The National Baccalaureate Trust (NBT) has recently concluded a consultation process which gathered views and ideas relating to the establishment of a National Baccalaureate for England. The NBT were keen to hear views from stakeholders with a range of perspectives and they will publish their recommendations in due course.
The consultation recognised some of the inherent challenges within our education system that we are passionate about at Edge. This includes too many young people leaving school without a fair record of their achievements, and young people’s education being defined solely on high-stakes written examination, not leaving space for technical and creative subjects or personal development. The consultation set out a proposal for a new type of leavers’ award for young people that would acknowledge achievements across academic and technical qualifications but also their participation in the arts, sports and civic activity.
At Edge we are currently working closely with the Rethinking Assessment movement and the Independent Assessment Commission. We think that the work of NBT has an important role to play in this overall movement as we debate the future of assessment and move towards meaningful change.
The NBT consultation closed on Friday 15th October. We encourage others to follow NBT’s Twitter account for updates on their consultation recommendations. Our response to the NBT consultation can be found below.