Qualifications Bill introduced

Yesterday, Education Minister Huw Lewis (Lab, Merthyr Tydfil & Rhymney) launched the first of two pieces of Welsh legislation due to be introduced this week – more from me on the second law on Friday.

The Qualifications Bill (pdf) will create Qualifications Wales, a new body which will, funnily enough, regulate and accredit non degree-level qualifications in Wales.

Most matters relating to education and skills (apart from research councils) are devolved so there are no worries there, and it's highly unlikely that this Bill will cause any undue controversy.

Three events provided the impetus for the Qualifications Bill.

• A major review into qualifications for 14-19 year olds, which recommended that an independent body be established to oversee non degree-level qualifications, based on the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and Ofqual.
• The GCSE row from summer 2012, where the then Education Minister, Leighton Andrews (Lab, Rhondda), ordered a review of WJEC test papers. Pupils scored much lower in a new modulated version of the exam than expected, due to new boundaries between grades C and D introduced by EnglandandWales exam regulators (to make passing exams harder).
• The decision to reform GCSEs in England – including a new grading system - while Wales is retaining the existing model by default. So the need for a Welsh qualifications regulator is more apparent.

What does the Qualifications Bill propose?

Qualifications Wales will be the new qualifications regulator placed above the likes of the WJEC.
(Pic : via Wikipedia)

Qualifications Wales

• Will be a corporate body independent of the Welsh Government, made up of a chief executive, a chair and between 8-10 members appointed by the Welsh Government (all serving a three year terms).
• Will ensure qualifications meet the needs of learners in Wales.
• Will promote public confidence in the Welsh qualifications system.
• Will carry out its functions while taking into consideration : economic growth, the availability of assessments and qualifications through the medium of Welsh, the needs of employers and higher education, securing value for money, the skills and knowledge required to receive a qualification.
• Must publish a policy statement, including details of dealing with complaints.
• Must have regard to Welsh Government policy.

Recognising Awarding Bodies (i.e WJEC)

Qualifications Wales will :

• Set recognition criteria, and only awarding bodies that have their qualifications recognised by Qualification Wales will be able to award qualifications in Wales.
• Have the power to revise recognition criteria, set rules for applications for recognition and set resulting fees.

Approving Qualifications

The Bill :

• Places a duty on the Welsh Government and Qualifications Wales to draw up a list of qualifications that are a priority for regulation ("restricted qualifications") in order to to maintain public confidence due to their importance to learners (I presume they mean core subjects like GCSE Maths, English etc.).
• Gives Qualifications Wales the power to restrict qualifications to a certain number of different versions (i.e. approving only one version of GCSE English language across Wales). It can do this to avoid inconsistency, or give them a choice when awarding bodies introduce new versions of qualifications.
• Gives Qualifications Wales the power to approach an awarding body in order to develop a new version of a "restricted qualification", and the Bill sets out the formal process by which these new qualifications would be approved.
• Will mean all other qualifications ("unrestricted qualifications") can be submitted to Qualifications Wales by any recognised awarding body for approval in any version.
• Places a duty of Qualifications Wales to publish their criteria to approve a qualification.
• Gives Welsh Ministers the power to regulate the subject content of qualifications.
• Awarding bodies will have the ability to withdraw their qualifications voluntarily via a "surrender notice".
• Qualifications Wales can, likewise, withdraw approval for a qualification if it no longer meets the award criteria, the awarding body is no longer recognised or the qualification has become "restricted" (as outlined above).

Recognition of qualifications

In future, only qualifications approved and recognised by
Qualifications Wales will be awarded by state schools in Wales.
(Pic : BBC Wales)

• Only qualifications approved or regulated by Qualifications Wales ("Welsh version of a qualification") may be awarded by state schools or by local authorities.
• An exception covers qualifications awarded to people with learning disabilities, and the Bill grants Welsh Ministers the power to designate new excepted qualifications.
• Private schools won't be subject to the restrictions either and can award qualifications "which are not Welsh versions".
• Ofqual recognition of qualifications will no longer apply in Wales (effectively making Ofqual an England-only body) - though this doesn't mean qualifications recognised by Ofqual will be unavailable in Wales, as long as they're not restricted (i.e. private schools in the example above).

Enforcement Powers & Other Responsibilities

Qualifications Wales will have the power to :

• Force awarding bodies to take specific actions by giving written directions and appropriate notice.
• Fine awarding bodies (with interest) if they fail to comply with set conditions regarding their own recognition or the recognition of their qualifications. Awarding bodies subject to fines will have a right to appeal via a tribunal.
• Inspect premises of awarding bodies, subject to a court order.

Qualifications Wales will also be allowed to :

• Provide commercial consultancy services in relation to its functions, or set up a company to provide such services.
• Keep under review activities relating to its remit, and commission research into any matter relating to qualifications.
• Award grants if it believes "it is appropriate to do so" in connection to its functions.

How much will the Qualifications Act cost?

Establishing a completely new body is always going to come with an element of cost. The Welsh Government drafted three options, included in the explanatory memorandum (pdf) : the first where the Welsh Government will retain regulatory powers, the second which would create a Commissioner role for qualifications, and the third – and chosen option – to create a stand alone qualifications regulator.

Qualifications Wales' set up costs in the first year (2015-16) – including IT, Welsh Government reorganisation, premises etc. - is around £3.44million. The operating costs for the next five years (until 2019-20) – including the set up costs above – is just over £38million. It's expected that Qualifications Wales will employ 73 people.

It's not expected there would be any additional costs to awarding bodies (like the WJEC, AQA, EDEXEL etc.) ,though it'll be down to Qualifications Wales to determine the fees they charge, meaning it might generate enough income down the line to "reduce its impact on the public purse".

How "independent" is independent?

Is allowing government to "force" certain skills and knowledge into
qualifications as much a bad thing as a good thing?
(Pic : zmescience.com)

A key theme throughout is the emphasis on how "independent" Qualifications Wales will be. This is not only Wales striking out on its own after decades of working with England and Northern Ireland on qualifications (known as three-country regulation), but this is being portrayed as an arms-length watchdog.

I'm not convinced. Nothing is ever truly "independent" when it comes to the higher echelons of Welsh politics and public policy, and the set up of Qualifications Wales reads very similarly to bodies like Visit Wales, which are hardly "arms length" of government. There's still plenty of Welsh Government "influence" and hand holding within the line-by-line provisions of the Bill.

If Qualifications Wales were truly independent it could appoint its own members, surely? Also, it's said to be independent of the Welsh Government yet still has a legal obligation to "have due regard" for government policy. There's also another selection of powers enacted via regulations.

This is justified by saying it would be a "fall back" to ensure the Welsh Government forces certain skills or knowledge into qualifications - which can be a good thing, but can be a bad thing too.

What if a hypothetical future wingnut Welsh Government demands intelligence design and/or creationism be assessed in science GCSEs? The Bill could give them the means to do that.

In principle this Bill is the correct course of action, but there's still stuff in there that demands closer scrutiny.