10 October 2008
MPs warned this week that the roll-out of new diplomas risked complicating an already confusing array of qualifications for 14- and 16-year-olds.
The Public Accounts Committee said insufficient progress had been made by the Department for Children, Schools and Families and its partners to make parents and pupils aware of the diplomas as a 'credible alternative' to existing qualifications.
The 14 new diplomas, set to be on offer to all pupils by 2013 at a cost of £590m, are being delivered through consortiums of local authorities, schools and colleges. The report said that 45% of the consortiums had not enlisted the support of local businesses to establish work-experience programmes, a key component of the diplomas.
PAC chair Edward Leigh said: 'The new diplomas could further complicate the already complex choice of qualifications. Young people must make the right educational choices, and that means that they and their parents require clear and complete information on what's available. They will also want to be convinced that higher education institutions and employers accept the diplomas as credible qualifications.'
Schools minister Jim Knight said: 'We recognise there is more work to be done to provide students with the quality and flexibility of learning that employers and universities want.'
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