Evaluation of Increased Flexibilities for 14-16 year olds: the first year

The Increased Flexibilities for 14-16 year olds Programme (IFP) was introduced in the UK in 2002 to ‘create enhanced vocational and work-related learning opportunities for 14-16 year olds of all abilities who can benefit most’. Partnerships between schools and external providers were formed during the first year of IFP to achieve this goal. Each partnership involved a ‘lead partner’, generally a further education (FE) college, with funding provided through Local Learning and Skills Councils (LLSCs). In the same year, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) commissioned the National Foundation for Education Research (NFER) to undertake a national evaluation of IFP to: (1) assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of its implementation; (2) identify delivery models and aspects of implementation that are most successful; (3) evaluate the extent to which IFP has realised its objectives; and (4) assess the impact of vocational qualifications and new work-related learning opportunities on the skills, knowledge, attitudes, attendance, attainment and post-16 progression of participants. As the first cohort of participants are continuing their qualifications at the end of the first year of implementation, the findings focus particularly on the strategic and operational implementation of IFP, including managing the program within the school, working in partnership, equality of access to IFP courses, and delivery of IFP. Some issues to arise include transporting students to their location of study, additional time for IFP coordinators to maintain contact with partner organisations, funding, and the identification of students to participate in IFP. Although students were only part way through their first year of IFP, the evaluation revealed positive outcomes from gaining access to a wider and more appropriate curriculum. Show less