T Levels January 2024 update
Happy new year and welcome to January’s T Level update.
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T Levels now form part of the term-time checkpoint, and all centres need to complete a cohort declaration by 9 February. We have sent a list of all your T Level registrations to your exams officer’s Edexcel Online mailbox. We’re asking you to review these registrations and ensure that all the estimated completion dates for your T Level registrations are accurate. This is to ensure we have a shared view of all learners that are expecting a result in August.
If you need to make any amendments to your T Level estimated completion dates, you can email completinglearners@pearson.com, using the T Level amendment spreadsheet.
> Read more about the cohort declaration term-time checkpoint
The entry window for core component assessments for the summer 2024 series is now open. You must make an entry for every student wishing to enter the assessment.
If you are making resit entries, please ensure you are familiar with the resit rules, which you can find in the TQ specification, or watch our support video on assessment, results and resits on our training and admin support page.
Entries for the occupational specialism summer 2024 series are still open. You must make an entry for every student wishing to enter the assessment. Please consult the relevant key dates schedule for detailed entry dates and deadlines.
You can still make Technical Qualification registrations for students commencing this academic year. We are now in the very late registration period, meaning registrations received from now will be subject to a very late fee.
The approval window will open in February for providers commencing delivery in September 2024. You must gain approval for each Technical Qualification you wish to deliver.
Please watch our provider approval video before starting your application process.
You can find support documents and approval forms on our training and admin support page, including:
- A guide to provider approval
- Guidance document Pearson vocational provider approval application for T Level Technical Qualifications
- Pearson T Level Technical Qualification delivery approval application form
- Pearson vocational provider approval application for T Level Technical Qualifications
If you have any questions about provider approval, please contact us via the Pearson support portal.
For wider support, answering queries and networking you can join the following subject groups:
We updated the key dates schedule last year, compressing the windows to allow for more teaching time before assessment. Core exams now take place later in June.
From 2024, we are replacing termly Construction-specific Q&A Networks with a larger cross-sector session covering specific themes. The first of these sessions is on 5 March, 4–5 p.m. See the Q&A Networks section for more details.
We are collaborating with the Gatsby Foundation on resources for our T Levels, and they hope to create new teaching and CPD support resources soon for selected topics in the core, based on provider feedback.
The re-tendering process for cycle 1 T Levels is commencing this year. As part of this, a new occupational specialism for Construction Support Technician is planned, which will replace the Hazardous Materials occupational specialism.
> Read the outline content on the IfATE website
We are keen to consult with providers, and in particular your employers, who may want students on this new route, as we have an opportunity to shape the content and assessment when we come to write it. Please contact gabriel.staples@pearson.com to get involved.
Remember that CITB offers grants to employers who take on T Level students in industry placements. Please share this with your employers and encourage them to apply.
> Read more about CITB’s Into Work grant
We have provider update webinars this month for Craft and Design and for Media, Broadcast and Production. These are after the final approval milestone, so we will go through the final version of the qualification and assessments. Use the following links to book your place:
- Craft & Design | 25 January 2024, 2–4 p.m.
- Media, Broadcast & Production | 26 January 2024, 2–4 p.m.
We've published draft qualification descriptions for each T Level to give you more information about the qualification and support your recruitment in the autumn term. You can find these in the useful documents sections of the TQ web page.
Draft copies of the expanded content for Craft and Design, and Media, Broadcast and Production are available. If you would like access, please join our Provider Validation Panel.
We are creating an expert panel to advise and update on the Digital T Level for future Q&A network events. If you are interested in joining and sharing your experiences, please email david.pautsch@pearson.com.
We have launched our curriculum planners. There are separate summer and autumn versions to reflect the recent decoupling.
If you have feedback on the resources, please take the time to complete this short survey.
Gatsby have been working on resources for the Digital T Level that will support teaching and learning. These have been created by industry experts like Raspberry Pi and our own examiners to support you in class. They will be rolled out starting this term, so watch this space and keep an eye on Gatsby's website.
We have worked with Cisco and their Networking Academy on teaching resources for Python and other programming languages used in the Occupational Specialism. It's completely free to sign up and become a Cisco Networking Academy centre.
> Access the resources and find out more at the Cisco Networking Academy
Legal Services:
We will release more teaching and learning materials over the coming months on the course materials page. Most recently, we’ve added Fundamentals of Law, Business Environments, a scheme of work for the core component (we will launch the occupational specialism scheme of work soon), and exemplar materials for the employer set project which gives student responses and commentary.
The Law Teacher Annual Conference takes place on Monday 12 February 2024 in Coventry. We will be there to discuss the T Level in Legal Services, and it will be a great opportunity to find out more and network with other teachers.
> Book your tickets for the Law Teacher Annual Conference
Finance and Accounting:
Curriculum planners for the core and occupational specialism components are now available on the course materials page. Don’t forget about our professional body support for the Accounting Occupational Specialism.
We would welcome your feedback about the free training that is to be provided by the CII for the T Level in Finance (Occupational Specialisms: Insurance Practitioner and Investment Banking and Asset and Wealth Management Analyst).
> Please complete the survey to aid getting this delivery right for you
The CII have a dedicated T Levels page to support you. If you’re interested in being involved with the CII T Levels, please contact them via the form on their page.
> Find out more about the CII support for T Levels
Please express your interest if you would like to join our Provider Validation Panel and be part of the development process. This will give you the opportunity to feed into the content and assessment, making sure it is appropriate and accessible for your students and manageable for you to deliver as a provider.
If you have employer contacts who may be interested in supporting the development, please contact andrew.hambelton@pearson.com.
We have completed the first draft of the content expansion and are working on an assessment model to be complete for milestone 1 in mid-January.
Our training and admin support page gathers everything you need to support your T Level delivery, from training and events to videos and documents to assist in administrating the qualifications.
- On-demand training such as Getting to Know the Specification, Employer Set Project training, Keeping it Simple materials, and our termly policy update.
- T Level live training where you can search for events and book Q&A networks, Getting Ready to Teach events, Getting Ready to Assess events.
- Our training archive collects recordings of past events if you are unable to attend any of our live training sessions or want to listen again.
- Administration documents and support, including key dates schedules, Provider approval guidance, administration support guides for assessment, videos to support making registrations and entries, understanding resit rules, and much more.
> Bookmark our training and administration support page and explore the resources on offer
Our first new-look session will take place on Tuesday 5 March 2024, 4–5 p.m., and will focus on recruitment, planning and preparation. This will look at how to plan a T Level. Current T Level teachers will share their experiences and we will look at resources available for the recruitment and planning phase of T Levels. This will also help those looking at refining their delivery model and sharing practice.
> See more details and book your place
For individual support, you can book a call with our subject advisor. This is available via the book an appointment with a subject advisor link on the subject advisors page, where you’ll also see information about your subject advisor and the support they offer. This is a 15-minute call where you can discuss any issue you are having with regards to planning or delivery of your T Level.
> Find your subject advisor and book your call
As part of the DfE’s Level 3 and below reform of vocational qualifications that support 16–19-year-olds and adults, new qualifications to support the T Level Foundation Year will be available for first teach September 2026.
T Level Foundation Year qualifications (Level 2) will contain a breadth of knowledge, understanding and skills that will prepare students for study on any T Level within the given occupational route and are aligned with the national expectations in the framework for delivery for the T Level Foundation Year (TLFY ).The DfE has developed National Technical Outcomes (NTOs) for each T Level route and these will be used to underpin the content for all T Level Foundation qualifications.
Pearson are currently developing these qualifications and we would like your input as we go through the development.
> Please complete this initial survey to give some feedback and get involved
The T Level Transition Programme is now called the T Level Foundation Year (TLFY). We have a dedicated webpage where you will find a range of information to support the delivery of the TLFY.
> Explore our T Level Foundation Year support
We have published guides specifically designed to support the delivery of:
- Work preparation and employability skills via our Level 2 Award in WorkSkills.
- Pastoral support and personal development via our Level 2 Award in Personal Growth and Wellbeing.
Employers tell us that learners undertaking their industry placement often lack work-based digital skills, such as using Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint in a work environment.
Pearson’s Digital Functional Skills will help your learners develop the digital skills used in the workplace that employers are looking for.
> Learn more about our Digital Functional Skills qualifications
We have a range of materials aimed at supporting your T Levels recruitment activities. We have a dedicated page for students, which is also handy for parents, and is ideal to signpost to or use when recruiting students.
> Explore the information available on our T Levels: for students page