Consultation outcome

Updating Qualification Level Conditions for T Level Technical Qualifications

From:: Ofqual
Published: 20 March 2023
Last updated: 10 August 2023 — See all updates

Applies to England

Read the full outcome

Decisions: Updating Qualification Level Conditions for T Level Technical Qualifications

Ref: Ofqual/23/7057/1

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Detail of outcome

Ofqual consulted between 20 March and 15 May 2023 on changes to its Qualification Level Conditions for Technical Qualifications, following the Department for Education’s (DfE) decision to change the way in which students can take the Core Exam and Core Project at their first attempt.

Ofqual has decided to implement the proposals as consulted on. The following changes will be made to Ofqual’s Qualification Level Conditions for Technical Qualifications, which will allow students to take the Core Exam and Core Project separately at their first attempt. Ofqual will:

remove the requirement for students’ first attempt at the Core Exam and Core Project to be in the same assessment series
amend the requirements specifying which assessments an awarding organisation must permit to be taken in different assessment series to one another
amend the minimum required number of assessment series for the Core Assessments, to reflect that the revised policy will require 2 opportunities to take the Core Assessments in each academic year
update the section on retakes to reflect that the position for retakes and first entries, which currently differs, will in future be the same

Further changes, not related to the Core Exam and Core Project, will also be made to ensure the Qualification Level Conditions remain up to date.

This document sets out Ofqual’s decisions following the consultation.

Feedback received

Consultation analysis: Updating Qualification Level Conditions for T Level Technical Qualifications

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Detail of feedback received

From September 2023, T Level students’ first attempt at the Core Exam and the Core Project, which are part of the Technical Qualification, will no longer need to be in the same assessment series. This was a decision made by the Department for Education following evidence from providers of the first T Levels, aimed at offering more flexibility to schools, colleges and students.

To allow the revised approach, Ofqual has consulted on amending its Qualification Level Conditions for Technical Qualifications. The consultation ran from 20 March to 15 May and received 22 responses from awarding organisations, schools, colleges, teachers and representative groups. Respondents were supportive of the overall approach that students should be able to take the Core Exam and Core Project separately the first time they attempt them.

This document analyses the responses to the nine questions in the consultation.

Original consultation

Consultation description

The Department for Education (DfE) is changing its policy for how students can take the Core Exams and Core Project which are part of the Technical Qualification in a T Level. Instead of having to take both together the first time they take them, from September 2023, students will be able to take each separately. This means, for example, that instead of having to take the Core Exam and Core Project in a single series, as they do currently, a student could choose to take the Core Exam in the summer series of one year, and the Core Project in the autumn of a different year. This change is to offer more flexibility for providers delivering Technical Qualifications and to students taking them.

To allow this, Ofqual needs to update its assessment requirements relating to the timing of assessments which are set out in its Qualification Level Conditions for Technical Qualifications.

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