BTEC/T level/other vocational 25/26

DD just finished second full day... and seems to be a very happy bunny so far.

Likes all the staff and all lessons gone well so far. And seems to have plenty of potential friends.

Having been thrown by the last minute timetable change she is now very happy with it.

Sooooo relieved.

@Sisublondie Is this the course? BTEC Nationals | Uniformed Protective Services (2020) | Pearson qualifications

Crikey!!! This marking system is scary!!!! I can’t seem to even find his spec online?! I am going to email his ALS/ SEND contact as he is on this “ provisional” 6 week trial, which is terrifying me! The excitement of being in a “super cool” environment, where he can be himself, and walk the corridors without having things thrown at his head, or being verbally and physically abused is excellent!!!, but I don’t want him to lose sight of the fact he has to learn, too!

How is everyone else doing?! Today’s new starters?! 🤞😸

Oh, no!! Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that. What did you say to him? Were the college ok about it? I can imagine that if the older year group told him that, then he obviously believed that to be the case.

My DS passed maths but is having English Language remarked ( got a Grade 3). When I spoke with his college on enrolment day, they says that if his grade goes up, he will be able to stop the English resit classes but will have to do “support class” which is what students who have passed Maths and English still have to do? Perhaps your DS college is similar? Did he get Grade 4 and above us Maths/ English? Maybe his second years were confused in relation to this?

My DS is happy at the moment, but I think he is so relieved to be in a learning environment different to his secondary school ( badly bullied throughout), that that probsbly accounts for a lot! You said your DS has 11 hours, is that theory/written? I’m very confused. My DS has English resit 9.30-11am on Monday am, then nothing till 1.20pm. He is then in Tuesday and Thursday and an hour on Friday am. Been told 80% practical and 20% theory/ written. Beyond that, I have zero idea! He absolutely needs prodding ( but believes he doesn’t) so I plan to email his ALS / SEND contact and ask her for advice…..

How did yesterday go, apart from the English/ Maths? How are his hours spread out throughout the week? Did he manage to sort the sports academy clash out? 🤞

Depends on the level to some extent. For level 3 it's usually Explain, Analyse and Evaluate. Which often trips up students progressing from level 2 because they think they can still get away with Describe for a pass, and they can't.

This is pretty much the format of most assignments at BTEC.

Describe, explain and analyse.

It's worth having a look at the spec and crossing off the words as they appear in the assignment.

It is what it is. To get a Merit you have to meet all Pass and all Merit criteria.

Often things build, so a Pass criteria might be describing something, the Merit might want you to explain, and the Distinction to analyse.

Some assignments may not have any distinction criteria, that is OK. But if you want distinction for a unit you have to meet any criteria that are there for the assignment iyswim.

Oh, that sounds like a very unfair scoring system.

Oh, how is yours finding it?
I ended up calling the college who said he’d missed his English and Maths lessons this morning. He says the 2nd years told him he didn’t need to attend as he’s got the grades.
That conversation didn’t help. I’m not sure my son is mature enough for this level of independence.

Yes, it was quite the learning curve to understand the scoring.

Scoring is based on pass/merit/distinction.

For example it was entirely possible (this is just made up for illustration) for the specific elements of a single module to get 6 distinction marks and one pass mark (ie out of 7 elements for that module) which would mean the entire module was classed as “Pass” only, even though everything else was at distinction level - it really is all or nothing, and no scope, in that example to get a merit in that module.

it might work slightly differently for different courses so if you can get a handle on how it works for your particular cases it would really help.

First of all, thank you SO much for the heads up, here! I know zero about BTEC, but learning!!

But, HUGE CONGRATULATIONS on such amazing results!!!!!!! And off to UNIVERSITY!!!! 🌟🌟🌟!!!!!
You must be SO PROUD!!!! Have they just gone?
(My DS just left for Edinburgh.. weird without him).

Thank you for your story of success!!! 🥳

Eeeek! Ok, thank you for the heads up!!! I def need to be helicoptering DS here, otherwise it does NOT bode well…

🙏

@swampwitch0

Only TWO early morning starts a week!!!! Whoo- Hoo (😹!)!! Oh, excellent news! So, what days are those?
Is Wednesday going to be weekly, 2.5 hours?

I’m sorry Older DD sad about BF going….. I felt terrible the other night.. DS19’s GF was upset now he has gone to Uni ( she goes next week) and weepy, and I was agreeing how sad it is…. Then! I read some thread on here about evil MIL and always “ making it about themselves” over the son/BF!!.. 😳🙀🙄…. I hope she feels better soon. I’ve been giving advice to get a date booked to next meet, if possible, to have “ something to look forward to”…….. ( whilst enjoying Freshers Week!!! 😹!).

Not good as to project… well, good if you are DD’s lucky friend!! That’s really lovely of her .. I hope it gets finished soon……. 🤞., and they have a bit of a laugh doing it!

I will dig to see if we get a parent portal!

I’m really sorry that you’re feeling tired and fed up…. What is your weather like? It’s gone sunny here… Can you escape outside for a bit of Vit D, or think of something like a really good movie or TV series you fancy watching, or favourite treat “ snicky snack” as I call it, and plan that for later ( if you manage any DD downtime?).., in the meantime, sending of a huge 🤗….x

Hey, welcome!!!

My DS also started BTEC in Public Services this week 😸… and, yes, I absolutely agree, it is overwhelming as I don’t really know anything about it, at present- other than he is in college Monday, Tuesday and Thursday!

It is helpful knowing the hours you set out that your DS has…. I did not know how they are broken down, so I will ask my DS when he gets home, and let you know what the make up of his lessons are.

As regards the sports, I know my DS had an outdoor based Induction week, and one of his lecturers ( do we call them that?! 🤷‍♀️!?) is serving military so quite sports based.

Well, it’s lovely to have you join us! We can get to know how to get through this all together 😸…!

@crumpet
instructions for projects can be quite high level - and there are no guides such as CPG revision guides which help to better understand A level requirements

THIS.
I (and some other parents) found it hard with the L2 BTEC to work out what was actually needed for some modules... and that was with it being Pearson who are quite good at publishing the spec.

Understanding what you need to do, and what needs to be included is not always easy, and you need everything and more to get the top grades.

I think it varies as to how much contact you get - DD's college are very parent friendly... we get our own portal, parents evenings, reports etc and they were very quick at induction to get the 'you can talk to my parent about anything and everything' box ticked off on the system.

11 hours teaching time/contact hours sounds about right - but check what else is listed.

DD has 13 hours teaching in college over 3 days.
But there is a 90 minute self-study lesson every week, plus 56 hours of self directed study and 64 hours of "enrichment" in year 1.

I wish I’d had this support group. Dc has just completed a level 3. My tips:

do not expect the same level of interaction as with schools - our college had no parents evenings for example

instructions for projects can be quite high level - and there are no guides such as CPG revision guides which help to better understand A level requirements

I found it quite stressful as a result, in terms of knowing whether dc was on track or not.

BUT has achieved the equivalent of 3 Bs at A level and accepted onto a completely unrelated degree course at university. Good luck everyone

Hi all,
Can I join this thread? My eldest has just started a BTEC in Public Services last week and not being from England I’m finding it all a bit overwhelming with the lack of information from college compared to secondary school.
They seem to have about 11 hours strict lesson, which seems awfully low to me, is this normal?
On top of that there was an optional sports academy that he joined which seems to overlap with one of the lessons, surely that can’t be right.

Morning
Dd is working on a project she promised a friend...its not the "easy" project she envisioned!
First proper day at college on Wednesday, but only 2.5 hours.
She's excited, I think.
So I'll only have 2 x early morning starts each week 😃
Older dds bf has gone back home so she's moping around 🙄
I'm feeling oddly tired and fed up today.
I don't think dds college use moodle (older dds uni use it so I am familar with it)
I have a parent portal to view exams, attendance, marks etc

The retyping was a pain but I am quite fast, and the print out was a life saver.

We also used print outs for me to check whether I thought she had met all the requirements of the question, so I could circle things she had missed etc. It saved submitting then reworking too much to get things more right first time.

@TeenToTwenties.. sorry! Ironic time to lose post! Anyone else attest to the fact MN is bloody slow today?

Anyway! Yes, I’m not the most tech person. The thought of work being “ lost” in the ether makes me so tense. I think emailing to back up perfect idea! I’m pretty sure that is what I did during my Masters, too, can’t harm a bit of extra assurance! As for the retyping you had to do…. Nightmare…. But! HOW happy were you that you had the print out???!! 😈😹🙏!!

Yes. I fear I am utterly in your camp!! I blame the fact I am barely allowed access to school ( or college) IT! I am a dedicated paper and pen

@OhCrumbsWhereNow

Ahhhhh, gotcha! So, a VPL that will prob fly above my head ( and not a puppy as @LarkspurLanehoped for!! 🐩 💕😹!!)….

So, I’m guessing my DS may have this as part of his course? I will ask him on his return, today. I do understand and empathise with the wailing if not having been given info, that he has! 🙄.. ( mind you, today’s drama was the notebook I had taken out of his bag on Friday, as it had been bent around a scrunched up wet coat since Thursday, and put on his desk to dry, had grown legs and disappeared over the weekend…., so not holding out much hope!)! Ditto as to passwords… he only reluctantly gives me his ever changing email adddresses. So, well done to you on DD front for this, too ( snd also on your valuable PA work!).

@sashh Oh, ok, see that does sound very interesting, to hear the teachers perspective… thank you for that ( and not heard eukaryotic cells for a couple of decades plus- I’m impressed!) It definitely appears to be of benefit to teaching staff… and students, time wise, with the marking!

It looks like I need to investigate this Moodle The Non 🐩!

Thank you for your input! 🙏 and @OhCrumbsWhereNow, happy timetable has sunk in, and hope SEND come up to scratch 🤞🤞🤞..

Good Luck to everyone today!!!!

😹😹😹……. Hilarious! - your post was the first I literally saw right now, JUST as I called Noodle ( my Toy 🐩 Poodle!) to lift him up for a cheeky cuddle 😈😹
💕💕💕!! 🐩 🐩 🐩 💕💕💕!!