Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional provisions he will make for BTEC students who are still required to take their exams, in order for them to be assessed and graded fairly while their learning has been disrupted due to the covid-19 outbreak.

The Extended Extraordinary Regulatory Framework published by Ofqual sets out how vocational and technical qualifications, including Pearson BTECs, can be adapted to mitigate disruption from COVID-19 to the teaching, learning and assessment of these qualifications.

The department allowed the January 2021 assessment window to proceed where schools and colleges judge it right to do so. Some students need to complete a practical assessment to obtain a licence to practice and enter the workplace and it is right that they should have the opportunity to do so, so that they are not prevented from progressing onto the next stage of their lives. To support providers, we have published guidance on conducting exams in a COVID-secure way and advice on how to restrict attendance during the national lockdown.

On 13 January 2021, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, wrote to Ofqual setting out that, where possible, practical assessments that are required to demonstrate occupational regulation or competence should proceed as planned, where they can be conducted in line with Public Health England safety measures. The letter also sets out that it is no longer viable for the written exams and assessments scheduled this academic year in February and March to go ahead, and the expectation that alternative arrangements would also be needed for exams between April and August 2021. Views on alternative arrangements will be sought through a consultation we are taking forward with Ofqual.