Service messages

Updated on [17/07/2025]

Welcome to our service messages area. This area is regularly updated with the latest information about our products, qualifications, processes and more.

We’ll also send you a monthly newsletter where we’ll highlight any key updates, and you can click through to this webpage to read the full details. We recommend bookmarking this page so that you can check back regularly for any updates!

July 2025 

Assessments and results 

Deadline for making certificate claims (does not apply to T Levels or V Certs) 

If you have learners registered on vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) with planned end dates this summer, the deadline to make claims for learners who are not awaiting an external assessment result was Friday 11 July.  

If you've already claimed certificates for your learners and are waiting for an External Quality Assurer to accept your claims, no further action is required at this time.  

If you still have learners who require their result on Thursday 14 August and you haven’t claimed their certificates, please check the Portal User Guide for instructions and take the following actions as soon as possible:  

• If you're ready to claim certificates for your learners, you can claim these on the Portal certification screen.  

• If you're not ready to claim certificates for your learners, please extend their planned end date to the new expected completion date in the Portal, My Learners, then Manage Learners screen.  

• If any of your learners will be resitting any external assessments, you need to book these on the Portal bookings screen.  

• If any of your learners are no longer expected to complete the qualification, please withdraw them through the manage learner screen on the Portal, or make a partial claim if they've completed part of the qualification.  

Learners awaiting external results after 11 July  

 We’ll contact your centre’s exams contact directly on the day your results are issued, reminding you to make your claims where applicable.   

Results queries  

If you have any outstanding appeals or special consideration requests, please don't claim certificates for the affected learners. You should await the outcome of those processes first.  

Further support  

You can find more information on our timely delivery of results page. If you have any questions or require any further support, contact our Customer Support team using the Online Chat feature on the Portal, email [email protected] or call 0191 239 8000.  
 

Changes to our timescales for post-results services 

As part of our work to align with JCQ to provide you with a more streamlined customer experience, we’ll be changing some of our timescales for different services including clerical check, review and expedited review of marking, access to student evidence, and review and expedited review of moderation. Please visit our results queries webpage to see the changes. 

Timescales and costs 

All qualifications (VTQ and T Level) 

#SkillsMatter – share your learners’ stories with us on results days  

Results days are pivotal moments for young people, their families, and educators. We want to ensure vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) are celebrated during this time of year.  

Our #SkillsMatter campaign aims to showcase the value of these qualifications - empowering individuals, strengthening industries, and driving economic growth. 

Help us raise the profile of VTQs and the value they bring to learners and the workplace of the future. Use #SkillsMatter on results day in August so we can fill social media with real-life examples, sharing success stories from learners who have built thriving careers through vocational and technical qualifications. We're here to highlight the life-changing potential of these qualifications and ensure they get the recognition they deserve, and we want to provide guidance, encouragement and reassurance to young people exploring their next steps. 

Let’s make this results day a turning point. Let’s make skills count. Let’s show that #SkillsMatter. 

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Qualification updates and withdrawals  

Horizons update

View this month’s Horizon update for our latest qualification changes and withdrawals.  

In May we let you know that as a result of our strong partnership working with Active IQ we’ve focused on streamlining our product offer and have identified areas of overlap. Therefore, we’ve taken the decision to withdraw a small number of qualifications in sport and active leisure. Suitable alternatives are still available: please download the May Horizons document to see the recommended alternative NCFE and Active IQ qualifications.  

New Level 2 Early Years Practitioner qualifications approved  

We’ve developed two Early Years Practitioner qualifications which have been approved by the Department for Education (DfE) and will go live on Friday 1 August: 

• NCFE CACHE Level 2 Technical Occupational Entry for the Early Years Practitioner (Diploma) (610/4587/1)  

• NCFE CACHE Level 2 Extended Technical Occupational Entry for the Early Years Practitioner (Diploma) (610/4588/3)  

These qualifications have been added to the DfE’s Early Years qualifications list (EYQL). They will be available on our qualifications list webpage from Friday 1 August. 

These qualifications meet the Level 2 Early Years Practitioner (EYP) criteria and are considered full and relevant in line with Level 2 EYP requirements. On successful completion of these qualifications, learners will be able to be counted as staff in the staff:child ratios at Level 2.   

For more information on the requirements met by these qualifications, please visit the Early years qualification requirements and standards page on the DfE’s website.   

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Fees and pricing for 2025-26 

Last month, we shared the updates to our fees and pricing for 2025-26, which you can read here. You can also now access our 2025-26 fees and pricing guide 

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Functional Skills 

• Functional Skills maths and English are changing: We've listened to your feedback, and we'll publish more details about the exciting changes to our assessments, resources, and practice papers soon. Visit our Functional Skills service message page for more information. 

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T Levels 

• View our latest T Level communications. 

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V Certs 

• View our latest V Cert service messages. 

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Exams officers’ update  

• View this month’s update. 

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Supporting your delivery: resources, training and events 

New assessor and Internal Quality Assessor training events available for booking  

Sign up now for our assessor and IQA training events in 2025-26.   

Assessor training  

 We’re running assessor training events throughout 2025-26 which will provide you with an opportunity to:   

• explore the general principles of the assessment process 

• understand what we expect from assessors 

• get to know our paperwork and processes 

• highlight and share good practice 

• meet and network with other practitioners.  

This training is suitable for anyone assessing our qualifications, including those new to assessment, new to NCFE qualifications, and experienced assessors seeking Continuous Professional Development opportunities.  

You can currently sign-up to the assessor and Functional Skills assessor training events set from September to October of this year: 

• Assessor training - Monday 15 September at 09:30am - 12:30pm 

• Functional Skills assessor training - Wednesday 17 September at 09:30am -12:30pm  

• Functional Skills assessor training - Tuesday 7 October at 09:30am -12:30pm   

• Assessor training - Wednesday 8 October at 09:30am - 12:30pm  

We’ll also be running the following assessor training sessions from November 2025 to June 2026, and links to sign up will be live soon: 

• Functional Skills assessor training - Wednesday 12 November 2025 at 09:30am -12:30pm   

• Assessor training - Tuesday 3 February 2026 at 09:30am -12:30pm 

• Assessor training - Tuesday 3 March 2026 at 09:30am -12:30pm 

• Assessor training – Wednesday 22 April 2026 at 09:30am -12:30pm 

• Assessor training - Thursday 7 May 2026 at 09:30am-12:30pm 

• Assessor training - Wednesday 10 June 2026 at 09:30am -12:30pm  

IQA training  

Our internal quality assurance (IQA) events will provide you with an opportunity to:  

• explore the general principles of the internal quality assurance process 

• understand what we expect from you 

• get to know our paperwork and processes 

• review current practices and develop ideas for improvement 

• understand how to achieve and maintain Direct Claim Status (DCS) 

• meet and network with other IQA practitioners.  

This training is suitable for anyone involved in the IQA process of our qualifications, including all experience levels, from new to IQA, to highly experienced and looking for Continuous Professional Development sessions. 

You can sign-up to the IQA training events running from September to October 2025 now: 

• IQA training - Tuesday 16 September 2025 at 09:30am - 12:30pm 

• Functional Skills IQA training - Wednesday 24 September 2025 at 09:30am -12:30pm   

• Functional Skills IQA training - Tuesday 14 October 2025 at 09:30am -12:30pm   
• IQA training - Wednesday 15 October 2025 at 09:30am - 12:30pm 

We’ll also be running the following sessions from November 2025 to June 2026, and links to sign up will be live soon: 

• Functional Skills IQA training - Thursday 20 November 2025 at 09:30am -12:30pm   

• IQA training - Tuesday 17 February 2026 at 09:30am -12:30pm 

• IQA training - Tuesday 17 March 2026 at 09:30am -12:30pm 

• IQA training - Thursday 23 April 2026 at 09:30am -12:30pm 

• IQA training - Friday 8 May 2026 at 09:30am -12:30pm 

• IQA training - Thursday 11 June 2026 at 09:30am -12:30pm  

Please note that unless specified, training is applicable across all our qualifications and is not subject-specific. Colleagues and trainers will be from a wide range of sectors. If you require subject-specific training please see check our bespoke training page.  

Each booking is valid for one delegate only, and only the registered delegate will receive a certificate of attendance.  

Each event costs £75 per delegate and is delivered via Microsoft Teams as an interactive session.  Please ensure you have mic, camera and chat availability to take part in the discussions.  

If you have any further questions, please contact the team via email at [email protected].  

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Important reminders 

Changes to your contact details: if contact details at your centre have changed for head of centre, programme, finance or exams contacts, please update us by completing this form. 

Additional product requests  

Reminder: if you are interested in applying for approval for additional products, you can add multiple qualifications on to a single application, saving you time by avoiding the need to complete multiple forms. Please not that the T Level approval window for new starts in 2025-26 is now closed. 

Before applying, please also check whether you are already approved to deliver the qualification. You can do this by logging into the Portal, navigating to the Products section, and searching for the qualification by name or code.  

Horizons archive

Explore our Horizons portfolio archive below.