SPORT: LEVEL 3 BTEC Subsidiary Diploma 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Examination board - EDEXCEL
 
BTEC National Award – Equivalent to 1 A-Level.
 
Year on year the sport and active leisure sector outperforms the rest of the UK economy. This has been a trend since the end of the economic recession of the late 1990s, and researchers predict will continue to be the case for years to come, long after the sports legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympics Games. The annual contribution of the sport sector to the UK economy is over £8 billion. This sector has more than 36,000 employers creating work for more than 600,000 full-time
and part-time employees, and 5 million plus volunteers. A significant proportion of the total volunteer workforce is volunteering in sport, with most of them involved in sports coaching or activity leadership.
 
The BTEC Subsidiary Diploma in Sport will give learners a solid foundation in the sector, enabling them to develop essential skills required for gaining employment, securing career progression, or progressing to further qualifications and training required to achieve their goals.
 
The specification has been structured to allow learners maximum flexibility in selecting specialist units, so that particular interests and career aspirations within sport can be reflected in the choice of unit combinations.
 
These learners may wish to extend their programme through the study of a general qualification such as GCE AS Levels and additional specialist learning i.e. through additional BTEC qualifications.

COURSE ASSESSMENT

The course is made up of 7 units of study. There are three mandatory core units, and an additional specialist mandatory unit. The other two are selected from the optional units.
 
Assessment for BTEC Nationals is criterion referenced, based on the achievement of specified learning outcomes. Each unit within the qualification has specified assessment and grading criteria which are to be used for grading purposes. A summative unit grade can be awarded at pass, merit or distinction:
 
• to achieve a ‘pass’ a learner must have satisfied all the pass assessment criteria
• to achieve a ‘merit’ a learner must additionally have satisfied all the merit grading criteria
• to achieve a ‘distinction’ a learner must additionally have satisfied all the distinction grading criteria.
 
Students need to attain the equivalent of a pass in all units. Distinction is equivalent to an A grade at A’ Level (120 points), while merit and pass grades are equivalent to C and E grades respectively. All units are internally assessed and subject to external verification

MANDATORY UNITS (all these units must be taken)              CREDIT          LEVEL

1 Principles of Anatomy and Physiology in Sport                                    5                     3
2 The Physiology of Fitness                                                                    5                     3
3 Assessing Risk in Sport                                                                       10                    3

MANDATORY SPECIALIST UNITS - one unit must be taken from:

7 Fitness Testing for Sport and Exercise                                               10                     3
29 Principles and Practices in Outdoor Adventure                                 10                     3

OPTIONAL UNITS (All carry 10 credits at Level 3)

4 Fitness Training and Programming                                                     
5 Sports Coaching**                                                                             
6 Sports Development                                                                           
7 Fitness Testing for Sports and Exercise***                                        
8 Practical Team Sports*                                                                       
9 Practical Individual Sports*                                                                
10 Outdoor and Adventurous Activities*                                               
11 Sports Nutrition                                                                                
12 Current Issues in Sport                                                                    
13 Leadership in Sport**                                                                      
14 Exercise, Health and Lifestyle                                                          
15 Instructing Physical Activity and Exercise                                          
17 Psychology for Sports Performance                                                    
24 Physical Education and the Care of Children and Young People        
26 Work Experience in Sport                                                                   
27 Technical and Tactical Skills in Sport                                                   
28 The Athlete's Lifestyle                                                                        
29 Principles and Practices in Outdoor Adventure***                             
33 Skills for Land-based Outdoor & Adventurous Activities                     
34 Skills for Water-based Outdoor & Adventurous Activities                   
39 Sports Facilities and Operational Management 

ENTRY QUALIFICATIONS

The entry qualification for this course is 5 GCSEs at Grade C or above.

TEACHING/LEARNING STYLES

The course will be taught in units, and each unit will contain a number of assignments. All the assignments created are built on the assessment and grading criteria. Assessment tasks and activities enable learners to produce valid, sufficient and reliable evidence that relates directly to the
specified criteria. We enable learners to produce evidence in a variety of different forms, including written reports, graphs and posters, along with projects, performance observation and time-constrained assessments. The modes of assessment and range of tasks will reflect the vocational
nature of the course and the practical nature of the subject.