The story so far
Below is a timeline of the work done to date on the Qualified for the future programme of work.
2019
From 18 November 2019 to 7 February 2020, we ran the first of our online consultations for Qualified for the future where we set out our vision for future qualifications for 14 to 16-year-olds.
In our consultation, we proposed a set of guiding principles that should shape the future range of qualifications and asked about what should happen with GCSEs and the Skills Challenge Certificate.
We commissioned Arad, an independent research provider, to host our consultation.
You can read the consultation documents below:
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Title |
Link to document |
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Qualified for the future – main consultation document |
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Qualified for the future – easy-read document |
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Qualified for the future – young people’s document |
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2020
After our consultation ended on 7 February 2020, we commissioned Arad to analyse the responses to it. You can read the documents below:
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Title |
Link to document |
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Qualified for the future – summary of findings document |
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Qualified for the future – analysis of consultation responses |
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Qualified for the future – young people’s consultation report |
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We then published a report on the decisions we took following the consultation and outlined our advice to the then Minister for Education about the approach we were considering and to agree how qualifications should change in future.
To summarise, we agreed that the main qualifications taken by 14 to 16-year-olds should still be called GCSEs, but that the content and assessment of GCSE qualifications should change.
Report: Decisions on how we will shape the future qualifications for 16-year-olds in Wales
Letter to Minister: Advice on how Qualifications Wales will determine the future range of qualifications for 16-year-olds.
2021
In January, we held our second consultation where we wanted views on integral skills within the Skills Challenge Certificate (SCC), the range of subjects that should be available as GCSEs and other made-for-Wales qualifications. The consultation ran until April 2021.
You can read the consultation documents below:
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Title |
Link to document |
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Qualified for the future: the right choice for Wales – main consultation document |
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Qualified for the future: the right choice for Wales – youth-friendly version |
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After the consultation ended, we commissioned ORS, an independent research provider, to analyse the responses from our consultation.
Links to the full report and summary report can be found below:
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Title |
Link to document |
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Qualified for the future: the right choice for Wales – consultation summary report |
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Qualified for the future: the right choice for Wales – analysis of consultation responses |
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Taking the consultation responses into account, we published a report which outlined our decisions for each subject at GCSE level in October. N.B. We didn’t include Welsh language qualifications in our first published decisions report. We announced our decision in March 2022.
We also ran a webinar with a question and answer session to talk through the decisions. You can find the materials below:
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Title |
Link |
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Qualified for the future: the right choice for Wales – Our decisions report |
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Qualified for the future: the right choice for Wales – young person’s summary report |
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Qualified for the future: the right choice for Wales – Findings & Decisions webinar recording |
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Qualified for the future: the right choice for Wales – Findings & Decisions webinar presentation slides |
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Qualified for the future: the right choice for Wales – Findings & Decisions webinar questions and answers asked (written document) |
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2022
We didn’t include Welsh language qualifications in our first decisions report which was published in October 2021. We decided to reserve our decision and review the qualifications available at GCSE level together with the Welsh Government’s Welsh language policy intentions.
Following that review, we announced our decision in March on the Welsh language qualifications that will be available for first teaching from 2025.
You can find more information on these qualifications in the decisions report or by watching our online webinar.
You can find the materials below:
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Title |
Link |
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Qualified for the future: the right choice for Wales – Our decisions in relation to future Welsh language qualifications report |
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Cymraeg 2050 - Changes to Welsh Qualifications Webinar
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Cymraeg 2050 - Changes to Welsh Qualifications Webinar transcript |
For more information on the work we’re doing this year, visit the main webpage.
