Service messages

Updated on [17/09/2025]

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!

September 2024

Assessments and reviews  

Arrange your External Quality Assurance and Annual Monitoring Reviews (AMRs) as soon as possible 

You can now arrange your external quality assurance reviews for the 2025-26 session by contacting your EQA directly (if you haven’t already done so). Every centre with live registrations will require an Annual Monitoring Review (AMR) this session, and Quality Reviewers are currently organising these if they weren’t booked last year.   

If your centre has multiple accounts but operates as part of a group and has separate AMRs, you may only need one AMR to cover all accounts. If this is not already in place, please contact your allocated Quality Reviewer to discuss.   

Deadline for external quality assurance reviews ahead of summer 2026 results 

If you have learners registered on VTQs, your external quality assurance review will need to take place on or before 30 June 2026, to ensure learners receive their results on Level 3 results day.   

Please keep learner data in the Portal up to date, including planned end dates, and withdraw any learners who are no longer on programme.   

Update your centre contact details   

If any contact details have changed at your centre such as a programme contact, head of centre, or a finance or exams contact, please notify us as soon as possible using our change of centre contact details form. Keeping contact details up to date ensures that EQAs can organise reviews effectively and important updates reach the right people. 

______________________________________________________ 

Instructions for conducting non-exam assessments (NEAs)   

We’ve been working with colleagues across other awarding organisations and JCQ to create instructions for the supervision, marking, internal standardisation, and external moderation of NEAs in centres. You should use these instructions in addition to NCFE instructions (which will always take precedence) when delivering NEAs to ensure compliance with assessment and marking requirements.    

These instructions are applicable from 1 September 2025 and apply to NEAs for the following qualifications:   

• alternative academic qualifications   

• Level 1/2 Technical Awards  (V Certs) 

• T Levels.  

You can find the instructions on our mandatory policies and fees webpage. 

______________________________________________________ 

Updated assessment timetable for 2025-26    

We’ve updated our assessment timetable for all relevant V Cert and CACHE qualifications for 2025-26 and 2026-27. Follow this link to view the timetable and supporting documentation.    

Since the consultation period and previous version of this document, we’ve:   

• included details of V Cert registration cut-off dates for the next two academic years years (please note that the deadline for registrations for summer 2026 is 31 January 2026, but from summer 2027 onwards, the deadline will be 31 January of the first year of the standard two-year delivery of these qualifications)   

• provided clarity that V Cert booking cut-off dates and NEA submission dates are 30 April for the year of assessment   

• changed dates for three of our summer 2026 V Cert external assessments to avoid clashes with high-volume GCSE exams.    

The qualifications impacted, and the details of the changes, are as follows:    

*please note a change from previous communications  

The above changes should support you in your assessment administration in an already busy period – avoiding clashes and minimising impact on learners – and in most cases, assessments are moving to a later date. Please ensure that your exams administration teams are aware, and these assessment dates are updated in your systems to avoid any potential disadvantage to learners.   

Please also note:  

• All Northern Ireland CACHE qualifications with a summer assessment opportunity have had their summer 2026 results release dates brought forward to 12 June 2026 so that centres can access their learners’ results before the end of the summer term. 

• The vast majority of Level 3 CACHE qualifications with a summer assessment opportunity that had a corresponding results release date occurring after 10 July 2026 have had their summer results release date brought forward to 10 July 2026. This will allow centres additional time to confirm completion of any internally assessed components and, hence, complete certification, in advance of the general Level 3 results release date in August. 

If you have any queries on this, please contact our Assessment Delivery team via email at [email protected]     

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Qualifications updates and withdrawals  

View this month’s Horizons update for the latest qualification changes and withdrawals.  

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Supporting your delivery 

Sign up to our next Education and Early Years student conference  

Prepare your learners for success in their placements and future careers by enrolling them in our upcoming Education and Early Years student conference. Taking place on Tuesday 14 October from 10am-12pm, this conference will focus on working with babies, children, and families. We’ll bring together early years and education professionals who will share their wealth of specialist knowledge and expertise when working with these groups, giving your learners an insight into this sector. Sign your learners up now. 

______________________________________________________ 

Sign up for our upcoming assessor and IQA training events  

Sign up now for our assessor and IQA training events. 

Our assessor training events 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.   

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.   

______________________________________________________ 

Additional product applications   

If you’re interested in applying for approval for additional products, just a quick reminder that you can add multiple qualifications on to a single application. This will save you time through avoiding the need to complete multiple forms.   

Before applying, please do 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. 

______________________________________________________ 

Follow us on WhatsApp  

Never miss a deadline or upcoming action by signing up to receive reminders directly on your phone via our WhatsApp channel. These will include a clear recap of what you need to do and by when, as well as any links, to save you time and ensure you’re always in the know!   

Join our WhatsApp channel  

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Qualification-specific updates 

• CACHE 

• Functional Skills  

• T Levels  

• V Certs. 

Horizons archive

Explore our Horizons portfolio archive below.