16-19 Level 1 English and Maths Qualifications - Government consultation

Executive Summary

This consultation seeks views on planned new level 1 English and maths qualifications for 16- to 19-year-olds with prior GCSE attainment at grade 2 or below.

The Southampton Education School has a rich history of rigorous research on mathematics education. Some of this work is relevant for this consultation, for example their work with post-16 colleges and mathematics textbooks for GCSE resits, based on the School’s seminal work of the School Mathematics Project (from the 60s to now). Based on this work and related research, they provide the following recommendations to the consultation:

• Cohort: this qualification could be particularly beneficial for those who need to evidence a particular level of (mathematics) proficiency for their career path.
• Qualification Structure: We recommend a modular structure with the condition there is some flexibility of topics, and prior knowledge is tested and reinforced when needed.
• Context: Content should be organised in ways that are compatible with future GCSE subject content requirements, focus on the ‘what’ not the ‘how’ and be supported with low-cost, rigorous custom textbooks.
• Qualification Achievement and Grading: We recommend that the Level 1 qualification is defined as a subset of Level 2 content, graded with a consistent pass at grade 4 and designed with clear vocational pathways.
• Equalities Impact: We recommend that in designing the qualification the DfE also thinks about support in areas of gender and disability through the provision of appropriate resources and tools for learners.

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