Vocational courses: Important information

From next week, all vocational courses that will complete this year will no longer be setting work for students to complete, taking work in or providing RAG grades for engagement. Teams will continue to support students with work that may help them to prepare for their planned next step, but there will be no compulsion for students to engage in this, nor will this be monitored.There are a couple of important exceptional cases:

• Criminology year 1: All criminology year 1 students will CONTINUE to receive set work on a weekly basis and RAG grades will be provided to monitor engagement until the end of the academic year.
• Foundation year BTEC courses: These courses will now finish. However, many of you will be wanting to progress to level 3 course next year. If you are in this position, you will receive a letter explaining the conditions for your progression in the autumn.

We still do not have clarity on the process for vocational qualifications. It is probable that we will be asked to complete a similar process to A levels and GCSEs, with teachers providing estimated grades and rankings based on what they judge the students would have achieved if their courses had continued.There are still some students who have not submitted work that was due before the national closure. If this applies to you, please urgently discuss this with your subject tutors, as staff will not have the evidence they need to support giving you the best possible grades.If you'd like more information, Ofqual released their consultation on the processes for vocational courses completing this summer last Friday. This is still very much focused about defining the rules for exam boards to use.You can access it here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ofqual-consultation-on-awarding-vocational-and-technical-qualifications-in-summer-2020Edexcel have also been updating their information and have started a weekly bulletin: http://view.ocrm1.pearson.com/