BTEC-CA

BTEC Centre Approval Form and Guidance

BTEC Centre Approval Process
Employer & Training Providers. You should only complete this form once you’ve spoken to a member of
our Work Based Learning team and completed the Expression of Interest form. For enquiries about your
Expression of Interest please email wbl@edexcel.com or call 0844 576 0045.

This form should be submitted along with the BTEC Qualification Approval form. It should be submitted
electronically by email in Word format. Supporting documentation, if required, should also be emailed
together with the form. ZIP format is acceptable.

Upon receipt the Approval team at Edexcel will arrange for a review of your application by a subject
specialist. We will then arrange for an individual to visit your centre to check you meet the Centre Approval
requirements as described in the sections below. If for whatever reason it does not meet the requirements
we will contact you by email to request further information (RFI). Once all the requirements have been met
for qualification and centre approval, confirmation will be sent in writing.

Applications will be acknowledged within 5 working days and a first decision will normally be given within
20 working days where a complete and accurate application has been received.

Schools & Further Education. If you are an existing Edexcel centre offering Academic Qualifications
please do not complete this form, there is an Online process for BTEC centre & programme approval,
details of which can be found in the Information Manual.

Appropriate Edexcel Support

Employer and Training Provider completed applications should be sent by email to your Development
Manager assigned following completion of the Expression of Interest form.

FE/ Schools if you do not already run Academic qualifications with Edexcel completed applications should
be sent to approvals@edexcel.com. You will be supported in your application by your Development
Manager, if your not sure who this is please call you local regional office.

Support Resources & Documentation

Please refer to the following documents available from the Edexcel website www.edexcel.com when
completing this application:

• Qualification details and specifications

• BTEC Quality Nominee Homepage with links to Quality Assurance documentation, role
and responsibilities
• What is a BTEC? Everything you need to know about the lifecycle of a BTEC
qualification
• The Edexcel Information Manual gives an overview of BTEC administrative procedures
• Publications and Resources by Qualification can be found here
• Training from Edexcel homepage

Edexcel customer services can be contacted on 0844 576 0026 for general advice on any aspect of your
application.

Jonathan Soanes 1st July 2009 – Issue 1

Page 1 of 10
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Section 1: Centre Details

Error! Reference
Name of Edexcel representative supporting this application
source not found.

Error! Reference
Centre Number (if
Centre Name source not
applicable)
found.
Address Line 1
Address Line 2
Address Line 3
Town County
Country Post Code
Centre Website Address FAX No
Telephone No

Centre Contacts
Applicant Email
The person submitting the form for Centre Approval
Examinations Officer Email
Is responsible for the administration of learners records
Quality Nominee Email
Has overall accountability for quality assurance and management of assessment of units and qualifications
Head of Centre/
Email
Organisation
The person with overall accountability for centre operation

Qualifications Details

Proposed
Registrations Proposed Start
Level Programme Title Date
Yr 1 Yr 2

Jonathan Soanes August 2009 Issue 1

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BTEC-CA

Section 2: Financial Details

Credit Reference Details

Nature of your business:

School College

Sole Trader Co-Operative

Public Limited Private Limited

Charity No: Government Funded Body

Other

Registered Office No: VAT Registration No:

Registered Company No:

Registered Company name (if

different from Section 1)

Registered Office Address (if different from Section 1)

Address Line 1

Address Line 2

Address Line 3

Town

Postcode

Finance contact name

Email address

Telephone number

Amount of credit
£
applied for

Jonathan Soanes August 2009 Issue 1

Page 3 of 10
 BTEC-CA

Confirmation Of Vat Status

Following a ruling from HM Revenue & Customs, Edexcel Ltd is required to charge and account for VAT on its
sales of qualifications unless it has evidence from its customers that they have “eligible body” status in which
case sales to those customers will qualify for exemption from VAT. In accordance with that ruling Edexcel
requests that organisations applying for Edexcel centre approval confirm their “eligible body” status in order
to ensure that VAT is properly charged where appropriate. To help you complete the form the definition of
an ‘eligible body’ is provided below and further information is available in the HM Revenue & Customs VAT
Notice 701/30. Failure to respond will result in VAT being charged and so we ask for your co-operation to
ensure that VAT is not charged unnecessarily.

Please confirm your status by ticking the appropriate box to indicate the type of organisation
completing this application

School, university, sixth form college, tertiary college or further education college or other
centrally funded higher or further education institution (defined as such under the Education
Acts) or the governing body of one of these institutions
Local authority

Government department or executive agency

Non-profit making body that carries out duties of an essentially public nature similar to those
carried out by a local authority or government department
Health authority

Non-profit making body that meets the following conditions:

A charity; professional body; company limited by guarantee; or an ad hoc group organising
specific conferences or training events;
That;
cannot and does not distribute any profits made by the body; applies any profits that might
arise from the supply of education research or vocational training to the continuance or
improvement of such supplies;
Commercial provider of tuition in English as a foreign language

We are not an eligible body but we are commercial provider that contracts or sub-contracts
to provide education or vocational training under one of the government’s approved schemes
and our services are ultimately funded by the Learning Skill Council, the national Council for
Education and Training for Wales, a Local Enterprise Company or the European Social Fund
(under a scheme approved by the Department for Education and Skills)
We are not an eligible body but we are providing in-house training to our employees

We are none of the above and therefore not an ‘eligible body’

Jonathan Soanes August 2009 Issue 1

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 BTEC-CA

Section 3: Detailed Information on Centre and Delivery

*Your Choice Of How To Include This Information Must Be Consistent Through Out The Application
*Page *To be seen Edexcel
Centre Information
Reference on visit Use Only

Please provide us with information about your centre. This should include
the type of organisation, the number of sites and the nature and size of your
business. If you plan to work in collaboration with other organisations please
provide details of the other organizations involved.
If you are not an educational establishment, i.e. a school or college, and you
will be drawing on public funding, please tell us what the sources of funding
will be.

*Page *To be seen Edexcel

Learner Support
Reference on visit Use Only

Provide information relating to the support your centre provides for its
learners. This includes direct support, induction programme, reviews and
pre-exit guidance. Additionally what systems are in place to track the
progress of learners towards their target.

Special Consideration & Reasonable Adjustment. Please describe how you

ensure that learners are recruited to the most appropriate programme.
Outline how you identify the particular support they will need e.g. individual
needs or equipment adaptations and how this will be provided.

*Page *To be seen Edexcel

Centre Resources
Reference on visit Use Only

Appointment of Programme Team. Please describe the process by which

you will ensure that all staff involved in the assessment of an Edexcel/BTEC
programme meet the relevant requirements described in the programme
specification and comply with any relevant Edexcel policy. You should
consider all those involved in delivery and assessment e.g. teams leader,
trainers, assessors, internal verifiers, technicians, support staff.

Staff Resources. Sufficient time must be allocated to the roles undertaken

in delivery and assessment of Edexcel/BTEC programmes. Please describe
how you will ensure that sufficient time will be allocated. If members of the
team are to take on more than one role please explain how this will be
managed.

Physical Resources. Please describe the general physical resources available

to support the delivery and assessment of the qualification(s) (e.g. IT
equipment/materials/library). Tell us how these will be maintained and
replaced as required in accordance with programme guidance and/ or
specifications.

Access to Resources. Please describe how learners and all members of the
team will have adequate access to the resources described above.

Jonathan Soanes August 2009 Issue 1

Page 5 of 10
 BTEC-CA

*Page *To be seen Edexcel

Management Systems
Reference on visit Use Only

Management Support and Centre Structure. Please provide information

about your management structure and indicate who will be responsible for
the Edexcel/BTEC provision and how senior management will support this
provision. Please identify other individuals or groups that will be involved in
the management of the approved centre. If you plan to work in
collaboration with other organisations, please provide details.

Centre Policies and Procedures. The following policies are required:

- Malpractice
- Special Consideration/ Reasonable Adjustment
- Internal Quality Assurance
- Health & Safety
- Equal Opportunities
- Appeals
- Recognition/ Accreditation of Prior Learning

Centre Communication. Please explain the communications systems that

will operate within your centre – and with Edexcel. This should cover all
sites involved in the work of the approved centre including all workplaces
where assessments take place.

Arrangements to safeguard against mistaken or fraudulent claims for

certificates. Please describe procedure that will operate to ensure that all
claims for certification are valid and how senior managers will monitor this
procedure.

*Page *To be seen Edexcel

Internal Verification Strategy
Reference on visit Use Only

Please provide information about your centre’s internal verification

strategy, showing how verification sampling is planned, undertaken,
recorded and used to enhance future assessment practice.
NB. Guidance on Internal Verification can be found in the relevant
Handbooks within the Quality Assurance section of I am a… Quality
Nominee

Edexcel Use Only - Comments

Jonathan Soanes August 2009 Issue 1

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BTEC-CA
Agreement By Principal Or Chief Executive Or Head Of The Organisation/Institution
a) My organisation will co-operate fully with Edexcel.
b) My organisation will not undertake any activity or advertising that could bring the name of Edexcel into
disrepute.
c) I have authorised the person named above to act as contact for this application.
d) No material in this application has been plagiarised. I confirm that any material in this application that is
the intellectual property of another person or organisation is used with the express permission of that
person or organisation.
e) My centre will operate any required external tests in full accordance with Edexcel and QCA/ACCAC/CCEA
procedures.
f) I understand that qualification approval is subject to review, and if quality is not maintained approval
may be withdrawn.
g) I understand that approval of a qualification by Edexcel does not imply or guarantee that it will be
supported by public funding bodies.
h) I confirm that we will regularly monitor, review and evaluate our operations.
i) I confirm that information supplied to the Awarding Body for the purposes of registration and
certification will be complete and accurate.
j) I confirm that we will implement the agreed equal opportunities access and fair assessment policies and
procedures.
k) I confirm that the assessment procedure will be open, fair and free from bias.
l) I confirm that queries about qualification specifications, assessment guidance or related awarding body
information will be resolved and recorded.
m) I confirm that we will make available to Edexcel and the regulator any materials records, information or
documents associated with the delivery of the qualification(s) and allow Edexcel officials access to such
materials, premises and learners, for the purpose of auditing and external verification.
n) My centre will not extend its boundaries overseas.
o) Learners will be informed of their registration status.
p) My organisation has not had approval declined or withdrawn by another awarding body.*
q) The roles, responsibilities, authorities and accountabilities of the assessment and verification team
across all sites are clearly defined, allocated and understood.
r) I confirm that the Awarding Body will be notified of any changes, which may affect the centre’s ability to
meet the approved centre criteria.
s) My organisation will keep a complete copy of this approval application for the lifetime of the
qualification.
t) My organisation will retain a copy of the learners’ assessment and internal verification records for a
period of three years following certification of the learner.
u) I confirm my organisation has arrangements in place to obtain on behalf of learners a unique learner
identifier (ULN) and a learner record.
v) I confirm my organisation, where consent is given, will use access to the record of learner’s previous
achievements in the learner record to ensure opportunities for credit transfer and exemption are
maximised.
* If you have been turned down or had approval withdrawn delete this statement & attach details.
Signature of Head of Organisation

(Electronic copy of signature required)

Print Name

Position within Organisation

Has centre approval been withdrawn or declined by another Awarding Body? (if yes attach details)

Edexcel reserves the right to decline Centre Approval

Jonathan Soanes. Authorised by Head of BTEC Operations 1st June 09 – Issue 1

Page 7 of 10
BTEC-CA
EDEXCEL USE ONLY

Briefer Details

Briefer AA
Name Number

Brief Date 1 Re-Brief Date 2

Re-Brief Date 1 Re-Brief Date 3

Name of personnel seen at this visit Position in Organisation

a.
b.
c.
d.
Comments:

If No, RFI
Qualification Approval Yes
point no.
The BTEC Qualification Approval form and briefer report has been
completed
Section 1 – Centre Details
Centre details have been completed clearly and accurately
Section 2 – Financial Details
Centre details have been completed clearly and accurately
Section 3 - Detailed Information on Centre and Delivery
“Centre Information” is clear and within BTEC rules
“Learner Support” is clear and within BTEC rules
“Centre Resources” is clear and within BTEC rules
“Management Systems” is clear and within BTEC rules
“Internal Verification Strategy” is clear and within BTEC rules
Comments:

Centre Declaration

An appropriate person within the organisation has signed the declaration

Jonathan Soanes. Authorised by Head of BTEC Operations 1st June 09 – Issue 1

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BTEC-CA

Requests For Further Information

RFI number Information Required

Outcomes Of Requests For Further Information

RFI number Rfi Met Comments

Yes/No

Briefer Declaration

The qualifications in this report can now be approved

If ‘No’ Please give reasons why

Briefer Signature Date

Jonathan Soanes. Authorised by Head of BTEC Operations 1st June 09 – Issue 1

Page 9 of 10
 BTEC Assessment Sign-off

The qualifications contained in this report can now be approved

If ‘No’ Please give reasons why

Name Job title Signature

Date