BTEC Level 3 Learner Handbook 2016-2017

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What are Vocational Qualifications? Vocational qualifications are nationally recognised qualifications. They are different from traditional GCSE and A Levels because they are linked to a particular area of work.

What makes vocational Qualifications different?  Students develop skills, knowledge and understanding in the vocational area they are studying.  Each vocational course is made up of a number of units, allowing students to build up their qualification in stages.  Students are assessed through coursework.  Students produce evidence for their key skills qualification through their vocational course.  Students take responsibility for their own learning by planning their work, doing research and regularly reviewing their progress.

Why do we offer BTEC courses?  They prepare students for the world of work and provide a good starting point for other qualifications such as NVQs that can be studied in the workplace.  Employers value the qualities that vocational students bring to the workplace e.g. organisation, time management, communication and research skills.  Universities value the independent study skills that vocational students bring to their courses.  The courses are flexible so that they meet the needs of a wide range of students. They are available at different levels in a variety of formats. They can be taken alongside other qualifications such as traditional GCSEs, A levels.  They give students the opportunity to try a range of activities such as designing products, organising events, investigating how professionals work and working in teams.

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Level 3 BTEC Nationals BTEC Nationals provide specialist, work-related learning across a range of sectors. Delivering the knowledge, skills and understanding students need to prepare for their chosen career, BTEC Nationals offer progression to higher or further education or into employment. Alongside A levels, BTECs are the most widely recognised qualification for admission to higher education (HE) - around one in four of all students starting HE courses in England in 2015 had achieved a BTEC National qualification.

BTEC Level 3 Nationals are equivalent in standard to A levels, providing specialist qualifications for learners who have a clear line of sight to their future career or are planning to progress through further or higher education. They’re suitable for students aged 16 and over. Students who have recently been in education are likely to have one of the following:  a BTEC or related qualification at level 2  relevant work experience  a general level of education equivalent to at least five A*- to C grade GCSEs. BTEC Nationals are delivered in further education colleges, sixth-form colleges, schools and other training providers.

What you learn BTEC National qualifications provide specialist, work-related learning across a range of vocational sectors. They give learners the knowledge, understanding and skills that they need to prepare for employment, as well as providing career development opportunities for those already in work. BTEC Nationals provide much of the underpinning knowledge and understanding for the National Occupational Standards for a specific sector, and are supported by the relevant Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) and/or Standards Setting Bodies (SSBs). Course content could include:    

core units covering essential underpinning knowledge and skills a wide range of optional units focusing on specialist knowledge qualification pathways reflecting specialist areas in some sectors locally devised units in some sectors reflecting the needs of your area.

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How you learn BTEC National qualifications provide a more practical, real-world way of learning and their value is widely recognised by teaching professionals, employers, higher education and students. BTEC Nationals can be studied full- or part-time. Each programme of study covers a number of units, for which students must present evidence based on their work and studies to demonstrate the knowledge and skills they’ve developed on the course.

How you are assessed All BTEC Nationals 2016 are assessed through a combination of internal and external assessment. They are assessed through a combination of:  Teacher- or tutor-led internal assessment throughout the course using assignments  Up to 25% external assessment (a test set by the awarding organisation) which can be taken either during or at the end of the course. The type of external assessment is tailored to the subject, and can be:  a paper-based test  a set task  an onscreen, on-demand test. Together, these styles of assessment provide:  the opportunity to measure progress on a continuous basis (as you do in the workplace)  the rigour of external benchmarking expected by employers and higher education institutions. Assignment Briefs Assignment briefs are used to formally record what work you are required to complete and submit for assessment for all internally assessed units. Each assignment brief will be issued by your teacher at the point in the unit when you have been taught all the key information and they feel you are ready to formally start producing your assessment evidence independently. Once you have been issued your assignment brief you must work independently to complete the tasks. Your assignment brief is your point of reference and should always be at hand, especially when writing your assignments. Each assignment brief is internally verified before distribution and will give you all the information you need to complete your assessments. Each assignment brief will include a list of useful websites and resources to support your work.

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Students’ work is assessed during the course, with each individual unit graded as a Pass, Merit or Distinction. This ongoing assessment means students can analyse and improve their own performance on a continuing basis, just as they would in the workplace. Each grade at unit level is assigned a mark these marks are then added together to create the final grade for the qualification. Each individual specification contains details of how to grade each unit and calculate the overall qualification grade which will be provided to you by your BTEC Programme Leader.

Progress with BTEC Nationals BTEC Nationals are highly regarded by universities, further education colleges and employers. On successful completion of a BTEC National qualification, learners can progress to or within employment or continue their learning within the same or related areas of study, in higher education, degree and professional development programmes. Understanding your BTEC Level 3 Results You can use the table below to identify how many UCAS points your Level 3 2016 BTEC qualification is worth. From 2017 there is a change to UCAS tariff, this information is based on the information available (August 2016). This information is based on the points score of a BTEC L3 2016 Extended Certificate which is equivalent to 1 A level. For more information on UCAS points for BTECs larger or smaller than 1 A level equivalent please see the following website and look at 2017 tariff calculator: https://www.ucas.com/ucas/undergraduate/getting-started/entryrequirements/tariff/calculator BTEC 2016 Extended Certificate Grade Points

Other Qualifications

Distinction* 56 Distinction

Grade A*

A Level points 56

AS Points N/A

Extended Project 28

48

A

48

20

24

Merit

32

B

40

16

20

Pass

16

C

32

12

16

D E

24 16

8 4

12 8

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What will happen in lessons? The lessons will vary according to the subject and level but all learners should experience most of these activities:  Discussion - one to one or in groups  Research – group or individual using a variety of methods  Report writing – manually or using ICT  Presentations – in groups or individually  Practical work  Display work  Visits to organisations/companies  Work with visitors

Which styles of teaching will be used? Different styles of teaching will be required throughout the course. This will depend on the unit being taught, the stage of delivery and the type of assessment required for that unit.

Teacher input At the start of a unit there will be a lot of teacher input; question and answer sessions, discussions, note taking and handouts. This may all happen at the beginning of a unit or at different points throughout the unit. It is important to note any information you are given, as it may be required at a later stage in the unit. Learner investigation Once the assignment has been explained and the tasks have been set, you will have to work on your own to find the information you need and then you will have to produce the information in a particular format to meet the requirements of the task. The work you produce must be your own; word for word copying from a textbook, or copying and pasting from the Internet will not be accepted nor will you be allowed to copy the work of other learners. You will have to check regularly with your teacher to make sure that your work is correct and to discuss any ideas that you want to develop. Group work For some tasks you may have to work in a group, either to find information or to produce evidence. This is quite acceptable providing that all learners take an equal share of the work and that individual contributions are identified.

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Practical Work. Practical activities which may include; Learning by experience. Learning by experience and is usually done in the work place (e.g. work experience or work placement) or by setting up work situations in the classroom (e.g. a role play of a business interview or a health care worker communicating with a client). Whether real or pretend, a lot can be learned from this type of situation and it is important to make the most of it by preparing thoroughly beforehand and recording any information you find. Inviting visitors into school from the vocational area is another good way of linking your work with what really happens in the workplace. Developing skills During your course you will be taught many skills:  communication skills  research skills using a variety of methods  I.C.T. skills using a variety of programs  practical skills using different techniques and equipment  presentation skills using a variety of formats  organisational skills You will be expected to practise these skills and apply them where appropriate throughout the course.

What will be expected of you? You will be expected to do all of the following as part of your day-to-day work.  High levels of attendance and engagement in lessons  Read and research  Keep a record of the information you find and the sources  Plan your work in a logical order and keep a record of your progress  Talk to your teachers about your ideas and how to achieve the best results  Produce drafts and final copies of your work  Produce good quality work with high standards of grammar and spelling  Present your work in a suitable format according to the purpose and the audience  Evaluate your work and make suggestions for improvement  Meet deadlines 7|Page BTEC LEARNER HANDBOOK

 Keep a record of the work you have completed, including the grades and points you have been awarded Who will be involved with the course? Subject teachers (assessors) They are responsible for planning lessons, preparing resources, assessing work and making sure that the units are completed on time. Programme manager This is the teacher in charge of the course. S/he must make sure that the units are being taught correctly and that sufficient resources are available. Internal Verifier S/he will check (IV) the assessment of all teachers on the course, they sample the work of all learners on the course and provides written feedback. The IV works with the external verifier. Quality Nominee This person (Mrs Markham-Lee) oversees all of the vocational courses to make sure that standards are being met. This will be done by:  Visiting lessons  Looking at learners’ work  Collecting information on learner achievement External Verifier This person has knowledge of the subject and the course and will visit to sample the work from one unit or will be sent copies of work to assess. This process is referred to as Standards Verification. Exam Officer The examinations officer (Mrs Coker) is responsible for registering learners for the course and for claiming qualifications.

How will standards of work be maintained? Internal Verification This is a quality control check to ensure that all learners’ work is being fairly marked and standards are being maintained. When a unit of work has been assessed and graded it will be passed to another teacher in the department who will check that all of the tasks have been completed to the appropriate standard. It may be necessary at this stage, for you, to amend your work, if it does not meet the standards set by other learners, who have been awarded the same grade.

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 Storage of work You will have a ring binder/ folder in which to keep your ongoing class work and homework. You will be responsible for this folder and must bring it to all lessons. All completed, graded work will be put into presentation folders and stored in a secure area until external verification takes place and the final marks have been submitted. External Verification An external verifier from Edexcel will usually take place from January and March to look at samples of work. The samples will be chosen to show the different grades awarded. The external verifier is checking the quality of the assignments and the standard of assessment. S/he may recommend that changes be made to the assignment and to the work you have done, although this may cause you some extra work, it will make sure that you are achieving the required standard to get a good grade for the course and is therefore very worthwhile.

Plagiarism and Malpractice In order to achieve a BTEC qualification, you must produce your own work. You will not be allowed to:  Copy word for word from textbooks  Copy and paste from the Internet  Copy from other learners (past or present) The examination board has a clear policy on how to deal with learners who cheat. If you copy the work of another learner you will risk having your work cancelled and may achieve nothing. If you lend your work to others, you will also risk having your work cancelled. If you steal another learner’s work and copy it, the exam board may cancel all of your courses. Do not cheat, remember your teachers are very good at detecting work that has been copied! Therefore it is important that you understand referencing and how to identify when you have used ideas and words from books or other sources in a way that clearly highlights they are not your own work. Good practice – referencing your sources General quotations Using a quotation reproduces in your work the actual words a writer uses. You should , therefore take care to copy accurately . If you copy the actual words a writer uses you should put the words in quotation marks “ “ and give a reference. For example: Jack Frost wrote “Summer is not coming in” (Frost, A. 2005 p.14)

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You would then at the end of your assignment include a bibliography detailing the full reference of all sources you have used to complete your assignment. For example: Frost, A. (2005) A Diary of Seasonal Meltdown Seasonal Publishers Referencing systems for electronic sources are becoming standardised. The in-text reference should follow the same format as for printed sources; however, the bibliographic information on your references page will be different and generally requires you to include the type of resource plus when it was accessed, as well as the URL for on-line sources. For example (relating to a Business reference): Cadbury World – What do they offer (Products sold on their website) http://www.cadburyworld.co.uk/products.htm (downloaded 6 July 2012) When you submit your work you will be required to sign a Learner declaration to confirm the work submitted is your own. Your teacher will also have to sign to confirm that they believe the work you have submitted is your own. A BTEC approved centre we are required to have a malpractice policy, the stages of the policy are detailed below. 1. Notification - make the individual fully aware at the earliest opportunity of the nature of the alleged malpractice and of the possible consequences should malpractice be proven 2. Response - give the individual the opportunity to respond to the allegations made 3. Appeal - inform the individual of the avenues for appealing against any judgment made 4. Record - Document all stages of any investigation Where malpractice is proven, this centre will apply the following penalties / sanctions:  To be decided by Head of College/Head of FRC Campus Definition of Malpractice by Learners This list is not exhaustive and other instances of malpractice may be considered by this centre at its discretion:  plagiarism of any nature  collusion by working collaboratively with other learners to produce work that is submitted as individual learner work  copying (including the use of ICT to aid copying)  deliberate destruction of another’s work  fabrication of results or evidence 10 | P a g e BTEC LEARNER HANDBOOK

 

false declaration of authenticity in relation to the contents of a portfolio or coursework impersonation by pretending to be someone else in order to produce the work for another or arranging for another to take one’s place in an assessment/examination/test.

Plume College takes its responsibility for ensuring the quality and reliability of assessment very seriously. It recognises that high quality assessment practices are an important element of the learner experience and that the outcomes of assessment influence learners’ future lives. Internally assessed units are assessed through tutor-marked assignments. You need to be aware of the volume of work that needs to be generated on an on-going basis to complete these assignments and the importance of getting that work handed in for assessment by the given deadline. You will be closely monitored throughout the course and your subject teachers will keep detailed records of your progress. This information will be used for reports and parents evenings. You will be required to keep a record of your own achievement as follows:  Work handed in for assessment  Unit grades achieved If you keep your record sheets up to date you will be aware of your current achievement the grade that you are working towards and what you have to do to improve ASSESSMENT ENTITLEMENT Learners at Plume College are entitled to:  Fair and open assessment practices.  An assignment indicating the criteria against which you will be assessed, assessment plan, unit specification, and a scheme of work.  Regular advice, counselling and guidance through tutors.  Access to an open and fair appeals procedure  Assessments being carried out regularly and outcomes reported with written and/or verbal feedback There are clear guidelines for BTEC teachers on feedback to learners during the assessment process and all teachers of BTEC at Plume College must follow these. They are split into 3 clear stages. 1. During teaching and learning stage of a unit feedback could include, for example: a. Teachers identifying areas for learner progression including further challenge 11 | P a g e BTEC LEARNER HANDBOOK

b. Teachers explain how BTEC assessment works and what learners need to do in order to achieve a Pass, Merit or Distinction c. Teachers could complete a mock assessment to learn the procedures and help prepare for the final assessment 2. During assessment completion stage the feedback could include for example: a. Guidance on how to approach the knowledge and skills requirements b. Guidance on appropriate behaviour and approach including confirmation of deadlines etc. c. Confirmation of which criteria the assessor is targeting and clarification of what the assignment brief requires 3. Following assessment feedback on the assessment record should include: a. The criteria the learner achieved (with explanation of the assessor’s decisions) b. The criteria not achieved and why (although not a list of instructions on how to get a higher grade) c. General comment on approach, conduct and grammar etc. Resubmission of Evidence Opportunities for resubmission of evidence Every assignment contributes to the final qualification grade, it may be appropriate for the Lead Internal Verifier to authorise one opportunity for a learner to resubmit evidence to meet assessment criteria targeted by an assignment. There are clear guidelines around when and how your Lead Internal Verifier can authorise a resubmission which ensure any resubmissions are fairly and consistently implemented for all learners. When can a Lead Internal Verifier authorise a resubmission? The Lead Internal Verifier can only authorise a resubmission if all of the following conditions are met:  the learner has met initial deadlines set in the assignment, or has met an agreed deadline extension  the tutor judges that the learner will be able to provide improved evidence without further guidance  the assessor has authenticated the evidence submitted for assessment and the evidence is accompanied by a signed-and-dated declaration of authenticity by the learner. If you are provided with the opportunity to resubmit your work it must be submit by the date agreed by the LIV which will be a maximum of 15 days after you receive your feedback from your first submission. Any work submitted after this deadline will not be assessed.

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Can you appeal against a grade? Once your work has been assessed and internally verified a grade will be recorded on our tracking and monitoring mark books, that grade will stand, unless the external verifier requires that the grade be changed. Students can appeal against a grading decision made by the assessor. There is a 4-stage appeals procedure as follows: APPEALS PROCEDURE Stage 1 – Informal: Learner consults with Assessor within 5 working days following the assessment decision, to discuss an assessment decision. If unresolved, then the issues are documented before moving to stage 2 Stage 2 – Review: Review of assessment decisions by Quality Nominee and/or Internal Verifier/Lead Internal Verifier. Learner notified of findings and agrees or disagrees, in writing, with outcome. If unresolved, move to stage 3 Stage 3 – Appeal hearing: Senior Leadership Team BTEC Line Manager hears the appeal: last stage by the centre. If unresolved, move to stage 4 Stage 4 – External appeal: The grounds for appeal and any supporting documentation must be submitted by the centre to Pearson within 14 days of the completion of Stage 4: a fee is levied 

The SLT BTEC Line Manager will take appropriate action to protect the interests of other learners and the integrity of the qualification, when the outcome of an appeal questions the validity of other results



The Quality Nominee monitors appeals to inform quality improvement.

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INTERNAL APPEAL RECORD FORM (Stage 1: Review) BTEC Qualification

Unit number

Student name: Internal Verifier:

Assessor:

The Quality Nominee (Nikki Markham-Lee and SLT Link (Ruth Clark) have both been notified of the appeal Quality Nominee Signed: Date:

Senior Manager Signed: Date: Reason for Appeal (please give full details)

Outcome (Response within 5 working days)

Student Signature:

Assessor Signature:

Date:

Date:

I confirm that I have received and read a copy of this internal appeal record form. Quality Nominee Signed: Date:

Senior Manager Signed: Date:

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INTERNAL APPEAL RECORD FORM (Stage 2: Review) A Stage 1 appeal document has been completed and the student wishes to contest the assessment decision BTEC Qualification

Unit number

Student name: Internal Verifier:

Assessor:

The Quality Nominee (Nikki Markham-Lee and SLT Link (Ruth Clark) have both been notified of the appeal Quality Nominee Signed: Date:

Senior Manager Signed: Date: Reason for Appeal (please give full details)

Outcome (Response within 5 working days) to be completed by Quality Nominee

Student Signature: Date:

Quality Nominee Signature: Date:

I confirm that I have received and read a copy of this internal appeal record form. LIV Signed:

Date:

Senior Manager Signed: Date:

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INTERNAL APPEAL RECORD FORM (Stage 3: Appeal Hearing) A Stage 1 and 2 appeal document has been completed and the student wishes to contest the assessment decision BTEC Qualification

Unit number

Student name: Internal Verifier: Date of Meeting:

Assessor: People present at meeting to include RCL: Reason for Appeal (please give full details)

Discussion Points from meeting

Outcome from meeting to be completed by SLT Link (RCL)

Student Signature: Date:

Senior Manager Signed: Date:

I confirm that I have received and read a copy of this internal appeal record form. LIV Signed: Date:

Head of Centre Date:

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INTERNAL APPEAL RECORD FORM (Stage 4: External Appeal) A Stage 1, 2 and 3 appeal documents have been completed and the student wishes to contest the assessment decision BTEC Qualification

Unit number

Student name: Internal Verifier:

Assessor:

Exam’s officer contact Edexcel

Date: Reason for Appeal (please give full details)

Paperwork supporting this appeal

Student Signature: Date:

Senior Manager Signed: Date:

I confirm that I have received and read a copy of this external appeal record form. LIV Signed: Date:

Head of Centre Date:

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