In an open letter sent to education secretary Gillian Keegan today, AoC chief executive David Hughes raises five areas of concern with government: college staff pay, enrolments this academic year, T levels and qualification defunding, capital funding and the reclassification of colleges as public sector organisations.
In the letter, Mr Hughes says “the numbers starting T levels is disappointing and falling short of your ambitions and plans” and “a large part of this is that many potential T level students did not achieve good GCSEs and are therefore not ready.”
The letter from AoC adds there are “longstanding deep concerns” about the defunding of existing qualifications and therefore asks for discussion with Department for Education officials on adjusting the rollout plan for T levels, a review on the appropriate flexibilities round placements, and a plan for how T levels are promoted to parents, employers and students, given that the Advanced British Standard has been announced.
