To ask the Minister of Education to detail any consultation he had with (i) the Minister for the Economy; and (ii) employers, in relation to changes to level 2 essential skills qualifications.

Last year, my officials consulted with schools on proposed changes to how qualifications with different guided learning hours, levels and grading scales are counted to produce school system level performance measures such as the proportion of learners achieving 5 GCSEs (including equivalents) at A*-C. The changes related to how we measure school performance and therefore the consultation was targeted at these key stakeholders.

As outlined in DE Circular Number 2025/01 - Approval of Qualifications for Delivery by Post-Primary Schools in Northern Ireland, performance points ‘relate to how the qualification is counted for the annual return of examination results and are not an indicator of how the qualification is viewed by employers and/or Further/Higher Education.’