Three schools will no longer deliver the first wave of T-levels after one was rated “requires improvement” by Ofsted and two others “decided not to” take part.
The Department for Education has today updated its list of those delivering the first wave of the technical qualifications in 2020.
Analysis by sister title FE Week found the three schools that have been removed from the list are the Archbishop Holgate’s School in York, the George Abbot School in Surrey and Bordesley Green Girls’ School in Birmingham.
Bordesley Green was removed after being rated as ‘requires improvement’ by Ofsted in a report published June 28. T-level criteria states providers should be rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’.
The DfE said the the other two providers were removed from the list after they “decided not to deliver T-levels”.
All three schools have been approached for comment.
The first T-level providers were announced at the end of May. George Abbot School was only added to the list on June 18, alongside sixth form college turned 16-to-19 academy Priestly College.
Until today’s changes were announced, 16 schools had been approved for the first wave of the qualifications.
In January this year the Education and Skills Funding Agency invited expressions of interest from providers which wanted to become the first to offer T-levels.
As well as the ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ criterion, applicants needed at least ‘satisfactory’ financial health to be eligible.
Of the 52 providers chosen, 32 were ‘outstanding’ and 14 were ‘good’, while a further six didn’t have a current Ofsted rating.
Five of these were academies that were rated ‘outstanding’ before they converted, and the sixth is a university technical college that has yet to be inspected.
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