(Gower) (Lab):...Rafia set up the petition in
frustration in the early hours of the morning so that the
Government would hear her call to debate the petition and put into
action a plan to reduce the content of GCSEs and A-levels so that
students could achieve their full potential in a limited time. The
hard fact is, as the National Education Union has
stated, that the only route to fairness would be a complete
cancellation of exams and use of robustly moderated, externally
quality assured teacher judgment. We relied on teacher judgment
this year. I found it very difficult listening to my friends in the
teaching profession and hearing their concerns, not just in England
but in Wales as well. They need to be listened to. This is my plea,
and it is the plea of the petitioners: listen to the people at the
chalkface. Listen to the teachers, pupils and students at GCSE and
A-level. It is very important for them to have their voices heard.
That is why I am proud to talk to speak to the petitions, because
petitions give people a voice. The Government should do more and
should be listening to them...
(Slough) (Lab):...I have a rather famous top school near me, down
near Slough and Windsor, but why should pupils at that particular
college get enhanced opportunity, on top of the huge opportunities
that they already have, at the expense of pupils at Wexham School,
at Beechwood School, at Ditton Park Academy or other such great
schools in Slough? It is especially cruel for those pupils who had
worked hard and were on track to do well—simply because they attend
a school that historically had struggled they were punished. As the
joint general secretary of the National Education
Union, Mary Bousted, said:
“Grades were initially awarded, for the vast majority of
students, with no reference to, or evidence of, their individual
achievements.”
(Lewisham
West and Penge) (Lab):...Serious consideration also has to be given
to the impact that self-isolation of pupils and teachers will have,
given the issues with the lack of access to tests that schools have
told me about. Five education unions, including the
National Education Union and the National
Association of Head Teachers, have put forward a detailed proposal
to help remedy these problems. They suggest mechanisms such as
reducing the content in qualifications, or introducing greater
optionality by which students could choose to answer questions on,
for example, three out of five possible topics. That would help to
ensure that the grades received were as fair as possible and
recognise the different experiences pupils may have had over the
year. The proposal also suggests contingency plans, so that
students who were significantly impacted by the pandemic would
still be able to receive a fair grade. Suggestions include reserve
papers for students unable to sit exams on a particular date, but
able to sit them shortly afterwards, and staged assessments before
the summer exams, which could then be used if those exams had to be
abandoned altogether...
(Wirral West) (Lab):...What plans do the Government
have to address the matter? As my hon. Friend the Member for
Lewisham West and Penge () has
pointed out, five education unions have come up with a proposal for
awarding GCSE, AS and A-level grades in 2021. Together, the ASCL,
the National Association of Head Teachers, the NASUWT, the
National Education Union and the National
Governance Association have set out recommendations that include
commissioning an independent review of what happened this year to
learn from when planning what to do next year, and publishing
contingency plans as soon as possible to outline how students who
are unable to sit exams in the summer, or whose education is
significantly disrupted, will nevertheless receive robust, reliable
grades next year. What assessment have the Government made of the
unions’ recommendations?
The Minister for School Standards (): That is why
the decision was taken on 17 August to revert to whichever was
highest of calculated grades or centre assessment grades. It is
also one reason why we determined that exams will go ahead this
year, because as my hon. Friend the Member for Bexhill and Battle
() said, they are the fairest system of assessing
pupils’ ability and the work they have done in the two years of
their course. Our priority now is to ensure that next year’s exams
proceed fairly and efficiently and that students gain the
qualifications they deserve. That is the view of the teacher and
headteacher unions, including, I say to the hon. Member for Gower,
the NEUas expressed in its letter to the
Department on 2 October, which said:
“The government is right, in our view, to pursue a ‘Plan A’ which
would enable all students to sit exams in summer 2021. Students
in Year 11 and 13 are already more than halfway through their
courses, and must be enabled to complete those courses…As these
qualifications are mainly designed to be assessed by final
examination, it is right that these exams should go ahead if
possible.”
(Gower) (Lab):...I take this opportunity to thank
the Minister for his response, and say for the sake of
correctness that I took my comments from an immediate email that
was received from the NEU this afternoon...
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