Centres will note from the above timeline a number of new dates to be aware of:

• The Q-TAG ‘portal’ will be open from 19 May until 25 May, allowing centres a read only view of all their certificating learners on a B1 qualification, therefore requiring a Q-TAG
• If centres note any missing learners, please check they are on a qualification categorised as ‘B1’ by Ofqual, and amend the completion date in Edexcel Online to 1 June 2021, the portal will be refreshed during this week. Only learners due to certificate this Summer are eligible for a Q-TAG. Learners that do not have a completion date of this summer will not appear in the portal
• The Q-TAG Portal will then be open for centre Q-TAG submissions and Head of Centre Declaration on 26 May and will close on 18 June.
• Q-TAGs must be submitted by 18 June, or results will be delayed. Please contact us if you foresee any issues with this for your centre, and we will try to support you.
  
  

*The "Z" flag functionality will be available soon - we will keep you updated.

BTEC qualifications have been put into three main categories, which determines the approach that can be taken to award results this year under Ofqual’s Vocational Contingency Regulatory Framework (VCRF).

Due to the nested nature of our Level 3 BTEC Nationals QCF and RQF, these are categorised as B1 (most similar to GQs) this means that all qualifications in the following suites are B1 qualifications, and therefore a Q-TAG will be submitted to Pearson by centres. You will still assess the mandatory license linked content and in some cases this is the whole qualification, however as these qualifications are nested, you will use the Q-TAG portal to submit the qualification grade, and therefore can use alternative evidence to support a holistic Q-TAG judgement.

• Pearson BTEC Nationals Children’s Play Learning and Development (2016 RQF)
• Pearson BTEC Level 3 Nationals in Children's Care, Learning and Development (QCF)
• Pearson BTEC Level 2 Technical Diploma in Children’s Play, Learning and Development (Early Years Practitioner) qualification.  

We previously indicated that a Q-TAG was not needed for some qualifications in these suites, however as explained above, a holistic Q-TAG grade will need to be submitted via the portal.

The Additional Guidance for Childcare details the additional requirements for qualifications that are Licence to Practice, that will need to be completed alongside the Q-TAG for these qualifications.

Submitting a holistic Q-TAG grade alongside the mandatory requirements and achievements for these qualifications (which includes internal assessments, external assessments and work placements) the learners receive the qualification grade that is reflective of all evidence available, and therefore treated with parity with other certificating learners this year.

We wanted to notify you of a change to the BTEC claiming functions within Edexcel Online (EOL). This change is being made to ensure that EOL operates as efficiently as possible at a time when a huge demand will be placed upon it.

As of May 2021 you will no longer be able to use the ‘online’ BTEC Bulk Grade Reporting option to report BTEC unit grades.

We had originally planned to remove this option last year, having already introduced the newer ‘offline’ Bulk Grade Reporting tool, but decided against it at a time when there was so much uncertainty around BTEC. We feel that now is the best time to do this, in order to ensure all claims are processed properly.

The Learner Work Transfer (LWT) platform went live in November 2020 to facilitate the online submission of learner work for the verification process, and so far nearly 3,500 verification samples have been requested via LWT.

As your SV may request that your sample is provided to them via the portal, we have prepared some guidance videos, which provide step by step instructions on how to upload and submit your learner work to your SV.

If you have not had a chance to attend a BTEC Customer Briefing session, we are running more this term. You can find more details on our training from Pearson webpage (use the filter option to find your sector/s).

The sessions are delivered by BTEC Sector specialists, and you will have the opportunity to ask questions and share best practice with your fellow BTEC colleagues.

They are also available to view on the Awarding results in 2021 Vocational and Technical qualifications page of our website.

In our last bulletin, we alerted you to the BTEC Q-TAG evidence record and, in response to your feedback, have refreshed the accompanying overview guidance. We hope this helps clarify the process and the purpose of these documents.

This template is not mandatory, and you can use your own template/records to present the common sources of alternative evidence used.

If you do not wish to use the suggested Pearson template, you must fully complete the BTEC Q-TAG evidence record cover sheet to support your evidence. You could also look to incorporate this into your existing records.

We’re putting together a video tutorial walkthrough of an example of a completed template to support centres who choose to use it.

We also released some individual learner examples to support you, these are examples (at individual learner level) of the evidence you could consider and how judgements might be made.

As you are already aware, we have many points every year where we are in touch with centres as part of the existing Quality Assurance processes. In light of the Q-TAG processes this year, we want to advise of the additional QA processed that will be in place:

• During May, prior to your submitting Q-TAGs for your learners, Pearson may contact you to offer support and ensure that you are using the Q-TAG and other BTEC policies
• After submission of their learner’s Q-TAGs, and by 18 June, Heads of Centres will be required to submit a Declaration via the portal, confirming that those involved in the Q-TAG process have adhered to the guidance and BTEC policies
• Post Q-TAG submission and by 16 July, Pearson may contact you and ask you to provide your Q-TAG rationale and evidence. It is essential that you have this available to provide to us, so that results are not delayed. We are conscious that time for this aspect of the QA process is limited. Results cannot be issued to selected centres where this QA process is not completed.

Please make sure you have a 'Point of Contact' listed in EOL (including a mobile phone number) – we appreciate your support in being contactable during this period to ensure results can be issued on time.

We have updated the Delivery and Assessment for BTEC Higher Nationals in 2021 document on our website with guidance about appeals for summer 2021.

The new section is highlighted in yellow for your convenience. If you have any questions about the process, please reach out to us at hnqa@pearson.com.

The cancellation of summer 2020 exams means we have a number of unused packs of question papers that, in the interests of both sustainability and saving you time printing your own copies, we are making available to centres.

These past papers can now be ordered via our new online portal, where they are available on a first come first served basis until exhausted.

Subject to availability, question papers can be ordered in denominations of 5, 10 or 20. There will be a small charge to cover the administration and courier costs per order. Charges will be calculated at a rate of 20p per paper for orders up to £40, and then 10p per paper for orders over £40.

Question papers are available for the January and February 2021 series. You can find out more in our recent communication, and on our website.

If you'd like to find out the latest information about our general qualifications and see how we are supporting schools and colleges, teachers, learners, parents and carers for summer 2021, please visit our dedicated web page.

On 31 March we released additional assessment materials for GCSE and A level subjects, along with further guidance to support teachers in determining fair grades for learners this summer. We are also providing live and pre-recorded support and guidance events via our Professional Development Academy as well as running optional Q&A sessions which we will record and make available. These events are now live and open for booking.