Have your say: Key Dates Schedule consultation | NCFE

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Have your say: Key Dates Schedule consultation   

We’d like your feedback on our proposed T Level Key Dates Schedule for 2024-25 and 2025-26, focusing on both the content and structure of this document. Please review our guidance and the proposed document before submitting your feedback. You can access these here.  

The deadline for feedback is 10 May 2024. Following this, we’ll review your comments and publish a narrative response to queries and feedback, before confirming a final version by 1 July 2024. 

To support you to understand some of the changes and additions to this version, as well as addressing some areas of previous feedback received, we’ve provided the following guidance for you to consider prior to reviewing and submitting feedback. 

Process and work to this point 

  • We’ve worked with other awarding organisations offering T Levels to ensure our Key Dates Schedule consultation periods align, and to ensure that core exam set date and time assessments avoid overlap for all but the lowest volume qualifications. 
  • The T Level Key Dates Schedule is published two years in advance, whereas the GCSE and A Level timetable is published only one year in advance. Therefore, we’re aware there may be some clashes between T Levels and GCSE and A Levels but will manage these where possible through existing regulation allowances and assessment variation requests if needed. 

 

Changes and additions  

Dates for the entire 2025-26 session for all qualifications and assessments are contained within this document, and 2024-25 dates remain unchanged from the latest published Key Dates Schedule. However, there are some notable changes and additions to highlight which are being proposed for 2025-26: 

  • Education and Early Years Occupational Specialisms (both pathways) dates proposed to permit all Occupational Specialism tasks to be completed prior to commencement of Employer Set Project. 
  • Health Employer Set Project summer 2026 window extended from 2 weeks to 3 weeks, to mitigate against increased provider workload to accommodate an increase in student numbers. 
  • Digital Business Services Occupational Specialism (Data Technician) dates proposed, to permit all Occupational Specialism tasks to be completed prior to commencement of Employer Set Project. 
  • Healthcare Science Occupational Specialism (Assisting with Healthcare Science) dates proposed, to minimise overlap between completion of Occupational Specialism assignments and commencement of Employer Set Project. 
  • Science Occupational Specialisms (all pathways) dates proposed, to permit all Occupational Specialism tasks to be completed prior to commencement of Employer Set Project. 

 

Easter 2025 and 2026 

Easter holidays always presents a challenge when timetabling assessments, and is especially noteworthy in 2025, as it falls late in the season. In addition, across the country there are always varying timings for Easter and other half-term holidays. 

We prepare our Key Dates Schedule to avoid a 3-week period covering the most common Easter holidays across the country, meaning Easter is a driver for some variation in dates between 2025 and 2026, and when compared to previous assessment dates. 

Assessments are never scheduled over the Easter holiday; however, this does mean some dates of advanced assessment materials have been moved in the calendar to accommodate this. 

 

Previous feedback 

Whilst we welcome all your feedback, there are some themes which we acknowledge but either cannot change, or have already provided a rationale for why a change is not currently planned, including: 

  • Potential clashes with GCSE/A Level assessments in the summer period is a known concern, but the T Level Key Dates Schedule is published two years in advance, before these general qualification dates are known. We’re working with other awarding organisations to raise awareness of this concern and will continue to manage through assessment variation and other regulatory flexibility allowed by exception should this occur. 
  • The Employer Set Project (ESP) assessment window length has been raised previously, with some providers believing it to be too short. This is a change to the overall qualification design, which we have implemented, for the Health qualification, as above. 
  • Overlap between assessments, particularly ESP and OS windows, has been a concern in the past. We’ve worked to avoid this as above, as much as possible. Previous feedback has also requested that the OS windows begin later to allow more time for preparation, therefore with a high volume of assessments to timetable and a limited time period in which to schedule them, there are a small number of overlaps which remain but on the basis that to completely remove would mean some OS windows starting even earlier in the session. 

 

Who can respond? 

Your feedback is valuable to us, so we encourage all current, approved T Level providers to review the proposed Key Dates Schedule and submit a response. You may wish to submit more than one response on behalf of your provider, such as one from your exams department focussing on the dates, and another from a teaching department with feedback on the level of detail or other assessment arrangements. 

 

How can I respond? 

Please review the proposed Key Dates Schedule for 2024-25 and 2025-26, and then complete this form with all feedback. The deadline for feedback is 10 May 2024.