BTEC Higher Nationals FAQs

Where units are undeliverable due to inability to access necessary resources and equipment, and NO teaching and learning has taken place for that unit, the following options are available: 

1. If it is a Level 4 HNC unit, with intention for those student (s) to progress to the Level 5 HND year, that unit can be derogated. This mean that students can progress to the next level with the condition that the unit must be completed prior to the final HND award.  
2. If the student is in their final year of Higher National study, and thus expecting to achieve their BTEC Higher National qualification in summer 2021, the only options are to adapt assessment for that unit in line with the Higher Nationals Covid-19 Teaching and Assessment Guide (2021) or to deliver an alternative unit with no practical requirements where feasible and permissible in the rules of combination for that qualification. 
3. Where practical elements in a unit are directly related to work placement assessment, and work placement is a mandatory element of the qualification, please see the question related to this below. 

Where the units have become undeliverable, but some learning, teaching and assessment (formative and/or summative) has taken place, we encourage the adaptation of assessment where possible.  

Where work placement is not mandated in the qualification, there is no minimum number of hours that need to be undertaken. For further guidance please see the section on ‘How to approach work experience’ in the COVID-19 Teaching and Assessment Guidance for BTEC Higher Nationals 2020-21. 

We ask that a valid proportion of work placement hours are completed in order to qualify for an award. Please see the guidance in Appendix 2 of the COVID-19 Teaching and Assessment Guidance for BTEC Higher Nationals 2020-21. 

Where a work experience/practice requirement is mandated within a qualification, we expect all students to achieve this requirement in full.  Where this is not possible due to the impact of Covid-19 restrictions, students will be able to progress to certification in the following circumstances:   

• The student has completed the minimum required work experience/practice hours listed in the tables in Appendix 2 of the COVID-19 Teaching and Assessment Guidance for BTEC Higher Nationals 2020-21, and all attempts to access further hours have been exhausted .
• Steps have been taken to support the student to achieve the required work experience/practice hours, including part-time employment, bank and relief options, volunteering, work during holiday periods and the provision of planned, supervised and structured virtual (online/telephony) support, where the student has been trained to do so .
• Actions taken to secure the full requirement of work experience/practice hours have been recorded and are available for internal and external quality assurance .
• Students are able to satisfactorily provide direct care to service users whilst on placement, as verified by their placement supervisor and their college assessor.  

Yes. However, where it is safe to do so, observation by an occupationally competent and qualified assessor is preferred as the main source of evidence for all learners. Where this is not possible due to protracted disruption caused by Covid-19 restrictions, testimonies provided by a suitably experienced employer/manager/leader recruited by the centre to undertake the role of an Expert Witness (EW) will be accepted. Please refer to Appendix 2 of the COVID-19 Teaching and Assessment Guidance for BTEC Higher Nationals 2020-21 for further details. 

There are some pathways in the Healthcare Practice, Healthcare Practice for England, and Social and Community Work qualifications where observation of practice in the workplace setting is intended, but it is not mandatory. For these pathways, triangulation of alternative assessment methods can be used to capture evidence that would otherwise have been obtained through observation of the student’s practice e.g. through expert witness testimony, professional discussion and reflective logs. 

Even in these circumstances, the qualified assessor assigned to the student will be expected to confirm the accuracy of the judgement of the student(s) competency with a signed supporting statement. All judgements will be subject to the usual internal quality assurance protocols. 

For additional guidance and recommendations regarding alternative assessments for practice-related assessment criteria by unit, please refer to the HSCEY Adaptation Guidance on HN Global.  

In normal circumstances, this is not something we would accept, and continues to be the case. It is also very likely that the student’s work placement setting(s) will not permit devices that can take video recordings.    

For apprentices, the overarching and primary guidance for what is permissible on programme has been issued by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. Please refer to these carefully in making decisions with regards to delivery and the assessment of the Standard. For the HND qualification element of the Standard, the considerations in the other FAQs listed here apply.     

We have a dedicated forum on HN Global that provides regular updates and an opportunity for you to ask questions specific to BTEC Higher Nationals. In addition, we update the Pearson website regularly with the latest information and guidance on Covid-19, and our response to support centres and students across all our qualifications. There is separate guidance for UK and International centres, and links on each of these pages to additional information, support, resources and guidance. Please check these regularly to stay informed.  

Here are some links to UK-based guidance and resources related to Covid-19 that are useful for centres delivering Health and Social Care, Early Education and Counselling qualifications, and related Apprenticeship Standards. These links will be updated regularly as more information is received. 

• Nursing and Midwifery Council Response to the Covid-19 Emergency (for students and educators)   
• Apprenticeship Guidance (England only) - Coronavirus (COVID-19): apprenticeship programme response
• British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance and resources for members
• Skills for Care Covid-19 Essential Training
• Coronavirus: Free e-learning resources from Skills for Health   
• Early Education (the British Association for Early Childhood Education) Free Resources and Membership - via HN Global
• Coronavirus Guidance and Resources from Social Care Online (SCIE) 

In light of the current uncertainty, guidelines and global pandemic, there will be no in-person EE centre visits taking place for 2021. External Examination activities will be completed remotely in 2021, via a “remote visit”. A date for this remote visit will be scheduled for a mutually convenient time when centre staff and students are available to speak online with your EE.

Your allocated EE will be in touch with you from the 25th November onwards.

For the time being, there is no indication that Centre Assessment Grades (CAGS) will be used for the 2020/21 academic year and there is an expectation that teaching, learning and assessment can take place as scheduled. Pearson will update all centres if this situation changes, and our guidance will be in line with the decisions of both the Department for Education and Ofqual.

No. The BTEC Higher Nationals EE Assessment Board report for the review of the assessment board template and minutes is not required this year. However, your EE will still need a copy of the Assessment Board minutes as part of their sample. 

Yes, for BTEC Higher Nationals. Where possible Pearson encourages the re-ordering of units and/or adaptation in delivery/assessment to suit student needs, in order to complete assessments. More guidance can be found in the COVID-19 Teaching and Assessment Guidance.

Yes. There is helpful and detailed support which can be accessed in the COVID-19 Teaching and Assessment guidance.

In the first instance, you should you contact your External Examiner(s), and they will be able to provide you with support. If you require additional support from Pearson directly, you can contact us via Pearson Support.

Please see page 72, of the Centre Guide to Quality Assurance and Assessment.

Centres should have a policy for dealing with mitigating/extenuating circumstances if students are affected by adverse circumstances, such as illness, which may include adverse impact due to Covid-19.

The student should be informed that they may wish to submit a ‘mitigating/extenuating circumstances’ application to the centre. A decision can then be made (following the centre’s own policy) as to whether any exceptional/mitigating circumstances are accepted. Decisions will be ratified by the centre’s Assessment Board or an Exceptional/Mitigating Circumstances Panel. These decisions should be noted on the Assessment Board minutes.

The requirements of Ofqual’s revised Extended Extraordinary Regulatory Framework (EERF) state adaption of assessment as the main mitigation, and therefore delaying assessment should be avoided where possible.

Yes, where units are undeliverable due to circumstances that prevent teaching, learning and assessment, those units can be derogated until the following year in order to allow students to progress from Level 4 to Level 5. Please be aware that students will still need to complete those units in order to receive their Higher Nationals award.

Given the current circumstances due to COVID-19, in 2020-2021 Pearson will continue to temporarily lift the expectation that an HND student would have achieved at least 90 credits at Level 4 before progressing to Level 5 units. This derogation from the standard progression expectation allows centres to respond to the current situation by being flexible in the order of the delivery and assessment of units in light of the need to accommodate social distancing measures.

Distance Learning for Higher Nationals refers to teaching, learning and assessment which is 100% remote or online.  As such, Distance Learning is where there is no face-to-face teaching, learning or assessment (please see ‘How we define learning’ section below for more information). 

In May 2020, due to the COVID-19 crisis, Pearson’s Higher Education Qualifications (HEQ) department made available Temporary Distance Learning approval for centres so that teaching, learning and assessment for BTEC Higher National programmes could continue for the remainder of the 2019/20 academic year.  

Pearson’s HEQ department extended temporary distance learning approval for centres until November 2nd 2020, and whilst many centres were able to return to either centre-based face-to-face teaching or blended learning, there have since been new restrictions imposed that have impacted centres. As such, centres can ask for temporary distance learning re-approval until the 31st Jan 2021, with the condition that centres apply for formal Distance Learning Approval via the Distance Learning Self-Assessment (DLSA). The self-assessment must comply with the Distance Learning Policy and will be assessed by Pearson’s Centre Management team.

Please note however, that some programmes may not be suited for full Distance Learning approval, so we advise that theory-based units be taught for those programmes during the period that temporary distance learning is granted.

Programmes that are unsuitable for full DLSA are:

• Healthcare Practice
• Healthcare Practice for England
• Early Childhood Education Care
• Performing Arts
• Applied Science
• Nuclear Engineering
• Engineering
• Rail Engineering
• Aeronautical Engineering
• Manufacturing Operations
• Policing
• Public Services
• Sport
• Sport and Exercise Science

Programmes that may be suitable for DLSA depending on pathway selection or combination of units are:

• Music (Music Business and Composition pathways)
• Art and Design (Graphic Design and Digital Design pathways)
• Creative Media Production (Web & App Development, Games Development and Visual Affects pathways)
• Hospitality Management (depends on combination of units)
• Construction (depends on combination of units).

We advise that centres first seek advice from Pearson subject experts about whether their pathways or unit combinations will be suitable for DLSA.

If centres can continue with blended learning, there is no need to apply for distance learning approval. Any combination of remote/online learning with face-to-face learning is classified as blended learning. 

Please note that if centres choose to deliver through Distance Learning, students will still be expected to complete their qualification within the usual full-time or part-time timeframes for either the Higher National Certificate (HNC) or Higher National Diploma (HND).  

What is the difference between distance learning and blended learning? 

There are different terms used in the Higher Education sector globally referring to teaching, learning and assessment that takes place in classrooms, digitally and remotely. The QAA have issued a guide, and we also provide definitions below relating to the Higher Nationals qualification suite.