Regulating post-16 VTQs at L2 and L3

Purpose

Qualification purpose is as important for Foundation Certificates and Occupational Certificates, as it is for V Levels. The purpose of a qualification sets out what it is for and informs design decisions taken by awarding organisations. Purposes can relate to:

• how the information provided by a qualification result will be used
• what knowledge, understanding and skills a student will gain by taking the qualification
• the role of the qualification in engaging students on their programme of study

Qualifications are usually designed to do each of these things to differing degrees. Well-designed qualifications should have clear purposes that they are designed to meet. One way of ensuring comparable approaches between awarding organisations is for Ofqual to specify general purposes and their relative priority, to help awarding organisations balance any trade-offs needed when designing qualifications. We propose to take this approach for Foundation Certificates and Occupational Certificates.

Foundation Certificates

Proposal

Foundation Certificates, taken as part of a further study pathway, are intended to help students who are not ready to immediately progress to a level 3 qualification to get to that level. It will be important, therefore, that students acquire and can demonstrate the necessary knowledge, understanding and skills so that they are ready to progress to a level 3 qualification in a related area. For many students, it is likely that progression will be to a level 3 qualification in the same school or college and their qualification results are also likely to be considered alongside other activities and achievements undertaken as part of their pathway. For this group of students who may not be able to progress straight to level 3 study, it will also be important Foundation Certificates are designed so that students are engaged with their learning and to want to progress to the next level of study.

We propose to require awarding organisations to design Foundation Certificates to meet the following purposes:

1. To provide Learners with nationally agreed knowledge, understanding and skills in relation to a broad vocational area, to prepare them for level 3 study in a relevant subject area.
2. To provide Learners with the ability to apply knowledge, understanding and skills to practical work-related activities.
3. To motivate Learners to complete the qualification and to progress to further study at level 3.
4. To provide accurate and consistent information concerning Learners’ attainment in relation to the knowledge, understanding and skills assessed as part of the qualification.
5. To provide information about a Learner’s readiness to progress to level 3 study.
6. To provide a basis for schools and colleges to be held accountable for the performance of their Learners.

These purposes must all be met to the greatest extent possible. Where trade-offs are required, the purposes should be prioritised in the order they are set out, with A being the highest priority. Awarding organisations should develop their own qualification-specific purposes for their individual qualifications, based on these general purposes.

Our proposed Condition FC4 and associated requirements are set out in Annex B. We propose to disapply General Conditions E1.1 and E1.2 as a result of this proposal.

Occupational Certificates

Proposal

Occupational Certificates are intended to support students to work towards competence in their given occupation. They are intended to indicate that a student is ready to progress to employment, not that they are fully competent in that occupation. It will be important therefore that the acquisition and demonstration of the skills needed to enter employment is prioritised in assessment design, as well as ensuring the assessment design engages students so they progress into related employment. 

We propose to require awarding organisations to design Occupational Certificates to meet the following purposes:

1. To provide Learners with nationally agreed knowledge, understanding and skills related to progression to a specific occupation, and transferable skills relevant to that overall sector.
2. To provide Learners with the ability to apply knowledge, understanding and skills in relevant practical and occupationally-specific contexts.
3. To motivate Learners to complete the qualification and progress to a specific occupation.  
4. To provide employers with accurate and consistent information concerning Learners’ attainment in relation to the knowledge, understanding and skills assessed as part of the qualification.
5. To provide information about a Learner’s readiness to progress to an apprenticeship or employment.
6. To provide a basis for schools and colleges to be held accountable for the performance of their Learners.

These purposes must all be met to the greatest extent possible. Where trade-offs are required, the purposes should be prioritised in the order they are set out, with A being the highest priority. Awarding organisations should develop their own qualification-specific purposes for their individual qualifications, based on these general purposes.

Our proposed Condition OC4 and associated requirements are set out in Annex C. We propose to disapply General Conditions E1.1 and E1.2 as a result of this proposal.