What will define the best V Levels

The UK government’s post-16 reforms introduce V Levels as new Level 3 vocational qualifications to sit alongside A Levels and T Levels, replacing a sprawling landscape of roughly 900 existing vocational awards and enabling “mix and match” study programmes with A Levels.

The Department for Education (DfE) has consulted on V Level policy intent and design: A-Level sized (~360 GLH), broader subject based content, greater use of non-exam assessment, and regulation by Ofqual, all linked to employer set occupational standards via Skills England.  

The aim is to simplify and clarify vocational routes while strengthening progression into higher education, HTQs and apprenticeships as part of the Post16 Education and Skills White Paper. Crucially, the fact that V Level content must align to national standards does not mean homogenising the products; thoughtful AO design can create genuine differentiation in contextualised content, digital assessment, tailored resources at scale and reduced operational friction. AOs should lean into the wrap-around offer because this is what can be a market differentiator.

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‍Content differentiation inside prescriptive boundaries‍

DfE will prescribe outcomes, size, grading consistency, and alignment to occupational standards, but the structure of learning, the sequencing of content and the contextual framing of applied tasks remain firmly within AO control — and are now possible at scale given tech-enabled approaches to development at AOs gift (should they seize the moment).  

Tech-enabled research, development and document automation at scale creates significant room for differentiation — essential if V Levels are to be valued and therefore have currency. AOs can adopt different structural decisions, and use locally relevant contexts, to make learning meaningful, no longer relying on content which must speak to the masses. For example, building out varied content within the specification, and relevant teaching and learning resources, to tailor to specific coding languages in digital regional clusters. And importantly going one step further: through a robust tech-enabled research methodology, also gaining insight about how these digital clusters are evolving and therefore how the content may look to be ahead of the curve.  

Because V Levels are intentionally broader than T-Levels and subject based, not occupationally specialised, these contextual choices remain fully compliant while enabling programmes to reflect regional, and sector characteristics. To achieve this effectively at scale, AOs must embrace tech-enabled research and design approaches: analysis and synthetic consultation at a scale impossible to conduct by humans alone. In doing so, specifications can be nimbler in response to the changing labour market, contextualised teaching and learning resources can be made efficiently, robustly and more personalised at scale, and learners can be engaged in teaching that is on the pulse.

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‍Delivery that lowers friction for centres ‍

Given that high-quality resource offer is a market differentiator, the best V Levels will arrive with complete schemes of work, slide decks, mock assessments and exemplar portfolios — resources that the sector identifies as missing in inconsistent vocational provision. Centres will come to expect resources which help grease the wheels and AOs that lean into the wrap-around offer will win. Additionally, AOs may embrace teacher delivery CPD microcredentials (e.g. ‘assessing digital artefacts’), recognising persistent workforce pressures are real but that they can’t stymie the ambition of V Level design.  

But the transition to this new qualification landscape does place real operational demands on centres, particularly as older qualifications are phased out, and V Levels move into first teaching. Awarding organisations can remove much of this friction through purposeful digital design. Structured digital submission platforms that use templates, completeness checks and enforced formats reduce the time centres spend assembling and validating evidence, supporting Ofqual’s expectations for more predictable and timely results. Digital scheduling tools can clarify assessment windows, internal QA milestones and moderation points, giving centres a clearer workflow that aligns with the DfE’s intention for V Levels to be simpler to deliver than the qualifications they replace. Looking ahead, QA processes are likely to become increasingly supported by AIenabled tools operating under human oversight, with AI identifying anomalies, gaps or inconsistencies while trained moderators make final judgements. V Levels should provide AOs the opportunity to roadmap for process efficiencies enabled by technology.

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‍Digital assessment: futureproofing with authenticity and reliability ‍

V Levels offer a clear opportunity to move vocational education closer to the future of digital assessment. The consultation confirms that V Levels will include a greater proportion of nonexam assessment and that applied tasks can be delivered flexibly, provided validity and reliability are secured. This creates room for awarding organisations to adopt digital portfolios, structured eevidence repositories and interactive case-based tasks that reflect real learning, while reducing the administrative load that has historically contributed to delays in VTQ results.  

Looking ahead, V Levels can also sit within a longer-term roadmap toward broader onscreen assessment and more accessible design. Ofqual’s consultation on digital exams notes that wellmanaged onscreen delivery has the potential to improve fairness, support SEND learners through configurable formats and reflect how young people increasingly learn and work. Digital assessment models can therefore incorporate features such as einvigilation slots that expand access for learners unable to attend centres, accessible templates aligned with Ofqual’s guidance on removing unnecessary barriers for students with SEND, and flexible evidence types that allow learners to demonstrate understanding through video, audio or interactive media.  

Because V Levels are designed to replace a wide, inconsistent set of legacy vocational qualifications, their launch coincides with a moment when the sector needs reliable, scalable digital processes that reduce workload and strengthen consistency. This positions V Levels not just as a new qualification suite but as a key step in modernising assessment bridging the current system and the digital-first future the regulator is already preparing for.  

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What “best” looks like ‍

The best V Levels will honour the prescription and then excel in the freedoms AOs hold: assessment craft, digital authenticity, teacherready resources, tailored and responsive content and operational streamlining. This is how the reform’s ambition to simplify and clarify vocational education becomes a lived reality for centres and learners - with trusted outcomes and richer learning - and how V Levels earn their place as a valued qualification in the system.  

That’s why we've launched Project Shybird, through which we’re building an AI-powered solution that will enable us to develop new qualifications in hours, and enable educators to create programmes, resources, and personalisation at pace, to incredibly high standards. 

For assessment organisations grappling with the challenges reform, the level and rigour of research and analysis this approach will apply to the design and development of qualifications is hugely powerful. Using sophisticated AI tooling to monitor policy, regulatory, and other market signals, and distil their content and structure implications, will raise the bar on product quality.  

2026 will be a year of transition as awarding organisations grapple with tight timelines within which to develop truly differentiated products, adapt their strategies, reduce friction in their operating models and tailor materials for personalised learning. Shybird offers an opportunity to truly design and deliver for market differentiation.