Unit 34: Working with 14-19 Age Range in Education and Training Report

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Unit 34: Working with the 14-19 Age Range in Education and
Training
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Table of Contents
Discussion and Main Body Analysis.........................................................................................3
Task 1.........................................................................................................................................3
A.................................................................................................................................................3
B.................................................................................................................................................7
2.1 Describe the legal framework and key legislation relating to teachers working with 14-
19 age range...........................................................................................................................7
2.2 Analyse own role and responsibilities of teachers working with the 14-19 age range
with these of points................................................................................................................9
2.3 Evaluate impact on own practice of legislation relating to working with the 14-19 age
range.....................................................................................................................................10
Task 2.......................................................................................................................................11
Task 3.......................................................................................................................................12
Task 4.......................................................................................................................................15
Task 5.......................................................................................................................................16
5.1.........................................................................................................................................16
5.2.........................................................................................................................................17
5.3.........................................................................................................................................17
Conclusion................................................................................................................................18
Reference list............................................................................................................................19
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Discussion and Main Body Analysis
Task 1
Introduction
This part of the study aims to highlight about the different national policies and initiatives
that have been undertaken by the government and other regulatory bodies to improve
conditions of education and training. Along with this, the various frameworks and legislations
related to teachers have been discussed.
A. National policies and initiatives for education of the age range definition & explain.
Analyse the relationship between schools and other providers of learning for the 14-19
Major national policies and initiatives that have been stipulated for the education of the
students age 14-19 are elaborated below:
14-19 education and skills, refers to a government policy that was introduced during 2005,
with the intent to build on the Tomlinson report. The objective of this policy was to tackle the
issue regarding the development of educational platforms so that the young students could
benefit from it. The fundamental aim of the government officials was to develop a platform
so that the needs and aspirations of students could be met as described in the Tomlinson
report. Later, new specialised diplomas were introduced as well as the existing GCSE’s and
A-levels were retained.
Success for All was a reform that was undertaken to further improve the education system of
the country. This included development of solutions for addressing issues regarding the
learning and skills sector, provide more skills to learners, increase standards of learning as
well as make sure that the skills of local employers are met (Hodgson, and Spours, 2015).
Fundamentally the aim of the policy was to improve current learning and skills standard,
develop staff and expand learner choice.
Curriculum 2000 was introduced in order to make reforms in the post-16 study, inspire
students to study various subjects, make the education system wider and flexible and, in
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addition, build simpler combinations of vocational and academic study. Several new
certifications and levels were introduced.
The young apprenticeship programme was developed in 2004, in order to help the young
individuals work towards level 2 qualification as well as engage in an extended period of
work experience in employer organisation.
According to the Wolf Report, the government officials desire to serve the purpose of
development of new opportunities for each young people. This report included information
about the strategy to evaluate the structure and content of apprenticeships so that the right
skills for the workplace are delivered. Along with this, guidelines regarding the study
programmes of young learners on vocational routes were also developed. The primary aim of
this entire effort was to make sure that the young learners gain more number of skills and
thereby, proceed to number of jobs or further learning. Along with this, the report introduced
principles for further education teachers and professionals to teach in schools in order to
make sure that the best-qualified teachers deliver vocational subjects (Irwin, 2018).
Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills (PLTS), is a framework that includes six groups of
skills along with functional skills of English, mathematics and ICT, which has been
highlighted as essential for success in learning, life and work (Dera.ioe.ac.uk, 2019). Each
group mentioned in the framework are distinctive and coherent. This framework was
developed so that learners focus on these skills and learn to apply it.
Currently, there exists a different provision, which has been developed in the United
Kingdom for enhancing education of young learners aged 14-19. In UK, the school
curriculum includes the national curriculum as well as the religious education and sex
education. National curriculum specifically refers to the set of subjects, standards that are
mainly used the primary, and secondary schools so that children aged 14-19 learn about
essential subjects. This makes sure that the children reach a certain level or standard before
progressing to higher education systems. National curriculum is mainly followed in the local-
authority maintained schools, while the others like academics and private schools follow their
own systems, comprising of broad and balanced curriculum, which includes English, maths
and science. National curriculum sets out various programmes of study and attainment of
targets for every subject within four key stages. According to GOV.UK, (2019A), majority of
national curriculum was introduced in September, 2014. It came into force for all age groups
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from September, 2016. National curriculum is organised into different blocks of years, at the
end of each year the teacher assesses the performance of child.
Figure 1: Different stages in National Curriculum
(Source: GOV.UK, 2019A)
National vocational qualifications were introduced to regulate the entire process and
organisations for adoption of necessary standards and catalogues of knowledge and skills.
The provision of this act was laid down primarily to develop the conditions and procedure of
national vocational qualifications. In UK, the national vocational qualifications is provided
by three main types of training provider, which includes, the further education sector
colleges, private training organisations as well as those companies that operate under the in-
house training schemes. The government had set specific targets for introducing the national
vocational qualifications provision. Fundamentally the National Council for vocational
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qualifications was set up by the government in 1986 in order to devise a common framework
for vocational qualifications. The standards of these NVQs are determined by main bodies,
especially the ones that represent employers and few other bodies that have specific interest
in a particular occupation (GOV.UK, 2014). Government has introduced several national
vocational qualifications in different occupational areas, however, every NVQ comprises of
different units of competence covering the entire spectrum of a person’s job. These national
vocational qualifications are mostly available in the further education sector as well as
awarded by the certain companies to their own employees. Most importantly, NVQ is not
dependent upon any mode, duration or location of learning. Students can also claim credit for
competence gained previously, if suitable evidence is presented.
Legal framework and legislations regarding the education for young learners aged 14-19 has
been mentioned below:
Equality Act, 2010
It is an Act that was introduced by the Parliament of the United Kingdom with the similar
goals as the four major EU Equal Treatment Directives. The motive behind the introduction
of this Act was to introduce strict regulations for protecting individuals in the organisation
from all sorts of discrimination (Ross, 2018). This Act is not constrained for employees or
working professionals, rather it spreads and expands to wider society. The Equality Act,
2010, was introduced in order to replace all the previous anti-discrimination laws with a
single law that is easy to implement as well as caters to all sorts of needs and aspects.
Equipping our teachers for the future
Government of UK realises the fact that the post-16 educational sector is highly important for
the economic growth and bringing social justice. Equipping our teachers for the future is a
framework that was introduced with a five year strategy for children and learners to make
sure rapid improvements in the sector (Nagel, and Lenton, 2016). The primary of the
initiative was to build a team of skilled and highly qualified teachers so that every learner
gets the opportunity to gain best knowledge and understanding. For this, government invested
high amount of capital for learning and skills in the sector, essential for delivery of Success
for All.
Education Act, 2011
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The Act was specially introduced in order to cater to the provisions of education, childcare,
apprenticeships and training. Along with this, the Act also includes provision for schools, the
school workforce and institutions that fall under the further education sector and academies.
The motive behind the introduction of this Act was also to abolish the General Teaching
Council for England. It has also introduced provisions for student loans and fees. Few other
provisions included in the Act refer to free of charge early years provision, power of
members of staff at schools to search pupils, power of members of staff at further education
institutions to search students and few more (Middlehurst, 2016).
Every Child/Learner Matters
This refers to the initiative of the government of UK, for England and Wales. The primary
aim behind the launch of this initiative was to make sure that every child, irrespective of his
or her background and circumstances is able to receive support and care they need during
their formative years (Aubrey, and Bell, 2017). Another purpose of this initiative was to
introduce radical reforms in order to develop a society, where every learner or child is able to
receive best opportunities and access to learning and skills.
Conclusion
The major conclusion that can be drawn from the above study is the fact that government of
UK has undertaken several reforms and initiatives in order to provide the best learning
capabilities and opportunities. The post-16 learning is crucial for the growth of economy;
therefore, several legislations and Acts have been introduced to make sure that the children
start learning all the essential skills required by employers.
B. Drawing on your research, write a reflective journal on your own role and
responsibilities in relation to working with the 14–19 age range and evaluate the impact
on your own practice of the legislation relating to working with the 14–19 age range
2.1 Describe the legal framework and key legislation relating to teachers working with
14-19 age range
Government has undertaken various legal framework and key legislations in order to provide
qualified and skilled teachers, with the aim to make sure that young learners aged 14-19 are
able to inculcate skills and talent often required by major employers. From 2015, the
government made it mandatory for full time education and apprenticeship to be compulsory.
According to several studies and research, it has been noticed that lack of essential skills set
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in the number of individuals has been the major reason for unemployment and low wages.
Government realises the importance of framing key legislations in the civilised society,
thereby, considering this fact, several frameworks has been introduced for teachers working
with 14-19 age range, including:
DBS, 2012
Disclosure and barring service, introduced in 2012, intends to help the employers conduct
safe and secure recruitment process every year. According to this, legislation, it has been
made mandatory for the education sector to conduct a criminal record check before recruiting
any new individual into the organisation (GOV.UK, 2019B). This legal framework was
introduced to ensure the safety and security of children and other vulnerable adults, who may
cause harm to them. Therefore, the government has made it mandatory for the intuitions to
get all their employees DBS checked. This involves three kinds of checks:
 Basic check
 Standard check
 Enhanced check
The information collected through each check is different due to different procedures,
thereby, providing complete information about the individual past records.
Ofsted Inspection
The full form of ofsted is Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills.
This objective of this inspection is to regulate services that are essential for children and
young learners as well as necessary for providing services to learners of all ages. This is
considered an effective process of Initial Teaching Education as it ensures and improves the
quality of workforce (GOV.UK, 2019C). The primary objective of professionals conducting
Ofsted Inspection is to accomplish excellence in education and skills for learners of all age
groups. It is an independent body, which provides data and information directly to the
government.
Code of Practice (IFL)
This refers to the code of practice, which includes the professional behaviour and conduct
that that is expected from the members of the society for education and training. Primarily
this refers to the set of rules that has been outlined for a specific situation highlighting how a
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person needs to behave (Set.et-foundation.co.uk, 2019). The entire education sector has to
oblige with the set of rules and codes of practice as well as, meet its requirement in order to
remain a member. Every teacher involved in the teaching practice with young learners aged
14-19 years are also bound to Department for Education Teacher’s Standards.
2.2 Analyse own role and responsibilities of teachers working with the 14-19 age range
with these of points
I realise the fact that each day that I spent with my students is highly important for them, as it
is their formative years, when their entire personality gets shaped and the desire to opt for
higher education in specific interests gets developed, therefore, I have a huge responsibility
over my shoulders. This is an important part of my job and the single most drivers that
motivates me to deliver only the best. While working with the young learners aged 14-19, I
make sure that my job roles and responsibilities comply with the legal requirement as defined
by the industry standards.
The foremost aspect that I keep in mind is to follow the guidelines of organisational policies
and procedures. In order to accomplish this, I make sure that practical learning takes place
inside the classroom, where the students are able to understand and reflect on topics, rather
than memorising. This enhances the process of assessment of learning as well as makes sure
that learning and development is promoted among students of all ages. Along with this, I
make sure that my teaching practices are completely unbiased towards any student. Along
with this, I strictly follow the Equality and Diversity Act, 2010.
Along with this, it is my duty to make sure that I follow all the requirements of educational
sector. This has always been my foremost concern and objective in order to excel and deliver
the best quality of education and knowledge. Along with this, I have always been keen in
interacting and conversing with my peers and subordinates, as it helps me to learn from
everyone and grow as a professional teacher. I like staying motivated every day in order to
keep my mental state positive and balanced. This helps me to focus on self-improvement as
well as visualise every mistake as an opportunity for learning and development. For this, I
make sure that I keep myself encouraged as well as make sure that my peers surrounding me
feel the same as well.
Lastly, during my entire career as a professional teacher for young learners aged 14-19, I
have always focused on finding new opportunities and venues that can help me grow and
build exceptional study skills and functional skills. Functional skills refers to the ability to
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deal with English, maths and ICT, which are vital for young learners, therefore, I focus more
on improving my functional skills than key skills, as it will have more positive impact on
young learners.
2.3 Evaluate impact on own practice of legislation relating to working with the 14-19
age range
Government has always been keen in introducing new legislations and regulations for the
development and enhancement of the entire education sector, which I consider an essential
part for the development of entire nation and economy. I have always been a strong supporter
of the government, as they have developed some strong policies and undertaken measures to
curb issues and problems from all directions and angles. However, changes in the sector and
strict legislations regarding the improvement of service quality and knowledge skills
necessary for existence in the education sector has been a slight concern for me as well as for
all my peer groups.
The foremost impact that I have encountered on my own teaching practice is that the
framework and legal requirements made mandatory by the Parliament of United Kingdom
has pushed the bar the of qualification and recognition in the field of education sector to new
levels. Therefore, I feel somehow pressurised to work upon myself and sharpen my skills in
order to ensure employment opportunity and the status of a qualified teacher. This has been
the major impact, as per my own analysis and findings, and along with this, I feel that it has
been an encouraging aspect for me. These changes and requirements have helped me to
become a better person as a professional teacher and thereby, have lasting impact on the
learning and skill development of young learners. Following the process of legal
requirements and legislations, I have felt that it has offered me great assistance for working
on my personal and professional skills while dealing with young people. Young learners
usually require more attention and effort during their age 14-19; therefore, earlier it used to
be difficult for me to manage every task and activity. However, with the changes in the
industry standards and requirements, I have put in more effort on my practices and worked by
preparing myself beforehand for the class.
Along with the above-mentioned impacts, I have also noticed that these changes and legal
requirements have created huge changes in my teaching practices. While improving my
teaching practices I have tirelessly worked on improving the way I deliver my lectures and
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conduct class. This has helped me to find new and appropriate learning and teaching
strategies, thereby, assisting me to become a better professional.
Task 2
Introduction
In this section of the report, the relationship between schools and other providers of learning
will be analyzed and evaluated in accordance with the 14-19 range. In this report, three
particular topics will be covered such as widening choices, more specialized teaching and
increasing level of challenges and issues.
Main Body Analysis
The relationship or the associative partnership between schools and other providers of
learning or non-school education understand their individual essential role and
responsibilities in the continuous learning and growth for 14-19 age range. These
relationships provide assistance and guidance to various schools in order to deliver structured
curriculum in a miscellaneous manner enabling the students to access a vast range of
education resources.
 Widening choices – It is very much important to understand that how the young teenager
and people for 14-19 age range are paving their own way via complex selection and
choices of qualifications and areas of learning. The choices are widening day by day and
this has been the main subject of the research conducted by National Foundation of
Educational Research. Some of the widening choices are IFP, YAP, SFW and FIAD. The
Increased Flexibility Programme (IFP), 2000 is the specific programme where the
schools and other providers of learning work in collaboration to support and provide the
students with vocational learning opportunities at the age range of 14-19. The Young
Apprenticeship Programme (YAP), 2004 is the programme via which the students of 14-
19 age range work and study towards attaining a Level 2 qualification and accept
comprehensive work knowledge duration in an organization. The Skills for Work (SFW)
programme was specifically customized in order to deliver the young individuals with a
broad range of learning opportunities. These opportunities help the young people to
develop their skills and knowledge in a vocational area (nfer.ac.uk, 2019).
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 Increasing level of challenges – The standards of learning have risen considerably over
the present years at every individual level of the education system. Therefore, the
expectations for higher-level skills in the economy continue to develop increasing the
number of jobs requiring high-level skills. The expenses to individuals, financial system
and culture of educational failure have risen to a greater level. Hence, it important to
reform the assessment of these specific challenges and issues for 14-19 age range. When
it comes to the comparison with other countries regarding standards based on age,
standards by the age of 16 are better, but sustaining on rates after 16 years of age tend to
be poor. The major gap lies in the accomplishment of vocational qualifications and the
employers are having major concern regarding the basic skills of the school leavers
progressing directly towards employment. The confusing range of qualifications and the
curriculum mainly contributes to the challenges and issues. The present education system
via which the students in the 15-19 age range take all their qualifications is basically not
well structured and organized in accordance with the different talents and aptitudes of the
young individuals (dera.ioe.ac.uk, 2019).
 More specialized teaching – There is an immediate requirement for more specialized
teaching techniques for students in 14-19 age range as these specialized teaching
techniques will enable the young learners to think flexibly in life and explore more
opportunities for success. Teaching specialization based on comparative benefits and
advantages is termed as a well-defined technique and method in order to boost the
productivity in various industries, but its influence on enhancing the potential of the
teacher and student learning in terms of education tends to be unclear. However,
according to NEFR, the students in schools where specialized teaching was adopted did
not perform well up to the expectations compared to the students in traditional schools.
Teaching specialization reduced the attendance percentage of the students in the 14-19
age range and increased the probability of student suspension in regards to poor skills and
behaviour. The benefits and advantages associated with teaching specialization were
unable to dominate the costs of their abridged familiarity with every individual student
(educationnext.org, 2018).
Conclusion
In this report, three topics associated with the learning for the 14-19 age range were
researched and analyzed such as developing choices, specialized teaching and increasing
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