Commenting on the outcome of Ofqual's consultation into
arrangements for next years exams and assessment, Amanda Brown,
Deputy General Secretary at the National Education Union, said:
“We're concerned that the Government has its head in the sand
with its approach to GCSEs and A-Levels in England for 2021. The
Government is going to need to adjust the content in GCSEs and A
Levels beyond what was announced today. If the content isn't set
at a realistic level, the results will become more a measure of
which groups of students lost the most access to learning under
Covid''.
''The Secretary of State has acknowledged that not all students
will have covered all elements of their course, or to the depth
usually expected by the time they take their exams next summer.
"We need to Covid proof examinations for next year, in order to
allow consolidation, proper engagement within each subject and
effective learning. Yet today's confirmation of business as
normal for the content of most subjects next year makes
insufficient allowance for the disruption this year and allows no
contingency for any further disruption as a result of local or
regional lockdowns.
''The DfE and Ofqual have acknowledged that students have not had
equal opportunities to access learning at home but the
adaptations published so far aren't enough to counter that
unfairness. Teachers will ask why it is possible to reduce
content in many courses to more realistic levels in Wales but not
in England.
The NEU doesn't agree that fewer adaptations are necessary for
A-Level students just because they are older. The same challenge
faces A level students and teachers next year and content must be
reduced to manageable and realistic levels if the awards next
summer are to be a valid verdict on student's efforts.
“It's sensible planning to reduce content in English literature
GCSE but the DFE needs to take this approach and apply it to
other subjects so all courses next year are enjoyable, manageable
and engaging. Parents will expect courses to be realistic for
their teenager and to reflect the disruption from Covid and
teachers must be given courses to teach which are manageable and
which enable them to support effective learning. ''
