Ministers should strengthen their oversight of school sixth form expansion to ensure the presence of too many small settings isn’t undermining “efficiency and sufficiency” in post-16 provision, a report has said. The research also called for local government to be given powers to tackle “cold spots” of specialist post-16 subjects caused by fragmented and inefficient education systems. The Association of Colleges (AoC)-funded report, conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), analysed data for 16 to 18-year-old exam entries per provider to work out the range of subjects available and class sizes. The study, published today, found cold spots in council areas across the country, where certain A-levels and vocational qualifications in 23 subject areas including creative arts, social sciences, languages and performing arts are not offered by any provider. It also found “fragmented” markets, with smaller settings such as school sixth forms that deliver marginal subjects in “inefficient” class sizes. Having large numbers of school sixth forms appeared to “undermine” nearby colleges’ economies of scale because it is “harder” for them to sustain marginal and specialist subjects, the report argued. It added this resulted in a narrower overall range of subject choices in those areas, because colleges were more likely to withdraw more marginal courses in areas with more school sixth forms. David Hughes, AoC chief executive, said the report showed a marketised approach “does not result in a high quality, broad and complete offer of courses and institutions that are accessible by every young person”. “The system we have requires providers to compete for students and plan independently of each other, inevitably leading to a strong offer in some areas and insufficient capacity in other areas.” ‘Real consequences’ Researchers looked at 2023-24 exam entry data across 151 local authority areas and found 23 cold spots “scattered across the country” where 15 or more of the subjects were not offered. While core subjects such as history, geography and sociology A-level were offered in most areas, music technology was not available in 79 areas, dance was unavailable in 73 areas, and A-level German was unavailable in 31 areas. Cold spots included urban areas such as east and south west London, Greater Manchester and Portsmouth, as well as more rural areas such as Herefordshire, Cumbria and the Isle of Wight. To address this “excessive market fragmentation” and ensure broad subject choices are available for all students, the paper suggested five policy options at “varying degrees of intervention”. These include the Department for Education (DfE) handing strategic authorities delegated powers or strengthened mandates to “broker collaboration” between schools and colleges around their subject offers and specialisations. Local government should also “convene” schools and colleges to explore shared provision and timetabling arrangements, as some schools may currently feel “compelled” to offer marginal subjects that attract students despite low enrolments. Combined and local authorities could also take a more active role, such as commissioning areas reviews “where appropriate” to encourage schools and colleges to merge into “larger, more resilient” institutions that can offer a broader curriculum. Other measures could include supporting local specialisation through designation of specific providers as “subject hubs”, particularly in creative and performing arts. However, the report also called for more research into the most effective collaboration models and what drives student and parent choice, as the current evidence body “remains scant”. The government should also strengthen its oversight of school sixth form expansion to ensure “efficiency and sufficiency” aren’t undermined by having too many small local providers. The DfE could update its guidance to local authorities and regional directors to make considering system-level impacts of new sixth forms an “explicit consideration”, the report suggested. At present, new school sixth forms are typically approved or rejected based grounds of quality or viability, with a 200-student rule of thumb. Young people’s potential limited Luke Bocock, research director at NFER, said restricted subject options due to fragmented post-16 education systems have “real consequences” for some young people. He added: “The subjects available to them at this stage can shape what they go on to study, and the opportunities open to them later in life. “Coupled with this, post-16 education providers face bigger challenges to delivering courses efficiently where the provision in their area is relatively more fragmented - too often in these areas small, inefficient class sizes are the norm. “Without better coordination across the post-16 education system, these gaps risk limiting young people’s potential and creating inequalities.” Hughes added: “Every student should have a wide and varied choice that they are able to access. To achieve this, we need a more co-ordinated approach to planning the capacity for the full range of 16-18 provision and institutions locally. “Doing this will achieve greater efficiency (with fewer students dropping out and starting again and fewer very small class sizes) and sufficiency (covering the whole range of learning, training and education) while being sensitive to local contexts.”