Employer Set Project (ESP)

ESPs are contextualised to the occupational specialism, and it would be anticipated that where more than one is available within a qualification, a student would select the ESP related to the occupational specialism they intend to progress to. However, it’s not mandated, and a student can complete a different Occupational Specialism in year two to the ESP completed in year 1.  

Equally, they can also select a different ESP at re-sit if they want to. It is up to the provider to give appropriate advice and guidance to the student to make an informed decision, ensuring that all required learning has been completed before any assessment attempt.  

There can be changes in supervisor between sessions, as long as everyone acting as a supervisor is clear on the requirements of the role, and changes to personnel do not adversely impact students.

We recommend that independent people supervise ESP sessions, not tutors or teachers. If it isn’t possible for an independent person to supervise these sessions, a tutor or teacher can act as a supervisor as long as they understand the requirements of the role, and make it clear to all students that they are acting as supervisor, and cannot provide teaching, guidance, or other support during the assessment outside of that of the role of a supervisor. 

This will depend on the specific ESP, as some ESPs include set date and time elements within their tasks, whereas others specify that students are allowed to catch up within the assessment window.  

Please refer to the provider guide for further information in the first instance, and if you have any queries, please contact our Customer Suppor team. 

If the student doesn't return within the window, or (where allowed) the provider doesn’t believe they can arrange the catch-up sessions, then depending on why they were absent, they may wish to notify us via a Special Consideration request. Providers must ensure they are confident that the underlying reasons are in scope for a Special Consideration and support the application before submitting.  

For many students, transferring to a future series may be the most viable option to give the student the best opportunity to complete an ESP. 

Only students need to sign a declaration of authenticity. 

Providers must ensure that where feedback or group discussion is a requirement of the assessment, they can make arrangements that ensure students are not disadvantaged.  

Where there are not enough other students within the cohort, you could use other students who are not sitting the assessment (but are familiar with the requirements of the assessment) to take part in the required elements, or use staff within the setting, to ensure that students can complete all tasks fully.  

If this was noticed immediately after the presentation, you should ask the student to repeat the presentation and ensure this is recorded.  

If the student has had feedback, completed the Q&A, or this is only realised significantly after the time of assessment, please fill out a special consideration form. 

Please note: Re-recording is only an option if the mistake is realised during the presentation, or immediately after. Re-recording cannot be done at a later date, or if the student has since received any form of feedback or completed Q&A (depending on the assessment/qualification). 

If using Microsoft Teams is the recognised and familiar way for students to complete these tasks, then this can be the way that the recordings are made during the live assessment. It’s important to ensure that all other requirements and regulations are followed (such as controlling access to the internet as required). The audio produced should be clear and able to be securely saved, stored, and submitted for marking.

All learner evidence, including audio and video recordings, should be uploaded via the Portal. 

The provider must ensure students submit their work to the provider at the end of each session. Providers can then upload evidence as tasks are completed, or altogether at the end of the window. Yet, whichever approach a provider takes, they must remember that there is a deadline of 3 working days after the assessment window to upload all evidence to the portal. 

All users with Portal access will be able to upload learner submissions, however, we would expect providers to have processes in place to ensure where more than one user is uploading that checks are carried out to ensure that nothing is missed or duplicated. 

Evidence needs to be uploaded within three working days after the end of any ESP window. For example, if the window ends on a Friday, uploading by midnight the following Wednesday is appropriate (assuming no bank holiday).  

Zip files aren’t accepted via the Portal. The Portal will accept uploads of up to ten files at a time. 

The full presentation recording should include the student's presentation, followed by tutors asking questions and the student’s responses to these questions, to ensure that examiners can see all of the student’s evidence.