Additional and Specialist Learning (ASL)

Specialist Learning consists of qualifications related to the specific Diploma employment sectors. These qualifications support progression within those employment sectors and/or on to further and higher learning.

Additional Learning is comprised of qualifications generally drawn from outside the Diploma learner’s Principal Learning area. Additional Learning should offer broad progression opportunities meeting individual needs, interests and aspirations. In addition, it can also be matched to sector needs and market requirements.

The first phase of ASL qualifications are drawn from new and existing Edexcel qualifications, including BTEC Short courses, GSCEs and GCEs.

In order to achieve the ASL component of the Diploma, learners complete any combination of approved qualifications to reach the required number of guided learning hours. These can be  additional and/or specialist learning qualifications, allowing learners to broaden or deepen their studies in line with their employment and educational progression goals. Click here for guidance notes.

Why ASL from Edexcel makes sense

There are many benefits of choosing ASL from  Edexcel:

• The Total Solution: Consortia which choose Edexcel have access to all the components of the Diploma through the same awarding body.
• Stand-alone qualifications: Centres which offer BTECs as ASL can also offer them as stand-alone qualifications to non-Diploma learners using the same resources. Conversely, centres already offering any of the hundreds of trusted Edexcel stand-alone qualifications approved for ASL can offer them as part of the Diploma with ease.
• Cost-saving: Centres which already offer these Edexcel qualifications can offer most of them for the Diploma using existing resources, including teaching material and staff. In most cases, this means there is no need to undertake expensive retraining or buy new course materials.
• Convenient time-tabling: Centres offering BTEC courses can enrol Diploma learners in the same classes as learners taking the BTEC qualification as a stand-alone course.
• Funding opportunities: Centres which choose to offer the Diploma can then access funding for their BTEC courses through the Diploma pathway.
• Flexibility and choice: The new BTEC Specialist Learning qualifications are offered in various sizes which allows learners to combine together if required a number of qualifications to refect their interests and ambitions. While working towards the Diploma learners achieve an array of individual qualifications that are important in their own right.

Tutor support material and specifications

Specifications for our Specialist Learning qualifications should be available by mid-June. Teacher support material should be available by mid-July. This valuable support material will be available to download from this website. In the meantime, please visit our ASL qualifications page for the most current information available regarding the titles, structure and information leaflets of the qualifications.