Our latest updates

 March 2024 

Updated [12/03/2025]

News for all T Level providers 

Key dates and reminders  

Autumn assessment series results: what you need to know for next week 

We want to remind you that we’ll release results from the autumn 2024 series to providers on 19 March ahead of students receiving them on 20 March. Read more on our results webpage.  

VTQ timely delivery of results: second term-time checkpoint now open 

The window for the second term-time checkpoint is now open and the deadline is Friday 2 May 2025. Visit our timely delivery of VTQ results webpage for more information on the actions you need to take and where to find support. 

Important announcement: T Level approval window now open  

If you’re planning to deliver additional NCFE T Level qualifications in September 2025, you’ll need to apply for further product approval with us via our website before you can start delivering them. The approval window is now open and closes on 27 June 2025.  

To apply for approval, you should follow these steps, or watch our video guide: 

• Visit ncfe.org.uk and use the qualification search function to navigate to the product(s) you wish to apply for. 

• Select ‘Deliver this qualification’. 

• Sign in and complete the online application. For this, you’ll need:  - provider name and number  
  - provider details (programme contact) 
  - qualification details including intended registrations and start dates. 

• Complete provider and secure live assessment and administration declarations. 

• Once we receive your application, if this is an additional product request and your application is received before 5pm you will be sent confirmation of approval that day. If you are new to NCFE or T Level delivery, we'll review and process this within 24 hours and send confirmation once the approval process is fully completed. 

• We recommend you review your previous Annual Monitoring Review (AMR) report for any actions which could apply to T Levels.  

Please be aware that if your college has multiple campuses, you’ll need to apply for approval for each campus to deliver any additional qualifications. Similarly, if your academy is part of a multi academy trust, each academy will require separate approval. 

Need support? 

If you need support with the approvals process, please contact your allocated EQA or our T Level support team via email at [email protected]. You can also sign up to join our virtual drop-in clinics on approvals which are taking place regularly between March and June 2025. Sign up through our events webpage.  

Update to the Key Dates Schedule  

We’ve updated a statement on page 11 of our Key Dates Schedule about submitting students’ marks and how to record students who were booked to sit an assessment but did not attend 

Updated statement: 

Marks must be entered onto the Portal before midnight on the final submission date. Any students booked but not sitting the assessment should be marked as a DNA in the ‘submit marks’ screen. Failure to do this will result in delays to final moderation and student results. Final moderation will take place when the assessment window closes. 

Preparing for assessments and moderation 

Advance assessment materials and access guidelines  

As we approach the summer assessment series, we’ve created qualification-specific documents detailing the advance assessment materials for the Employer Set Project (ESP) and occupational specialisms (OS).  

This documentation includes information on who can open these materials and when. There is a quick guide in the table below but we recommend reviewing the qualification documentation for specific information on advance assessment materials. This documentation can be found on the relevant qualification page, linked below. 

Links to advance assessment materials:  

• Digital Business Services advance assessment material  

• Digital Support Services advance assessment material  

• Education and Early Years advance assessment material  

• Health advance assessment material  

• Healthcare Science advance assessment material  
• Science advance assessment material  

Top tips for the ESP 

Ahead of the summer assessment series, we’ll be sharing guidance with you on how to prepare. Read our top tips for preparing for the ESP. 

Special considerations and reasonable adjustments  

Please remember that students may be eligible for special considerations if they’re disadvantaged in some way at the time of an assessment for reasons outside of their control.   

You can review JCQ’s guide to the special consideration process for further clarification around who may be eligible.   

Requests must be submitted via our centre assessment support page, no later than 5 working days after the assessment has taken place or the assessment window has closed.  

Any reasonable adjustment should be added in the NCFE portal at the point of registering the student but if need can be added at a later date before the assessment. Reasonable adjustments are put in place to help reduce the effect of a disability or difficulty that places the learner at a substantial disadvantage in the assessment. Further information can be found on our Access arrangements and reasonable adjustments page.  

Students selected for moderation who have a reasonable adjustment applied, must be added to the checklist in the assessment materials pack or the form VQ/IA included in evidence upload. This ensures that adjustments are properly documented and accounted for.   

Supporting your delivery: resources, training and events 

Administration support 

We’d like to remind you that administration training is available on the moderation webpage. This training will guide you through the administration duties required and help ensure everything is completed correctly and efficiently.   

Please keep the following key points in mind:  

Evidence upload limits: be mindful of the upload limits for evidence. You should ensure that files meet the specified size requirements to avoid any issues when uploading evidence. You’ll find useful tips under the evidence upload banner on the moderation webpage.  

Evidence labelling:   

• You should label all evidence clearly, by including the corresponding task number in the document title. For example, labelling a document as ‘Task 3’ will clarify which evidence corresponds to which task.   

• All files and documents must include the student’s name and the name of the task(s).  
• Student names on evidence submissions must match the names used to register the student with NCFE.  

Upcoming events  

We have a full schedule of interactive and useful training events taking place in March and February. Visit our events webpages for more information.   

We’ve highlighted some key ones below and you can find others on our subject-specific webpages (linked at the end of this page).  

Face-to-face excellence roadshows 

Join our face-to-face excellence roadshow at York College on Friday 21 March, to enhance your teaching, curriculum planning and assessment for NCFE T Levels.   

What will I gain from attending?  

✅ practical workshops tailored to your T Level subject area (in Education and Early Years; Health, Healthcare Science and Science; and Digital Business Services and Digital Support Services) 

✅ expert-led discussions on best practices  

✅ valuable networking opportunities with other educators  

Spaces are limited – sign up today on Eventbrite.

Supporting maths success in T Level teaching  

Are you ready to strengthen your approach to teaching maths within T Levels? Join our session on Monday 31 March at 4-5pm to gain a deeper understanding of the maths requirements in T Levels and equip yourself with practical strategies to support your students’ success.  

This session will cover:  

• key insights into T Level maths requirements 

• how to identify and address common maths challenges 
• effective strategies to boost student confidence and achievement.  

Register now. 

Funding information 

T Levels capital fund    

The Department for Education (DfE) has published information on the T Levels capital fund which supports eligible providers delivering T Levels since September 2024. This includes:  

• The Building and Facilities Improvement Grant   

• The Specialist Equipment Allocation (SEA)  

If you want to know more about Capital Funding, including eligibility, please refer to the Guide to the T Level Capital Fund (TLCF). 

For any queries regarding T Levels capital funding, including the Building and Facilities Improvement Grant (BFIG) and the Specialist Equipment Allocation (SEA), please contact the Department for Education (DfE) directly. 

Key contacts 

Notify us of any change of contacts 

If any contact details at your provider have changed - such as programme contact, head of centre, finance or exams contact - it is important that you let us know. Please complete our change of centre contact details form.