Our new report, published today, highlights good practice and identifies barriers to the effective delivery of the junior apprenticeship programme introduced in 2017 by further education colleges.
Recommendations
Schools should:
- Provide comprehensive and timely impartial advice and guidance to all pupils and their parents or carers about all 14-16 curriculum options, including junior apprenticeships where these are available.
- Work collaboratively with colleges and local authorities to evaluate opportunities for developing or extending junior apprenticeship programmes in order to broaden their curriculum offer in the best interests of learners.
Further education colleges should:
- Work closely with schools to make sure that responsibilities for safeguarding arrangements are clear and that individual risk assessments are undertaken for all junior apprenticeship learners.
- Share and agree timetable arrangements with partner schools and local authorities for all junior apprenticeship learners and keep them updated of any changes affecting individual learners, such as pastoral plan arrangements.
Local authorities should:
- Clarify and communicate future funding arrangements for junior apprenticeships with schools and colleges.
- Work collaboratively with all their local schools and colleges to evaluate the potential for introducing or extending junior apprenticeship provision to enhance suitable learning opportunities for Year 10 and 11 pupils struggling to engage with existing mainstream provision in schools.
The Welsh Government should:
- In light of the establishment of the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research (CTER), clarify and publish details of ongoing responsibility and continuing arrangements for junior apprenticeships and their funding.
- Review specific curriculum requirements for junior apprenticeship programmes as set out in the Welsh Government programmes directory, particularly in relation to English, mathematics and numeracy qualifications to ensure qualification aims match needs and abilities of individual learners and reflect the new national 14-16 qualifications in place from September 2027.