THE FULL 14-16 QUALIFICATIONS OFFER - Decisions Report - January 2024

Oct 20, 2026

National 14-16 Qualifications in Wales reform publicly funded provision for learners aged 14 to 16, aligning new offers with the Curriculum for Wales introduced across pre-16 settings since September 2023. The report sets out decisions following extensive collaboration, engagement and consultation between March and June 2023, including over 500 responses. It describes the vision and guiding principles, outlines qualification categories and selection considerations for centres, and confirms delivery from September 2027, with bilingual options in Cymraeg and English.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages40

Reading Time1 h 41 min

AccessFree to download

Summary

Our vision for the new National 14-16 Qualifications

Our decisions

Consultation overview

Skills qualifications

Pre-vocational qualifications

Foundation qualifications

Impact assessment

Next steps

Annex

THE FULL 14-16 QUALIFICATIONS OFFER Decisions Report January 2024 1. Summary ............................................................................................................................................ 3 2. Consultation overview................................................................................................................... 7 3. Skills qualifications ......................................................................................................................... 9 4. Pre-vocational qualifications .................................................................................................... 18 5. Foundation qualifications ..........................................................................................................27 6. Impact assessment .......................................................................................................................34 7. Next steps ........................................................................................................................................35 8. Annex ................................................................................................................................................38 1. Summary 1.1. The Curriculum for Wales (the Curriculum) has been taught in all pre-16 education settings in Wales since September 2023. It sits at the heart of what learners aged 3 to 16 study and how they are taught, enabling them to experience a broad and balanced curriculum reflecting six areas of learning and experience. 1.2. Each centre 1 is now responsible for designing its own curriculum in line with the Curriculum guidance and qualifications play an important role in this. So, we’re reforming publicly funded qualifications for learners aged 14 to 16. 1.3. As the first part of these reforms, WJEC is already developing new Made-forWales GCSEs. This report focuses on our decisions about the qualifications that will be developed to sit alongside GCSEs-replacing the vast majority of existing qualifications eligible for public funding for the 14-16 age group. 1.4. It follows extensive collaboration, engagement, and consultation on the Full 14- 16 Qualifications Offer between March and June 2023. We are very grateful to everyone who has engaged with us on this journey. There were more than 500 responses to our consultation, all of which have helped inform our decisions. Our consultation approach is explained in Section 8. Our vision for the new National 14-16 Qualifications 1.5. Working with a wide range of stakeholders, we have developed a vision for qualifications for learners aged 14 to 16, that will: • help learners realise the four purposes of the Curriculum • offer flexibility and choice for centres to meet learners’ needs • reflect the Curriculum’s principles of progression • enable learners to progress successfully to post-16 learning and training • provide an equitable and bilingual choice of qualifications and pathways • support positive mental health and wellbeing • promote positive teaching and learning experiences encourage learners to make meaningful connections across their learning 1 In this report, we use ‘centre’ to refer to all 14–16 education settings • include relevant, authentic and engaging assessment • reflect the diversity of learners and the world they live in • make best use of digital technology 1.6. The qualifications outlined in this report will be taught from September 2027. Whereas new Made-for-Wales GCSEs will be taught in schools from September 2025 (or, in some cases, September 2026) 1.7. Each centre must select the right combination of qualifications to meet the needs of its learners. The qualifications discussed in this report should be viewed as a key part of a comprehensive new national offer, replacing all current 14-16 qualifications, from which centres can choose. Learners’ needs should bea key consideration f

FAQs

What is the purpose of the Full 14-16 Qualifications Offer?

It reforms publicly funded qualifications for learners aged 14 to 16 in Wales, replacing most current eligible qualifications with a new national offer aligned to the Curriculum for Wales.

When will the new qualifications be taught?

The qualifications outlined in the report will be taught from September 2027, while new Made-for-Wales GCSEs will be taught from September 2025 (or in some cases September 2026).

How were the qualification decisions developed?

WJEC collaborated with stakeholders and ran an engagement and consultation between March and June 2023, receiving more than 500 responses that informed the decisions.

Oct 20, 2026

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