VTQ consultation update and what this means for Cambridge Nationals and Cambridge Technicals

We know that you need more information about Cambridge Nationals and Cambridge Technicals in 2020/2021. We are working with our regulator Ofqual to confirm how assessments may change and also liaising with the Department for Education about what this means for performance tables. Thank you for your patience while we move ahead with our plans designed to support you and your students to help make up lost teaching and learning time.

On 7 September, Ofqual published the outcomes from its first consultation on VTQ arrangements for 2020/21. This confirmed that:

• Awarding organisations can use adaptations of assessments and qualifications in 2020/21 ‘to mitigate the impact of disruptions’.
• Ofqual stated that they ‘do not expect the content to be reduced’ but that ‘it is possible to streamline assessments to free up teaching time to cover the content of a qualification’.
  
• This would be appropriate for ‘qualifications most similar to AS and A Levels and GCSEs’ such as Cambridge Nationals and Cambridge Technicals.
• The regulator will introduce a second – extended - version of the ‘Extraordinary Regulatory Framework’ (ERF) for VTQs.
• There will be no single approach for adaptations to VTQs but Ofqual will issue a set of objectives to guide awarding organisations’ decisions about how adaptations are made.
• Another decision from the consultation is that calculated results will not be used for assessments in 2021. We can reassure you that students who planned to take assessments between 20 March and 31 July 2020 but were not able to because they were cancelled, will definitely be eligible for assessed grades for Cambridge Nationals and Cambridge Technicals when they certificate or ‘cash in’ their qualification.

Ofqual has now also launched a second consultation which will cover statutory guidance for awarding organisations on adaptations and special considerations. It will also look at how the ERF, alongside the Extended ERF, will cover assessments in autumn 2020. We expect the outcomes from this second consultation in early October. Meanwhile, we will be submitting our latest plans for adaptions to assessments to Ofqual next week. We may review these after the second consultation.

There is still some way to go before you have the clarity that you need. We will keep you updated with any news. We continue to recommend that you deliver the content that you had already planned to deliver in autumn 2020. It also makes sense to ensure you cover the mandatory units in your teaching first. Our assessments will take place at the usual times - our November series will be available for Cambridge Nationals moderated units as usual, with an entry deadline of 4 October, and exams for Cambridge Nationals and for Cambridge Technicals are scheduled for January 2021. On-demand moderated units will be available for Cambridge Technicals this autumn too. Take a look at our subject information update for a reminder of these details.