Diploma Gateway Results

28th March 2007

Commenting on the announcement of who will bring in the new Diplomas, Steve Sinnott, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, Britain’s largest teaching Union said:

“I want the Diplomas to succeed but I have to say that there is still too many unknowns in the arrangements.

Schools and colleges still do not know whether there is sufficient funding for training staff. Outside the consortia delivering the Diplomas many schools are still not even aware of the implications of the Diplomas.

The Diplomas are being introduced at the same time as other major reforms including a new secondary curriculum.

I call on the Government at least to grant two additional training days to schools for the next Academic year so at least local authorities and teachers can become more aware of the Diplomas.

I also want the Government to audit the costs of training for the Diplomas and to commit itself to funding that training in full.

The last thing anyone wants is a repeat of the Curriculum 2000 crisis when new examinations were introduced without proper planning and resources.