Regulating post-16 VTQs at L2 and L3

Overview

Foreword by Sir Ian Bauckham CBE, Chief Regulator, Ofqual  

The introduction of V Levels marks a significant moment for vocational education for young people in England. The vocational landscape at level 3 has long lacked the consistency and clarity that is so important to the success of general qualifications like A Levels. 

V Levels will change that. Bringing nationally-set content and a common grading scale to a distinctly vocational qualification will allow students, employers, universities and colleges to understand and trust what these qualifications represent. 

Supporting this new qualification, Foundation Certificates and Occupational Certificates will give more options for students at level 2 as they think about further study or employment through a vocational route.  

Together, these reforms will reshape the landscape of opportunities for young people making their post-16 choices. 

To be successful, these new qualifications will need to meet the levels of trust the public currently place in enduring assessments such as A Levels and GCSEs. Their success lies in the confidence and understanding the public has in their quality and what they signify. Building that same confidence in V Levels and the new level 2 qualifications is not incidental to reform; it is the foundation on which reform succeeds. That is Ofqual's responsibility, and we take it seriously. 

This consultation sets out our proposals for how awarding organisations will be regulated to deliver these qualifications, our expectations of them, and the rules by which we will hold them to account. We are publishing it alongside the Department for Education's consultation on national subject content, because content and the way it is assessed must be designed together to secure qualifications that are coherent and trusted. 

Your response to this consultation matters. The quality of the framework for these new qualifications depends on the expertise and experience of those who will deliver and use them. Please take the time to read the proposals and give us feedback from your perspective or that of your organisation. This is your opportunity to contribute to shaping a system that will redraw the landscape of vocational education and give students the qualifications they need and deserve to prepare them for the future of work and education.

Why your views matter

This consultation is open to anyone who may wish to make representation but may be of most interest to:

• awarding organisations who intend in future to offer, V Levels, Foundation Certificates and Occupational Certificates, and their representative bodies
• schools, colleges, students, and their representative bodies
• further and higher education institutions and their representative bodies
• employers and their representative bodies
• awarding organisations who offer, or intend in future to offer, Technical Qualifications within T Levels.