Vocational Qualification Bulletin
April 2026 |
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Welcome to your April edition |
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Welcome to your April VQ Bulletin.
As we move into the summer term, we’re approaching the start of the main exam and assessment series, with several important checkpoints and deadlines coming up over the next few weeks. This issue brings together key reminders to help you stay on track, alongside practical updates to support delivery, assessment and results.
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We’re also continuing to share the latest updates on post‑16 vocational reform, including funding decisions, qualification changes and planning support. We have a wide range of resources and live webinars designed to help you navigate reform with confidence. We’ve had some great feedback from previous sessions and would love to see you at an upcoming webinar if you’re able to join us.
If you have any questions or need support at any point, please contact us through the Pearson Support Portal. We also value your feedback, so do let us know what’s working well and what would be most helpful to see in future editions.
Best wishes,
Hayley White
Vice President Assessment, Standards and Services
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This month's news and updates |
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Activity |
| 22 April |
High late fees will be charged from this date.
BTEC Nationals, BTEC First, BTEC Technicals and BTEC Tech Awards (from 2022) |
| 1 May |
Cohort reconfirmation: our second termtime checkpoint, where we've asked some centres to reconfirm which learners are expecting a qualification result on Level 2 or Level 3 results days in August 2026. |
| 15 May |
Deadline to submit learner work and marks for BTEC Tech Award summer internally assessed components. |
| 5 July |
BTEC claiming deadline for students expecting a summer 2026 result.
- make full award claims and Tech Award cash-ins
- submit all internally assessed grades
- complete all outstanding actions
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Your second term‑time checkpoint, the BTEC cohort confirmation, needs to be completed by 1 May.
You’ll only need to complete this if we’ve contacted you directly. |
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Not all centres are required to complete this checkpoint. We’ve only asked centres where we think something needs checking, for example you may have some missing entries.
This is a final check to confirm which students are expecting results in summer 2026, helping us issue results on time in August. |
What you need to do
- Check summer tags are applied correctly in the VQ Learner Tracker
- Review missing entries and ensure all students with a summer tag have the required external assessment entries.
- Take extra care with BTEC National (AAQ) registrations.
- Submit your cohort confirmation using the banner at the top of the VQ Learner Tracker.
You don’t need to resolve any other actions at this stage. |
Not ready yet?
You can pledge to complete on time by clicking the banner in the VQ Learner Tracker. |
Need extra support? Join a live webinar |
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Tuesday 28 April, 2:00–3:00
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Thursday 30 April, 10:00–11:00
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This year, we’re introducing digital credentials for vocational qualifications – giving students a secure, online record of their achievement they can access and share whenever they need it.
Digital credentials provide a trusted, flexible way for learners to evidence what they’ve achieved when applying for further education, apprenticeships or employment. They can be shared online with employers and universities, or added to a CV or professional profile.
Digital credentials will be available to all schools and colleges, with a small number of training providers also taking part in a trial. For centres, they offer a future‑ready way to recognise achievement, support learner progression and reduce follow‑up requests after results day.
Read more about digital credentials |
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Submitting cash-ins for the January series
If students sat their external assessment in January, you had until 16 April to submit a cash-in on Edexcel Online to claim their certification for that series. If you’ve missed this deadline, you should contact us through the Pearson support portal as soon as possible.
You won’t be able to submit a cash-in for these students for summer without students re-sitting their external assessment.
You can submit cash-ins for the summer series either alongside your external assessment entries, or you can submit them via EDI until 15 May and on Edexcel Online until 5 July.
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Don't forget about the terminal rule
The terminal assessment rule means students have to take their external assessment at the end of their qualification; i.e., the same series in which they'll certificate. This means students must sit their internal assessments either before or in the same series as the external assessment.
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Important change to mark submission for internally assessed and externally moderated work
From this summer, you’ll need to submit your centre marks before we release the list of students selected for the moderation sample. We’ve recently been in touch to share more information about how this will work including what’s changing in Edexcel Online.
Learner work transfer is now open for you to upload student work, but remember, you’ll need to submit marks in Edexcel Online before you sample is visible. |
New! Download your subject quick guides
We've put together quick 4-page guides covering summary of each BTEC Tech Award course, components, assessment, resources and the support available, so you’ve got everything you need to know about your course in one easy reference.
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Last month, the Department for Education published the outcome of its consultation on post-16 level 3 and below pathways in England, along with decisions on future qualification funding.
In case you missed it, you can read our summary with links to updated funding guides.
Want to learn more for your subject? Sign up for one of our live sector briefings, where we'll bring you up to date with the recent government announcements on Post-16 vocational reform at levels 2 and 3. You'll learn more about government decisions on what new qualifications will look like, when each subject area will transition, and what this means for funding of current qualifications. |
We’ve also developed a guide to funding and support to help you plan with confidence through the reform.
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Are you in a school? Have your say
Key stage 4 performance measures and Targeted RISE extension.
The Department for Education is seeking views on proposals to improve key stage 4 academic performance measures and to extend school improvement support from the DfE's Targeted RISE service. Take your opportunity to share your views on:
- Changes to Progress 8 and Attainment 8 measures which affect how many vocational qualifications are recognised
- Changes the way progress of pupils with low prior attainment is recognised
- Extending DfE's Targeted RISE support to primary and secondary schools with low achievement.
The consultation is open until Monday 4 May 2026. |
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New additional sample assessment materials (AdSAMs) are now available for all externally assessed Level 3 BTEC National AAQ units. This gives you a fresh set of mock papers to help you and your students prepare for the May/June exam series.
You can find the new additional sample assessment materials by visiting your subject area from the AAQ landing page, selecting 'course materials’, and then expanding ‘sample assessment material’. |
To help you plan programmes of study alongside AAQs and prepare for changes throughout reforms, we’ve created helpful Options Guides in Health and Social Care, Digital and Applied Science. |
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Craft and Design & Media Broadcast and Production: Getting ready for occupational specialism moderation
As this summer is the first moderation window for the Craft and Design and Media, Broadcast and Production occupational specialisms, we’ve put together a range of materials to help you with moderation and delivery.
You’ll find the admin support guides and moderation forms and guidance on our admin support page.
We’ve put together a playlist of moderation training covering the SAMs, AdSAMs and GSEMs on Youtube.
Mark schemes, core content teaching guides, student exemplar responses and occupational specialism delivery guides (Craft and Design only) are on each qualification’s course materials page:
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Join us at an event near you this summer
Our quality nominee networks return this summer, with events taking place across the country. These are great opportunities to hear the latest updates on BTEC curricula and, more importantly, to meet and share best practice with other quality nominees.
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Meet your VQAM
If you have any quick questions or want some one-to-one support, remember you can arrange a Teams call with your VQAM. Book a 15-minute slot at a time that suits you and we’ll be happy to chat. |
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BTEC L7 Strategic Management and Leadership | New specification published
Issue 3 of the programme specification is now available to download from our website, and you'll find a summary of the updates to this issue in the front pages.
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Level 1 and 2 English: Speaking, Listening and Communication (SLC) OSCA accreditation
Make sure that all your lead internal verifiers have completed their OSCA training. They need to complete this every year, even if all assessors are the same as the previous year. The monthly OSCA windows for this academic year are open until the end of July.
Once a lead internal verifier completes their OSCA training, they’ll get their accreditation at the start of the following month. Your students won’t receive their certificates unless all lead internal verifiers have completed their OSCA training. |
Have you heard from your standards verifier?
If you haven't heard from your standards verifier yet, please let us know. The deadline to complete sampling activities is 30 June 2026, so we need to know as soon as possible if there are any issues with capacity or allocations. |
Entry Level Functional Skills
If you're delivering Entry Level Functional Skills this academic year, you will have been allocated a standards verifier (SV). If you haven’t heard from your SV yet, please let us know.
If you've already received a visit from your allocated SV this academic year, please check your SV report for ‘limited release’. Limited release could mean they need more samples before the sampling deadline of 31 July 2026.
Once your learners are sampled, the deadline to claim certificates for this academic year is 31 August 2026. If you claim for certificates after 31 August, they won’t be released automatically so you’ll need to let us know so we can release them manually.
Remember: withdraw any old, unclaimed registration numbers. If a learner has been registered and is not going to complete any assessments, you must withdraw their registration. |
Live training to support your Functional Skills delivery
Maths: Concepts That Challenge Learners
For Functional Skills Maths, we have a series of three sessions aimed at supporting learners in what were the most challenging areas of assessment in the last academic year. |
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Getting the Basics Right:
Level 1 and 2 Functional Skills Maths |
23 April, 4–5 p.m.
Book your place
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Concepts That Challenge Learners:
Level 1 Functional Skills Maths |
30 April, 4–5 p.m.
Book your place
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Concepts That Challenge Learners:
Level 2 Functional Skills Maths |
7 May, 4–5 p.m.
Book your place
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Quality assurance dates for your diary
We’re currently recruiting for the following roles:
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Increased demand for apprenticeship assessments
As we approach the end of the academic year, we’re seeing a rise in requests for apprenticeship assessments.
If you’re planning a face-to-face assessment, please share your preferred dates as early as you can — ideally at least four weeks in advance. This gives us the best chance of securing an assessor. While we’ll always do what we can to support your requested dates, assessor availability can’t be guaranteed due to existing commitments.
If a booking is declined in ACE360 (including any alternative dates suggested), please contact the apprentice to agree further suitable dates. Once confirmed, upload these to ACE360 so we can review and progress the request.
Thank you for your support in helping assessments run as smoothly as possible. |
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We have a range of recruitment opportunities available to our existing associates across all vocational qualifications, including BTEC, Functional Skills, End Point Assessments and T Levels. Whether you’re looking to expand your experience, take on new responsibilities or get involved in different areas of assessment, there are a variety of roles to suit your skills and interests.
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