Can different models of additional funding improve outcomes for post-16 resit learners?

Students who don’t get a good English or maths GCSE grade in their first attempt are required to continue to study these subjects in post-16 education. But the proportion of these students who then go on to get a good pass is worryingly low. In 2022, just 15.2 per cent of learners resitting their maths GCSE gained a Grade 4, while just under a quarter (24.1 per cent) did so in English.

There are many factors that contribute to this. Our recent review found that the ability of post-16 settings to recruit, retain and develop a highly skilled workforce was the biggest barrier to making sure that learners receive high-quality teaching. It also highlighted a lack of ​“well-developed evidence-informed programmes and interventions” to support learners and professional development for those teaching resit classes.

There’s a clear need to focus time and resources on finding on how best to support these learners – and the practitioners and colleges teaching them – at this critical and final stage of compulsory education. Our expanded focus on the post-16 sector will aim to fill some of these evidence gaps, as well as providing direct support to colleges and their staff teaching resit classes.

But funding for post-16 settings is also an issue, with colleges receiving a base rate of £4,753 per learner this year, compared to the £7,690 that secondary schools get for every pupil.