At Perspective we are proud to have worked with many professionals across the country over the past five years, helping to support partnerships of Schools, Colleges and Work Based Learning Providers in the delivery of vocational qualifications.

In her report published in March of this year, Alison Wolf recognised that high-quality vocational qualifications can offer a valued and legitimate path to both higher education and employment. However, her review also identified a variation in quality both of delivery and choice, and rightly suggested that only rigorous vocational qualifications which add real value to young people’s education should be recognised in school league tables going forward.

It could be argued that our view is biased; in that any Local Authority or Partnership delivering courses on a collaborative basis that adopts a system for monitoring the quality of delivery are, by definition, concerned with providing a first class programme for all their Learners.

But with an average of over 50 Local Authorities using our products during 2010 we do have a somewhat unique view of the delivery of Vocational Qualifications across the country. And from closely working with our clients I have observed that there are some stand-out features that epitomise high quality programmes, and these include the following:

• Learners have received advice and guidance appropriate to them as individuals. Even as parents we all recognise that each child learns differently to the other and each has their strengths and weaknesses. Consequently their option choices as key stage 4 will differ and should reflect their individual aspirations and needs in preparing them for the next stage of their progress into the labour market.
• Courses are delivered at appropriate locations, with the availability of adequate resources and expert tuition being the key aspect. Some schools have the resources to offer vocationally based courses within their gates, but many do not and consequently, without working closely with local Colleges and other providers, cannot provide as wide a range of options without compromise being reached on the quality of delivery.
• Learners are engaged with their teachers and their subject areas. In some respects this follows on from good advice and guidance, as a “square peg” in a “square hole” will generally be more comfortable and respond accordingly. The Wolf Report does not dwell on “Learner Engagement” but this is most important aspect for learners to gain the most from their education and Vocationally Based courses run at FE Colleges or Specialist Providers have played a major role in achieving this in many areas of the country for a number of years.

The Wolf Report is right to emphasise the need for more high quality apprenticeships at post-16, and in many parts of the country we have found excellent Young Apprenticeship schemes that acted as highly effective pathways for many learners. It is a matter of some regret that many of these schemes will not be available in the future, for, as The Report recognises, there is a lot of high-quality vocational provision occurring at Key Stage 4 and recommends that these examples should be highlighted and built upon for the future.

However, this ideal has been thrown into some doubt as funding cuts have lead to the loss of some highly effective individuals across Local Authorities and general uncertainty within Schools. It is to be hoped that the Government response, and the final outcomes from the Wolf Report, will highlight the continued growth of positive collaboration between schools, FE Colleges and specialist providers as a very effective means of delivering the high quality programmes needed for the future of individual Learners and the UK work force as a whole.