After being threatened with the axe, BTECs have been given a reprieve and you are invited to ensure their suitability and their future by serving on one of Pearson’s HE advisory panels.
Context
Over 100,000 students each year progress to UK Higher Education with a BTEC qualification, either by itself or alongside A Levels. It is very important to us that the new BTEC qualifications continue to aid progression to HE.
We will be redeveloping a small number of our BTEC Level 3 National qualifications in line with the forthcoming criteria from the DfE and Ofqual. This is part of the wider Level 3 Reform for vocational and technical qualifications, whereby all Level 3 qualifications will need to comply with the new criteria. The redevelopment will be phased over three years, starting in 2023 for qualifications for first teaching in September 2024.
Invitation to join our HE panels
Pearson is looking for university academics to join their HE panels and advise on the content and assessment for the new qualifications to ensure they aid progression to HE. Academics will have expertise in an area/areas related to one or more of the BTEC subjects listed below.
This is your chance to have your say about the new qualifications.
BTEC subject areas for phase one
We are potentially redeveloping a small number of BTEC qualifications in the following subject areas (subject to the forthcoming criteria):
- Engineering
- Health & Social Care
- Applied Human Biology
- Applied Science (covering the three sciences)
- Forensic Science
- Information Technology
- Applied Psychology
- Children’s Play, Learning and Development
- Construction
- Sustainability
- Digital Games Production
It is likely that the redevelopment will focus on one A Level equivalent size in most cases, with a couple of subjects potentially also having a larger size (three A Level equivalent). Pearson hopes to be able to develop further subjects in subsequent phases.
What joining the HE panels will involve
Pearson anticipates for the HE panels to meet online 3-4 times during the development in 2023, with the initial meeting in January and the last meeting in May/June (exact dates TBC). Each meeting is expected to last 2 hours, with a small amount of pre-reading circulated a week in advance of each meeting. They hope that delegates will be able to participate in the panel from start to finish (by attending and/or reviewing associated materials).
The initial meeting will look at the context for the redevelopment, as well as draft structures for the qualifications.
The mid-point meeting(s) will involve looking at the draft specification/syllabus and sample assessment materials for the exams.
The final meeting will involve reviewing the final version of the qualification specification and sample assessment materials.
Delegates will be paid £250 for participating in each meeting.
How to join and further information
If you are interested in one joining one or more of the HE panels, please sign up here to express your interest, with details of your area(s) of specialism. It will only take 5 minutes to sign up.
For further information, please contact Ria Bhatta, Head of Stakeholder Engagement at Pearson.
