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Dear Colleague,

We hope you had a successful results period and summer break, and your students are settling back in and moving forward with their studies.  In this newsletter, you will find all the links needed to updated guides and support that will set you up for the new academic year and to hit the ground running. 

If you have any questions about quality assurance, please contact the team via Live Chat or the Pearson Support Portal. If you're not already a member, join our QN Community where we for share the latest information, and you can network with other BTEC Centres. 

To ensure compliance with quality assurance processes, it is important learners are registered onto their programmes by the following deadlines, or before any formal assessment takes place; whichever comes first.

For other programmes that enrol learners at any time other than September/October (including roll-on roll-off and onscreen-tested programmes), or are of less than one academic year’s duration, or are competence-based assessment programmes, e.g. NVQs/SVQs, learners must be registered within six weeks of enrolment at the centre.

All Pearson centres and T Level providers delivering our vocational qualifications are required to complete the Annual Quality Declaration at the start of each academic year. This is an important document which confirms that you have the necessary quality assurance processes in place and accept our terms and conditions of centre recognition and qualification approval. This must be completed by you, as quality nominee, or your head of centre.

Read our centre guide for step-by-step instructions to help you complete the Annual Quality Declaration.

We are running live online support events where we’ll be walking through the Annual Quality Declaration and Edexcel Online Account Confirmation and answering your questions.

If you are a new centre with us (approved since 1 September 2024), you do not need to complete the Annual Quality Declaration, for this academic year, as you will have agreed to our updated terms and conditions as part of your approval.

The Edexcel Online Account Confirmation is part of our ongoing duty to maintain centre and learner data security. Your head of centre will be working with your exams officer to complete the Edexcel Online Account Confirmation by 14 October. All Pearson-approved centres need to complete this activity.

While not a job for you to complete as quality nominee, there is a direct link to the confirmation within the Annual Quality Declaration that you can share with your head of centre. You won't be able to see the Edexcel Online Account Confirmation yourself if you don’t have a head of centre or exams staff account, but the link will work for your colleagues with those roles.

Read our centre guide to the Annual Quality Declaration and Edexcel Online Account Confirmation for full details.

We have updated the quality assurance model for BTEC Level 1–3 qualifications in 2024–25 to include a centre check-in activity for some centres. This replaces the holistic review from previous years and means we will be able to provide more consistent and continuous quality assurance support for centres.

Not all centres are in scope for this activity; you will have received a communication if you can expect to hear from us. If you are in scope, you’ll be contacted by your vocational quality assurance manager (VQAM) by the end of September. This does not prevent you from contacting your named VQAM for support if you need it.

For more details on the scope and process for this activity, please see the BTEC Centre Guide to Quality Assurance 2024-25.

Please ensure your staff have seen the guidance and reminders we included in the August newsletter, stressing the importance of planning correctly for a successful year. Including:

Please ensure all the relevant centre guides are available to your staff. You can find these on the Home of Quality Assurance page under the relevant qualification sections.

As many of you have requested, we have produced a template for the learner handbook, which you can find on our BTEC Tech Award quality assurance webpage. This is not compulsory to use but can support the learner induction phase.

To keep up to date with the latest news, please ensure you have subscribed to the Tech Award 2022 monthly update and see our VQAM newsletter - August edition.

The September to December live events schedule is now available for the Roles and Responsibilities of the Quality Nominee and Roles and Responsibilities of the Lead IV.

Whether you’re new to the role of quality nominee or just want a refresher, we have a range of dates available to suit your schedule.

Find an event and book your place

We are expanding our bitesize video library on our dedicated YouTube channel so you can access the information you require at a time convenient to you. The latest additions include ‘Successful Certification of BTEC Learners’, ‘The Quality Assurance Model in 24/25’, ‘The Role of the Lead IV and Team Standardisation’ and coming later in the term, ‘Guide to Standards Verification’.

Explore our bitesize video library

We are also delighted to share our updated on-demand CPD offer to support you with internal assessment and internal verification, applicable to BTEC Entry Level/Level 1 Introductory through to Level 3 qualifications. Each training pack includes a short video, an activity to consolidate understanding, the answers, and a PDF copy of the video presentation.

Download your free on-demand training pack

We have started planning for our face-to-face networking events that will take place in May/June 2025 if your centre would like to host one of these events please contact you VQAM via the Pearson Support Portal for further discussion.

Functional Skills
All guides for ESOL, Entry level and level 1 / 2 English Functional Skills are now available for you on the Home of QA - Functional Skills webpage

Higher Nationals
The Centre Guide for Higher National Quality Assurance and Assessment is available on HN Global

Work-based Learning
All guides for ESOL, Entry level and level 1 / 2 English Functional Skills are now available for you on the Home of QA – WBL webpage

If you need assistance to evolve the curriculum and qualifications you offer to meet the needs of all learners, Pearson have dedicated teams available to support schools and FE centres with curriculum planning, qualifications, subject-specific teaching and learning services, as well as guidance on policy and reforms including the future of Level 3.

Schools and multi-academy trusts: find and book a meeting with your local senior partnership manager to find out how Pearson can support you.

If you're an FE or work-based learning centre, reach out to your regional Curriculum Development Manager.

Kind regards

Helen, Bill, Lee, Liz, Sally, & Sue
Vocational Quality Assurance Managers