February Subject Advisor Update 2026 Health and Social Care

Welcome to 2026!  There is a lot of things happening in the next year or so and I will keep you informed and update with anything that changes. This might be about the reforms or the new T-Level Health. 

Updated Special Consideration Form

BTEC Internal Assessments

We’ve created a new form to make applying for special considerations for internally assessed BTEC units quicker and easier. You should make sure you save a copy and use it for all future special consideration applications for internal units.
This new form has more detailed instructions and dedicated sections for your rationale, alternative arrangements and grade profile, making it easier for you to provide the right evidence from the start and avoid any follow-up questions that delay the application.

You should submit all special considerations applications for internally assessed BTEC units by 30 June.

Download the Form 

Reform information

Guiding you through reform with confidence

To support your planning through Level 3 reform, we have created a Health and Social Care Options Guide for post 16 provision in 2026. This guide provides a clear overview of what centres can offer in Health and Social Care from September 2026 onwards. It is designed to support educators who may be concerned about the withdrawal of large level 3 qualifications and want clarity on alternative Pearson pathways.

It includes:

• Example study programmes
• Pearson qualification options from 2026 onwards, including the T Level in Health, AAQs and smaller BTECs
• Useful links and guidance for curriculum discussions

Options guide for Health and Social Care

Training for Tech Awards Health and Social Care and Health and Social Care AAQ

Live events coming up

There are live events coming up for all Early Years qualifications. 

Book your place 

Getting ready for BTEC Tech Awards results

Everything you need to know

With the March BTEC Tech Award results days approaching, here are a few important reminders and some good news about extra support we’re adding this series. 

New enhanced principal moderator reports with exemplar work 

From the March results day, we’re introducing a more detailed principal moderator report for BTEC Tech Awards, designed to give you clearer insight into performance and standards.  

You can now expect: 

• more detailed commentary on how students performed across components 
• exemplar learner work, with moderator commentary, to help you see what the standard looks like in practice 
• common strengths and areas for development, so you can plan teaching, assessment and internal standardisation with confidence. 

These new reports combine the support offered in the previous principal moderator reports with the exemplar standardisation materials, so you get examples of learner work earlier and can see how they link to the themes of the report. You can still use previous series’ exemplar standardisation materials as well as the new principal moderator reports to support your internal standardisation. 

You’ll be able to download the principal moderator reports and exemplars from the relevant qualification page on our website on the 18 March results day. We hope these richer insights make it easier for you and your teams to support students and prepare future cohorts. 

Don’t forget about the terminal rule 

The terminal assessment rule means students have to take their external assessment at the end of their qualification; i.e., the same series in which they'll certificate. This means students must sit their internal assessments either before or in the same series as the external assessment. 

Read more about understanding the terminal rule 

Cash in for January results 

If you have students who sat their terminal assessment in January and don’t want to resit in the summer, don’t forget to submit a cash in for them on Edexcel Online to claim their certification, if you haven’t already.  

Find out more about cash-ins and certification 

Understanding your results 

Want to know more about how BTEC Tech Award results are awarded? Our understanding results page goes through how results are calculated, how components contribute to the final qualification result, and where to find further support if you need to query or review a result. 

Understanding BTEC Tech Award results