CFAB First
Our CFAB first approach is an extended four year pathway which has been designed to provide school leavers with the best in delivery and support.
Key features of the pathway
For school leavers, we recommend a day release approach to Certificate Level with school leavers attending one or two scheduled study days each week. We believe that the features gained by a move to a day-release approach will provide a series of learning benefits for our school leavers. A table of benefits is provided below. For more detail, please see our ‘Build a market leading ACA school leaver apprenticeship’ document which you can access above.
| Pathway feature |
How does this help? |
| Spaced study days |
Study Intensity - The new structure provides reduced study intensity with greater consolidation time which is more akin to a school leaver’s previous study experience. By adopting this approach during the early phase of professional life it will ease the transition and provide a better platform for success.
Work Life Intensity - School leavers can find making the transition to working life a difficult one, with the working weeks proving to be long and demanding. By devoting one or two days per week to scheduled study, learners would initially benefit from a less intense and intimidating working week and enjoy the change of scenery that the study day/s would provide.
Well-being - Weekly study days will also provide a greater opportunity to use weekends to consolidate study. Blocked study courses necessitate a greater use of evening time to consolidate topics and complete testing. School leavers new to work can often find themselves exhausted in the evenings and the need to complete further study can adversely impact learner well-being. The spaced course structure also offers a greater opportunity to identify and support off track learners.
Outcomes & Attrition - This new spaced structure affords a greater period of time over which school leavers can spread their study with the first exam not being attempted until three months of employment have elapsed. Having this fixed routine will help learners to manage their approach to study and the real exam as they will have a clear understanding of what is needed at each stage of their course.
Best Practice - The proposed course structure also fits structurally with apprenticeship best practice, namely:
- Clearly demarcated study time
- First professional exam taken after at least three months on programme to allow school leavers to adjust to the workplace and study
- Focus on well-being and work/life balance
- One or two set days study leave per week - a feature of multiple top ‘rate my apprenticeship’ employers
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| Course Delivery |
The first four papers on the pathway below would all be delivered via scheduled study dates which we would plan to deliver via Live Online. Live Online delivery will provide school leavers with a peer network that they can be a part of right throughout their first year of study. A supporting peer network is valuable to school leavers and this has been underlined by our best practice research.
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| Additional revision days |
All Certificate Level subjects have scheduled revision days. Introducing these additional revision days will:
- Bring consistency to course structures providing school leavers with a study routine
- Help to bookend each course bringing together all of the topics studied over the previous weeks in readiness for the real exam
- Help to improve school leaver exam performance
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Pathway Map
The pathway map provides an indicative example for a September starter of the month in which each phase of study takes place. It is important to note that study duration does not last an entire month but is in line with the standard study durations outlined below.