Vocational GCSEs have failed to provide "significant opportunities" for pupils with special educational needs, according to a new evaluation.
Ofsted inspectors also found that in a significant minority of schools, the courses were "largely restricted" to low-attaining pupils and that they did not have "parity of esteem" with other GCSEs.
Still, vocational GCSEs are highly regarded by the majority of pupils taking them and their parents. Their effect on pupils' behaviour has been good or better in three-fifths of schools and satisfactory in nearly 90 per cent of lessons.
Inspectors evaluated the eight vocational GCSEs - Applied Art and Design, Applied Business, Leisure and Tourism, Health and Social Care, Manufacturing, Engineering, Applied Science, and Applied ICT - from their introduction, in September 2002, until April 2004. They visited 133 secondary schools, observed 195 lessons, and discussed the courses with staff and Year 10 and Year 11 pupils.
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