OVERVIEW TIMELINE OF KEY EDUCATION REFORMS (Click here to go the DfE mandatory timeline) CURRICULUM TIMELINE Academic Year 2013-14 academic year September 2013 2014-15 academic year July 2014 September 2014 National Curriculum Disapplication of KS3 & KS4 current national curriculum Further info: New national curriculum framework with schools for planning purposes 2015-16 academic year 2016-17 academic year July 2015 September 2015 First teaching of the majority of the new national curriculum July 2016 September 2016 New national curriculum for English, 2017-18 academic year July 2017 September 2017 July 2018 National Curriculum mathematics and science at KS4 to be phased in Further info: DfE GCSEs Further info: Ofqual DfE DfE First teaching of the (current) revised GCSE specifications for English literature and history (reflecting changes required by Ofqual) Announcement that a student’s first grade for a subject will count towards school performance tables (with immediate effect) Specifications for new GCSEs in English language, English literature and maths with schools for planning purposes Further info: DfE Ofqual 16-19 study programmes First teaching of 16-19 study programmes Further info: DfE Students required to study English and maths towards GCSE A* to C if they did not achieve it at the end of Year 11 Teaching of English and maths qualifications to students who have not achieved GCSE grade C becomes a condition of 16-19 funding First teaching of the new, standalone AS qualification and linear A levels in the first group of subjects First exams for AS as a linear, standalone qualification in the first group of subjects Further info: DfE September 2013 July 2014 September 2014 2013-14 academic year First exams for new GCSEs in English language, English literature and maths First exams for new GCSEs in other subjects including physics, chemistry, biology, combined science (double award), history and geography GCSEs First exams for linear A levels in the first group of subjects First exams for linear A levels in the second group of subjects A levels First exams for standalone, linear AS qualification in the second group of subjects Further info: Ofqual DfE Further info: DfE Ofqual 16-19 study programmes Further info: DfE First teaching of redeveloped, high-value vocational level 3 qualifications that meet pre-defined characteristics (and reported in the 2018 performance tables) 16-19 vocational qualifications Further info: DfE July 2015 September 2015 2014-15 academic year First teaching of the new, standalone AS qualification and linear A levels in a second group of subjects New high-quality ‘core maths’ qualifications will be introduced for students who have passed GCSE and want to continue to improve the mathematics skills they need for further education and work but don’t want to take full AS or A level Level 3 vocational qualifications taught from this September (and reported in the 2016 performance tables) will be categorised as either applied general or technical level qualifications 16-19 vocational qualifications First teaching of other new GCSEs Ofqual will consult in the new year on the principles for allowing subjects to be included as GCSEs. 16-19 funding student-led rather than qualification-led November 2013 First teaching of new GCSEs in English language, English literature and maths The content for the remaining GCSEs will be published in the spring Specifications for the new AS and A levels in the first group of subjects with schools for planning purposes A levels Academic Year Academic Year July 2016 September 2016 2015-16 academic year July 2017 September 2017 2016-17 academic year July 2018 2017-18 academic year Academic Year 1 CURRICULUM HEADLINES CURRICULUM HEADLINES National Curriculum Further info: DfE GCSEs There will be no national roll-out of training packages – schools will be expected to prioritise the use of their INSET days to help staff prepare. Funding will be available for teaching schools to help other schools in their alliances. Publishers and other providers are already producing new materials, and a number are organising events around the country. The National College for Teaching and Leadership has produced an online tool for schools, while a number of government-funded programmes are available in specific subjects. Following a recent consultation, Ofqual has confirmed some of the key features of new GCSEs in English literature, English language and maths to be introduced in England for first teaching from September 2015 Further info: Ofqual DfE There will be a new 1-9 grading scale, with 9 being the top level. Students will get a U where performance is below the minimum required to pass the GCSE. o At the moment, no comparison can be made between the old grades and the new. Ofqual will be publishing proposals in December about where and how standards should be set. Tiering will be used only for subjects where a lack of it would cause problems at either end of the ability range. Where tiering is used, the model will be decided on a subject-by-subject basis. The GCSEs will be fully linear: content will not be divided into modules, and all assessment will be at the end. Exams will be the default method of assessment, except where they cannot assess the skills with validity. o Ofqual will announce decisions on non-exam assessment on a subject-by-subject basis. o Exams will only be held in the summer, apart from English language and maths, where there will also be exams in November for students who were at least 16 on the preceding 31st August. Ofqual is considering whether November exams should be available in other subjects for students of this age. Ofqual will consult in the new year on the principles for allowing subjects to be included as GCSEs. The aim will not be to stop established subjects, but rather to make sure everyone is clear about what a GCSE is and is not. New GCSEs in other subjects will be introduced from 2016. Education Secretary Michael Gove has published the outcome of a consultation on subject content for the new GCSEs in English literature, English language and maths The maths GCSE will provide greater coverage of key areas such as ratio, proportion and rates of change, and require students to apply their knowledge and reasoning to provide clear mathematical arguments. o The English language GCSE will ensure that students can read fluently and write effectively, and will have 20% of the marks awarded for accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar. o A levels Further info: DfE Ofqual 16-19 study programmes Further info: DfE November 2013 It will encourage the study of literature for those who do not take the English literature GCSE. The English literature GCSE will involve students studying a range of whole texts in detail including Shakespeare, 19th-century novels, Romantic poetry and other high-quality fiction and drama. The content for the remaining GCSEs will be published in spring 2014. The DfE has published a consultation on proposals for A level subject content being made by awarding organisations, following a review by Professor Mark Smith. The closing date is 20 December The review concluded that, of the 15 A levels originally considered, only maths could not be revised in time for first teaching in 2015. The subjects covered by the consultation are: art & design; biology; business studies; chemistry; computing; economics; English language; English literature; English language and literature; geography; history; physics; psychology; and sociology. Ofqual has published a consultation on proposals to improve the way the same 14 A level qualifications are assessed in England. The closing date is 17 January Subject-by-subject arrangements are designed to create a better balance between exams and coursework. A levels will only include non-exam assessment where it is necessary in order to assess the required skills. o It will be designed to be manageable for schools while providing valid assessment. o Where it is used, the percentage of marks allocated to it will be fixed. The proposals include details of the new AS qualification. Although stand alone, awarding organisations will be able to design the AS so that it can be taught alongside the first year of an A level course. From September 2013, new 16-19 study programmes will be introduced, supported by changes to post-16 funding. All students in full or part-time education aged 16 to 19 will be expected to follow a study programme tailored to their individual needs, education and employment goals, including students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. The English and mathematics requirement of study programmes means that students who have not achieved an A*-C GCSE in these subjects by age 16 will continue to study towards achieving them as a part of their 16-19 study programmes. This requirement will be enforced by making the study of English and mathematics a condition of the student place being funded from September 2014. 16-19 vocational qualifications Further info: DfE It will be more demanding and will probably require more teaching time than the current 116 hours a year. Following consultation, three separate categories of 16-19 Level 3 qualifications are to be made available: ‘Tech-Levels’, suitable for a particular employment sector (and, from 2016, involving local employers in their delivery); Applied General, providing progression into employment, an apprenticeship or HE; Academic. In future, to be included in performance tables, vocational qualifications will need to comply with requirements on purpose, size, recognition by higher education institutions and employers, assessment, progression and track record. In November 2013 the DfE will publish a list of vocational qualifications that meet new interim requirements and which will be taught from September 2014. They will be reported in the 2016 tables. Awarding organisations will have until September 2015 to develop qualifications that meet the full requirements, which will be taught from 2016 and reported from 2018. During the autumn term criteria for new ‘core’ maths qualifications will be published, to form part of a Technical Baccalaureate measure that will be introduced for teaching from September 2014. 2 OVERVIEW TIMELINE OF KEY EDUCATION REFORMS (Click here to go the DfE mandatory timeline) ACCOUNTABILITY TIMELINE Academic Year 2013-14 academic year September 2013 (30 November) KS4 accountability Publication of the Further information: Gov.UK DfE DfE 14-16 qualifications list of qualifications that will be included in the 2016 KS4 performance tables 2014-15 academic year July 2014 September 2014 A maximum of 2 approved vocational qualifications count in KS4 performance tables A student’s first grade for a subject will count towards school performance tables (November) Publication of the list of qualifications that will be included in the 2017 KS4 performance tables July 2015 September 2015 50% floor standard for 5 A*-C incl E&M Opportunity for schools to opt-in to new accountability measures (Progress 8, etc.) one year early Consultation on changes to the existing KS5 accountability accountability arrangements for (November) Publication of list of high value vocational qualifications that will be reported in 2017 performance tables Further information: Gov.UK DfE Tech Bacc Technical Baccalaureate performance measure introduced alongside the teaching of qualifications Academic Year providers of 16 to 19 education and training in England. (30 November) Publication of list of high value vocational qualifications that will be reported in 2016 performance tables September 2013 July 2014 September 2014 2013-14 academic year 2015-16 academic year 2014-15 academic year July 2016 September 2016 (November) Publication of the list of qualifications that will be included in the 2018 KS4 performance tables KS4 performance tables to reflect new accountability measures (Progress 8, etc.) (November) Publication of list of high value vocational qualifications that will be reported in 2018 performance tables Technical Baccalaureate performance measure reported in performance tables July 2015 September 2015 2016-17 academic year 2017-18 academic year July 2017 September 2017 Academic Year July 2018 KS4 accountability Further information: Gov.UK DfE DfE 14-16 qualifications (To be confirmed) KS5 performance tables to reflect new accountability measures for Level 2 and Level 3 (Top line measures, etc) July 2016 September 2016 2015-16 academic year KS5 accountability Further information: Gov.UK DfE Tech Bacc July 2017 September 2017 2016-17 academic year July 2018 2017-18 academic year Academic Year OTHER Academic Year 2013-14 academic year September 2013 July 2014 September 2014 Raising the Participation Age (RPA) Current year 12 students required to participate until the end of the academic year in which they turn 17 Further information: DfE Current year 11 students required to participate until their 18th birthday Careers Guidance Duty to secure independent careers guidance extended to include Years 8 to 13 pupils in schools and 16- to 18-yearsolds in FE settings Further information: DfE Academic Year November 2013 2014-15 academic year 2015-16 academic year July 2015 September 2015 2016-17 academic year July 2016 September 2016 Young people participating until their 18 birthday 2017-18 academic year July 2017 September 2017 July 2018 th Raising the Participation Age (RPA) Further information: DfE All education and training institutions required to promote the good attendance of 16-year-olds. Careers Guidance Further information: (Autumn) Publication of revised statutory guidance for schools and colleges September 2013 DfE July 2014 September 2014 2013-14 academic year Academic Year July 2015 September 2015 2014-15 academic year July 2016 September 2016 2015-16 academic year July 2017 September 2017 2016-17 academic year July 2018 2017-18 academic year Academic Year 3 ACCOUNTABILITY HEADLINES ACCOUNTABILITY HEADLINES KEY STAGE 4 We will require schools to publish a range of important information on their website so that parents can easily see how well each school is performing. The indicators are: Progress across a suite of 8 subjects This will show whether pupils have performed better than expected at the end of Key stage 4 considering their starting point. Key stage 2 results will be used to predict each pupil’s likely grades across 8 subjects at the end of Key stage 4. The predicted results are calculated using the actual performance of other pupils with the same prior attainment. For example, pupils with a point score of 29 on their Key stage 2 tests achieve, on average, 8 C grades at GCSE. If a pupil with this level of prior attainment achieves 8 B grades in a GCSE then she has made an average of one grade more progress than expected. The average of all pupils’ progress scores across 8 subjects will create a school’s result. Attainment across 8 subjects This will show the school’s average grade across the same suite of 8 subjects as the progress measure. This will show achievement across a broad curriculum in a clear way. This will show, for example, that pupils in a particular school typically average a high B grade or a low D grade in their GCSEs. We are calling this measure ‘Attainment 8’. The percentage of pupils achieving a C grade or better in English and maths This shows whether pupils achieve a good level in the most important subjects. The EBacc This will continue to show the percentage of pupils who achieve good grades in a range of academic subjects. We would also like to include a destination measure as a fifth headline indicator. This will show the percentage of pupils who went on to sustained education, employment or training during the year after they finished their Key stage 4 qualifications. We currently publish experimental statistics to show this information. We want to be sure the statistics are robust before committing to using this destination measure as a headline indicator. We will require schools to make these headline indicators available in a standard format so they are easy to interpret. So that parents can make comparisons between schools, we would like to show each school’s position in the country on these measures and present these results in a manner that is clear for all audiences to understand. We will discuss how best to do so with stakeholders, to ensure the presentation of the data is clear, fair and statistically robust. Two of these indicators of school performance – Progress 8 and Attainment 8 – are based on pupils’ performance across 8 subjects. These subjects are: a double weighted English element (the English Language qualification will count for this element, but will only be double weighted if the pupil has also taken English Literature); a double weighted maths element; three slots reserved for other EBacc subjects (sciences, computer science, geography, history and languages); three slots that can be taken up by further qualifications from the range of EBacc subjects, or any other high value arts, academic, or vocational qualification. The DfE will produce a list of approved, high value vocational qualifications every year. English Literature will count in this group of subjects. KEY STAGE 5 1. The DfE is consulting on proposed changes to the accountability arrangements for providers of 16-19 education and training in England, including performance tables and minimum standards for provision both at level 2 (for the first time for 16-19 providers) and at level 3. 2. The changes are intended to help parents, students and inspectors to understand the quality of provision through a combination of: top line data giving a snapshot of a provider’s overall performance, and additional data on specific areas of the provider’s performance (eg. particular types of course or particular students). 3. Level 2 – proposed 5 top line performance measures: a combined completion and attainment measure comparing a provider's attainment in each subject to the national average performance in that subject with non-completion shown as a failure; absolute attainment measures showing the average level of attainment of students at level 2; proportions studying substantial vocational qualifications showing the percentages of students studying these high quality qualifications; destination measures showing where students have gone after leaving an institution; and completion measures showing how many students who start a course are retained until the end of the course. 4. Level 3 – proposed 5 top line performance measures: a progress measure showing the progress of similar students nationally who, according to their results at the end of Key Stage 4, were of the same level of ability; a combined attainment and completion measure comparing a provider's attainment in each subject to the national average performance in that subject with non-completion shown as a failure; absolute attainment measures showing the average level of attainment at level 3; destination measures showing where students have gone after leaving an institution; and completion measures showing how many students who start a course are retained until the end of the course. We will continue to set minimum requirements for schools. If a school’s performance falls below this minimum standard, then the school will come under scrutiny through inspection. In some cases intervention may be required, and could result in the school becoming a sponsored academy. The minimum requirement will be set on the Progress 8 measure. This measure will be used because it takes into account each school’s intake, and so is the fairest way to identify an underperforming school. It rightly focuses attention on schools which are contributing least to the development of their pupils. November 2013 4 OFQUAL’S REFORM TIMETABLE (cut and pasted from the Ofqual website) Date Current GCSEs New GCSEs A levels Academic year 2012/13 Final summer exams of unitised (modular) GCSEs. Marks awarded for spelling, punctuation and grammar June 2013 in English literature, history, geography and religious studies exams. Consultation on reformed GCSEs July 2013 Consultation on reformed GCSEs August 2013 Results for final, unitised (modular) GCSEs. First results for the new biology, chemistry, physics and additional science GCSEs. Consultation on reformed GCSEs Academic year 2013/14 September First teaching of the new specifications for history and English literature. 2013 Consultation on new A level requirements (ends 17 January 2014) October 2013 Final re-sits for unitised (modular) GCSEs in maths, November English and English language. All students must ‘cash 2013 in’ results for certificates. Publication of the design details of new GCSEs. Technical consultation on the implementation of GCSE reforms. Consultation on new A level requirements. December 2013 January 2014 Consultation on new A level requirements. No exams. No exams. Results for final re-sits for unitised (modular) GCSEs in maths, English and English language. Consultation on new A level requirements ends. March 2014 No exams. All exams & assessments for GCSEs in this series. New GCSE geography exams. All students must ‘cash in’ June 2014 results for certificates. August 2014 First results for linear GCSEs (where the exam is at the end of the course) including the new geography GCSE. Academic year 2014/15 Specifications for new GCSEs in English Specifications for the new AS and A language, English literature and maths with levels in the first group of subjects with schools from September 2014 onwards. schools from September 2014 onwards. September 2014 Resit exams for linear maths, English and English November language only. All students must ‘cash in’ results for 2014 certificates. January 2015 Results for November’s re-sits in linear maths, English and English language. June 2015 First new history and English literature exams. August 2015 First results from new history and English literature GCSEs. Academic year 2015/16 First teaching of new GCSEs in English language, English literature and maths. September 2015 June 2016 August 2016 Final exams for current GCSEs in English, English language, English literature, maths. Final results for the above GCSEs. First teaching of the new, standalone AS qualification and linear A levels in the first group of subjects. Last exams for unitised (modular) AS and A levels in the first group of subjects. First exams for AS as a linear, standalone qualification in the first group of subjects. Last results for unitised (modular) AS and A levels in the first group of subjects. First results for linear, standalone AS in the first group of subjects. 5 OFQUAL’S REFORM TIMETABLE (cut and pasted from the Ofqual website) Academic year 2016/17 September 2016 First teaching of other new GCSEs. Teaching of linear AS and A levels in a second group of subjects. November Last chance to re-sit maths, English and English language exams. 2016 Final exams for many current GCSEs including May/June biology, chemistry, physics, science, additional science, additional applied science, history and 2017 geography. First exams for new GCSEs in English language, English literature and maths. First exams for new A levels in the first group of subjects. First exams for standalone, linear AS qualification in the second group of subjects. First results for new A levels in the first group of subjects. August 2017 First results for new GCSEs in English language, English literature and maths. First results for standalone, linear AS levels in the second group of qualifications. Last results for unitised (modular) AS and A levels in the second group of subjects Academic year 2017/18 November 2017 Opportunity to take new GCSEs in English language and maths (for students who were 16 or over on 31st August 2017).1 May/June 2018 First exams of new GCSEs in other subjects including physics, chemistry, biology, combined science (double award), history and geography. First exams for linear A levels in the second group of subjects. August 2018 First results of new GCSEs in other subjects including physics, chemistry, biology, combined science (double award), history and geography. First results for linear A levels in the second group of subjects. November 2018 1 Opportunity to take new GCSEs in English language and maths (for students who were 16 or over on 31st August 2018). We are still considering whether November exams should be available in other subjects for students of this age. 6