Delivering a national qualifications system for Wales Owen Evans

1. Delivering a national qualifications system for Wales Owen Evans Director General, Department for Education and Skills, Welsh Government Kate Crabtree Head of Qualifications and Regulation Division, Welsh Government

2. Background: Review of Qualifications • Review launched September 2011 • Concerns: complexity, clarity, relevance, value, progression • Independent Review Board • Evidence-based • Stakeholder engagement • Reported November 2012 with 42 recommendations • All recommendations accepted by January 2013

3. Vision Qualifications that are understood and valued and meet the needs of our young people and the Welsh economy

4. Principles • A national qualification system for Wales • Independent, rigorous quality assurance • Meet the needs of all learners, and our economy • Broad and balanced education 14 to 16 • Coherent programmes of learning 16 to 19 • Literacy and numeracy are central • Portable qualifications, internationally respected • Build on strengths, steady pace, listen to evidence and stakeholders

5. Key changes • Establish Qualifications Wales • Rigorous new Welsh Bac with focus on skills • GCSEs to continue • New GCSEs to assess literacy and numeracy • A levels to continue – with coupled AS level • Vocational qualifications – new categorisation, stronger gatekeeping • Changes to performance measurement • Major communications campaign – awareness and confidence

6. Qualifications Wales: What’s changing? • New independent body • Emphasis on quality assurance and improvement • In time, awarding most qualifications 14-16, most AS and A levels, Welsh Baccalaureate • Providing information and advice to stakeholders and Welsh Government • Aim to simplify the system and strengthen confidence and understanding

7. Qualifications Wales: When? • Consultation ‘Our Qualifications – Our Future’ – runs to 20 December • Officials analyse responses to consultation with a view to the Welsh Government bringing forward legislation • Subject to legislation passing all the Assembly’s scrutiny processes, the intention is: • Organisation to be established September 2015

8. Welsh Baccalaureate: What’s changing? • Strong focus on skills for learning and work • Revised, more rigorous model: • grading • more demanding individual project • Literacy and numeracy assessed through new GCSEs • Skills assessed through ‘Challenges’ – same skills as in Curriculum Review • No requirement to take Essential Skills Wales qualifications • Universal adoption at 14-19

9. Welsh Baccalaureate: Skills • Literacy • Numeracy • Planning and organising • Personal effectiveness • Critical thinking and problem solving • Creativity and innovation • Digital literacy

10. Welsh Baccalaureate: When? • Grading introduced this year at Advanced Level • Steering group and working groups advised on new model • High level model developed and agreed • Stakeholder survey is live – runs to 20 December 2013 • Next phase: detailed development, workforce/support/CPD • Specifications available autumn 2014 • First teaching of new model September 2015 • Evaluation of new model from 2016

11. Vocational Qualifications: What’s changing? • Adopt European categories: • Initial or Continuing Vocational Education and Training (IVETs/CVETs) • Only IVETs available pre-16 • Develop new generic IVETs for KS4 • Stronger gatekeeping • Relevance, value, purpose, progression • Sector bodies to do relevance checks • Welsh Bac model gives equal status

12. Vocational Qualifications: When? • IVETs/CVETs categorisation is complete • Only IVETs will be available pre-16 from 2014 • Gatekeeping – DfES/Awarding Organisation Liaison Group set up • Pilot Sector Qualifications Advisory Panels being established • The Panels will consider the need for generic IVETs

13. GCSEs: What’s changing? • Revised GCSEs in English Language and Welsh (first) Language - greater assurance of literacy • Two new maths GCSEs – greater assurance of numeracy • Close links with LNF – progression from KS3 expectations • New GCSEs in other subjects to incorporate subject-specific literacy and numeracy • Move towards a single suite – one specification per subject But we will: • Keep GCSEs – and modular courses where appropriate • Allow controlled assessment, tiering, short courses – where justified

14. GCSEs: When? • Strategy and subject planning groups set up • First new GCSEs being developed with expert groups • Draft design principles developed for new GCSEs • Stakeholder survey now live – runs to 20 December 2013 • Further development and consultation 2014 • Specifications available autumn 2014 • Resources and CPD available from 2014

15. GCSEs: When? • First teaching of new English/Welsh and Maths GCSEs 2015 • Next tranche of revised GCSEs taught from September 2016(final list to be agreed)

16. A levels: What’s changing? • New content for many A levels from 2015 (Wales, England and Northern Ireland) • While content will be the same as England and Northern Ireland where possible, we will allow variation to meet needs in Wales • One re-sit per module with the best mark counting But we will: • Keep A levels • Keep AS levels as coupled qualifications • Review relative weightings of the AS and A2 components of A levels

17. A levels: When? • Strategy group set up • Policy announced – re-sits, January assessment, AS level • Stakeholder survey now live – runs to 20 December • No January assessment opportunities for AS or A levels after January 2014 • Challenging timetable for A level redevelopment for 2015 across UK • Aim to have revised specifications available autumn 2014 • Resources and CPD available from autumn 2014

18. Essential Skills: What’s changing? • Essential Skills Wales qualifications will not • be used pre-16 (except Entry level) • be required for the Welsh Baccalaureate • New revised Essential Skills qualifications will • be available post-16 • include new Digital literacy qualifications • include new employability skills (old Wider Key Skills) • have more robust assessment

19. Essential Skills: When? • Comparison of range of skills frameworks is complete • Set of skills areas developed – aligned with curriculum review proposals • Same set of skills to form core of Welsh Bac • Development of new suites of qualifications underway • Steering group and working groups are advising • New qualifications to be trialled 2014 • New qualifications to be available for use 2015

20. Measurement of Performance: What’s changing? • Key stage 4 • No qualification worth more than 2 GCSEs • Welsh Bac measures to replace threshold measures • Further work to consider measures and their use/weighting in reporting, etc. • Early entry issues to be addressed • Post-16 • Consistent measures across sectors

21. Measurement of Performance: When? • Working group set up • Some changes announced for reporting • Further development work 2014 • Announcement of outcome by summer 2014 • New equivalences for reporting 2016 (2 GCSEs max) • Welsh Bac measures introduced, reporting 2017 • Post-16 measures to be considered through project to develop consistent measures across sectors

22. Next steps • Analyse survey and consultation responses • Roadshows for managers, spring 2014 • Development of specifications • Development of CPD/teaching/resources/support • Analysis of workforce implications • CPD materials and events from autumn 2014

23. Further information Further information available on the new website www.qualificationswales.org