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Q: Is the Centre Check in Activity new?
A: The Centre Check in Activity has replaced the out-going BTEC Holistic Review activity that took place in 21/22 & 22/23. Some centres would have been familiar with the Holistic Review process previously undertaken by CASRs (Centre Assessment Standards Reviewers).
This year will see the introduction of the Centre Check in Activity, which is a slightly different approach than previous years.
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Q: What is the Centre Check in Activity?
A: The Centre Check in Activity is part of Stage 2 (Centre Level Support) of the BTEC Quality Assurance Cycle.
The aim of the activity is to support the Quality Nominee (QN) to ensure that all QA processes are in place and effective with a view to timely and accurate claims leading to safe certification.
The VQAM role is supportive, and this activity is intended to reassure centres that they have everything in place that will ultimately lead to a safe and successful outcome for learners, particularly at the point of Standards Verification.
The activity will also allow us to support centres with any issues that have been identified during the previous academic year and ensure that they have been successfully addressed.
More details can be found in our Centre Guide to Quality Assurance.
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Q: Do all centres have the Centre Check in Activity?
A: Not all centres are in scope for this activity. There are a range of reasons why a centre may have been identified. These can include:
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- New centre quality assurance support
- Centres not seen in the previous two years as part of the Holistic Review process.
- Centres referred from other teams for issues found during the previous year’s quality assurance cycle requiring support, such as:
- Referral from the Quality Management Team
- Late and/or inaccurate Summer 2024 claims
- Quality policies/procedures that lack rigour.
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Q: When will we be notified of the Centre Check in Activity?
A: The activity will be a rolling programme starting in September 2024 – April 2025, where each VQAM will contact several centres within their area to start the check-in process. If you have not heard from us by the end of September, then you will not be contacted this year unless specifically referred to the VQAM team for support at a later point. Please note, this activity does not prevent any centre contacting the team to request support in the normal way.
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Q: How can I check who will undertake the Centre Check in Activity with my centre?
A: To find out who your centre’s named VQAM is, please view the VQAM Regional Map.
It may be the case that a VQAM outside of your region is allocated to your centre to carry out the Centre Check in Activity. This is normal, depending on the caseload of centres per VQAM.
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Q: What will be undertaken during the activity?
A: Your VQAM will contact you to arrange a support call that will normally be completely remotely. We anticipate this to take approximately 30 minutes.
The purpose of the activity is to focus on centre assessment standards to ensure the effective delivery of qualifications. During the call, the VQAM will discuss quality assurance arrangements with the Quality Nominee and identify any issues, any areas where support would be welcome, signpost existing support, and ensure the QN knows how to contact the VQAM team.
This may involve (this list is not exhaustive):
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- Discussion of quality assurance processes, procedures, and policies for your BTEC programmes
- Review of implementation of the above to ensure accurate outcomes for learners, to include centre procedures for timely claims in line with Pearson published deadlines.
The Vocational Quality Assurance Manager will:
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- Work with you to ensure continual improvement.
- Provide or signpost support available.
- Identify any actions to improve programme delivery or QA systems.
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Q: Will I be able to prepare for this activity in advance?
A: Yes, we have produced an aide memoire that will be shared with you prior to the check in activity. This can also be found in our Centre Guide to Quality Assurance (Appendix A).
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Q: What is the outcome from the Centre Check in Activity?
A: Following the check in, your VQAM will confirm the discussions with you by email and include any advice or recommendations designed to support you with quality assurance. As part of the follow-up process, you may wish to arrange for the VQAM to visit your centre or arrange a second call so that quality assurance support can be widened to include more of your BTEC team.
You will then be contacted at key points later in the academic year just to check that everything is on track and that you have all the support that you need.
Please Note:
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- The Quality Nominee will retain overall responsibility for quality assurance within the centre, including disseminating information to the BTEC teaching teams.
- The VQAM team can support with staff development sessions in exceptional circumstances, but this will not be available on a regular basis due to the volume of centres to be seen. Guidance will be provided in respect of the appropriate existing online and on-demand offer, or any training available from the Training from Pearson page.
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Managing vocational quality.
For additional help and support for Quality Nominees and BTEC delivery teams, we have created dedicated quality assurance webpages that can be accessed via the Home of Quality Assurance. These webpages provide easy access to quality assurance guides, videos and resources, FAQs, regular updates, training events, live chat with an expert and much more.
We recommend Quality Nominees and BTEC staff join our Quality Nominees Group, here you can ask questions directly to the Vocational Quality Assurance Management team, browse posts/updates and share ideas and good practice with colleagues.
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