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Thank you for choosing NCFE as your T Level Awarding Organisation

As you’ll be delivering T Levels for the first time this September, we thought it would be helpful to offer your Exams/Administration teams support and guidance to ensure smooth and successful administration of our qualifications. Below you’ll find details on the systems and platforms you’ll be using to complete administrative duties such as registrations and assessment bookings.  

QualHub 

QualHub is our dedicated site where you can browse and search for all the qualifications we offer. Visit the links below to view all our currently available T Level technical qualifications: 

Portal    

The Portal is your go-to place to manage learner registrations, make assessment bookings, view results and more. Below you’ll find instructional videos which will help with your navigation around the Portal:  

If you don’t currently have access to the Portal, you’ll need to select a Portal administrator who’ll be able to add, edit and remove other users. Click here to request a Portal Administrator. You can also view our T Level System User guide which can be found via the Portal - Support tab. 

 

Key documents and web pages 

The following outlines the key documents and web pages you’ll need to familiarise yourself with to ensure a smooth administration of our qualifications. 

Key Dates Schedule

This contains all the key dates for the delivery of T Levels within the academic session, including approval, registration and results dates. 

The Qualification Specific Instruction for Delivery 

This is our comprehensive instruction document that provides assessment specific instructions for all T Level components and should be used as a reference to confirm details such as the required invigilation conditions for each assessment, and guidance on paper dispatch and return, as well as other assessment specific requirements.  Core sub-component (Employer-set Project (ESP)), and Occupational Specialism assessments are shared digitally. Guidance on this process can be found in our Digital Links for External Assessment document.  

NCFE Regulations for the Conduct of External Assessment 

This document sets out the requirements for the conditions under which all T Level external assessments must be conducted. This includes instruction on invigilation requirements, as well as guidance on how to complete supervised sessions. Whilst NCFE are part of JCQ, we maintain our own assessment regulations which are separate to the JCQ ICE (instructions for Conducting Assessment). 

Reasonable adjustments and access arrangements 

Details on reasonable adjustments and access arrangements including paper modifications, can be found in our Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments policy. A centre can notify us of any arrangements at the point of Registration on the Portal.  Notifications post registration can also be added on the Portal – My Learners section.  

Special Considerations 

Students may sometimes be disadvantaged at the time of an assessment for reasons outside of their control, such as a temporary illness or injury. In these instances, a provider may consider submitting a Special Consideration on behalf of their students. 

Assessment Variation 

Centres can submit an assessment variation for any assessment detailed within our KDS, if they wish to request approval to: 

  • Vary the published assessment date 
  • Vary the published assessment time (beyond the permitted 30 minutes) 
  • Change (or extend) the assessment site from your current approved location. 

Sample assessments and tutor guidance documents 

These can be found on the relevant qualification page on our QualHub website and can help prepare students for forthcoming T Level assessments and familiarise both students and provider staff with the assessment format. 

Online Assessment T Level Training Pack

This document sets out how to successfully run online T Level Assessments and covers Online Assessment approval and set up, as well as installing and using our online assessment platform (Surpass).  Please note the only T Level assessments that can be sat online are Core Components A and B.  

Yellow Label Service 

To return papers NCFE offers the yellow label service for our T Level Technical Qualification Core Exam papers A and B.  The yellow label service is a traceable external assessment dispatch service provided by Parcelforce Worldwide, which allows you to arrange high-security collections to return papers to NCFE at no cost to you. This is the same service you may already be familiar with if you offer GCSE or A Level qualifications.  To use this service you must have an National Centre Number (NCN).  To request an NCN centers must complete and return this form to [email protected].  

Hints, links and tips 

Read below for helpful hints, links and tips for pre-assessment, post-assessment and assessment days.  

Pre-assessment: 

  • Ensure you have all required students registered onto the correct T Level qualification, and that they are booked onto the necessary external assessments   
  • When registering your learners onto a T Level technical qualification you’ll be required to confirm which Core assessment series the learners will be booked for. For the Core written exams (Paper A and Paper B) you’ll be required to confirm whether the learners will be completing the assessments online or in paper-based form. For the Core (ESP) you’ll be required to confirm which project brief the learners will complete. To complete a learner registration on a T Level technical qualification you must also provide a valid Unique Learner Number (ULN) 
  • Occupational Specialisms can be booked at the same time or at a later date on the Portal – Bookings screen 
  • Ensure you have assessed all students and entered all required reasonable adjustments in the Portal, including requesting any paper modifications required in line with timescales required  
  • Ensure you’re aware of when assessments are timetabled, their duration and any other key information required to help you plan your timetable 
  • Ensure that you know which (if any) assessments require Pre-Release Materials and when you can expect this to be shared.  Find these on the qualification pages under Support Materials – Qualification Information – Pre-release dates 
  • Ensure you understand the varying requirements for each assessment and are prepared for each. Tutor Guides are available on each qualification page, sharing or reviewing of pre-release material, confirming arrangements for students in advance etc 
  • Ensure you’re prepared and have processes in place for the secure storage of assessment materials (both physical and digital), that meet the requirements of our Regulations for the Conduct of External Assessment 
  • Ensure you have a contingency plan that can be implemented in a range of scenarios, from student level upwards 
  • If your learners are sitting online assessments, make sure you have downloaded a secure client and have run some mock assessments.  

Assessment day: 

  • Ensure you know when and how to store, handle, and distribute assessment materials to students 
  • Ensure you have a room(s) suitable for completing the assessment, with required space, a suitable environment and other required materials such as stationary 
  • If you experience any technical issues with Surpass Online Assessments that you’re unable to resolve, please call us directly on 01912408862.  Remember you can pause online assessments that have already commenced on the Surpass – Test Administration – Invigilate – Highlight learner – Click Pause 
  • Ensure you know what the requirement levels or control are for all assessments and have the correct number of qualified invigilators or supervisors 
  • Ensure you understand when and how to return completed assessment materials, whether paper-based on digitally 
  • Ensure you have returned all learner work and evidence.  Following assessment, all learners are required to complete External Assessment Cover Sheets. These can be found on the qualification page under Assessment Materials   
  • Following any assessments, Invigilators must also complete, sign and date an Invigilators Register.  This is available on the Portal – Bookings – View External Booking.  

Post-assessment:  

  • Ensure you know when results are released, how to access them and when to share them with students, as well as where to access other supporting documents related to results release.  Results are released into the Portal – Results screen 
  • Visit our post results services page if you wish to query any results or understand the options available 
  • Following an assessment, ensure you understand the scope and purpose for Special Considerations and know when and how to submit if required.  You can see information on this here. 

Further information and support  

If you have any further questions or would like any other information, we’re always happy to help and you can contact us on: 

Phone: 0191 240 8866 

Email: [email protected]