Unlike external assessments which have a set date or window where they must be completed it has always been the case that centres can change assessment dates for internal assessments to accommodate absence. For BTEC internal units the most common reasonable adjustment is usually to grant an extension. This should be the first course of action if a learner has been self-isolating and has therefore not been able to meet the first deadline date. The centre can give the learner an extension and negotiate a new hand-in date when the learner is able to complete the assignment. As long as the learner meets the new deadline date and the work is their own they are also still able to have re-submission as long as the Lead Internal Verifier (LIV) feels they can improve the work.

For BTEC internal units a reasonable adjustment can usually be made so that the learner is not disadvantaged but can still complete the unit.

Changes other than an extension should be recorded on the RA1 form. This form should also be sent to the Standards Verifier if this unit is selected for sampling.

Other reasonable adjustments might be:

• Changes to assessment conditions e.g. a presentation just to the assessor not the whole class or delivered remotely via a video conference platform such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams
• Alternative ways of presenting responses e.g. a digitally recorded spoken report instead of a written report
• Use of access facilitators e.g. Readers/scribes, practical assistants/ transcribers/ prompters who can work remotely with the learner.

For further advice and guidance, please refer to the Reasonable Adjustment page on our website, or contact us via the Customer Support portal.

What is ‘Special Consideration’?

Special consideration is a post-assessment adjustment to a learner’s mark or grade. This is to reflect temporary illness, temporary injury or some other event outside of the learner’s control at the time of the assessment. It is applied when the issue or event has had, or is reasonably likely to have had, a material effect on a learner's ability to take an assessment or demonstrate their normal level of attainment in an assessment. You can find out more here.

Absence from external assessments

In line with guidance provided by Ofqual, centres and learners should make all efforts to offer and take assessments this academic year. However, we recognise that some learners, or people they care for, are clinically extremely vulnerable and need to shield or may be required to self-isolate. If, despite the additional mitigations and adaptations, it is not possible for learners to fully complete the Part A or Part S under the required supervision controls, special consideration should be applied for (if the assessment cannot be deferred) when the unit’s external assessment submission date has passed.

Therefore, those external assessments with Part A and Part S which are medium control/supervised must continue to be completed under direct supervision i.e. within the centre. Each externally-assessed task will have different controls and requirements, which will remain in place. Where appropriate, it is encouraged that learners might still complete some of Part B even if absent for some or all of the Part A preparatory period. Special consideration may be relevant for those learners who have missed some or all of the preparatory period.

Any elements of Part A and Part S external assessment tasks which are low control/non-supervised/monitored can be undertaken with more flexibility. It is anticipated that these elements could be continued when self-isolating so long as the authenticity can be confirmed and special consideration would not usually be necessary.

Where learners are absent from a high-control external assessment such as an exam or Part B, (and the assessment cannot be deferred) special consideration should be applied for after the exam has ended.

We continue to discuss the use of Special Considerations with Ofqual, DfE and JCQ. Further information and guidance on the process and requirements will follow.

All learners who you anticipate will have an attempt at an external assessment within the January/February examination series will need to have an examination entry on the system. Please ensure all learners have an entry to enable access to the relevant materials in time.

Maintaining supervision controls

To maintain the integrity of the external assessment, the supervision controls as detailed in the external assessment tasks and papers, the Administrative Support Guides (ASGs) and BTEC Instructions for Conducting External Assessments (ICEA) must be retained.

It is encouraged that, wherever possible, medium control supervision is carried out in timetabled class time rather than setting up specific additional slots for this to take place. As in the published ICEA, there is no requirement for low and medium control supervision to be overseen by exam invigilators. Visit our Teaching and Assessment 2020/21 Support page and BTEC Assessment FAQs for more information.

BTEC External Assessments in Winter 2020-2021

(please read External Assessment Adaptations Guide for full details)

• Adaptations were made to the external assessments in the Creative sectors and Applied Science, due to these posing greater challenges in meeting government guidelines for safety and social distancing
• Most task-based external assessments with either Part A and Part S will be released earlier to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 self-isolation and social distancing restrictions and/or to allow for alternate week timetabling chosen by centres. The length of the supervised period for these assessments and the levels of control remain unchanged; the Administrative Support Guides (ASGs) and BTEC Instructions for the Conduct of External Assessments (ICEA) must be followed.
• All external assessments that have a set timetabled session remain in place as previously published. The final timetables are now available on our timetable page.
• Submission dates for externally assessed tasks also remain as published.
• See the BTEC External Assessment Overview 2020-2021 document for key information on specific external assessment.
• Please see the External Assessment Adaptations Guide (Delivering BTEC during Coronavirus (COVID-19).

In line with the general qualifications decisions to allow for additional teaching and learning time, we have decided to delay and condense our BTEC summer (May/June) timetable.

As a result, we have also reviewed our results days for both the Level 2 BTEC Firsts, Tech Awards and Technicals and Level 3 BTEC RQF Nationals, which means that external assessment results will now be issued in line with the General Qualifications results days.

All relevant dates are listed below.

Children’s Play Learning and Development Qualification in England

The work placement guidance for Children’s Play Learning and Development /Children’s Care, Learning and Development qualifications, has been revised and updated. Please refer to the Teaching, Learning and Assessment Guidance and the Work Experience and Employer Engagement support guide.

Additional guidance is available for Level 2 and Level 3 CCLD and CPLD License to Practice qualifications to support the demonstration of skills and competencies by simulated activities. Please refer to the BTEC Technicals in CPLD EYP Guidance 2020-2021 and the BTEC Nationals in CPLD PEP (EYE) Guidance 2020-2021 for support and information

Childcare qualifications in Northern Ireland

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Award in Children's Care, Learning and Development – The work placement guidance has been revised and will not be mandatory for learners certificating in 2021.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Certificate/Diploma in Children's Care, Learning and Development - 70% of the recommended placement hours is required as stipulated by the regulator in Northern Ireland for those learners certificating in 2021

For further information please refer to the Work Experience and Employer Engagement support guide and Assessment mitigation centre guidance for Wales and Northern Ireland only in relation to Covid-19 disruption, 2020-21.

Adaptations available for the following qualifications have been updated:

• Pearson BTEC L1/2 Tech Award in Creative Media Production
  (see the adaptations and additional FAQs document)
• Pearson BTEC L1/2 Tech Award in Engineering

Summary of adaptations to Unit 3, (31619H) Science Investigation Skills, can be found here.

In addition, Unit 7, (31629H) Contemporary Issues in Science, the Part A release date will now be released on 30 November 2020.To maintain the integrity of the external assessment, the supervision controls as detailed in the external assessment tasks and papers, the Administrative Support Guides (ASGs) and BTEC Instructions for the Conduct of External Assessments (ICEA) must be retained.

We are delighted to let you know that our new online portal for submitting BTEC Level 1-3 learner work to your Standards Verifier (SV) is now live.

Learner Work Transfer is a secure application, which is intended to provide a reliable replacement to postal submission of your samples for verification. For the academic year 2020-21, in addition to remote sampled, the platform will be available to use for sectors normally verified by a centre visit.
Uploading the work to this portal means you won’t need to arrange postage, there is no risk of loss in transit, and work will be available to the SV almost instantaneously. We know, due to COVID-19, many centres have focused on digitising learner assessment evidence, and we hope this new functionality will support you in saving time when submitting samples to your SV. You will be able to upload work piece by piece or all at once, and then submit once everything is ready. Learner Work Transfer is accessed via a new menu option on Edexcel Online, and is available to all users with the Basic Access profile.

When your SV gets in touch regarding your BTEC verification sample this year, they will ask how you wish to submit the learner work. If you give your SV access to your own digital portfolio system that’s fine – you won’t need to duplicate effort by using Learner Work Transfer too. However, if you would normally post the work to your SV, please indicate to them that you would like to use Learner Work Transfer. They will then set up the sample request in the system for you, and you will be able to upload the work to them. We are supporting a wide range of file formats, which you can refer to here.

Learner Work Transfer has been designed with input from centre users and Standards Verifiers to be simple to use. There are two short training videos available for you to watch on the Quality Assurance pages of our website, which give step by step instructions on using the application.

Our ACS for BTEC helps you to make sure that your assignments allow learners to demonstrate appropriate evidence in the required criteria. This service can be accessed here. It is important to complete the online form correctly to ensure that your request is processed in a timely manner.

In order to access the ACS, you will need to complete the form using the following options:

As either one of the following Customer options ‘Administrators (WBL)’, ‘Assessor/Internal Verifier (WBL)’ or ‘Teacher & Department Heads’ Then select:

and:

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.