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T Levels and Progression to HE Event

On the 22 April, Linking London held its third T levels event. With the first wave of T Levels having started in September 2020, learners on Construction, Digital and Education and Childcare courses will now be starting to consider their plans post course, including progressing onto higher education. This event explored where we are in terms of preparing for the first T Level applicants to HE for 2022 entry and what needs to done in the months ahead, including challenges and opportunities.

After a warm welcome from Andrew Jones, Director at Linking London, delegates heard first from Suzanne Hall, Head of Sector Development: Technical and Professional at Pearson, who provided a detailed overview of T levels, including the T Level timeline, assessment approaches for the pathways and industry placements.

Following this, attendees got together into two breakout groups. Attendees could choose between Digital led by Atif Khan, Sector Manager – Digital Qualifications at Pearson or Education & Childcare led by Janet King, Sector Manager Education and Childcare at CACHE who both gave an overview of these pathways and attendees were able to ask any questions they had.

After a comfort break, attendees then heard from Judith O’Neill, Director Vocational and HE, HCUC Uxbridge College, who provided a college perspective on their journey so far in preparing for T level delivery 20/21, including recruitment and engagement, placements as well as some of the challenges faced.

Amie Greensted, Education Support Manager at University of Greenwich, then provided a university perspective on preparing for the first wave of T Level Applicants to HE including internal planning, marketing and how they will be supporting T Level students.

Following the presentations, the last item on the agenda gave attendees an opportunity to comment and pose questions as part of a panel Q+A session discussion focussing on T Levels as a pathway to HE and challenges and opportunities. The panel was composed of Amie, Janet, Judith and Suzanne. Questions and comments included:

How much flexibility will T Level students have regarding course choice when applying to HE?
Whether Degree Apprenticeships might be an effective route for T Level students?

Is there knowledge and/or demand from learners for T levels or did it involve very targeted IAG?
What are the advantages of T Levels over BTEC nationals?
What are your students thinking about post T Levels and what routes are they taking?
Disciplines being restricted particularly for Education & Childcare.

The event closed with thanking everyone for their contributions throughout the afternoon and by asking attendees for feedback and ideas for any future events.

Presentations, recording and discussion notes

To view the recording, presentations and the notes from the day please click here. This link will take you to the Linking London SharePoint Partners' Area. You must be a Linking London member to access this section of the website. If you do not have access, please email info@linkinglondon.ac.uk.