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EO page |  Development Hub | Support portal | New Year Essential Info

Welcome back to a new school year. 

We hope you had a successful Summer 24 results period and were able to take a well-deserved break. 

As well as calling out some key dates and processes for the coming month, we’d also like to take this opportunity to share some useful information which can be passed on to any newer colleagues who may have started working with you this term.

•  NEW  Getting set up on Edexcel Online
•  NEW  Completing your annual Edexcel Online Account Confirmation and Terms & Conditions
•  NEW  An Introduction to the Pearson Support Portal
•  NEW  An introduction to the Pearson Development Hub
•  NEW  Keeping up to date with Pearson communications
•  NEW  How you can get in touch
•  NEW  Cyber Security and Multi Factor Authentication

• Key Dates
•  NEW  VQ Autumn term checklist
•  NEW  Annual Quality Declaration
•  NEW  BTECs now on JCQs Access Arrangements Online (AAO)
•  NEW  Getting ready to register your learners
• Tech Awards (2022)

• Key Dates
•  NEW  October/November exam support
•  NEW  October and November 2024 stationery and materials list
•  NEW  Autumn question paper dispatch
•  NEW  Autumn exam timetables
• 2024/25 Key Dates and GQ entry codes

•  NEW  Summer 2024 post results reminder
• The School Report 2024

As a member of the exams team, you should ensure you are set up correctly in Edexcel Online.You may be responsible for the creation and maintenance of EOL accounts for other staff members such as Teachers, Heads of Department and centre-administrators. However, responsibility for the creation of Exams staff accounts sits with Pearson. This is because those accounts carry a higher level of secure access, and additional checks are required before they can be created.

You can read more about Edexcel Online (EOL) accounts

You can also browse our extensive catalogue of support articles. This function works like Google in that you can search using keywords or phrases and will then be presented with the relevant support. 

Why not try it yourself? Visit the support portal and search ‘Essential’ you will then be presented with articles, including the EO Support: New Academic Year Essential Information article. This is an index of all the key processes and direct links to detailed information that you will need to be aware off as we navigate the beginning of a new academic year. Please be sure to bookmark this page.

Our new dedicated space for Exams Officer training. We have created this as part of our commitment to you to offer enhanced support and training in 2024 and beyond. 

Features 

Access our library of interactive modules alongside live training, curated support articles, and the most useful documents from our website. We have brought everything you need to one place to save time when you need to upskill or refresh yourself on a topic. 

You can read How to access the Pearson Development Hub in our dedicated support article

Why not join us for the first live online event of the new year, taking place on Thursday 26 September, 2pm - 3pm.

The likelihood is that Pearson won’t be the only awarding organisation that you or your centre work with, and this means that you will receive lots of different communications. Some of these may be more relevant to your role than others, so it’s important that you and your colleagues are signed up to receive the regular updates that matter to you. Its also important that Edexcel Online accounts are accurate as these are used to determine who needs to receive ad hoc communications. 

As Exams Officers you will be responsible for the creation and maintenance of Edexcel Online account for those in other roles, such as Teachers or other curriculum staff. Whilst doing this you could also sign them up to receive the relevant subject advisor updates. 

Here is a full list of all the regular updates we send, including an archive of previous editions and the sign-up forms.

There are multiple ways to contact the customer service teams at Pearson. The Customer Support Portal allows you to choose a method that best suits you.

Cyber Security
Whether you’re a new or experienced Edexcel Online user its important that we are all aware of the possible threats to our collective data. We would encourage all Exams staff, new and old to visit our cyber security webpage and watch our short training video.

Multi factor authentication was successfully rolled out to nearly a quarter of a million Pearson Portal users last year. Although it has now become a standard way of accessing our systems, that we should all be familiar with, it can sometimes present challenges if a smart device is lost or replaced. You can read more information, see a quick start guide and access FAQs and troubleshooting for our authenticator app in our Pearson Portal Authenticator support article.

We understand the first few weeks of term are busy as you are welcoming students and colleagues back to college or school. To help you get off to a flying start and meet the first deadlines of 2024/25, we’ve collated all the support we’re offering this year for you to explore.

If you aren’t sure where to start, download our exams officer autumn checklist. It highlights the 6 things you need to do to make sure you’re set up for the year and can meet the first deadlines of 2024/25.

All Pearson centres and T Level providers delivering our vocational qualifications are required to complete the Annual Quality Declaration. This is an important activity which confirms that you have the necessary quality assurance processes in place and accept our terms and conditions. 

The Annual Quality Declaration needs to be completed by each vocational centre’s quality nominee by 14 October. 

While not an activity directly for exams staff, your centre’s quality nominee may require your support in ensuring their account is set up correctly. Please ensure that the designated quality nominee has the box marked ‘Please check this box if you are the Quality Nominee for your centre’ ticked on their account profile, as they will need this to access the Annual Quality Declaration on Pearson Progress. Once ticked, they should be able to log in to Pearson Progress with their Edexcel Online credentials after 72 hours. 

Read our centre guide to the Annual Quality Declaration.

We are pleased to inform you that you will now be able to make applications for Access Arrangements in JCQ Access Arrangements Online for Functional Skills, BTEC First, BTEC Nationals, BTEC Technicals, BTEC Tech Award and T Levels alongside GCE and GCSE. This includes applications for alternative sites, consortium arrangements, transferred candidates, very late arrivals and overnight supervision. You will no longer need to apply for these qualifications on Pearson Access Arrangements online (PAAO).

  
Orders for Modified Papers can be ordered for BTEC Firsts, Nationals, Technicals, Tech Award and T Level. Orders for Functional Skills should still be made via email to additional_requirements@pearson.com. 

Any approved applications previously made for these subjects in Pearson Access Arrangements Online are still valid and do not need to be made again in JCQ AAO. If a student requires a new application, it must now be made in JCQ AAO.  

Applications for the following qualifications must still be made in PAAO; Edexcel Award, International GCSE, Level 3 Core Maths.

Read our guide to Access Arrangements: Making Applications via AAO

As learners are enrolled on to their BTEC programmes (including BTEC Tech Awards), you should make their BTEC registrations by 1 November to avoid any late fees. You should check that your centre has approval for the programme they will be following, and if you need to gain approval to run a course you should do this straight away.

Read our guide to making BTEC registrations.

Where learners have completed a BTEC programme, and are moving on to a larger sized qualification this year, you should “top up” these learners, and not create a new registration. You can create a top-up once the learner’s previous qualification has been certificated. We are issuing summer certification in early October, ahead of schedule to allow you to process top ups ahead of the January 2025 exam entry deadline.

Read our guide to topping up registrations.

You can download our BTEC Tech Award key dates schedule for 2024/25.

 
At the beginning of the year, you’ll need to make sure that you make any new registrations for 1 November. If any learners are sitting an assessment in December/January, you’ll need to make entries for external and internal components by 18 October.

Find out more about making BTEC Tech Award registrations
Find out more about making BTEC Tech Award entries

December/January PSAs are available now

You can access the new PSAs for December/January assessments on each subject’s page, which you can select from the main BTEC Tech Award page. A reminder that Art and Design doesn’t have a December/January assessment window; the PSA released on the 2 September is for use within the May/June window.

Did you know we send a monthly newsletter to all BTEC Tech Award centres with more detailed guidance and support? Sign up to receive this directly in your inbox.

You can download entry basedata from our website. Please ensure that all your entries are made before the entry deadlines to avoid being charged late fees.

You can find full details on entry deadlines and key dates using our key dates finder or in the Key Dates section of the Information Manual.

You may find our Making academic entries page helpful for support with making entries using EDI or Edexcel Online, as well as these articles from our support portal:

If any of your learners sitting these examinations have additional requirements, it is important your centre applies for these arrangements on their behalf.

We have now published the Exam stationery and materials list including Calculator use for the upcoming October and November general qualification exams.

If your candidates are resitting their GCSE Maths or English exams in November, you can expect to start receiving standard and modified question papers from Tuesday 15 October. 

You will be able to track your standard question paper despatch for General Qualifications via Edexcel Online. 

The Yellow Label Service will be in place for this series for centres in England to return scripts. You can expect to start receiving attendance registers and labels for November from Monday 7 October. 

If your centre has entries for International GCSE, you can expect to receive them from Friday 4 October. 

If you require electronic copies of these question papers, please check your Edexcel Online accounts are up-to-date, ensuring you have access to our Secure Download Service (SDS) service.  

All of our Autumn exam timetables are now final and can be found on our qualifications website timetable page.

We are making changes to our GCSE History qualification. The changes are coming in two stages: assessment amends for first assessment June 2025, and content amends for first teaching September 2024 and first assessment June 2026.

Information on these changes can be found via the two news items below:

If you have any questions about these changes, please contact our subject advisor, Mark Battye, at teachinghistory@pearson.com.

If your centre is concerned about any summer 2024 exam results, our post-results services are still available. The deadline for the majority of reviews of marking and moderation (RoMMs) is 26 September.

These articles provide full details on key dates and deadlines:

You can find detailed information on which services are available to you using these articles from our support portal:

Finally, if you would like dedicated training on post results and appeals, the following on-demand e-Learning modules are available on the Pearson Development Hub.

All of our bitesize modules are designed to give you the essential information that you will need to successfully administer our qualifications. The courses take about 20-30 minutes to complete, are fully interactive and offer a certificate as proof of completion.

Don't forget we have a dedicated Pearson Exams Officer Support page on Facebook. This provides you with a quick and convenient way to stay up to date with our latest news and live updates from the team.

Important and informative announcements will be posted on the page daily and messages will be monitored 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday by Charlie, Emma and Seren; our dedicated Social Media Team. Message them with for help with your queries throughout your working day.