Consultation outcome

Sector Subject Area 6 title change

Applies to England

This consultation has concluded

Read the full outcome

Detail of outcome

From 4 December 2023 to 29 January 2024, Ofqual consulted on proposed changes to the titles of SSA 6, from Information and Communication Technology to Digital Technology. We have now published the consultation analysis and decisions document.

Ofqual has decided to implement the new titles for SSA 6. ‘Digital Technology’ has been chosen because the term better reflects the skills and qualifications currently in both the SSA and the sector at present and is broad enough to stay relevant in the future. This change will take effect from 1 August 2024, to align with DfE’s academic calendar and reporting period.

Alongside the consultation outcomes, Ofqual has also published the final version of the non-statutory guidance on assigning qualifications to SSAs. Ofqual expects awarding organisations to give due regard to the non-statutory guidance when assigning new qualifications to an SSA and when reviewing their qualification offer.


Original consultation

Summary

The Sector Subject Area (SSA) classification system is used to classify qualifications into sectors or subject areas. It is owned by Ofqual and used widely across the education and skills system.

This consultation ran from
to

Consultation description

As part of a review of the SSA classification system, Ofqual is consulting on amending the title of SSA 6 – Information and Communication Technology and seeking views on draft non-statutory guidance to support assigning qualifications to SSAs.  

Those who wish to respond can do so by following the links below: 

Documents

Sector Subject Area 6 title change​

DRAFT non-statutory guidance on assigning Sector Subject Areas

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Updates to this page

Published 4 December 2023
Last updated 7 March 2024 + show all updates
  1. Added the consultation analysis and decisions document.

  2. Updated the title and description to enable users to respond more easily.

  3. Changed the consultation closing date to 29 January instead of 19 January.

  4. First published.

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