Our FAQs are updated regularly and include answers to the latest questions you may have regarding:

• external assessment
• external assessment entries
• general teaching and learning
• reduced optional assessment
• standards verification
• setting standards

The Z flag functionality is now available on Edexcel Online for reporting reductions in assessments for learners. We have updated our step-by-step guidance to reflect this in the BTEC Administration Guidance document below.
For now, please report unit grades or flags using ‘Interim Claims’ only:

• all internal assessments that were due, but could not take place due to the pandemic or as part of the original ‘permitted reduced assessment’ (scheduled to take place between 1 August 2020-31 August 2021), via the ‘Z-Flag’ function. This should be used for all ‘B1’ BTEC qualifications, namely: Firsts, Nationals, Tech Awards and Technicals
• the assessment did take place; then you should, of course, report the unit grade awarded using the ‘interim’ function.

If learners have assessments that are due to take place next year, you should not report anything against those units, as you have not yet assessed them.

For mid-flight learners we anticipate that a TAG (component or qualification-level) will be requested by Pearson during the learner’s year of certification. At the time of writing, this will apply only to those units which were due to be assessed between 1 August 2020 – 31 August 2021, including external assessments.

We have explained in our BTEC Appeals Guidance (please see below) that any centre errors on Q-TAGs will require you to complete the Q-TAG amendment form (also below) so that we can process your corrections.

As a reminder here are the deadlines and details:

• Centres can correct a teacher assessed grade between 18 June and 18 July 2021 by contacting Pearson via the customer contact portal. You will also need to fill in the Q-TAG amendment form which can be returned to us via the customer contact portal
• Centres can correct a teacher assessed grade after 18 July 2021 by contacting resultsresolution@pearson.com. Centres should note that any errors submitted after 18 July may not be processed in time for results day
• Centres should apply to appeal (including centre error appeals) using Edexcel Online - from 10 August 2021.
  

10 August: Level 3 Learner results day

12 August: Level 2 Learner results day

The basic document that covers the whole process is the JCQ Guide to the 2021 appeals processes (please see link below).

Section 3 covers the information that can be shared with learners to give them an understanding of the process.  You may wish to consider this alongside Appendix F.

Section 4 explains how you can check for procedural or administrative errors, and if you find any, ask us to correct them before results day.

Section 5 provides information about the centre review process (this is the first stage of any appeals process).  Appendix B is the form to requesto a centre review and appeal and Appendix D tells you how to change grades after results day.

No grade protection

Learners need to understand that there is no grade protection this year and that a grade could go down, up or stay the same as a result of a centre review or appeal.

10 August: Level 3 Learner results day

12 August: Level 2 Learner results day

23 August: deadline for priority appeals (A priority appeal is only for students applying to higher education who did not attain the offer they accepted as their first choice and wish to appeal a Level 3 qualification result.)

17 September: deadline for non-priority appeals

We aim to process priority appeals by 8 September and non-priority appeals within 42 calendar days.

The Pearson Quality Advisor Team offer a range of free online events to support all aspects of Quality Assurance in relation to your BTEC programmes. Whatever your role, please take a look at our list of events on offer on our Quality Support Hub Events page. These events are offered on different days and at different times so we are sure you will find a slot to suit you and your teams.

Go to the Quality Support Hub Events page

Our next event is Friday 16 July 12pm - 1pm, a brief overview of the of the Quality Assurance process for 2021/22. We are limiting attendance to 1 person per centre, although we'll be making the recording available.

You can book your place here.

You can then complete the rest of the online form providing all the information relevant to your case, attach the assignment brief once you have submitted the case.

Please ensure that you have also read the ACS terms & conditions.

Find out more about the Assignment Checking Service.

Web for BTEC is a customised search engine covering both Level 2 and Level 3 qualifications, designed to help your learners cut through the internet’s noise and overload and go straight to the content they need. It helps learners develop their research skills by showing articles and videos solely related to BTEC qualifications. The content is relevant to your learners' specific subjects and approved by teachers, all served without distractions.

Web for BTEC provides learners with the option to filter results by reading level, making the resources not only relevant, but relatable and most importantly readable, so they have the confidence to explore the subject and fall in love with learning.

Accessed via an ActiveLearn log in* here, your learners can use this customised search tool to focus, achieve and love learning.

*Creating an ActiveLearn log in is free and takes less than a minute. See the sign-up section on our Web for BTEC home page. No data or information is shared with any 3rd parties.

The Professional Development Academy is a one-stop shop that provides access to a wide range of flexible, high-quality online courses for teachers.

You will find a range of on-demand, live and self-guided training courses creating flexible options for learning at a time that suits individual needs.

Tech Award and the Z flag, 2021

Mid-flight learners:

1. If the in-unit adaptation has been used and the component completed before 31 July, please input the achieved grade.

2. If the assessment plan shows that a component was due to be completed between 1 August 2020 and 31 August 2021 and the disruption was such that the in-unit reductions were not enough, then the Z flag should be used to indicate this. This could be for a cohort or perhaps an individual learner who wasn't able to complete all assessments.

3. For the component that is delivered across the two years nothing is to be entered as it will continue to be taught and assessed next year.

The provisional timetable for January 2022 is:

Hosted by the Peter Jones Foundation, this webinar is for teachers delivering the BTEC Level 1/2 Tech Award in Enterprise. It will look at different definitions of enterprise and explore what distinguishes an enterprise course from a more traditional qualification in business studies. The Foundation will give examples of project-based learning, competitions and opportunities that can bring the qualification to life. This webinar will also include a chance to hear from and question an entrepreneur with a portfolio of successful business interests and all attendees will receive a taster flash challenge set by Peter Jones CBE.

9th September 3.45PM - 5PM - Register here

15th September 3.45PM - 5PM - Register here

22nd September 3.45PM - 5PM - Register here

In September 2020 the DfE published the technical guidance for KS4 qualifications to be included in 2024 performance tables in England. In order to meet these new requirements, Pearson has submitted the Pearson BTEC Level 1/Level 2 Tech Award in Enterprise for approval for 2024 performance tables. We are currently making amendments to our draft specifications following feedback from Ofqual and will be sharing them with you the week of 19th July.

We've retained many key features of our current BTEC Tech Awards:

• Simple 3 component structure in most sectors
• Much of the teaching and learning content has been retained with some changes made to enhance clarity.
  
• Current Tech Awards have 40% external assessment, so no change was needed to meet new requirements.

New additions to meet KS4 performance measure requirements will include:

• Engaging Pearson Set Assignments for internal components, released with plenty of time for preparation and assessment to suit your programme timetable
• Mark-based and moderated assessments that are compensatory within each component and across the qualification giving learners more opportunities to achieve.

We will be supporting the launch of the revised qualifications with a series of events for all subjects from September.

If you are starting to deliver the Tech Award this coming September then your learners will be claiming certification in 2024.  This means that they will be studying for the new (2022) Tech Award qualification.

The new qualification requires you to use Pearson Set Assignments (PSAs) for Components 1 and 2 and these PSAs will not be available in the 2021-2022 school year. The new qualification also requires Component 3 to be assessed in the year that learners claim certification.

This means that no assessment for the new qualification can take place in the 2021-2022 school year.  In terms of content there is very little change so you can still deliver this.  You may also be interested in developing enterprise skills in your learners and there are two competitions you may wish to consider to help you do this.

The first is the tycoon competition run by the Peter Jones Foundation which is an ideal way to develop enterprise skills and which provides teaching resources to help you.

Go to the tycoon competition page.

The second is a social enterprise challenge which has been running for two years now and which encourages both creativity and enterprise.  It is called Be The Future.

Read about the 2021 Be The Future challenge

There are more enterprise ideas and resources on the Enterprise support page.

Visit the BTEC Enterprise page.

The Department for Education (DfE) has confirmed that qualifications approved for inclusion in the KS4 2020 performance tables will also be included in performance tables for 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Our BTEC Level 1/Level 2 Tech Award in Enterprise will continue to count towards 2021, 2022 and 2023 Key Stage 4 performance tables. You can continue to register learners onto this qualification for completion in 2023.

A guide to DfE performance tables.

Key DfE requirements for qualifications to be elgible for 2024 performance tables

Updated guide to BTEC qualifications and performance tables

The specifications on the qualification pages will be updated to reflect this change.

The changes and will be supported by new Sample Assessment Materials (due to be released by 01/09/2021).

There will also be training in October:

• 6th Oct 4PM-6PM
  
• 11th Oct 4PM-6PM
  
• 13th Oct 4PM-6PM
  
• 20th Oct 4PM-6PM  

FAQs

Will the Part B be the same as previous exam sessions in terms of marks, time and layout of the paper?

Yes. Part B will remain a total of 70 marks. Activity 1 will be worth a total of 34 marks and Activity 2 worth 36 marks.

The layout of the paper will be consistent i.e., Activity 1 will require the preparation of a rationale for a marketing campaign and Activity 2 will require candidates to produce a plan for the marketing campaign of a given business.

Why have you made these changes? 

We have made these changes because of the problems centres faced planning and scheduling the Part A. Centres have told us this format of assessment, is more manageable.

Have you made changes to the timetable to reflect the Unit 3 changes?

Yes. We have removed the Part A 10-day window for learners to complete the practical investigation and added a 2-hour review period on the morning of the Part B assessment. The Part B set task is timetabled for the same afternoon.

Is there a new administration guide that we can refer to that takes into consideration the new arrangements of Unit 2?

Yes. We will be issuing an updated Administrative Support Guide to reflect the changes to the Part A document that is released before the start of the Part B examination.

Can you confirm the supervision and control for Unit 2 Part A and Part B?

Part A and Part B must be conducted under medium-control supervision. Full details of supervision controls can be found in our Instructions for Conducting External Assessments (ICEA) document.

What is permitted in the two hour reading period in the Part A of the Unit 2 exam?  Can students discuss and ask questions etc?

Learners are not allowed to discuss the Part A document and tutors/ teachers/ invigilators cannot give learners any support or guidance during the Part A period. The Part A reading period must be conducted under the same level of medium control as the Part B. 

Can students make notes during the Part A review period and bring these notes into Part B?

Students can bring hand written annotated notes from their review of Part A materials into the Part B session but no other materials other than the Part A document should be present for Part B.

What level of supervision is required over lunch between Parts A and B? Can students keep their annotated copy of Part A during this supervised lunch?

Annotated Part A materials should be collected in following the morning review session and redistributed to learners at the start of the Part B session.

Should we retain Part A at our centre? If so, for how long? 

Yes. Centres must retain each learner’s Part A document and keep it securely until the end of the Review of Marking and Moderation period. The Part A document must not be returned to Pearson with the Part B document. 

January 2022

The provisional timetable for January 2022 is:

BTEC Business+

This new digital resource accompanies the BTEC Nationals in Business.

Currently, Business+ is available for marketing units:

• Unit 2: Developing a Marketing Campaign
• Unit 17: Digital Marketing
• Unit 22: Market Research

Each unit is available to purchase individually, with prices from as little as £6 per student.
Every purchase for the Learning Hub comes with a complementary login for teachers.

Find out more

Recorded training

Getting Started: ways to teach and assess BTEC Nationals in Business

Watch the recording

BTEC Business Professional Bodies Partnerships

We have partnership agreements with the following organisations:

• ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants)
• CII (Chartered Institute of Insurance)

• CIM (Chartered Institute of Marketing)
• CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development)
• CMI (Chartered Management Institute)

January 2022

The provisional timetable for January 2022 is:

Recorded training

Getting Started: ways to teach and assess BTEC Nationals in Enterprise & Entrepreneurship

Watch the recording

The Level 3 BTEC Nationals in Marketing are not eligible for inclusion in performance tables but are eligible for funding.

Go to the qualification page

January 2022

The provisional timetable for January 2022 is:

Schemes of work and draft Delivery Guides

This are now available on the qualification page (please choose Course Materials and then Teaching and Learning Materials)

Go to the qualification page.

Recorded training

Getting Started with the BTEC Nationals in Marketing

Watch the recording

BTEC Marketing Plus

We have a new digital resource called Marketing Plus to support this qualification.

Find out more

Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)

We have professional partnership agreement with CIM (Chartered Institute of Marketing)

Find out more about the CIM

Specification

The specification for International Level 3 Business and International Level 3 Enterprise & Entrepreneurship is available on the qualification page.

The following support materials are also available:

• Scheme of work
• Sample assignments
• Unit delivery guidance
• Authorised Assignment Briefs
• Pearson Set Assignments (PSAs)
  

Student resources

The student resources are only available as e-texts on the Learning Hub site, and are all available now. If a you want to have access, please complete an expression of Interest form .

If you have any queries, want to be kept updated or need to know how to start offering these qualifications in your centre, contact one of our Sales Representatives.

Specification

In an ever-changing and fast-paced world, marketing skills are key to modern-day businesses especially during and post the pandemic.

The ability to understand and create compelling stories which speak to the needs of an audience, where they are and at the time they need it, are important skills in every organisation and essential skills for a marketing professional to possess.

The new BTEC International Level 3 in Marketing qualification is available in a range of sizes and pathways to suit the needs of your learners. It’s digital content and resources have been created in partnership with The School of Marketing to help your learners to acquire current industry knowledge, and apply skills that are required from a modern-day marketer.

Learners will be able to understand and apply marketing principles such as; customer communications, marketing regulations, creating customer loyalty, influencer marketing, market research, digital marketing and more.

 Go to the qualification page

Student resources

BTEC Marketing+ is a new digital resource that supports your delivery of our BTEC in Marketing. It features the latest industry content from the School of Marketing, which makes it ideal for blended learning delivery , this innovative online resource gives your learners videos, infographics, case studies, work activities, self-learning quizzes and more, to enhance and secure learning aims of the qualification and keeps your learners engaged.