The Department for Education (DfE) has published a list of English and maths qualifications that providers must choose from as a “condition of funding” for 16 to 18-year-old learners that do not already have at least grade C in English or maths.

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The list of 245 eligible qualifications — part of the Study Programme implementation — includes 115 at entry level, 53 at level one, 24 at levels one and two and 53 atjust level two. Of these, 150 are for English, 89 are for maths and six are available in both subjects.

In total, 17 GCSEs are listed, run by AQA, OCR, Pearson and WJEC. The majority of those remaining — 130 — are Functional Skills qualifications, delivered by awarding organisations (AOs) including Pearson, OCR, NOCN, NCFE and City & Guilds.

Meanwhile there are 76 English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) qualifications on the list, awarded by AOs including Ascentis, Cambridge English and Trinity College London. Further non-GCSE qualifications include six Prince’s Trust QCF qualifications, which are each listed as both English and maths despite being in employment, teamwork and community.

It comes as providers prepare for a new rule which means learners without at least a C-grade GCSE in English and maths will have to achieve the qualification, or an equivalent such as Functional Skills. In 2011/12, 40 per cent (249,164) of the GCSE cohort failed to achieve A*-C in English and maths. Read full article…