The Department for Education and Ofqual have today (11 November)
confirmed contingency plans to support students in the unlikely
event that exams in England cannot go ahead next year due to the
pandemic.
The government intends for exams to take place next summer. But
if they cannot go ahead safely or fairly due to the pandemic,
contingency
arrangements will be in place to ensure that schools and
colleges are well prepared to enable students to achieve their
qualifications.
Following a consultation, the department and qualifications
regulator Ofqual have confirmed students would receive Teacher
Assessed Grades based on a range of their work, similar to this
summer.
To help minimise workload burdens on teachers and students,
Ofqual has today published guidance for teachers on how they
should collect evidence of students’ work during the academic
year. This guidance reflects feedback from teachers and school
leaders to make it as clear and helpful as possible.
Exams are planned with adaptations next summer to recognise
disruption to education during the pandemic and maximise fairness
for students. These include a choice of topics in some GCSE exams
and advance information on the focus of other exams to help
students’ revision.
Exam boards are also publishing formulae and equation sheets to
help students in GCSE maths and some GCSE science exams, giving
students time to familiarise themselves with them before exams.
Education Secretary said:
Exams are the best and fairest form of assessment, and we fully
intend for them to take place next summer. Planning is underway
for exams to go ahead with adaptations to recognise the impact of
the pandemic.
But it’s right, and I know schools and families would expect,
that we have contingency plans in place so there is a safety net
for students to gain their qualifications and progress to their
next stage of education or employment, whatever the course of the
pandemic.
Ofqual Chief Regulator Dr Jo Saxton said:
Students have shown so much resilience in the face of the
pandemic.
The back-up plans announced today incorporate their feedback, and
that of their teachers, and mean students don’t need to worry
about the ‘what if?’. They can concentrate on what really matters
- studying and revising - as they prepare to show what they know
and can do.
The majority of schools, colleges and others who responded to the
consultation broadly agreed with the proposals for Teacher
Assessed Grades, with more than 70 per cent of people and
organisations agreeing that Ofqual’s proposed guidance to support
schools in collecting evidence was helpful or very helpful.
Ofqual’s guidance sets out what schools and colleges need to do
in advance to ensure evidence is available for determining
grades, to be used if exams are cancelled at a later date. Only
at that stage would Ofqual and exam boards provide guidance on
how to determine a grade, and on arrangements for quality
assurance checks, and appeals.
The Ofqual guidance says that, in many cases, schools and
colleges need only conduct their normal amount of assessment, and
teachers should guard against over-assessment.
Advance information for next summer’s planned exams will be given
in early February to help students focus their revision over the
final months. The timing will be kept under review, subject to
the course of the pandemic. The department has previously
published contingency
guidance for vocational and technical qualifications.
The government has an ambitious and long-term education recovery
plan, backed by an investment to date of nearly £5 billion. It
will help children and young people to make up for lost learning
and get back on track. This includes delivering world-class
training for teachers, providing tutoring across the country, and
extending time in colleges by 40 hours a year.
