Supporting our International partners during COVID-19 | Pearson qualifications

Supporting our International partners during COVID-19

Wed May 13 13:00:00 UTC 2020

Consultation on the assessment and grading of vocational, technical and other general qualifications.

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BTEC - Letter to teachers and tutors whose students are receiving results this week   
 

Last updated 11 August 2021 

Today we have written a letter to all BTEC teachers and tutors whose students are receiving their results this week.    

All of our previous communications can be found in the News Archive.

BTEC Level 4 HNC and Level 5 HND

We released detailed guidance (PDF | 964 KB) on how centres can deliver their internally verified assessments to enable teaching to continue, where practicable. Centres are also encouraged to attend training (PDF | 964 KB) for more information. 

The BTEC Higher Nationals will have a separate guide covering the calculated results process, which will follow once the Ofqual consultation has concluded.

BTEC Level 3 Nationals (QCF, 2010), BTEC Level 2 International (SRF), Customised (SRF)

BTEC Level 2 International (SRF) and the Customised (SRF) suites of qualifications sit outside the Ofqual consultation because they are only available internationally and are not funded in the UK.  

We do, however, recognise that the main purpose of these qualifications is to aid progression to the next stage in learners’ lives -  whether that is into employment or further study.  For these three suites, international learners will either be able to complete the assessment as normal, supported by remote verification by Pearson, or potentially follow a calculated results approach (PDF | 964 KB).

Formal assessment

Therefore, we do not require or expect any formal assessment for BTEC to take place while learners are studying at home. Whilst not a requirement, we are encouraging and supporting continued learning at home during this time, so when learners return to school or college, progress to HE, an apprenticeship, or work, they have the knowledge and skills they need to continue with confidence.  

Further information

For further information and guidance, please see our FAQs. We will be holding live webinars on Monday 18th May and Tuesday 19th May at 8.30am (BST). 

Register your interest

We have recently contacted all of our international centres to ascertain what stage of delivery you are at, and what impact Covid-19 and any associated lockdown restrictions may have had on your delivery and assessment. If you have not returned your survey please can you do so as soon as possible to enable us to support the next steps. If you have any questions in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact us via email: PQS.Internationaleo@pearson.com.

Thank you for your patience during this unprecedented time. We will continue to keep you updated.

Best wishes,
Cindy Rampersaud
Senior Vice President, BTEC and Apprenticeships

 


Additional Resources available

Update 7 April 2020

We want to reassure you that we're continuing to work hard to ensure you have the resources and tools you need to deliver lessons online, and to support your students’ learning from home. We're continuing to develop additional support and resources and will make them available to you as soon as they are available.

BTEC Nationals resouces now available to support online teaching

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Assessment arrangements in light of Covid-19

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Support for you to deliver remote and online learning

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Seven strategies for effective online teaching

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Supporting delivery of BTEC Higher Nationals

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Pearson is committed to supporting our international partners through the challenges presented by COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and, as a valued customer, we wanted to share an update on how we intend to support you as an organisation during this challenging time.

We have been closely following public health recommendations concerning the spread of this virus and we are working closely with governments and local public health authorities to ensure we are always able to act in the best interests of our colleagues and our customers.

We wanted to let you know, we are working closely with Ofqual (our qualifications regulator) with regards to assessment and awarding and are monitoring the situation closely. We want to ensure we can support you in the best way possible over the coming weeks and months. 

The education community has not faced this level of disruption in generations but, unlike any time in the past, we are able to support you through a range of digital learning resources. We are also working swiftly to make these resources available as soon as possible. As soon as these become available we will be in direct contact with you.

Please rest assured that we are doing everything we can to ensure we can best support you and your learners at this time.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact your Pearson Representative.

I’d like to share an update with you as, following close discussions with the Department for Education, awarding bodies and other stakeholders, Ofqual has today announced further information about how some vocational and technical qualifications will be awarded in 2020.

BTEC Nationals

Ofqual recognises that BTEC qualifications offer learners similar progression opportunities as level 2 and 3 General Qualifications (GCSEs and A levels) and, therefore, the approach that will be taken with these qualifications is similar to the one being used for General Qualifications.

Standards Verification and External Examination for internally assessed units will continue where arrangements have already been made. However, if sampling hasn't been possible, we'll be following UK guidance and will not be continuing to sample in the usual way.

We expect the approach will involve input from teachers and tutors, at qualification and unit level, to contribute to a calculated result and we'll follow up with teachers and tutors to capture this information when we have more information and guidance from Ofqual. In the meantime, please refer to  today’s published advice from Ofqual for more information.

Higher Nationals (Level 4 and Level 5)

We recognise that some providers around the world are continuing their Higher National delivery online and are continuing to teach and assess where they can. As such, in some situations, it will be possible for certification to continue through remote sampling. Where there are units or learning outcomes that are unsuitable for online delivery, advice and guidance will be provided regarding ways to adjust assessments or how to select suitable alternative units. If it's not possible for assessment to continue using the above approaches, we'll ask tutors to calculate grades using their professional judgment and supporting evidence. We will make guidance available to centres on the process to follow in terms of grade calculation.  

The same assessment and certification approach will be followed for Higher Nationals whether they are delivered in the UK or internationally.

Support and resources offer

I'm sure you'll have many questions and we have a Q&A section with more details on what the Ofqual decisions mean for you and your learners.

We want to make sure that we are doing everything we can to best support you and your learners at this time. We have dedicated this webpage where you'll find:

Thank you for your patience during this unprecedented time. We'll continue to keep you updated. If, in the meantime, you have any questions, please contact your Pearson Representative.

Best Wishes

Cindy Rampersaud
Senior Vice President BTEC and Apprenticeships

Following our 9 April update about the Ofqual announcement that calculated results will be issued in summer for vocational, technical and other general qualifications that lead to further or higher education, Ofqual has today published its consultation on how these qualifications will be graded and awarded.

The consultation covers many of Pearson’s qualifications, which are delivered internationally, including the BTEC Level 3 Nationals (QCF) and BTEC HNC/HND. Ofqual’s proposal is for Awarding Organisations, including Pearson, to decide how to award grades for vocational qualifications being delivered internationally. 

Our priority remains to help learners progress to the next stage in their lives, and we will endeavour to award to as many learners as possible within best practice from Ofqual guidelines, as well as taking account of local regulations. Please see our updated FAQs for vocational and technical qualifications here for further details. 

We want to make sure that we are doing everything we can to best support you and your learners at this time. Our website is updated daily with the latest news, advice and guidance and our free online resource offers to enable learning to continue for the rest of the academic year. If you have any further questions, please contact your Pearson representative.

Thank you for your patience during this unprecedented time. We will continue to keep you updated.

Best wishes,

Cindy Rampersaud
Senior Vice President, BTEC and Apprenticeships

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