In 2005 the UK Government published '14-19 Education and Skills' setting out a ten-year reform programme for the education system. A central part of the reforms was the introduction of Diplomas for 14-19 year olds. The Diploma qualification comprises a mix of theoretical and vocational elements and is therefore a major innovation in educational opportunity for young people in England. Diplomas were introduced in September 2008 in five occupational areas: Construction and the Built Environment; Creative and Media; Engineering; IT; and Society, Health and Development. By September 2010 there will be fourteen sector-related Diplomas. The implementation of Diplomas faces some historic challenges. The organisation nationally of vocational education and training in England since the 1960s has been identified by Cantor & Roberts (1972, p.3) as a ‘patchwork quilt’ and by Richardson (2007, p.410) as ‘eclectic’ and ‘uncoordinated’. In addition, until recently, there has been little evidence of effective local partnership working, often considered necessary for the effective delivery of such qualifications. Indeed, Hodgson et al (2005) characterised 14-19 provision across England as being strongly competitive/weakly collaborative. It is against this backdrop that Diplomas have been introduced. Diploma implementation is being undertaken through Consortia (partnerships of local authorities; schools; further education colleges; training providers; employers; universities). Some Consortia have been founded on previous partnerships, initiated by recent government initiatives in 14-19 education and training; others have been established to deliver the Diplomas. Many schools do not have the specialist staffing and resources to deliver all the vocational elements of Diplomas and need to share delivery with vocational specialists which are usually local further education colleges, and sometimes private training providers. The strong emphasis on employer engagement to support/deliver aspects of the Diplomas also requires the foundation of effective and sustainable links between schools and colleges and industry. The UK government’s Department for Children, Schools and Families has commissioned the National Foundation for Educational Research and the University of Exeter to research, over a five year period (2008-13), the implementation and impact of Diplomas. This national project is one of the largest ever undertaken in the UK into curriculum change related to vocational education. This paper will discuss the different models of partnership working between schools and vocational specialists developed to deliver the Diplomas. It will be of interest to other countries where collaborative working for the delivery of similar qualifications is in place.

This national research project adopts a mixed method approach, employing both quantitative and qualitative research methods: statistical analyses of large national datasets; questionnaire surveys; and case studies. In this paper we draw on two key sources of data, collected during spring/summer 2008: - Telephone interviews with 136 Consortium Leads (those individuals in each Consortium with strategic and operational responsibility); - Case studies of 15 Consortia. These comprised interviews with: the Consortium Lead; strategic and operational staff in schools, colleges and training providers; and learners. The case study Consortia were a subset of the 136 surveyed. They were sampled to ensure representation of: (a) all the first five Diplomas; (b) geographical spread, including rural and urban areas; (c) a range of partnership structure and delivery models. Analysis of the qualitative interview data was undertaken using MAXQDA software. The telephone survey of Consortium Leads involved quantitative analysis of closed questions using SPSS.

Evidence from our research indicates that a number of models of Diploma delivery are in place. These include: schools delivering a Diploma entirely in-house; schools delivering some aspects in-house but sending their learners to a local college/other training provider for the vocational elements of the Diploma; schools sending their own learners to another school or a college for all Diploma learning. In some cases, different models co-exist within the same Consortium. A number of factors have influenced the model(s) adopted: the strength of the collective will to put the learners’ needs ahead of individual institutional interests; the vocational content of a particular Diploma; the availability and willingness of local training providers and employers to participate in Diploma delivery; and geography, in terms of travel to learn distances. The lessons learned from the introduction of the first five Diplomas are currently informing the introduction of the next phase in September 2009.