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Further education

You'll find discussions about A Levels and universities on our Further Education forum.

Original poster

BTEC/T level/other vocational 25/26

991 replies

BTECnewbie · 14/08/2025 19:34

Hello all. My DS will hopefully be starting a level 3 extended diploma in September (assuming he gets the grades). I know very little about BTECs having come through the A level route myself. So I’d love to have a support thread for parents of kids taking vocational qualifications this year.

OP posts:
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6
SuperTrooper1111 · 27/08/2025 12:19

@swampwitch0 Where did you find the spec for yours? I've found what I think is the right one for DD's Level 2 animal care on Pearson but it seems to be aimed at those teaching it rather than learning it.

SuperTrooper1111 · 27/08/2025 12:28

Hey @TeenToTwenties, could you please ask your DD for me what students study in the first six weeks of Level 2 animal care? I'm hoping it's uniform across the board rather than up to individual colleges. DD wants to prep as much as she can before starting next week, as her nerves are starting to kick in and she wants to mitigate an anxiety meltdown.

swampwitch0 · 27/08/2025 12:43

SuperTrooper1111 · 27/08/2025 12:19

@swampwitch0 Where did you find the spec for yours? I've found what I think is the right one for DD's Level 2 animal care on Pearson but it seems to be aimed at those teaching it rather than learning it.

Yes, it will be.
I'm hoping she will get more specific info on her induction days

GrumpyMuleFan · 27/08/2025 12:52

@swampwitch0 wow - that is a good idea. What did you ask it to create???

Sisublondie · 27/08/2025 12:58

swampwitch0 · 27/08/2025 12:43

Yes, it will be.
I'm hoping she will get more specific info on her induction days

Show quote history

Oooh, I’m impressed by the fact you’ve found it, let alone the AI!! All I get for DS college is snazzy YouTube ad!
So, is Pearson our AQA now?! I’ll have a dive into that!

…( before I even think about anything further..)….!😹

swampwitch0 · 27/08/2025 13:03

GrumpyMuleFan · 27/08/2025 12:52

@swampwitch0 wow - that is a good idea. What did you ask it to create???

Just a plan for a new btec student (subject dependant obviously...)

TeenToTwenties · 27/08/2025 14:51

SuperTrooper1111 · 27/08/2025 12:28

Hey @TeenToTwenties, could you please ask your DD for me what students study in the first six weeks of Level 2 animal care? I'm hoping it's uniform across the board rather than up to individual colleges. DD wants to prep as much as she can before starting next week, as her nerves are starting to kick in and she wants to mitigate an anxiety meltdown.

I will ask (I'm away from home as DM in hospital) but she probably won't remember and she did the work based course not the theory.

Thinking back 4 years when she did a week on the level 2 theory, she did have an early assignment on biology, labelling parts of the body in mammals such as windpipe, lungs, etc and describing their function. So mugging up on gcse level human biology might help, plus animal kingdoms, parasites, illness transmission etc.

Also any 'reading around' such as signs of health/illness/fear/etc in animals, animal welfare act, the 5? freedoms of animals, requirements for enclosures etc might help give confidence too. Terminology, nocturnal, crepuscular, carnivore, herbivore.

DD was the only one at one point who recognised a glis glis as my DP's had them in their loft!!

Sisublondie · 27/08/2025 15:19

@swampwitch0

How are things today? Did you get any sleep? Is your DD any perkier? 🤞

swampwitch0 · 27/08/2025 16:11

Sisublondie · 27/08/2025 15:19

@swampwitch0

How are things today? Did you get any sleep? Is your DD any perkier? 🤞

She says she slept well (glad one of us did!..)
We are doing a trial run of the public transport tomorrow...I'll go with her on the way in on her first day if she wants...or possibly older dd.

caringcarer · 28/08/2025 08:34

My main advice would be not to fall behind deadlines set. Once they get going the deadlines come thick and fast and if you fall behind on any it's very hard to catch up, as at any time you will have 2 assignments on the go at once with quick turnaround times.

Original poster
BTECnewbie · 28/08/2025 09:46

The tutors on DS’s course advised doing each assignment as soon as it comes to avoid falling behind. I must admit this does worry me as he is very much a “leave things until the last minute” kind of kid and I can easily see him getting bogged down with this and panicking. He’s never really had to do coursework before so it will be interesting to see how he gets on. I’m torn between wanting to help him with organising his time but also feeling that he needs to learn to manage this himself.

OP posts:
OhCrumbsWhereNow · 28/08/2025 09:54

BTECnewbie · 28/08/2025 09:46

The tutors on DS’s course advised doing each assignment as soon as it comes to avoid falling behind. I must admit this does worry me as he is very much a “leave things until the last minute” kind of kid and I can easily see him getting bogged down with this and panicking. He’s never really had to do coursework before so it will be interesting to see how he gets on. I’m torn between wanting to help him with organising his time but also feeling that he needs to learn to manage this himself.

Honestly, having watched a lot of friends' kids do BTECs, and having seen DD do a L2 over last 2 years, I really would help him - especially if any SEN/ND involved.

It is a lot easier to gradually start letting them be more and more responsible for managing and organising than it is to pick up the pieces when it's all gone horribly wrong.

If they end up having to juggle current assignments, resits etc then you risk them drowning, and with BTEC you have to be consistent - no last minute revision session and pulling it out of the bag at the end of the year.

MamaElephantMama · 28/08/2025 10:07

My daughter went to enrol on her T Level and they’ve said she can no longer do the course. She is so gutted as this was the perfect plan in her head.
The reason being her science is not deemed good enough even though she did pass and meet the requirements it was on the lower side so they worried she would struggle with the science side.
It was a shock as they’ve previously said it didn’t matter if she didn’t pass!

Original poster
BTECnewbie · 28/08/2025 10:09

DS has no SEN and no resits to worry about. I helped him extensively with revision for GCSEs as he had no clue how to revise or how to organise himself. From now on though I want to support him to organise himself rather than do it for him. I am always so tempted to take over though as it is just the easy option for me 🤣.

OP posts:
SuperTrooper1111 · 28/08/2025 10:10

BTECnewbie · 28/08/2025 09:46

The tutors on DS’s course advised doing each assignment as soon as it comes to avoid falling behind. I must admit this does worry me as he is very much a “leave things until the last minute” kind of kid and I can easily see him getting bogged down with this and panicking. He’s never really had to do coursework before so it will be interesting to see how he gets on. I’m torn between wanting to help him with organising his time but also feeling that he needs to learn to manage this himself.

I think it's good to micromanage them initially until they're comfortable with deadlines and completing assignments. I certainly plan to with DD - she needs to hit the ground running if she wants to progress from Level 2 to 3. I took a leaf from @swampwitch0 and got ChatGPT to give us an outline of what to expect in the first six weeks, after uploading the course spec. It's proved to be SO helpful. DD read through it yesterday and got really enthusiastic about what's to come.

Original poster
BTECnewbie · 28/08/2025 10:10

MamaElephantMama · 28/08/2025 10:07

My daughter went to enrol on her T Level and they’ve said she can no longer do the course. She is so gutted as this was the perfect plan in her head.
The reason being her science is not deemed good enough even though she did pass and meet the requirements it was on the lower side so they worried she would struggle with the science side.
It was a shock as they’ve previously said it didn’t matter if she didn’t pass!

Oh no. Did they offer any alternatives?

OP posts:
SuperTrooper1111 · 28/08/2025 10:11

@TeenToTwenties Thank you so much for the info, that's so helpful! I'm sorry to hear about your mum. I hope it's not serious. Flowers

SuperTrooper1111 · 28/08/2025 10:15

MamaElephantMama · 28/08/2025 10:07

My daughter went to enrol on her T Level and they’ve said she can no longer do the course. She is so gutted as this was the perfect plan in her head.
The reason being her science is not deemed good enough even though she did pass and meet the requirements it was on the lower side so they worried she would struggle with the science side.
It was a shock as they’ve previously said it didn’t matter if she didn’t pass!

Sorry to hear that, we had a similar situation at enrolment, also because of science! What have they offered instead?

swampwitch0 · 28/08/2025 10:16

I'm sorry to hear that @MamaElephantMama
Can you request a meeting with the course leader/convenor?
They can't just not follow their own entry requirements as stated...

Original poster
BTECnewbie · 28/08/2025 10:18

Is there such a thing as a Foundation T level? I thought I’d seen that somewhere.

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MamaElephantMama · 28/08/2025 10:31

Thank you for the replies.

They’ve offered her a level 3 course instead of the T Level but it was a shock. She was so excited and ended up in tears.

She needed 4s and got a 4 in a science, she passed her maths and English lit/lang at a grade 6 so we didn’t expect any problems.

Apparently there is a big science exam at the end of year 1 that they don’t think she would pass (How to kill a child’s confidence!!). I feel like contacting them and asking about the requirements as she wasn’t the only one turned away.

@SuperTrooper1111 How did your DC feel about that? Did they end up changing courses?

Original poster
BTECnewbie · 28/08/2025 10:38

@MamaElephantMama that’s such a horrible thing to happen. I know my DS would have been devastated to have not been allowed to enrol on his course having met their requirements. Are they now saying they want 5s in science? If so, they should make that clear in their entry requirement.

OP posts:
SuperTrooper1111 · 28/08/2025 10:39

MamaElephantMama · 28/08/2025 10:31

Thank you for the replies.

They’ve offered her a level 3 course instead of the T Level but it was a shock. She was so excited and ended up in tears.

She needed 4s and got a 4 in a science, she passed her maths and English lit/lang at a grade 6 so we didn’t expect any problems.

Apparently there is a big science exam at the end of year 1 that they don’t think she would pass (How to kill a child’s confidence!!). I feel like contacting them and asking about the requirements as she wasn’t the only one turned away.

@SuperTrooper1111 How did your DC feel about that? Did they end up changing courses?

Actually, I think what they've done to your DD is outrageous. She's passed the course requirements as advertised. If she needed higher than a four, they should have stipulated that. I think I would have to lodge a complaint.

DD's reaction was the same - shock, then tears. She had been sent an offer that stated she only needed to pass maths and/or English, which she did. But they said she also needed a 4 in a science - she got 3s, unfortunately – and the offer had been sent out mistakenly. So it wasn't that they decided she couldn't take it, she didn't meet the criteria. Now she's really happy doing Level 2. It's the equivalent of 4 GCSEs and includes animal biology, so it will bolster her future job prospects and she'll got up to Level 3 after a year.

If I was in your situation I'd be far angrier because they've moved the goalposts.

SuperTrooper1111 · 28/08/2025 10:41

@MamaElephantMama Is there anything in the small print on the college's website that says they can blithely change the criteria on the day? I think this is one of those times when I would be That Parent!

DreamingofRaining · 28/08/2025 11:19

I know it’s hard when they say a 4 at science isn’t high enough and they shouldn’t have given false promises. However is it kinder to start off lower and build them up than fail year 1 because they find themselves quickly out of depth. Having had a teen who just scraped into A levels and nearly failed at AS level it’s been really hard to keep her confidence and self belief going. Yes she did pass in the end but in hindsight she would have been better suited to a different path.