Guidance

VTQ PTQ Entries: guide to the data submission process

Published 15 May 2023

Applies to England

Introduction

In order to fulfil our regulatory and accreditation functions as set out in the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009, we require awarding organisations to provide exams delivery data for regulated qualifications. Ofqual requires this information in order to perform its functions. This data enables us to regularly review entries by assessment and by qualification for monitoring purposes. Data is being collected at assessment level to align with the existing PTQ Timetable collection and because data at qualification level will not allow us to carry out regular monitoring (because assessments will be scheduled on different days and weeks).

What data will be collected?

Data should relate only to vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) that are included in the Department for Education’s performance tables (PTQs) for the academic year being submitted.

When will data be collected?

Data will be collected according to the reporting schedule which is agreed and maintained by Ofqual’s data services team.

Updates to formats and guidance

This guidance document will be updated regularly. Any changes to procedure will be incorporated into the guidance document.

How to submit your data

Your data should be submitted to us in CSV format. Please refer to the ‘Connecting to Ofqual’s data portal and uploading data’ document on our webpage to help you submit your files to us. If you need to ask us about a data submission please contact the Data Services team by emailing data.services@ofqual.gov.uk.

Please do not send your data files via email to Data Services or to any other Ofqual email address, or via Contact the Regulator in the Portal.

Uploaded data

Once files have been successfully uploaded, the data will be validated against a set of validation rules. These are detailed in the sections below. If validation is successful, the data is automatically transferred into our systems and you will receive email confirmation. If the file is unsuccessful at any stage of validation you will receive an email with details of the validation failure. Please correct your file and resubmit it.

Amendments to data

Ofqual staff will not alter data once it has been submitted. If you find an error or omission after you’ve had a successful upload, please notify us by email. We need to reject the existing submission before you can upload a new file.

How your data will be used

This data will be used to undertake our regulatory activities and, where required, to produce Official Statistics to fulfil our responsibility as a government department.

File format

The file must be CSV format and the first row must be headers as displayed in the ‘Name’ column of the table below. The subsequent rows must have the values of the data to be reported which must match the format and validation rules below.

General completion guidelines

• Data should relate only to VTQs that are included in the performance tables - this includes all level 1/2, level 2 and level 3 qualifications in performance tables (but not GCSEs, AS or A levels)
• Data should relate only to entries from centres in England
• Entries for both internal and external assessments should be included
• Entry data should be accurate at the point of reporting

Cut off date for entries should be included as the final data by which a centre can make an entry.

Name	Description	Position	Validation Regular Expression	Description of Regular Expression
ReportingDate	Date the file was due to be submitted regardless of when it was actually uploaded This date to be provided by Ofqual Format accepted 120 ODBC canonical yyyy-mm-dd	1	^(20)\d\d[-](0[1-9]|1[012])[-](0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])$	The date in the following format: year (4 digits), a dash, month (2 digits), a dash, day (2 digits)
ExamSeries	Exam series that the data relates to	2	^(Autumn|Winter|Spring|Summer)([ ][0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9])$	Exam series and year For example, “Autumn 2021”, “Winter 2021”, “Summer 2022”
AwardingOrganisation	Name of the awarding organisation	3	^.{1,100}$	1 to 100 characters accepted
QualificationNumber	Qualification Number, for example 123/1234/1	4	^.{1,10}$	1 to 10 characters accepted
QualificationTitle	Title of qualification	5	^.{1,150}$	1 to 150 characters accepted
AssessmentCode	Unique identifier for the assessment When one unit is assessed by one assessment, it must be the URN (Unit Reference Number)	6	^.{1,50}$	1 to 50 characters accepted
AssessmentTitle	Title of the assessment	7	^.{1,150}$	1 to 150 characters accepted
AssessmentStartDate	Start date of assessment window or date of assessment if it is a single day (for example, the earliest date on which the learners may take the assessment) Format accepted: 120 ODBC canonical yyyy-mm-dd	8	^(20)\d\d[-](0[1-9]|1[012])[-](0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])$	The date in the following format: year (4 digits), a dash, month (2 digits), a dash, day (2 digits)
AssessmentEndDate	End date of assessment window or date of assessment if it is a single day (for example, the final date on which the learners may take the assessment) Format accepted: 120 ODBC canonical yyyy-mm-dd	9	^(20)\d\d[-](0[1-9]|1[012])[-](0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])$	The date in the following format: year (4 digits), a dash, month (2 digits), a dash, day (2 digits) Repeat the start date value for assessments which are only taken on one day
AssessmentType	Internal assessment or external assessment (external assessment means externally set and marked)	10	^(Internal|External)$	Accepted values: Internal, External
AssessmentMethod	Description of the assessment method used for the component If multiple assessment methods are used, please use the value “Mixed” The list of assessment methods is given in Annex A below Please choose the most appropriate one	11	^(Aural assessment|Coursework|E-assessment|Multiple choice examination|Oral examination|Portfolio of evidence|Practical demonstration/assignment|Practical examination|Task-based controlled assessment|Written examination|Mixed)$	Accepted values provided in Annex A (given below)
DeliveryMode	Mode of the primary assessment method used for the component The list of assessment modes is given in Annex B below Please choose the most appropriate one	12	^(Paper based|Computer based|Face to face|Remote|Product based|Mixed)$	Accepted values provided in Annex B (given below)
AssessmentEntries	Number of entries received for each assessment taking place on specified date	13	^.{1, 99999999}$	Eight-digit intiger is accepted
EntryCutOff	The date by which no more entries can be made by a centre	14	^(20)\d\d[-](0[1-9]|1[012])[-](0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])$	The date in the following format: year (4 digits), a dash, month (2 digits), a dash, day (2 digits)

Annex A List of assessment methods

Please use the following list of assessment methods for entering values for the AssessmentMethod field given above. Where terms used by an awarding organisation differ from those given below, please select the closest match possible.

Assessment Methods:

• Aural assessment

• Coursework

• E-assessment

• Multiple choice examination

• Oral examination

• Portfolio of evidence

• Practical demonstration/assignment

• Practical examination

• Task-based controlled assessment

• Written examination

• Mixed (any combination of the listed methods)

Annex B – List of delivery modes

Please use the following list of component delivery modes for entering values for the DeliveryMode field given above. Where terms used by an awarding organisation differ from those given below, please select the closest match possible.

Delivery Mode	Description and Examples
Paper based	A delivery mode where an assessment is delivered on a paper to access and/or gather evidence of skills, knowledge and behaviours of the learner For example, tests, assignments or evidence logbook
Computer based	A delivery mode where computers are used for assessing skills, knowledge and behaviours of the learner. Includes any “on screen” assessment For example, tests, practical exercises or task-based challenges Note: this delivery mode does not include remote video-based communication or performance assessments
Face to face	A delivery mode used for assessing learners’ learning, with the learner and examiner sharing the same physical space For example, oral assessments such as interviews, professional discussions as well as practical observation or task-based challenges
Remote	A delivery mode used for assessing learners’ learning with the learner and examiner not sharing the same physical space, but instead using a video recording, web cam or via online video communication, for example, Skype or FaceTime For example, oral assessments such as interviews, professional discussions, as well as practical observation and task-based challenges
Product based	A delivery mode where the learner is required to create a product/working model for assessment Other delivery modes may be employed as part of the actual assessment process (for example, face to face questioning) Note: this delivery mode may primarily be used for projects
Mixed	Any combination of the listed modes

Contacts

For all queries relating to the data collection process, amendments to data previously provided, or for general guidance. please contact:

Data services

Ofqual
2nd floor, 1 Friargate
Station Square
Coventry
CV1 2GN

Email Data.Services@ofqual.gov.uk