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<p>As announced in the Written Statement on 19 March (HLWS1393), the first part of
a two-part consultation reviewing qualifications at level 3 and below (excluding A
levels and GCSEs) was launched on 19 March and will conclude on 10 June. The second
part of the consultation will open later in the year.</p><p>The government is reviewing
qualifications at level 3 and below for post-16 students and proposes to stop funding
qualifications which are low quality and do not have a clear purpose. Analysis published
by the department has highlighted over 12,000 courses that are currently on offer
to young people at level 3 and below, with multiple qualifications available in the
same subject areas.</p><p>As identified in the ‘Review of vocational education: the
Wolf report’, the ‘Post-16 skills plan’ and the ‘Report of the independent panel on
technical education’, many of these qualifications are poor quality and offer little
value to students or employers. Although many qualifications were reformed to meet
performance table criteria following Professor Wolf’s report, there is still much
to do to raise the standard of all qualifications. Once the review has concluded,
the government’s aim is that qualifications available alongside A levels, T levels
and apprenticeships will be high quality and will set students on a clear path to
a job, further education or training. All three reports are attached.</p>
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