Applies to England

Summary

We are consulting on the content of our Subject Level Conditions related to V Levels in the health and care sector, to be first taught from September 2028. This consultation is being held on another website.

This consultation closes at 11:59pm on 8 January 2027

Consultation description

This consultation seeks views on our proposed Subject Level Conditions, requirements and guidance for the following V Level subjects:

Proposals at a glance

For both subjects, we propose to introduce Subject Level Conditions that:

require awarding organisations to develop qualifications that comply with the subject content set by the Department for Education (DfE) and Ofqual’s requirements and have regard to guidance on assessment objectives

introduce subject-specific assessment objectives and weightings for each qualification

give the greatest weighting to the application of knowledge, understanding and skills, while increasing the weighting for analysis and evaluation compared with tranche 1 V Level subjects to reflect the proposed subject content

introduce subject-specific guidance to support consistent interpretation and use of the assessment objectives across awarding organisations

clarify that the existing requirement limiting reward for demonstrating knowledge in isolation applies to Assessment by Examination rather than the qualification as a whole

require qualifications to be assessed through a combination of: 40% Assessment by Examination 60% Non-exam Assessment

40% Assessment by Examination

require that all Assessment by Examination, which comprises 40% of overall assessment, is to be taken as terminal assessment (taken at the end of the course)

require assessments to be available through a common assessment structure, including one Assessment by Examination series each academic year and specified submission windows for Non-exam Assessment

retain the assessment structure and availability requirements already adopted for tranche 1 V Level subjects where we consider these remain appropriate for the health and care subjects.

We are also seeking views on our approach to on-screen assessment, including:

whether Assessment by Examination should be permitted to be delivered on-screen for these subjects

whether awarding organisations should be permitted to offer both paper-based and on-screen assessments within a single specification

whether awarding organisations should be allowed to use the same assessment materials across paper-based and on-screen delivery modes

Audience

This consultation is open to anyone who may wish to make representation but may be of most interest to:

students and their representative bodies

employers and their representative bodies

awarding organisations and their representative bodies

schools, colleges, training providers and their representative bodies

Consultation arrangements

Duration

This consultation will open on 12 November 2026 and end on 8 January 2027 at 11:59pm.

Respond online

Responses should be submitted through the online consultation platform.

Other ways to respond

If for exceptional reasons you are unable to use the online consultation platform, for example because you use specialist accessibility software that is incompatible with the platform, you may request an alternative format. Please email consultations@ofqual.gov.uk to request this.

For information on how Ofqual will use and manage your data, please see Annex C.

Related consultations

This consultation is one of 6 consultations seeking views on the Subject Level Conditions (SLCs), requirements and guidance we propose to set for the 11 V Level subjects due to be first taught in 2028. Each consultation covers the V Level subjects within a particular sector and explains our proposed approach to regulating those subjects, including the proposed SLCs, requirements and guidance.

The 6 consultations cover the following sectors and proposed subject titles:

V Level in science research and technology

V Level in healthcare science and technology

V Level in legal services

V Level in business management and operations

V Level in sales and marketing

V Level in construction: design, surveying, planning

V Level in engineering and manufacturing

V Level in engineering design

V Level in sport and physical activity

All consultations are due to close in January 2027.

This consultation covers the V Level subjects within the health and care route.

Documents

Introduction

Part 1: Proposed Subject Level Conditions, requirements and guidance for the V Level in health

Part 2: Proposed Subject Level Conditions, requirements and guidance for the V Level in social care

Part 3: Use of on-screen assessment

Part 4: Impact assessments

Annex A: Subject Level Conditions, requirements and guidance for the V Level in health

Annex B: Subject Level Conditions, requirements and guidance for the V Level in social care

Annex C: Privacy notice for consultations

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