

	Case studies home
	Using alternatives to GNVQs home

	The Castle School
	Davison Church of England High School
	Uplands Community Technology College
	Yale College

	Print this page

Yale College


		11-16 schools

		6th form schools

		Colleges

Introduction

Yale is a tertiary college in Wrexham with over 3,000 full-time students and 10,000 part-time students during any 12-month period. It provides education and training for most 16-19-year-olds in the area, as well as adult training and courses to meet the needs of all members of the community.

The college has experience of delivering vocational education from Certificate of Pre-vocational Education days in 1987 and has offered GNVQs since September 1993. Yale currently delivers foundation and intermediate GNVQs in seven vocational areas, and eight vocational A levels. A subsidiary of the college, Yale Training, has links with over 800 Welsh businesses across all occupational sectors.

Key challenges

Yale’s strategic priorities include improving retention and attainment rates. Where retention has been a concern, students have been encouraged to take GNVQ courses instead of full-time GCSE packages, which led to an increase in GNVQ numbers in 2003/4. In identifying alternative provision, Yale is not necessarily looking for a single suite of qualifications to replace all GNVQs and is actively considering a range of options. In line with government recommendations, Yale is keen to ‘strengthen provision and progress through the vocational pathway’ through its choice of alternative provision.

Staff at Yale are disappointed to see the phasing out of GNVQs, especially at foundation level. Current foundation courses cater for a wide range of needs by providing a total learning experience through special learning support and a very friendly learning environment. These vocationally-focused programmes have also been successful in re-engaging disaffected learners. In considering alternative provision, staff needed to find replacements to sit at the core of this all-round experience.

Foundation programmes need to be clearly different from GCSEs. Currently, Yale staff do not believe the available alternative provision caters for the same needs as GNVQ. They are concerned that, for example, GCSEs in vocational subjects cover only 50 per cent of the content of GNVQ and do not offer progression from level 1 to level 2 in the same way.

Staff have been concerned about poor access to information about the full range of alternative provision, and the relative slowness of awarding bodies in providing suites of qualifications that will offer a full-time programme and a viable progression route for Yale’s students. More recently, this seems to have been improving.

Progress

Because of the popularity and success of its GNVQ courses, Yale intended to retain them until their final withdrawal date. However, the publication of the arrangements for phased GNVQ withdrawal and other planned changes in the qualifications system, such as revisions to vocational A levels are affecting Yale’s plans.

The college has put a formal planning process in place for 2004 to begin to prepare for, among other things, the phasing out of GNVQ. The college has an established procedure for introducing new courses, which involves an internal approval process as well as quality considerations such as:

identifying necessary resources and course teams
developing schemes of work, lesson plans and resource materials
arranging visits, speakers and work placements
standardising assessment
marketing new courses
staff training, including attendance at awarding body events and invitations to representatives of awarding bodies to visit the college.

In September 2003 Yale introduced several new BTEC First Diplomas as a vocational alternative to five-GCSE provision. Yale has adopted First Diplomas in:

Caring
Early Years
Electronics
IT*
Manufacturing Engineering*
Performing Arts*
Public Services*
Science
Sports and Exercise
Travel and Tourism.

* indicates courses that are currently running.

Some departments are also considering other alternatives. For example, the art and design department is planning to introduce the GCSE in Applied Art and Design and a range of Open College Network certificates from September 2005, and is also considering OCR National Certificates in Art/Design/Media. At foundation level/level 1, staff in all departments are actively investigating both Edexcel BTEC Introductory Diplomas and OCR Level 1 National Certificates.

QCA funding is being used by Yale to research the available alternatives and identify the ones that can best match what GNVQs currently offer. Staff have developed a template for exploring and selecting alternative provision. They are also looking at involving employers in ways other than providing work experience, and are aiming to give their students the best opportunities to progress.

Communication

The proposed curriculum changes will be communicated to staff, students and parents through the established channels. Information will be disseminated to course teams through the vocational A level/GNVQ coordinator, via directors of faculty, and at regular course team leader meetings.

Information will be communicated externally by the marketing department, which uses a wide range of methods including directories, brochures and the college website. There is also regular contact with external partners such as schools and Careers Wales, as well as visits to partner schools’ careers and guidance events and college advice evenings.

Conclusions

Yale is taking a department-by-department approach to the withdrawal from GNVQ, retaining most GNVQs for as long as possible. In some areas, for example art and design, the college may introduce more than one alternative.

See also:

Using alternatives to GNVQs