Government Consultation on the BTEC qualification (they want to get rid of it ...)

[Kate_N]

I hope it's OK to post this here. I chair a national organisation for theatre/drama in UK universities. We've had it drawn to our attention that there is a Government consultation about the future of the BTEC qualification. Word on the street (or the corridors of Whitehall) is that the Government wants to close down BTECs. They see them as 'low value' qualifications. 

 

Can I urge any teachers, parents and/or students here who've had anything to do with the BTEC qualification to make their views known via the consultation? It closes on 31st January. 

 

You can access the survey here:

https://consult.education.gov.uk/post-16-qualifications-review-team/review-of-post-16-qualifications-at-level-3/consultation

You can fill it out as an individual, a teacher, a pupil, the representative of an organisation, a parent, and so on.

 

There's a really good blog from an excellent organisation with which my organisation works, the Cultural Learning Alliance, with some useful ideas about the value of the BTEC and what you might say in response to consultation questions, here:

 https://culturallearningalliance.org.uk/review-of-post-16-qualifications-at-level-3-second-stage-consultation-closing-friday-15-january/

 

One of the main points which might be of concern to ballet/dance parents is that the BTEC offers a high-quality route into both vocational arts training and/or university qualifications. The Cultural Learning Alliance makes the important point that 'proposed reforms risk creating an unhelpful binary pathway between academic and technical routes that does not work for the creative industries, arts and cultural sector, in which many roles require both practical and theoretical knowledge."

 

The Department for Education is interested in hearing from employers, students and parents as well as those working in education. Please remember that your view does count even if you are not an expert in the area. Please do respond if you can.

Edited January 28, 2021 by Kate_N

[meadowblythe]

 

I will draw to techie DS's attention - what a shame and how ignorant.  The creative arts are really being hammered, aren't they?

 

Tecchie DS took an extended BTEC in Performing and Production Arts.  He got five university offers from prestigious technical theatre courses and worked consistently from the day he started the Btec until the beginning of lockdown.  The breadth of experience meant he was doing full professional pantomime runs at 17, experience that directly lead to his latest employment, at a West End production.  

 

I was dubious about the value of the Btec - how wrong I was.  I actually rang up several Russell Group universities before allowing him to enrol, all of which assured me that the qualification was acceptable.  

[Kate_N]

@meadowblytheplease ask your DS to respond to the consultation. Anyone can! They need to hear of experiences like his.  I teach at a very desirable Russell Group university, and we take BTECs as a qualification into our challenging degree which is both highly academic and  very practical. BTEC students sometimes need to do a bit of catching up on the written work, but their practical skills often outweigh students with A Levels in drama/performing arts etc.

[Ballet Dreams]

Thank you for this my Eldest DD is currently doing a BTEC in Performing Arts.  I also was dubious about the BTEC qualification but have been really impressed on how well it has fitted in beside my daughters ALevels.  She also has had 5 offers to study university all of them have counted the BTEC.   I have passed this onto her teacher it would be a real shame if  this qualification was no longer available.

[Pups_mum]

 

Current education policy seems hell bent on destroying the arts. Many schools have reduced the number of GCSEs offered to take account of the increased demands of the new syllabi and are also insisting that pupils take EBacc qualifying subjects. The result is a sugnificant reduction in choice for pupils and it will be "non core" subjects which suffer. I think there were only 7 or 8 pupils in my son's GCSE music class  out of a year of nearly 200 pupils. If class sizes for subjects like music, drama, art etc keep falling, how long before schools stop offering them at GCSE and A level? And if there are no exam classes, how long before the teachers are either made redundant or leave due to lack of job satisfaction? What a loss that would be to our young people and society in general. I'm a scientist and of course I "get" how important it is to teach STEM subjects well - but that should be possible without eradicating other parts of the curriculum

This sounds like more of the same and it makes my blood boil. I am fundamentally opposed to anything that deprives young people of choice. I dont have any personal experience of BTECs but I shall certainly pass the link on to people that I know who do. Thank you for raising awareness of this - its its clearly very important.

[alison]

38 minutes ago, Pups_mum said:

If class sizes for subjects like music, drama, art etc keep falling, how long before schools stop offering them at GCSE and A level? And if there are no exam classes, how long before the teachers are either made redundant or leave due to lack of job satisfaction? What a loss that would be to our young people and society in general.

 

It's already happening in the foreign-language sector, so yes, I fear you're right

[Peony]

Weren’t a lot of btecs replaced by the higher level NVQs? 
loads of kids taking drama and art at our school. Music is tricky I think as you are expected to be at grade 5 standard so it presumes your parents have been able to fund music lessons, which for many is not possible.