Tomlinson review

The Working Group on 14-19 Reform was set up in March 2003 following the publication of the DfES Green Paper Opportunity and Excellence. An independent committee chaired by Sir Mike Tomlinson, it was tasked with examining ways of improving the educational offer for 14-19 year olds, focusing on the following areas:

• Raising participation and achievement;
• Getting the basics right - ensuring that all young people are competent in functional maths, literacy and communications and ICT;
• Improving the quality and status of vocational programmes;
• Providing greater stretch and challenge, and ensuring opportunities for breadth and depth of learning;
• Ensuring that assessment arrangements were appropriate for the type of course and style of learning, so that the overall amount of assessment was manageable;
• Ensuring that all programmes of study are coherent and well understood by all users.

In order to address these concerns, the Working Group proposed a system of diplomas to replace the existing regime of individual qualifications. The diplomas would be available at four levels (entry, foundation, intermediate and advanced), and in 20 lines of learning covering a wide range of vocational and academic disciplines. All diplomas would contain a generic core and main learning. The core would consist of specified levels of achievement in functional maths, communication and literacy and ICT, an extended project (a personal project offering students the opportunity to follow their own interests and work more independently), an entitlement to wider activities, plus the development of a range of common knowledge, skills and attributes that would equip the student for future work or study. The main learning would develop knowledge and skills in the specific line of learning, and consist of components based on existing qualifications. Components would be assessed using the most appropriate method, with teacher-led assessment the predominant form for assessments at entry, foundation and intermediate levels. Outcomes would be graded, and presented on a transcript.

These proposals were presented to the Secretary of State in October 2004, and were well received by many in education. However, in the White Paper that followed (14-19 Education and Skills - February 2005) the government was considered to have backed away from some of the more radical elements.