A REVIEW of the Welsh Baccalaureate has found youngsters, parents and teachers alike are confused about the qualification.

Qualifications Wales has carried out a review of the Skills Challenge Certificate (SCC) portion of the Welsh Baccalaureate, known commonly as the Welsh Bacc.

The SCC is a skill-based qualification which, along with GCSEs, A-levels and other standard qualifications, must be completed to achieve the Welsh Bacc.

It found teachers often found it “a challenge” to explain the SCC to young people, parents and other teachers and many young people said the did not understand it.

“Learners demonstrated particular confusion about the way in which the SCC is assessed, including how the assessment criteria are applied to their work, how each component is graded and how the marks for each component of the SCC contribute to their overall grade,” it said.

"Teachers reported that the documentation to support the delivery of the SCC is not always clear and consistent, leading to difficulties in implementation.

“Many learners also pointed towards what they perceived to be a lack of consistent information and messaging about the SCC.”

But the report also showed both learners and teachers found “many rewarding elements” of the SCC.

It also said many teachers said it needed “refining and streamlining to make it clearer and more manageable”.

Qualifications Wales chief executive Philip Baker said: “Any critical review of this kind will always find areas for improvement, especially when looking at a qualification as innovative and as new as the Skills Challenge Certificate.”

But, he added: “This report found that the Skills Challenge Certificate is a valuable qualification that helps learners to develop crucial skills - the skills that employers consistently say young people need to succeed in the workplace.

“It is positive that many teachers say the Skills Challenge Certificate is rewarding to teach and that students say they enjoy gaining new skills and the chance to focus on what they’re interested in.”

Responding to the report, Welsh Conservative shadow education secretary Darren Millar said: “The Welsh Baccalaureate is certainly a valuable qualification, but we need to see action to reduce the pressure on teachers and students engaged in it.”

He added: “We believe that the Welsh Baccalaureate should continue to be offered to all students in Wales but it should not be a compulsory subject.”