We want to make sure that you have everything you need for this year’s Results Day(s) in August. We appreciate that you may not need this information immediately, but hopefully you will find it helpful to have it before the end of term.

We would like to remind you that qualification results must only be shared with learners on the published results date once we have issued the final grades in August.   

Review of Marketing and Moderation

You can find information on Post Result Services for all Pearson qualifications on our website.

In addition, we have produced a Review of Marking and Appeals guidance for BTEC students, which details your learners’ next steps if they are not happy with their result, and we would be grateful if you could share this with them if needed.

Appeals

For BTEC results for May/June 2022 external assessments, the appeals process that is detailed in the  JCQ Guide to Awarding Bodies’ Appeals Processes (June 2022) will apply.

To supplement the  JCQ Guide to Awarding Bodies’ Appeals Processes (June 2022), our BTEC Appeals Guidance Summer 2022 provides a summary of the appeals process for the May/June 2022 external assessments and information on where the BTEC appeals process will differ from the arrangements detailed in the  JCQ document.

In addition, we have designed a handy infographic which walks you through the BTEC Appeals process for May/June 2022 examinations, which we hope you find a useful summary.

Information Hubs

We appreciate that finding the right information is crucial around Results Day(s). You will find answers to the most frequently-asked questions for Results Day 2022 on our BTEC FAQ page, which will be regularly updated in the coming weeks.

We have also updated our learner webpage with information that your students may need, and have answers to questions they may ask on our Student FAQ page. Please do share these resources with them. 

We have spoken to some centres who have asked for consolidated guidance on how to ensure that BTEC Full Award Claims are processed in a timely way this summer. We know that many Examinations Officers and Quality Nominees may be new, or simply appreciate the reminder after a couple of years of having alternative processes in place. We have created the Vocational Qualifications: Eligibility Steps for Academic Year 2021/22 guidance, which we hope you find useful.

We have also released a new e-learning module on BTEC eligibility this week, which you can access now on our dedicated e-Learning page. This module will help you to understand:

• what happens after you report your BTEC results to us
• what eligibility is and the potential causes of ineligibility
• how to check eligibility information in a programme specification and on Edexcel Online
• where you can find further information. 

Here are some key points to note:

• BTECs are modular qualifications, meaning multiple unit grades must be submitted by centres for certificating learners by 5 July 2022, and exam results achieved, in order to meet ‘eligibility’ requirements. These requirements are always outlined in the specification, and you can confirm you have the required units, and unit grades to achieve a qualification outcome using our BTEC Grade Calculators.
• Q-TAGs will not form part of qualification results this academic year – all learners with affected assessment from 2020/21 must have U-TAGs submitted from their centre, or they will not be eligible for a qualification result. If you have not completed that process, you will need to use the late U-TAG submission process.
• As outlined from page 8 in the guidance, U-TAGs have been awarded a ‘midpoint’ score. Please ensure you use this score when using the grade calculator, or your own MIS data systems. 
• It is essential you achieve a Standards Verification ‘Release’, otherwise certificates will not be issued, and grades will not be sent to centres, or (where relevant) UCAS.
• You must submit a ‘Full Award Claim’ once all internally assessed grades are submitted, where learners are expecting a qualification result this summer.
• All ‘ineligible’ claims will appear as such and must be resolved in advance of results day to ensure timely results.

As you will be aware, internally assessed unit grades need to be submitted by 5 July to ensure timely certification of your learners. You will have quality management processes in place to ensure that your learner results data is submitted accurately, but if you make any mistakes, please be reminded of the steps you will need to take if you notice an issue: 

You can find more information on our Amending Reported Achievement webpage. 

In the table below, you will find a list of key activities that must be completed by centres:

Earlier this year, many of you signed the Protect Student Choice petition. The debate has now been scheduled to take place in Parliament on Monday 18 July.

Ahead of the debate, you may wish to contact your local MP, so they are informed on the issue and attend the debate. It may be helpful to outline the impact of the Level 3 review on your institution, your students and the local workforce and economy. You may also wish to let others know about the debate – other providers, and the Higher Education Institutions and employers you work with – so they can also raise their concerns with their MP ahead of the debate.

This is an opportunity for you to have your say!

You will be able to watch the debate live on the UK Parliament YouTube channel on Monday 18 July.

We thank you once again for all your continued support with this. 

As you will be aware, we have previously shared guidance on how we will return to normal aggregation this academic year, meaning that the summation of unit grades will determine the qualification outcome.

We have now updated both our guide for centres and our guidance for students on the expected approaches to standards setting in 2022, to include additional information on how grade boundaries for external assessment have been set this year.

How we will set grade boundaries for External Assessments in summer 2022

A group of subject matter and technical assessment experts set new grade boundaries after each external assessment has taken place. They review a range of evidence (both qualitative and quantitative) to ensure that there is fairness, validity and robustness in the grade boundaries recommended. The types of evidence included are:

• Review of the work produced by learners
• The difficulty of the assessment compared to previous assessments
• A range of statistical evidence including how learners completing the assessment have performed compared to previous years
• The impact of unit grades, for all learners, on the overall qualification grade.  (These BTEC national unit grades include UTAGs from the last academic year and streamlined internal assessment)  

Our aim is to have parity at qualification-level for learners as far as possible, so whilst you may hear about grade boundaries for GCSEs and A levels, this is used to describe reaching decisions on the entire qualification outcome. For BTECs, grade boundary decisions are only made for external assessments which, as you’re aware, make up a smaller proportion of the entire qualification (around 40%). This means, in order to support achieving parity, we consider how the unit-level grade boundaries for BTEC external assessments combine with internally assessed unit outcomes, to create the overall qualification grade.

Last month, Ofqual confirmed the subject content and assessment arrangements for qualifications in the following academic year (2022/23). They confirmed that:

“For other qualifications, including vocational and technical qualifications taught alongside or instead of GCSEs, AS and A levels, a range of adaptations were permitted in academic year 2021 to 2022. […] Given that public health restrictions are no longer in place, these adaptations are no longer necessary for the academic year 2022 to 2023 onwards.”

This means our main adaptation of streamlined assessment will not be available in 2022/23, so you should plan to teach and assess the BTEC qualifications as normal.

Ofqual have indicated that they will review the external assessment arrangements for General Qualifications after this summer, as well as the approach to grading. Our priority will be to continue to ensure that there is parity for BTEC students. 

As part of the Level 3 Vocational Qualification reform, we would like to invite you to help influence the next generation of BTEC Nationals. We want to ensure that we capture the teacher and learner voice in our qualifications and support materials. If you are interested in participating, please complete this form, and we will be in contact shortly. 

We are hosting two Zoom events for Exams Officers to help you prepare to issue results in August and navigate the post-results period successfully. Both sessions will cover the same content, so please book on to the most convenient for you.

Wednesday 13 July at 14:00 - Getting ready for results  - Book your place today
Thursday 11 August at 11:00 - Getting ready for results - Book your place today

You can find guidance on managing external assessments, including absences, on our main 2021/22 Teaching and Assessment pages.

As always, we have a large selection of Knowledge Articles that have been designed to help Exams Officers and Quality Nominees. You can look through our most-viewed articles or use the search bar to help you find the specific information you’re looking for.

You are welcome to contact us with any queries or concerns, keep informed by following @PearsonBTEC where we will update you with the latest information, or access our FAQ page, which is updated frequently. Our social media is monitored from 8am-4pm, Monday-Friday and we welcome, and will respond to, any suggestions or feedback you have for us.  You can also review past bulletins  if you’ve missed any or sign up to receive future updates if you have not already done so, via the link at the end of this bulletin.

Pearson’s June E-Bulletin was published and included the following:

• Q&A Networks and Training events
• August 2022 Results information
• Provider Approval and Provider Monitoring
• Draft Key dates Schedule 2022-24

Level 3 progression to Higher Nationals training

Join our interactive training session and explore the journey from BTEC Level 3 to Higher Nationals. Aimed at tutors and progression advisors, the focus of this session is to outline the further education support available for both tutors and students. Find out more and register your place for Thursday 7 July 4-5pm (BST). The session will also be available on Tuesday 12 July 12-1pm (BST). You can register your place here.

BTEC HND in Healthcare awarded HTQ status

We are very pleased to announce that the Higher National Diploma (HND) in Healthcare Professions' Support has been awarded Higher Technical Qualification (HTQ) status. It was developed in conjunction with NHS and independent sector employers, and education providers who are currently using HNDs to educate and train their workforce. You can read the full update on our website.

Flexibilities for ST0215 Healthcare Assistant Practitioner

A temporary dispensation has been applied to the assessment plan version AP01 for this apprenticeship. The dispensation will last from 01/07/2022 to 31/12/2022 but may be withdrawn if the assessment plan is revised sooner or the dispensation is no longer necessary.

Assessment Method 2 – Observation of practice:

The observation assessment may be replaced with a reflective statement written by the apprentice and validated by an expert witness. This will be followed by a question-and-answer session of up to 30 minutes with an independent assessor.

Flexibilities for ST0216 Healthcare Support Worker

The Institute for Apprenticeships (IfATE) has confirmed a temporary dispensation for this apprenticeship standard which will be reflected shortly on their website.

A temporary dispensation has been applied to the assessment plan version AP01 for this apprenticeship. The dispensation will last from 01/07/2022 to 31/12/2022 but may be withdrawn if the assessment plan is revised sooner or the dispensation is no longer necessary. The key changes are:

Assessment Method 2 – Observation of practice: 

The observation assessment may be replaced with a reflective statement written by the apprentice and validated by an expert witness. This will be followed by a question-and-answer session of up to 30 minutes with an independent assessor.

Flexibilities for ST0217 Senior Healthcare Support Worker

The Institute for Apprenticeships (IfATE) has confirmed a temporary dispensation for this apprenticeship standard which will be reflected shortly on their website. 

A temporary dispensation has been applied to the assessment plan/version AP02 for this apprenticeship. The dispensation will last from 01/07/2022 to 31/12/2022 but may be withdrawn if the assessment plan is revised sooner or the dispensation is no longer necessary.

Assessment Method 2 – Observation of practice:

The observation assessment may be replaced with a reflective statement written by the apprentice and validated by an expert witness. This will be followed by a question-and-answer session of up to 30 minutes with an independent assessor.

Flexibilities for ST0583 Mammography Associate

A temporary dispensation has been applied to the assessment plan version AP02 for this apprenticeship. The dispensation will last from 01/07/2022 to 31/12/2022 but may be withdrawn if the assessment plan is revised sooner or the dispensation is no longer necessary.

Assessment Method 2 – Clinical observation of practice and discussion:

The clinical observation of practice and discussion assessment may be replaced by a minimum of two to four observations conducted by an employer witness. This will be followed by a 60-minute (maximum) question and answer session with an independent assessor. 

Flexibilities for ST0454 Teaching Assistant 

The Institute for Apprenticeships has announced a temporary dispensation for the above standard. The details of the dispensation are as follows:

A temporary dispensation has been applied to the assessment plan version AP01 for this apprenticeship. The dispensation will last up to 31/10/2022 and only applicable for those apprentices who start their EPA no later than 31/07/2022 but may be withdrawn if the assessment plan is revised sooner or the dispensation is no longer necessary. The key changes are:

The observation assessment may be replaced with a reflective statement written by the apprentice and validated by an expert witness. This will be followed by a question-and-answer session of up to 30 minutes with an independent assessor 

Recruitment of Independent end-point assessors

We have a number of roles for Associates to be involved with End Point Assessment assessments. If you are interested, please take a look at our live vacancies page. 

For further information on our general qualifications for 2022, please visit our summer 2022 support page. We will be updating this page regularly.

Please sign up to receive our regular Pearson Qualifications Bulletin on our website where you’ll also be able to read past issues.