Last week, we contacted all customers last week to let you know about the term-time certification checks that we’re introducing, and we wanted to provide further details on the process as the first request window is opening on Monday.   

When will I need to confirm this information?   

We originally told you that the first window would be opening from Wednesday 15 March. Following this week’s guidance from Ofqual, we’re delaying this by a few days to ensure we’re capturing everything required. Therefore, the window will now open on 20 March, with a firm deadline for you to complete your submission of 31 March. 

We’ll do another check on 15 May, requiring your response by 26 May, before summer assessments take place. Both checks are needed to ensure we have the most up-to-date information, as we know plans can change throughout the year.  

Who needs to complete a term-time certification check? 

We want to confirm that we only require a response from centres that deliver our Level 3 qualifications that support with progression to further or higher education, have UCAS tariff points attached or feature in Level 3 performance tables. You can view a list of these here.  

Please note that we DO NOT require information from centres for T Level qualifications, or for qualifications at other levels, eg our Level 1/2 V Cert Technical Awards.  

All centres that we require a response from were contacted on Wednesday 15 March and as a reminder, you can find details of the process for submitting this information below.  

What do I need to do to confirm this information? 

1. Log into the NCFE Portal.  
2. You can search for your learners using the search area and click 'learners', where you can download a CSV with their details. You can also go to the certification area and click ‘Make a claim’ to go to the search screen. You’ll receive a notification to proceed with the verification process.  
3. You’ll then be able to view a list of the learners registered for each qualification that we require this information for (see list above) and their status.  
4. You need to check the validity of each learner’s status from the data of registered learners that we've provided.  
5. If ALL the data is correct, you should access and submit the declaration form.  
6. If the data is incorrect, take a look at our Portal User Guide for support. Here you’ll find details of our registration and withdrawal/cancellation processes which will help if a learner is missing from the data and you need to register them, or if you need to remove any learners. Once ALL the data is correct, you should access and submit the declaration form.  
7. After the declaration is submitted, we’ll log the date that you have submitted this. 

If you haven’t received a request to submit this information and you believe you should have, please contact our Customer Support team at [email protected] or through Live Chat on our website.