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Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill

I hope that I can reassure the noble Lord. The picture he paints of the past is one with which I identify, as I attended a very large comprehensive school, probably not dissimilar to the one he described, and both my parents taught in similar schools. In the 1970s it was evident that swathes of young people felt that they needed to leave school because the learning opportunity was particularly rigid. The noble Lord talked about young people who may be less able but who should have the opportunity to continue their education in the way that is right for them. We need to be mindful of the fact that this issue concerns not only the young person’s ability but their learning styles and experiences and the place where they feel confident and relaxed enough to learn. We know that a lot of young people might opt to learn in a more practical or work-based environment. It does not necessarily mean that they are less able. For example, they may be incredibly able in an entrepreneurial sense. It is a matter of giving them the right opportunity that suits them. That is why the Government have opted for a qualification strategy that puts diplomas very much at its heart and, through our debates on raising participation—I know the noble Lord was interested in those debates—making sure that if we are doing that we accept that for some young people it is right for them to take a job. While we believe that they should have access to training, we also believe that training should be suitably practical and relevant. The point made by the noble Lord about rites of passage was very well made. I can identify with it; moving to a new institution—to an FE college or a sixth form at a different school—can often give a young person an opportunity to reinvent themselves as a slightly older person without all the baggage of their younger years or errors, and gain new friendship groups and so on. I appreciate all the points that the noble Lord is making. We recognise that choice is extremely important and that funding should follow the learner to facilitate that diversity. We recognise the need for diversity in providers and we have a qualification strategy that takes into account diplomas, GCSEs, A-levels and, of course, apprenticeships. I hope that the noble Lord can feel reassured that, as we move to a time when we have raised the participation age, those rites of passage will be possible within a learning system that allows young people to stay in learning, to grow and change, and that they are given access to the opportunity for development that we in our society need so much and is of such great benefit for them. I hope that the noble Lord will consider withdrawing his amendment on the basis of what I can only describe as a plea.