"The DfE wants a streamlined system for students finishing their GCSEs which pushes them to study either A-levels, T Levels, or an apprenticeship from 2025.
Alternative applied general qualifications (AGQs) like Pearson’s popular BTECs will only get funding from this point if they do not overlap with the other qualifications and pass a strict approvals process."
This is absolutely crazy. They're trying to force kids onto T-levels by removing BTEC options but the implementation of T-levels has been patchy (particularly around issues with work experience) and 1 in 3 students who started one dropped out.
Apprenticeships at that level are pretty thin on the ground. What are kids who are not suited to A-level study meant to do?
The prediction is that 155,000 kids will be left without a suitable course. 1 in 8 kids.
This is particularly telling "For example, qualifications like the BTEC foundation diploma in health and social care have been criticised by ministers because “less than 5 per cent” of students progress to higher education.
What officials ignore is that 64 per of students studying this qualification progress to employment and 24 per cent to further education, according to the SFCA."
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/btecs-reforms-risk-155k-students-fall-through-the-gap/