- Ofqual sets out its vision to steer
the future of qualifications
Ofqual’s new 3-year plan announced today (4 May) sets out its
ambition for the future of qualifications that are sought after,
fair, accessible, valued and world class. The plan details the
work Ofqual will do towards this, with the interests of students
and apprentices at its heart.
Ofqual has a pivotal role to play in leading, influencing and
enabling innovation and transformation in assessment and
qualifications. New approaches to assessment, including the use
of technology, have the potential to improve quality and fairness
for students and apprentices and to strengthen the resilience of
how qualifications and assessments are delivered.
Ofqual will work with awarding organisations to harness greater
innovation and the use of technology to promote assessments that
are valid, efficient and implemented safely in the interests of
students.
Ofqual will oversee the reintroduction of exam-based assessment
in 2022 across general, vocational and technical qualifications
where they were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic and will
work to secure trust and confidence in awarding arrangements for
2022 and beyond.
Ofqual will look to the future demand for technical
qualifications by working in partnership with IfATE on technical
qualifications, T Levels, higher technical qualifications and
apprenticeship end-point assessments. The introduction of new
Digital Functional Skills qualifications into the market also
signals that the qualification landscape will be changing over
the next decade and Ofqual will be developing and consulting on
arrangements to secure high-quality qualifications as part of the
government’s post-16 qualifications review.
Ofqual will regulate to ensure that exams and assessments become
more accessible for all students, including students with special
educational needs and disabilities and students new to this
country for whom English is an additional language.
Ofqual will transform how qualifications can be chosen and
compared by building an interactive Register of Regulated
Qualifications to make the qualifications market clearer and
easier to navigate.
Ofqual will make the qualifications market work better in the
interests of students by promoting transparency and by helping
all those that take and use qualifications to make informed
choices, including on the basis of price. Regulation must support
a coherent and navigable qualifications market for students,
apprentices and employers.
Ofqual Chair Ian Bauckham said:
“Ofqual’s deep assessment expertise, access to expansive data and
our convening power afford us a unique role in shaping the future
of qualifications and assessment. We are ambitious in that goal.
Regulation must enable good innovation that is in the interests
of students and apprentices.
“The pandemic has, rightly, catalysed questions about not if, but
when, and how, greater use of technology and onscreen assessment
should be adopted. All proposed changes need to be carefully
assessed for their impact on students, including those with
special educational needs and disabilities. It is right that we
use research and evidence to challenge existing practice so that
we continue to improve what we offer for students and
apprentices.”
Chief Regulator Dr Jo Saxton said:
“I am delighted to be publishing our 2022 to 2025 corporate plan
– the first in my tenure as Chief Regulator. At its heart is my
personal commitment that the interests of students and
apprentices will be the compass that guides us on every decision
and action. They will be our true north. I know the power of
qualifications from my own personal experience and from my time
working on the frontline of schools in some of the most
disadvantaged areas in the country. Qualifications open doors.
They are a passport to new opportunities and possibilities. To
fulfil that role they must be trusted, understood, good quality
and fair.
“This corporate plan sets out the work that Ofqual will do to
make sure that regulated qualifications are just that. I also
want to make it easier for students to see a clearer choice of
options. We are also looking at the future landscape of
qualifications and so will be developing and consulting on
arrangements to secure high-quality qualifications as part of the
government’s post-16 qualifications review.”
