BTEC Sport - It's time to act!

The BTEC Sport First Award at level 2 is the most popular PE/Sport qualification that has ever existed in the UK. Typically, the course carries a cohort of over 50,000 students annually, meaning that, at any one time, over 100,000 students are studying for the BTEC Sport First Award. If we compare this to the most popular GCSE PE course, which is AQA GCSE PE 9-1, the BTEC is in the region of twice as big. 

But the environment for technical qualifications at level 2 is changing: beyond 2024, the BTEC Sport First Award will not contribute to school performance tables and will not be included in bucket three of Progress 8. In other words, teachers and course managers of the BTEC Sport First Award have the need to make an imminent decision about their provision.

Whilst some centres will have already chosen to continue with BTEC Sport First Award or to switch courses for final assessment in 2024, I believe the PE sector is yet to fully acknowledge the need for immediate action. My conversations with colleagues occur on a daily basis and there is a theme of not being sufficiently aware of the changes, as well as a postponement of decisions. Therefore, I want to state the following very clearly:

In most schools, choosing to continue on the BTEC First Award beyond 2024 assessment will not be an option, specifically because of the non-inclusion on performance tables. PE departments, like all curriculum areas, have an obligation to contribute to school success measures and any absence of this undermines the importance of PE/Sport as a subject area. Consider, for example, what might happen to a BTEC Sport First Award course if, in 2024 (the first year that the course does not contribute to Progress 8) the course underperforms in a centre. Senior managers will look at the BTEC First Award as having no impact on the school’s perceived performance. Therefore, senior leaders will have nothing but intrinsic reasons to support the course. Whilst some leaders may do so regardless, many will not and the future of PE/Sport qualifications in that centre will be under serious threat. 

Therefore, I am arguing: 

The most obvious decision for centres to make is to transition from the BTEC Sport First Award to the new 2022 BTEC Tech Award in Sport. This transition provides good continuity from the BTEC Sport First Award but the differences between the two courses are significant.

You can read more about the differences in my other blog: Major changes to BTEC Sport at Level 2: What every PE teacher needs to know!

Therefore, this transition needs to be planned in detail with specific reference being made to the distinctions in both examined and coursework units.

Some centres will take the opportunity to transition to a new course offer in September 2022. The most obvious example is the new 2022 OCR Cambridge National courses in both Sports Studies and, separately, in Sports Science. These courses are experiencing significant growth in the sector, having more than doubled in cohort size in the past two years. Whilst this growth relates to the legacy OCR National courses, my assumption is that the 2022 OCR Nationals will, at the very least, achieve this success. In fact, in previous blog posts, I have estimated that the shift from 2018 BTEC Sport First Award to 2022 OCR Nationals could be significant. Centres considering this should be aware of the following structures and are encouraged to compare them to both the 2018 BTEC Sport First Award and the 2022 BTEC Tech Award.

One of the key deciding factors for colleagues will be the nature of the examined unit. Therefore, I decided to publish this comparison of the examined units of the all the new 2022 courses. 

You can read more about the differenced between the courses in my other blog: OCR Nationals 2022 versus BTEC Sport Tech Award 2022: And the Winner is…

It is not currently possible to predict the quality of the examinations, mark schemes and guidance for the new courses and this is a theme that I will post about in the future. What is possible to stress, however, is that all three courses involve terminal exam assessments, meaning that the final exam taken in year 11 counts as the exam grade regardless of whether it is the student’s peak performance or not. Many centres will have maximised performance through the resit model in the past and this will not be an option for any of the 2022 courses. 

It goes without saying that centres are also encouraged to consider other, equivalent qualifications from September 2022. Obvious examples are the numerous GCSE courses or the NCFE VCERT. 

This image summarises my belief on what colleagues may do:

Conclusion

I would like to take this opportunity to firmly state the following:

• HoPE and PE teachers must immediately acknowledge the issues raised about the 2018 BTEC Sport First Award highlighted in this post.
• HoPE and PE teachers must immediately consult with line managers about the issue they face and seek advice.
• HoPE and PE teachers must imminently plan for their intended actions for September 2022 teaching.
• If HoPE and PE teachers choose to remain with the 2018 BTEC First Award, they must acknowledge that they are not contributing to school performance measures with this choice and recognise the threats that this might pose to the subject of PE within their school.
• HoPE and PE teachers should compare the relevant strengths and weaknesses of the 2022 BTEC Tech Award and the 2022 OCR Nationals before reaching a decision.

Thank you for reading. I would be grateful if you could provide an answer to the following questions in order to give me a sense of the PE sector and the actions that you currently intend to take. All submissions are anonymous.