Diploma schools 'sought-after'

The government sees Diplomas as the "qualification of choice"

Schools and colleges which teach the new Diplomas will become the most desirable, an education minister says.

Jim Knight told the Association of Colleges annual conference that Diplomas mixed the best of practical and theoretical learning.

A "false and unproductive distinction" was usually made in England between "vocational" and "academic", he said.

Yet doctors and architects were esteemed for their practical knowledge as well as their learning.

The Schools Minister told the further education (FE) college representatives: "With the support of universities, employers and colleges, diplomas could become the qualification of choice over the next decade.

"The places that teach them will in turn become the secondary education institutions of choice, whether that's schools, sixth form colleges or your colleges."

From next year a limited number of centres will begin teaching the first five diplomas in construction, engineering, IT, health and creative and media to 40,000 students.

By 2013 there should be a universal entitlement to 17 diplomas, now including the academic disciplines of science, languages and humanities.

'Positive'

Mr Knight said more than 60 FE colleges were already committed to delivering Diplomas, and he urged more to do so.

The nature of many of the courses means they have to be delivered by partnerships of schools, colleges and employers.

And a report from the National Foundation for Educational Research has said that having children aged 14 to 16 attend FE colleges has a positive impact on their learning and behaviour and on the wider community.

Researchers visited five FE colleges in different areas of England with substantial experience of providing such courses.

They interviewed youngsters, older learners, lecturers with and without experience of teaching 14 to 16-year-olds, heads of faculty and curriculum managers.

"Staff in all five colleges commented on the positive impact of young people attending college between 14 and 16 years old on progression post-16," the report said.

"Additional benefits included young people making a more informed choice with regard to their choice of pre-16 courses, better preparation for post-16 courses and greater awareness of future career paths."

Benefits and concerns

Most commented on the wider benefits, it said.

These were due partly to better communication and collaboration with schools "but also because there was a widely held view that attending college had improved the behaviour of many young people who were not progressing well at school".

"Some staff also felt that including 14 to 16-year-olds in college had benefited the local community as it encouraged young people to develop self-worth, and this impacted more widely on society."

Nevertheless it was reported that some lecturers would still rather not teach this younger age group.

"One 14 to 16-year-old student observed that 'some lecturers did not want to teach some young people because they were badly behaved' - and that if he was a lecturer he would refuse to teach some of his peers."

The researchers suggested that college managers might need to consider how to maintain behaviour and discipline in a more school-like way.

But they also needed to preserve the college ethos which younger learners enjoyed, such as addressing lecturers by their first names.

But there were also health and safety concerns.

"For example, although all staff are checked by the Criminal Records Bureau, older students are not and supervision of all 14 to 16-year-olds in break times proved to be challenging.

"It is hard for colleges to mitigate all risks and issues such as this must remain an ongoing consideration."