BTEC Level 2 Sport Industry Skills - New External Quality Assurance Model
As a result, the WBL Quality Assurance model is now being applied to these qualifications. The WBL Quality Assurance model is explained in our “How does the Work-Based Learning Quality Assurance model work?” guidance document, also explained below.
As a reminder, the reason for this move is to:
- Allow for more timely support for progression to further employment or training.
- Support the Direct Claims Status (DCS) Quality Assurance model, to enable certification throughout the year and to support the roll on roll off nature of centre registrations, as well as those running to an academic year.
- Support the wide range and differing needs of centres and learners - improving the qualifications accessibility to a wider range of customers and impacting market share.
- Provide an alternative to centres to deliver in a range of formats e.g. short intensive course format, or across an academic year within a study programme.
- Allow for more timely support for progression to further employment or training (professional standards can be seen here).
- Bring the qualifications under the WBL Lead Standards Verifier (LSV) model, enabling one-to-one centre support.
This Quality Assurance model will ensure your centre is provided with as much support as possible in the form of a WBL LSV, who will act as a point of contact for all your quality assurance questions and will also work with your sector Standards Verifiers (SV), creating a ‘team approach’ to quality assurance. The WBL LSV is specific to the WBL quality assurance process and will simplify the verification that sector-specific SVs make, allowing them to focus on sampling assessments, providing judgements, giving simple and specific feedback, and reducing any replication. Pearson’s Vocational Quality Assurance Managers will also be available to support all Quality Nominees and will work closely with the WBL LSV and SV to provide the best support for your centre.
Your centre’s WBL LSV may also be appointed as your SV for your programme areas, and Pearson will try to arrange for this where possible. It is hoped that your appointed WBL LSV and SV(s) will work with your centre for up to four years, which will provide continuity of support and advice.
The timings suggested in the description below may vary depending on when you are delivering your programmes and when certification needs to be released.
Your WBL LSV and SV(s) will work with you to plan an annual visit schedule in advance.
The Work-Based Learning Quality Assurance model is a four-stage process:
Stage 1: Centres complete self-assessments for each programme area using the Centre Self-Assessment Form. This is a short and quick review of your programme area(s). It allows you to be as critical as you want of your delivery and quality assurance systems. The best time to complete this is in September/October, ahead of your WBL LSV visit.
Downloaded the centre self-assessment form
Alternatively, if your centre mainly delivers BTEC programmes that fall under BTEC QA and you complete the BTEC LSV review first, you can use the Annual Centre Declaration (ACD) form to avoid duplication of information.
Stage 2: Pearson will allocate your centre a WBL LSV in October. They will have introduced themselves and asked that you complete your Self Assessments per programme and send this to them. This will allow the WBL LSV to plan and tailor their visit to your needs.
The WBL LSV will undertake the following responsibilities:
- Act as a single point of contact for all work-based learning provision. This includes all qualifications listed in Appendix A.
- Liaise with your WBL sector specific SVs, to ensure a team approach to all standards verification activities.
- Support you by providing upfront guidance for your programmes and identify any issues ahead of your standards verification activities.
Stage 3: Your WBL LSV activity should take place before December, but this will depend on your needs. WBL LSVs will mainly be reviewing your management systems across all programme areas, with a view to removing any duplication and reduce your administrative burden. After the WBL LSV visit, you will be provided with a report outlining the findings. This will include good practice, and any actions to help improve programme delivery or your quality assurance systems.
The aim is to identify any “risk to valid certification”. Unless significant failings are evident, the findings should be used to prepare for your standards verification sampling later on in the year. This means if any 'risks' are identified in one of your programme areas, you will be able to mitigate these ahead of standards verification.
Stage 4: Your SV will review Direct Claims Status annually. There will be a minimum of 1 standards verification sample per year. Additional samples or visits may take place if needed.
The standards verification samples will be planned to ensure all cohorts/assessors/delivery locations for your centre are sampled over time.
SVs will check each time they complete their sample that your centre is fully compliant with the requirements for delivering and assessing the qualifications, which are detailed in the Specification and the Quality Assurance handbooks and you will be required to provide evidence to confirm compliance.
WBL LSVs will then use the outcomes of your standards verification sampling to complete a final report each academic year and provide recommendations for your verification cycle for the following year.
Please refer to the WBL quality assurance handbook for full guidance on the WBL LSV role and the Work-Based Learning quality assurance model.
As a reminder the specifications for the BTEC Sport Industry Skills qualifications can be found on our qualification page.
If your centre delivers other BTECs not listed in Appendix A, they will continue to follow the BTEC quality assurance model.
Next steps in verification
By now, your allocated SV should have been in touch with you to complete the verification for your learners and release any outstanding claims as appropriate. Please work with your SV who will support you to complete this process. If you have any questions regarding this process, please contact us by using the Pearson support portal.
Following this, in mid-September 2022, you will then be allocated SVs and LSVs for the next academic year. They will introduce themselves and work with you to arrange verification at a time and date that suits you for the year ahead.
Where possible, the Work-Based Learning LSV allocated to a centre running any Sport Industry Skills qualification will be a current Sport Industry Skills SV.
Sampling requirements
The sampling methodology will be based on BTEC Enhanced Sampling, where unit 4 must be sampled along with either unit 1, 2 or 3 (rotating over time). However, the sampling size may be increased by your SV, based on risk. You will receive one remote verification sample each year by your SV using the enhanced sampling, however, your SV together with the LSV will confirm the exact number of verification activities based on risk.
Reporting
Reporting on these qualifications will utilise the offline BTEC Report, the SV will complete the report and send a copy to you and the LSV via email. The allocated SV will check for staffing and resource requirements, the details of which will be included within the report.
Resubmission rules
Sport Industry Skills will be following the BTEC rules on resubmission as stated in the BTEC Centre Guide for Internal Assessment on page 14. You can find out more about resubmission rules by watching our short guidance video.
Centre Standardisation Materials
Centre Support Materials for Sport Industry Skills can be found in the resources section of the qualification page.
Urgent claims
If you have learners that are due to complete between 1 August and 15 September, please contact us by using the Pearson support portal, and we will be able to arrange standards verification to release certification for your learners, as appropriate.
Further information and questions
For further information regarding this new approach to quality assurance, please visit the WBL QA webpages where you can find:
- Free online events
- Bitesize videos
- QA year planner for WBL qualifications
We understand you may have questions regarding this transition, please contact us by using the Pearson support portal and a member of the team will be able to help you.
Further information and questions
For further information regarding this new approach to quality assurance, please visit the WBL QA webapges, where you can find
- Free online events
- Bitesize videos
- QA year planner for WBL qualifications
We understand you may have questions regarding this transition, please contact us by using the Pearson support portal and a member of the team will be able to help you.
Gareth Reynolds
Product Manager
Sport and Physical Activity
Appendix A - Qualifications to Transfer
- 603/6136/0: Pearson BTEC Level 2 Diploma in Sport Industry Skills (Instructing Circuit Training)
- 603/6135/9: Pearson BTEC Level 2 Diploma in Sport Industry Skills (Instructing Exercise in a Gym Environment)
- 603/6134/7: Pearson BTEC Level 2 Diploma in Sport Industry Skills (Leading Childrens Sports Activities)
- 603/6137/2: Pearson BTEC Level 2 Diploma in Sport Industry Skills (Sport and Active Leisure Recreation Assistant)