Pearson Level 1 and below January 2024 newsletter
Welcome to the Pearson Level 1 and below newsletter for January 2024 covering all things below level 2 including Level 1 Intro, Entry Level, BTEC Workskills and BTEC Personal Growth and Wellbeing.
We hope you had a lovely festive holiday, however you celebrated and enjoyed welcoming in the new year with your loved ones.
We have been up to a few things in the Level 1 space in December and have some important announcements so please make sure you check them out below.
Remember if you would like to discuss anything with Kelly Adams for these qualifications, please book in with Kelly on a Friday afternoon
Important Announcements
Our BTEC Level 1 introductory Qualifications are very popular both in the pre-16 and post-16 sectors. If you haven’t come across our qualifications, you can find out more about them here.
Learn more about BTEC Entry 3 and Level 1 Introductory |qualifications
The qualification suite (17 different qualifications ranging from Art and Design to Vocational Studies) has been through our internal quality assurance processes and we are delighted to inform you that we have extended the review period of these qualifications until 31 of August 2027! (except for Transport and Vehicle which you can read about below)
This means that you can continue to teach our BTEC Level 1 Qualifications with confidence until 2027 and that we are going to continue to offer these as our current offer for the foreseeable future. We know there has been some worry with centres thinking these qualifications are going to be withdrawn and that some centres receiving mixed messages.
We hope this clarifies that our Level 1 introductory qualifications are remaining and are unaffected by any messages you might hear in the media. (Please check eligibility funding in Wales as not all the suite is available in Wales e.g. Health and Social Care and eligibility funding for your age range before commencing teaching if you are new to these qualifications)
The Level 1 (and Entry) qualifications are under reform. However, these will not be available for first teach until at least 2027 as part of Cycle 3. In due course we will provide you with further information about this.
Unfortunately, we have decided to withdraw the Level 1 Introductory Transport and Vehicle qualification from our portfolio in England (no longer offered in Wales)
This means for the Award, Certificate and Diploma in Transport and Vehicle they can no longer be offered for teaching from 31 August 2024 and the final certification date for these qualifications will be 31 August 2026 in England.
If this decision affects your centre, we would like to point out that our Level 1 Intro qualification in Vocational Studies is a perfect replacement for this qualification and we will be making a guide to support you with transition across to this qualification which will be made available in the following months.
Some more good news our Entry 1 and Entry 2 prevocational qualifications have also been extended for review in 2027! (Entry 3 was extended until 2026 earlier this year)
This means you can continue again to develop and offer these qualifications with confidence moving forward in the next few years. (Please check eligibility funding for your age range before commencing teaching if you are new to these qualifications)
New teaching and learning resources
We have been made aware that there is a need for an offer to replace the outgoing Functional Skills ICT at Entry 1-2 level as the new Digital Functional Skills is only available at Entry 3 and Level 1. To support you we have developed a guide to how you can use our Entry Level Pre-Vocational Studies (post 16 only currently) to deliver a functional ICT qualification to your learners.
Guide to delivering ICT through BTEC Entry Level 1 and Entry Level 2 Pre-vocational Studies
The guide we have produced includes exemplar assignment briefs and ideas for pastoral teaching as well as schemes of work and teaching activities. We hope you find this useful.
We have also added a short video to talk through the resources which are available.
Watch Pre-Vocational Studies to Teach ICT at Entry 1- and Entry 2 in the post 16 classroom (14:37)
We also have increased the number of exemplary assignment briefs available across the suite and you can find them in the relevant locations.
Finally, we have an SSV report from our SSV for Workskills and Personal Growth and Wellbeing Qualifications Paul Cliff. We would advise anyone who teaches these qualifications to look at this as it will give you useful practical advice you can use to develop your provision in your centre.
BTEC Personal Growth and Wellbeing and Workskills SSV Internal Assessment Report
New Content for November on the Skills Channel
Please save our playlist for the latest Teaching and Learning Skills Video .
Our latest video is about the Fayer Model for Vocabulary. The Fayer model for Vocabulary is a tool that can be used to good effect especially in a lower ability classroom to help develop and construct the meaning of words through examples and analysis.
Monthly Blog
Our blog this month is on unlocking the benefits of the Level 1 Intro classroom. The blog provides an overview of the benefits of using our Level 1 qualifications to develop and progress your learners.
Read the blog Unlocking Potential: The Benefits of BTEC Level 1 Intro
Monthly Podcast
Finally, do take the opportunity to listen to our Below L2 Workskills and PGW insights blog on Spotify.
This month’s episode is an opportunity to meet our SSV for Workskills and Personal Growth and Wellbeing Paul Cliff. In this short podcast Paul introduces to you his role and how Pearson can best support you through the standards verification process. It is a useful listen..
BTEC Below L2 Workskills and PGW insights podcast
We hope you have an excellent start to the new year. Please contact Kelly Adams if you need any support.