Key updates and information for new BTEC Tech Awards (2022)

We hope you and your students have enjoyed a successful first term. As we heard towards the Winter break, we’ve pulled together some key information and updates to help you hit the ground running in the new year.

15th December submission deadline for December/January series

If you have made entries for the December/January moderation series, as a reminder, learners should be completing work on the PSAs and internal centre assessment should be carried out in time for the mark and learner work submission deadline of 15th December 2022.

Moderators will be in contact with their allocated centres from early December. Remember, although the final deadline for uploading marks and learner work is 15th December, you will have access to the Learner Work Transfer system from 1st December that date for uploading the work of learners sampled for moderation if you wish to upload sooner. 

Guidance on submitting marks and learner work via LWT can be found on the Tech Awards 2022 Support Index.

Moderator feedback and amending marks on Edexcel Online

One of the best new features of the Tech Awards from 2022 is the direct feedback from your moderator and opportunity to make mark adjustments following feedback.  

If you have entered learners for the December/January series, your moderator will contact the Programme Lead for Tech Awards to arrange a mutually convenient time to give feedback once moderation is complete. This will be either by phone or online meeting. Following moderator feedback, if necessary, you will have approximately 2 weeks to amend any of your initial marks via Edexcel Online.

Guidance on amending marks can be found on the Tech Awards 2022 Support Index.

You can find more information on the internal assessment and moderation process in the Administrative Support Guide (ASG) for your subject. You’ll find it in the ‘course materials’ section of the subject qualification page.

Assessment Entries

Please remember that as the internal assessments are now moderated within the series, entries must be made for learners wishing to sit the assessment. 

December/January Assessment series

The deadline for on-time entries for the December/January moderation series has now passed, so late entry fees now apply.  

May/June assessment series 

You can now begin making entries for the May/June 2023 moderation series using the basedata for EDI entries, or directly through Edexcel Online. Entry deadlines can be found in the Key Dates Schedule.  

Note that learners who sit internal assessments in the December/January 2023 series can be re-entered for May/June assessments after results have been issued on March 23rd, and no late fees will be charged. The entry deadline for these learners is 1st April.

The PSA for the Art and Design Practice is now available for download from the subject Qualification Page. The Performing Arts PSA will be released on 1st December, and all other subjects will be released on 6th February 2023.

Further guidance on making entries for new Tech Awards can be found in our Tech Awards Support Index. 

Standardisation Materials and Training Events

We have published the initial set of Exemplar Standardisation Materials (ESMs) for teachers to refer to for internal standardisation prior to marking learner responses to PSAs. You can access them using an Edexcel Online password in the Course Materials section of your subject’s qualification page, under ‘Teaching and Learning Materials’. Further ESMs will be added in early 2023 following the first moderation series.

Live online Getting Started training sessions and Marking and Moderation training sessions are continuing to run by popular demand. They are free to attend and fill up fast, so be sure to book your space. If you can’t attend one of these sessions live, you can access the recordings.

Administrative Support Guides (ASGs) and Assessment Tracker Tools

The ASGs for all subjects are now available to download from the relevant subject qualification pages, for use in conjunction with the PSAs for each series. These important guides detail key dates, supervised conditions, moderation processes and helpful information relating to the administration of internal assessments. Please download it now and become familiar with the processes for your subject.

We have also created Assessment Tracker tools for each of the Tech Awards from 2022 to help streamline and manage your internal marking and record keeping. These Excel-based documents include interactive Marking Grids for each internal component and allow you to capture marks, feedback, assessment notes, and export Mark Record sheets for use by your moderator.

You can watch this short video tutorial on how the trackers work to help you manage the marking process.

ExamWizard for External Assessments

You can also now access exam questions through our examWizard service to create your own mock assessments catered to your learners. Questions are taken from the Sample Assessment Materials (SAMs) and from legacy Tech Awards exams where applicable, so you will have a good bank of questions to support your learners right from the start, with further questions to be added in the new year. Travel and Tourism resources are still in production and will be available as soon as possible.

Please note, Exam Wizard is only available for subjects with written external assessments.

Modified Papers

If your centre has learners who require modified versions of PSAs, these need to be requested by the dates given below. All requests require approximately 4 weeks to fulfil; please contact additional_requirements@pearson.com to place your order. 

The following deadlines for ordering modified papers are set by the JCQ (Joint Council for Qualifications) and do not change each year: 

• 4 October – December/January series
• 31 January – May/June series