BTEC Tech Award July Update
Please find the following helpful information.
We are fast approaching the 5 July deadline for making certification claims for BTEC Tech Awards. We are running customer events throughout June which you can join. We’ll be showing you the new VQ Learner Tracker, which is the new tool you can use to identify where cash-ins are missing and help you to manage your BTEC Tech Award cohort.
Key Date Schedule for 2024/2025 are now published
Draft Moderator report & changing your submitted marks
Use the Moderation Guide to find Step 5 in the process. If you expand the Step 5 dropdown you will see helpful guidance on how to get your draft report if you have not yet received it as well as helpful guidance for adjusting raw marks if you choose to do this.
Distinction * qualification grade needs all component results to be Distinction.
The UMS total will tell you what qualification outcome the student has achieved, except that for a D* certification all three components also need to be at Distinction. So it is possible for a student to have 270 UMS and not achieve an overall D*.
From the specification section 8:
The Level 2 Distinction* grade at qualification level will be awarded only if a learner has achieved a Level 2 Distinction in each component and the minimum number of uniform marks for the Level 2 Distinction* at qualification level.
These updates are a very helpful summary of all the most up to date issues related to the 2022 Tech Awards.
Learners can retake internally assessed components once during their course.
If learners are retaking internally assessed components, they must respond to the new PSA released for that series. Learners are permitted to adapt work from their initial sitting where it is appropriate. They can use the full allocated time, including monitored preparation where applicable, and if they choose to adapt work from their initial sitting, they will need to repurpose, build upon and/or amend their work to meet the new PSA. Learners should not be overly guided on how to improve their work, and if assistance is provided, this should be documented and considered during assessment.
For further information, centres should follow the JCQ Guidance with particular attention paid to sections 2 and 17.
January 2024 saw the first availability of external assessments, results will be seen on 20 March 2024 (21 March 2024 for Learners)
Remember that the terminal assessment rule requires learners to take the external assessment at the end of their qualification (when the learner is due or eligible to certificate). This means that learners must sit internal component assessments either prior to or in the same series as the external assessment to fulfil this terminal rule.
If a learner chooses to retake an internal assessment in a series after they sat the terminal external assessment, they will also need to resit the external component to satisfy the terminal rule. Learners are allowed one resit of the external assessment within the programme.
You will submit certification claims for the new BTEC Tech Awards during the series in which learners are sitting their terminal external assessment. You will do this using the cash-in code for the qualification, which you can find in our Information Manual.
You can make certification claims during the normal entry window for the assessment series. If you have a learner who sits their terminal assessment in January and is happy with their result, you will be able to submit a late claim following the release of January results. However, if a learner is not happy with their results and intends to resit in the May/June series, you may choose to delay claiming until making their resit entry.
We have revised the FAQs to include more detail about Claiming certification please review thia material carefully
Subject advisor
Tim Brady
Computer Science and ICT Subject Advisor
