Following the recent announcement by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (The Institute), we are delighted to be working in partnership with NCFE to deliver the contract for the Hairdressing, Barbering and Beauty Therapy T Level.
NCFE will run the qualification on behalf of the DfE and The Institute. They have put together the following list of Frequently Asked Questions to help resolve any queries you may have.
T Levels consist of several components:
Government published the full list of providers who have been selected to deliver T Levels in the 2020 to 2021, 2021 to 2022 and 2022 to 2023 academic year. You can access the full T Level provider list on the gov.uk website. To roll out T Levels as a mainstream offer for all students, the Government will be increasing the number of providers able to deliver them. View the approach Government is adopting for September 2023 here.
You can find out more about the industry areas T Levels are available for on the gov.uk website.
Timelines for the phased introduction of T Levels can be accessed on the gov.uk website.
The T Level panel, made up of sector experts, has been responsible for developing the outline content of T Level Technical Qualifications. NCFE and VTCT worked with the panel, as well as hundreds of other employers and subject matter experts, to develop the qualification specification and assessment strategy for the T Level Technical Qualifications.
Yes, T Levels attract UCAS points. You can find out more on the UCAS website.
If your centre is not already an approved T Level provider, but is interested in delivering T Levels, you must submit your expression of interest to the Institute. To express your interest in delivering T Levels, or to find out when the next round of applications is open, visit the gov.uk website.
You can find out more on how T Levels are funded on the dedicated T Level funding page on gov.uk.
NCFE’s dedicated T Level provider area has been designed to support providers throughout their T Level journey. It’s filled with useful resources, guides and webinars to support your delivery of T Levels.
No, as this is a DfE qualification managed by NCFE you would need to follow a specific process. Please see the T Level student registration process.
DfE will issue a certificate based on achievement. NCFE and VTCT will NOT issue any certificates for T Levels or the T Level Technical Qualification.
There is no formal requirement to put a qualification in as part of the package, however centres that currently run a transition programme have fed back they feel a qualification gives the programme more validity and improves outcomes for the student. Look out for the release soon of NCFE’s new transition programme qualifications that will be available for delivery from September 2021.
Yes, NCFE has materials available for centres offering the T Level. Links can be found on NCFE’s dedicate T Level provider area.
Yes, your NCFE T Level Account Executive will be able to refer you to centres who have expressed an interest in this opportunity. NCFE is also looking at other ways that centres can exchange best practice so watch this space.
There are a wide range of forthcoming webinars and support activity which can be found via NCFE’s dedicated T Level provider area, or you can ask your T Level Account Executive for more detail.
You can apply to become an approved TQ provider through our ‘Gain Approval for our Qualifications’ page on QualHub.
To support your TQ approval you should refer to the TQ approval criteria which can be accessed here.
We also have the below support guides to assist with your approval review. These documents can be found here. Once on the Support Guides page, select Delivery and Learner Support from the menu at the left of the page.
The below videos are also available to support you with your approval and can be found here.
To support your TQ approval you should refer to the guides below, which can be found here. Once on the Support Guides page, select Delivery and Learner Support from the menu at the left of the page.
· TQ Provider Approval Criteria
· TQ Provider Approval Report
· User Guide to NCFE TQ Provider Approval
· TQ Delivery Staff Qualifications and Experience Template
· Preparing for a Remote Approval Review
The below videos are also available to support you with your approval and can be found here.
· New centres: approval process for new centres
· Existing centres: approval process for additional products
Yes, please refer to the industry placements guidance on the gov.uk.website.
Yes, NCFE has resources available for Occupational Specialisms and these will be released in due course. Please refer to the NCFE QualHub for the latest information on resources.
The progression pathway for the T Level is for students to progress into either further learning or work. You can find out more about the progression opportunities that T Levels support here.
NCFE will not issue any certificates for T Levels or the T Level Technical Qualification; DfE will issue a certificate based on achievement. In relation to this query, the gov.uk website states: ‘Students who do not pass all elements of their T Level will get a T Level statement of achievement which will show the elements they have completed’. You can find out more information here.
You can find parent and student engagement materials by clicking here.
Yes, a student can be transferred from one occupational pathway to another before completing their first attempt at the Occupational Specialism assessments. Please refer to the deadline for entry/amendments for the chosen Occupational Specialism series in our Key Dates Schedule for specific dates.
Once a student has attempted the Occupational Specialism assessments however, they cannot switch occupational pathway.
There’s no compensation across components. Students must pass the Occupational Specialism component and the Core component independently.
Each component is internally 100% compensatory in nature so, in theory, a student could fail both exams and, if they did sufficiently well in the ESP, they could still pass the Core component.
Similarly, there’s no requirement to pass any of the Occupational Specialism assignments; assuming the overall mark is sufficient to achieve a pass, they will pass, regardless of how they’ve performed on individual assignments. (Please note that for EYE they must pass assignment 2, part A of the Occupational Specialism to achieve the Occupational Specialism ).
No, the ESP is set and marked by NCFE. Employers are involved in the design and consulted on the expected standards of the students’ work but will not mark the project.
You can find our assessment dates on the dedicated T Level provider area on NCFE’s website.
If the Occupational Specialism component has synoptic assignments, you must refer to the T Level Technical Qualification Specifications and Tutor Guidance on our website which provides instructions for each of the assessments.