Vocational Quality Assurance
Manager Newsletter
5 November 2026
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Dear colleague,
Whether you’re new to the quality nominee role or already settling into the year, this month’s newsletter brings together the key updates, reminders and support you’ll need for November and December.
You’ll find your jobs for the coming weeks, support to help you prepare for standards verification, the latest on digital assessment plans and some important updates to forms and paperwork.
If you have any questions about quality assurance, please contact the team via the Pearson Support Portal. If you'd like to talk something through, you can book a Teams call with us at a time that suits you. |
Here are the key things to check with your programme teams over the coming weeks:
- Make sure all students have been registered on their programmes. The registration deadline was 1 November.
- Check that your teams submit digital assessment plans for all qualifications in scope by 13 November.
- Make sure all Pearson-set assignment and external assessment entries for the winter 2026 series have been made. The deadline was 16 October.
- Share the Centre Guide to Standards Verification with your programme teams to help them prepare for standards verification.
- If you deliver work-based learning programmes, complete your centre self-assessment by 23 November. Contact us if you have any problems submitting it.
- Visit the Meet your VQAM page and book a call with us if you have any questions or would like to talk something through.
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Are you new to the quality nominee role, or have you taken on the role within the last two years? Join one of our free, in-person New Quality Nominee Network events to build your confidence, meet other quality nominees and pick up practical ideas to take back to your centre.
You’ll work through realistic scenarios you might face in the role and explore the key quality activities coming up this term. The sessions are informal and interactive, and you’ll leave with a simple action plan and new contacts.
London
Novotel London Tower Bridge
Tuesday 10 November, 10:00am–12:30pm
Book the London event
Manchester
Delta Hotels Worsley Park Country Club
Thursday 19 November, 10:00am–12:30pm
Book the Manchester event |
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If you deliver BTEC Level 1 QCF, BTEC Level 2 or Level 3 qualifications, you’ll receive your standards verifier allocation from January 2027. Once allocations begin, you can use our BTEC standards verifier allocation details support article to check who your standards verifier is.
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The deadline to submit your digital assessment plans for qualifications in scope via Edexcel Online is 13 November.
Once submitted, an automatic validation check will tell you if there are any issues with your plans. Your plan should have a status of pending approval or approved to meet the deadline. If any of your plans are showing as in progress or not started, you'll need to address this before the deadline. You can still edit/make changes to your submitted plans after the deadline as they remain a working document.
Need help?
If you're having trouble submitting your plan, let us know via the Pearson support portal so we can help.
FAQs
What do I do if the submit button isn't working?
If the submit button isn’t working, you’ve probably missed one of the mandatory fields, marked with a red asterisk. Check all units, assignments and groups are complete, then you should be able to submit your plan.
Do we have to submit information for two years?
Yes, you need to submit information for the whole two-year programme. It’s fine for the information and dates for 2027/28 are estimates, and you can enter ‘TBC’ for assessors if that’s not been decided yet.
How can I check a plan's been approved?
The quickest way to check approved plans is on the main centre dashboard. Open up each row and you'll see the 'approved' tag next to each submitted and approved plan.
What do I do if I encounter a technical problem?
If you have any technical issues while accessing or completing your plans, contact us through the Pearson support portal and we'll help.
What if we're struggling to complete our digital assessment plans by the deadline?
It’s important that you complete your digital assessment plan by the deadline. If you’re having difficulty completing it on time, please keep working towards the deadline. If you don’t meet it, we’ll get in touch to support you, but you’ll still need to complete your plan. |
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Make sure your lead internal verifiers are using the latest BTEC assessment templates. We’ve made some small changes to the assessment record and internal verification document, so using the latest versions will make sure your teams are working from the current paperwork.
Download the latest BTEC templates |
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If your centre delivered a BTEC Higher National programme during the 2025/26 academic year, you’ll need to complete your Annual Programme Monitoring Review (APMR) by 19 February 2027.
The APMR is your opportunity to review your centre’s Higher National provision over the past year. We emailed full details to centres on 2 November, so please share the update with your Higher National programme teams and make sure they’re aware of the deadline.
Read the full APMR update if you missed it |
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Kind regards ,
Helen, Bill, Ffion, Liz & Sally
Vocational Quality Assurance Managers |
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