Post-16 Education and Skills Strategy

Shockat Adam Excerpts

Monday 20th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

We do want to ensure that more young people obtain that strong GCSE pass at grade 4 or above, but about a third of 16-year-olds do not achieve that at present, and sadly the number is even higher among white working-class pupils, who are more than twice as likely as their more affluent peers to need to resit their exams. That is something that we absolutely must tackle, but if my hon. Friend will give me some more information, I will be happy to look at the case in that wider context.

[Shockat Adam (Leicester South) (Ind)]

I welcome the announcement that the Government are enhancing their provision of post-16 vocational qualifications, but when will the Secretary of State outline a dedicated post-16 strategy for young people with learning difficulties and disabilities? I recently held a heartbreaking roundtable with young people with learning disabilities in Eyres Monsell, in my constituency. Although they had been doing work experience for years, when it came to giving them full-time work, our corporate supermarkets let them down. They want to work, they are able to work, and with the right support they will work.