DfE Technical Guidance for Key Stage 4 technical qualifications
Update: Department for Education publishes Technical Guidance for Key Stage 4 technical qualifications. This notice is for the attention of Heads of Department teaching BTEC Tech Awards and First Awards
The Department for Education (DfE) has now published its technical guidance for Key Stage 4 (KS4) technical qualifications to be included in the 2023 performance tables in England. The DfE’s technical guidance applies to all Technical Awards for first teaching in September 2021. The ‘Technical Award’ category includes KS4 BTEC qualifications, as well as all KS4 vocational qualifications from other Awarding Organisations.
Ofqual has also published the outcome of its consultation on the regulation of KS4 Technical Awards that will apply to the qualifications once they are approved for inclusion in the performance tables.
What happens next?
We will be reviewing the DfE’s technical guidance and the Ofqual Qualification Level Conditions. Our KS4 BTEC qualifications will be submitted to the DfE for approval for the 2023 KS4 performance tables in England (for first teaching September 2021) by the end of April 2020.
We will keep you up to date as more information becomes available, but if you have any immediate questions please contact us.
We remain dedicated to offering qualifications that are accessible, form part of a broad curriculum and provide important knowledge and skills development to prepare learners for progression to further learning.