The Higher Education Policy Institute (www.hepi.ac.uk) has published a new paper, Holding Talent Back? What is next for the future of Level 3?

11 different authors consider the Westminster Government’s controversial reforms to Level 3 qualifications, including BTECs.

The Government has confirmed that many Applied General qualifications can continue to play a role in the Level 3 landscape, with ‘significantly less than half’ defunded. The Rt Hon. the Lord (David) Willetts suggests in his Foreword that the issue is which qualifications ‘will survive [by the end of all these reforms] and how many students will be able to study them.’

Collectively, the chapters argue that England risks closing off a useful and proven route for students from a wide range of backgrounds, including those hoping to reach higher education.

The authors also argue that the new T Levels, which are designed to sit place alongside A Levels, are welcome but still need to prove themselves. The report argues their success should not rest on shutting off tried-and-tested options that are popular with employers, higher education institutions and students.

In November 2021, the Secretary of State for Education, announced that the original implementation timetable will be set back by one year.

This means that the phased removal of funding for BTECs that overlap with T Levels, and the phased introduction of the new Level 3 ‘Academic’ and ‘Technical’ qualifications will start from 2024/25 rather than 2023/24.

Please be reassured that

• you can continue to teach your BTECs with confidence in 2022/23 and 2023/24 and only some BTEC qualifications will be affected in 2024/25
• learners will be funded until completion for any courses they start.

We are working through the implications for each of our BTEC qualifications in all sector suites and we will update all our centres where there are any changes to
content, availability, and funding for BTECs.

You can find out more in the document below.

Admin Support Guides

The ASGs for Units 2, 6 and 7 are available on the qualification page.

Our policies and guidance for conducting external assessments can be found in the BTEC Instructions for Conducting External Assessment (ICEA) document.

Read the ICEA document

Policies for the conduct of examinations and general regulations, can be found on the JCQ website.

Go to the JCQ website

Secure Download assessments can be accessed from our Secure Test space.

Go to the Secure Tests page

Managing absences

Please review our managing absences support materials on the Teaching and Assessment pages.

Read more.

You should scheduled onscreen tests to be taken by 17 June to ensure they are marked and results issued by August results day.

If you have candidates that are applying for university (via UCAS) or you follow the academic year, please enter these claims by the 5th July each year.

For all other learners that have completed the course and are not applying to attend a university, please enter the claim as soon as possible to ensure timely receipt of certificates.

These FAQs should help support  you as you deliver BTEC qualifications during 2021/22.

Go to the FAQs

You are required to retain evidence that is used to support a Teacher Assessed Grade for six months after the issue of the result, or the conclusion of any complaint, malpractice investigation or appeal in relation to that result, whichever is later. This is line with Ofqual’s regulatory requirements.

It is now possible to report Streamlined Assessments on Edexcel Online.

Go to the guidance document.

Some BTEC Schools and Colleges have raised questions with their BTEC Standards Verifiers regarding sampling. In order to help support you in working together during the standards verification window, we hope the following question and answers provides the clarification you need:

A programme in our centre has been allocated for Enhanced Control sampling but we cannot provide two units this year. What will my Standards Verifier (SV) sample?

If certification is required in summer 2022 and you are delivering a second unit this year outside of the sampling window, then permission for a late sample may be granted, providing this can take place by 30 June 2022. The SV can also sample a unit from Year 1 of the programme, providing it has not been certificated, previously sampled in 2020/21, or subject to U-TAG Quality Assurance.

If certification is required in summer 2022 and there is only one unit available to sample due to the qualification size, then the SV will sample that unit.

If certification is not required in summer 2022, the SV will sample what is available as an ‘Not Yet Fully Sampled’ (NYFS) sample.

Due to our assessment plan, we are unable to provide a full unit for sampling until after the sampling window. Will a sample still need to take place?

Firstly, the SV will enquire as to whether you can amend your assessment plan to ensure a full unit is available within the sampling window. This is the best way for us to ensure secure certification for your learners, and your consideration is appreciated. Understandably, this may not be possible and the SV will not insist that you do so.

The SV can also sample a unit from Year 1 of the programme providing it has not been certificated, previously sampled in 2020/21, or subject to a U-TAG.

In exceptional circumstances, and only where possible, permission for a late sample may be granted, providing this can take place by 30 June 2022. Any sampling undertaken past this date may result in delays to certification.

We are running the first year of the programme (so no certificating learners) but are assigned Enhanced Control. There is only one component/unit available for sampling. What will the SV sample?

If it is the first year of the programme and no certification is required, the SV will sample the one unit/component available and set the report to ‘Not Yet Fully Sampled’ (NYFS) .

We do not have any units available for sampling due to U-TAGs and/or streamlined assessment. What will the SV sample?

This scenario would only occur on smaller sized qualifications. If certification is not required, sampling will be deferred until next year. Centres in this situation will have had Pearson Quality Assurance of their U-TAG judgements earlier this academic year.

If certification is required, the SV can sample a unit from Year 1 of the programme providing it has not been certificated or previously fully sampled in 2020/21. They are also able to sample the streamlined component/unit if a Year 1 unit is unavailable.

In March, Ofqual released a student guide to exams and formal assessments in 2021 to 2022 which explains what is in place to support learners in taking exams and assessments, as well as providing other information about this year’s arrangements.

Go to the Ofqual guide.

We have also created guidance for learners, should they have questions about Pearson’s approach, and we would be grateful if you could share this information with them.

Guidance for learners.

In addition, we have created this guide for centres, which sets out how BTEC qualification grades will be awarded by Pearson in 2021/22.

Guide for centres

The new Tech Awards (first teach Sept 2022) require a different approach to quality assurance. Check out our centre guides and bitesize videos below for further information.

We have also created a new Tech Award Assessment Record template that can be found via our 'BTEC assessment and IV templates' link below.

The BTEC Tech Award in Enterprise for first teaching in September 2022 has been included in the Department for Education's key stage 4 2024 performance tables.

Read more

The 2022 Tech Awards FAQs page is now live.

Go to the FAQ page.

Getting Started: Ways to Teach and Assess the BTEC Tech award in Enterprise 2022

18 May 4-6pm

Register here

15 June 4-6pm

Register here

The current Tech Award in Enterprise

This qualification has been redeveloped and as it is phased out, the key dates are as follows

• 31 December 2022: final registration date for the current Tech award in Enterprise
• May/June 2023 exam series: final external assessment for Component 3
• 31 August 2023: final certification date for the current Tech award in Enterprise

The final registration and certification dates apply to centres in all nations.

What does the withdrawal of these qualifications mean to your centre?

From September 2022:

• Learners who plan to certificate in summer 2023 can continue to be registered onto the current qualifications.
•  Learners who plan to certificate in 2024 onwards will need to be registered on the new 2022 versions of the qualifications.
  

We have created a dedicated webpage to cover these changes in more detail, including an overview of which new Tech Awards relate to the current BTEC Tech and First Awards, as well as guidance for registering new learners and transitioning learners onto the new suite.

What does this mean for your Year 9 Learners who have started an existing Tech Award?

If you need your learner’s performance to be recorded in 2024 Key Stage 4 Performance Tables, they will need to be transferred onto the redeveloped 2022 BTEC Tech Award in Enterprise. These learners should not be completing any assessments on current Tech Awards and should be withdrawn from assessments.

Go to the latest Tech Award update

17 May 4-5pm: Schools BTEC Briefing: Enterprise

14 June 4-5pm: FE and Sixth Form colleges BTEC Network: Business, Enterprise and Entrepreneurship

Go to the training page.

These online events in June will talk through the quality assurance cycle for 2022/23, and look at the new centre guides to support you through the process.

We will also give you an opportunity to discuss with colleagues what's worked well this year and what you will be looking to develop in 2022/23.

Events are split by suite i.e. we are offering separate events for the redeveloped Tech Awards being rolled out in schools with effect from September 2022.

Places are limited to one per centre and the events can be booked via  the QN Hub (under live events).

Go to the QN Hub

We now have a selection of both online ‘live’ events and pre-recorded 'on-demand' sessions for you and your teams to access.

Please check out our BTEC page on the Home of Quality Assurance for more details and to book a place on the forthcoming events.

Find out more

You’re not alone. Many teachers have been asking about our plans and thousands of students took our onscreen GCSE mocks last year.

We believe in creating assessments that encourage progress, enable access and inclusion, and enrich learning. This has driven our use of onscreen assessment in over 115 countries for more than a decade and how we approach what’s next.

Our focus: where and how we can use technology to positively impact assessments and students’ lives.

Find out more about onscreen assessment.

These two videos provide a useful introduction to BTEC external assessment and how best to prepare learners for them.

The “Teach accounting with confidence” course was delivered between January - March 2022

It uses the Colour Accounting Learning System, an educational approach that makes accounting education accessible, engaging and fun for learners and teachers alike.

The 10 sessions were:

• Introductory session: the pedagogy
  
• Topic 1: The BaSIS Board
• Topic 2: Non-current assets
• Topic 3: Statement of Financial Position
• Topic 4: Gross Profit and expenses
• Topic 5: Statement of Comprehensive Income
• Topic 6: Sources of Finance
• Topic 7: Cash flow statements
• Topic 8: Break-even analysis
• Topic 9: Personal finance
  

You will need to register on the Accounting Cafe site and once registered you will have access to recordings of each session as well as the materials used.

Go to the Accounting Cafe site.