14-19 Education in Hampshire

What is the 14-19 Agenda?

This the term used to describe the national drive to engage all young people in learning through varied and flexible routes through school and into post-16 education and training.

In March 2003, a Working Group on 14-19 Reform was established under the chairmanship of Mike Tomlinson in response to the February 2002 Green Paper, '14-19: extending opportunities, raising standards PDF' - also known as '14-19: Opportunity and Excellence PDF'. The Working Group set out to consider long-term development of the framework for 14-19 learning programmes and qualifications. The terms of reference identified three strands for the group's work:

  • coherent 14-19 learning programmes;
  • 14-19 assessment arrangements; and
  • a unified framework of qualifications.

In an interim report published in February 2004, the Working Group proposed a 14-19 phase of learning organised around diplomas at the first four levels of the National Qualifications Framework, and that all 14-19 programmes and diplomas should comprise:

  • A prescribed core of generic skills, knowledge and experience common to all programmes and diplomas at a given level.
  • Main learning comprised of specific subjects or areas of learning mainly chosen by the learner to suit their personal aptitudes, preferences and ambitions.

In February 2005, in response to the final report, Ruth Kelly, the then Secretary of State for Education and Skills, presented a paper to Parliament entitled '14-19 Education and Skills'. This is known as the 14-19 White Paper PDF. It sets out reform proposals by the DfES (Department for Education and Skills) with the aim to:

"Transform secondary and post-secondary education so that all young people achieve and continue in learning until at least the age of 18".

Another White Paper was published on 25 October 2005. 'Higher Standards, Better Schools for All PDF'. This laid out the government plans to:

"...radically improve the system; putting parents and the needs of their children at the heart of our schools, freeing up schools to innovate and succeed, and bringing in new dynamism and new providers"

What does this mean and how will this be delivered?

The 14-19 Education and Skills Implementation Plan PDF, also published by the DfES in 2005, sets out how the reforms to qualifications and curriculum will be implemented:

"The centrepiece of our programme of reform is the creation of a new national curriculum and qualifications entitlement. Every young person will be expected to master the basics. Every young person will receive a sufficiently broad education to be able to progress further in learning and into employment. But there will be a choice of routes to achieving this - young people from the age of 14 onwards will be able to choose between pursuing general qualifications, including a new 'General Diploma', to be awarded to those young people achieving the equivalent of 5 A*-C grade GCSEs including English and maths, and new, employer-designed 'specialised Diplomas' - which will develop young people's general knowledge, understanding and skills through a mixture of general and applied education."

What is happening in Hampshire with this?

A joint strategy document was produced following this by Hampshire County Council as the Local Education Authority and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Learning and Skills Council with the support of a stakeholder group which included representatives from schools, colleges, training providers, Connexions and the learning partnership. This was accompanied by an action plan and led to the appointment of a 14-19 Partnerships Inspector/Adviser and the further development of 9 consortia of schools, colleges and Work Based Learning Providers in Hampshire. The Strategy is currently being updated to reflect progress towards 14-19 implementation.

A Strategy for developing 14-19 education and training as a single phase PDF (Adobe Acrobat Document, 1.03 GB)