Progress on restoration of services
We’re pleased to share with you the NCFE Portal will be available for you to use, with full functionality, from Monday 9 February. For an update and FAQs visit our service continuity webpage.
Interim Portal support
We’re pleased to share with you that the NCFE Portal will be available for you to use externally, with full functionality, from Monday 9 February.
The only change that you may notice is that the Portal will only be available from 6am until 10pm GMT (rather than 24/7), to allow us to actively monitor the platform.
Interim Portal support
We know how important the functionality of the Portal is for you and, following the decision to take the Portal offline as a precautionary measure in response to the incident, we’ve been completing your urgent Portal requests through a set of manual interim processes which includes:
1. learner registrations
2. assessment bookings, including bookings for controlled assessments for Functional Skills and external assessments for CACHE and Functional Skills
3. making certificate claims.
This service will be available until 5pm on Monday 2 February and will then close, to ensure we have enough time to validate your data and process any remaining requests before the Portal is back online.
With this in mind, please submit your forms and supporting documentation before this deadline, or alternatively, wait until the Portal is live again on 9 February.
How to register learners and make bookings
To enable our internal teams to support you with this, we have provided a set of web forms to capture all the information you would usually provide when completing registrations or bookings on the Portal which will give our teams the details we need to then complete the process on your behalf.
There are three forms available:
- If you upload learner registrations using normal CSV select Registrations (Normal CSV)
- If you carry out uploads for learner registrations using the Tribal/Bulk select Registrations (Tribal/Bulk CSV)
- If you wish to make an assessment booking select Bookings
When submitting your information via the web forms, please ensure to password protect any files that you’re sharing with us. You should use your centre number as the password.
Assessment Bookings
Making certificate claims
We’ve put in place an interim solution for making certificate claims which will be available from Monday 12 January. If you need to make an urgent certificate claim request, please complete the actions on this webpage.
FAQs
When will the Portal be back online?
The NCFE Portal will be available for you to use externally, with full functionality, from 8.30am on Monday 9 February.
The only change that you may notice is that the Portal will only be available from 6am until 10pm GMT (rather than 24/7), to allow us to actively monitor the platform.
When will the interim Portal support service close?
This service will be available until 5pm on Monday 2 February and will then close, to ensure we have enough time to validate your data and process any remaining requests before the Portal is back online.
What activities can NCFE colleagues complete on our behalf?
We can register learners, make assessment bookings and make certificate claims on your behalf, via the online form (not through a phone call). Please get in touch if you require other support urgently.
How quickly will these activities be completed?
We will work through your requests as quickly as possible, in priority order and in line with your timelines. We’ll aim to respond to requests within 48 hours, and our team will get in touch with you once this has been completed. As a reminder, we are currently waiving late registration fees.
What should I do if learners are registered but don’t have a booking for the assessment?
We will accept late bookings, as normal, when submitted through the online booking form. If you require access to the assessment materials, please contact our Customer Support team only after submitting the booking request, and this will be shared securely. Please note that rules around themes and number of attempts remain, and can be found in the relevant qualification specification.
Can I use the certificate claim request form to request a replacement certificate?
No, this form should only be used to submit certificate claims. We are able to accept replacement certificate requests as normal:
Replacement certificates for centres
Our Customer Support team is available for urgent queries:
- Phone: 0191 239 8000, 8.30am – 5.00pm from Monday to Thursday and 8.30am – 4.30pm on Friday.
- Email: [email protected]
- Or submit a request via our service continuity page.
- Once again, we’re sorry for the continued inconvenience that this incident may be causing. Our teams are working around the clock to return operations to normal, and we will continue to communicate with you at every stage.