Everybody needs college students to get their outcomes after they count on to. Following the problems with vocational and technical qualification (VTQ) outcomes supply in 2022 Ofqual, the regulator, is setting out the next actions to help the protected and well timed supply of awarding organisations’ (AOs’) outcomes.

Ofqual will introduce a brand new outcomes deadline by which awarding organisations should problem outcomes, for {qualifications} which are used for development to additional or greater training, to varsities and schools and different centre sorts for eligible college students. Awarding organisations can be permitted to problem outcomes prematurely of this deadline, in order that the flexibilities that are a valued facet of VTQs will not be undermined.

Ofqual presently requires awarding organisations to resolve and publish any dates or timescales for the problem of their outcomes. Awarding organisations publish on their web sites data on when outcomes might be obtainable. They have to take all affordable steps to fulfill these dates or timescales.

Ofqual will seek the advice of on the timing and additional particulars of the outcomes deadline within the new 12 months. To allow the supply of this deadline, we additionally plan to introduce the next necessities.

AOs to introduce term-time certification checks with colleges and schools

Awarding organisations have to have higher visibility of which college students are taking their assessments, when they’re taking them and when they’re intending to finish. On this foundation we plan to require awarding organisations to introduce a collection of checkpoints, all year long, in order that they, and colleges, schools and different centre sorts, can make sure that they’ve a typical understanding of every scholar’s intention and may monitor that they’re making ample progress to realize a end result. We now have heard from centre employees how necessary it’s that this course of is undertaken throughout term-time in order that exams officers have entry to the scholars, tutorial employees and proof they want.

Information sharing between AOs and UCAS to allow higher monitoring

It is crucial that the information used to help the supply of outcomes is constant, present and of top of the range. Moreover, the way in which during which awarding organisation and centre knowledge is utilized by UCAS to help the upper training software course of has a direct affect on college students on outcomes day.

Not all college students who apply to UCAS take up their locations and never all college students full their {qualifications}. Awarding organisations should work extra intently with UCAS to reconcile knowledge about college students utilizing {qualifications} for admission to greater training to trace the outcomes wanted for development.

VTQ data hub

Faculties, schools and different centre sorts sometimes work with a variety of awarding organisations. For VTQs, the variations between {qualifications} (for instance when it comes to construction and function) provided by AOs means that there’s comparatively little alignment in processes and programs between AOs. In consequence, colleges and schools and different centre sorts have to preserve monitor of a variety of deadlines and necessities, in addition to work together with a variety of various portals and software program programs, which might be very difficult. Ofqual recognises that the totally different preparations put in place by particular person awarding organisations can imply that colleges and schools should take care of numerous totally different deadlines and data requests.

Ofqual will launch and host a brand new VTQ data hub that brings collectively all the important thing data in to at least one central location. Awarding organisations will present data so we are able to collate their particular person timescales, deadlines and preparations. We would require awarding organisations to maintain this data updated.

New coaching and higher help for exams workplace employees and exams officers

College, faculty and different centre sorts’ exams places of work and exams officers play a significant position within the profitable supply of exams, formal assessments and outcomes.

We count on awarding organisations to offer the required coaching to help exams officers of their position, to enhance their capability to handle the administration of VTQ assessments and perceive particular awarding organisations’ processes. They need to present supplies and qualification-specific coaching to help topic academics to grasp how their {qualifications} are structured and what data is required to help outcomes supply.

Ofqual will replace and add to our sources for exams officers. Over the subsequent 12 months, Ofqual will work with the Nationwide Affiliation of Examinations Officers and the broader sector to advertise and help the position of the exams officer.

2023 VTQ outcomes taskforce

One of many preparations that labored effectively throughout the pandemic was a frequent assembly of key stakeholders to share and act on intelligence and data. We suggest to construct on such preparations and to convene a taskforce of senior leaders from key organisations to actively monitor the protected supply of outcomes, for England, in 2023. It is going to meet all year long and make sure the new preparations as summarised listed below are applied and efficient.

The taskforce might be chaired by the Chief Regulator and embrace senior leaders from:

Affiliation of Schools (Catherine Sezen, Interim Director of Schooling Coverage)

Affiliation of College and Faculty Leaders (Dr Anne Murdoch, Senior Adviser, Faculty Management)

Confederation of College Trusts (Steve Rollett, Deputy Chief Govt)

Division for Schooling (Administrators, {Qualifications}) (Observers)

Federation of Awarding Our bodies (Tom Bewick, CEO)

Joint Council for {Qualifications} (Ian Morgan, Chairman)

NAHT (Sarah Hannafin, Senior Coverage Advisor)

Nationwide Affiliation of Examinations Officers (Jugjit Chima, CEO)

OCR (Jill Duffy, CEO)

Workplace for College students (John Blake, Director for Truthful Entry and Participation)

Pearson (Freya Thomas-Monk, SVP Vocational {Qualifications} & Coaching)

Sixth Type Schools Affiliation (Invoice Watkin, Chief Govt)

UCAS (Clare Marchant, Chief Govt)

Prime quality communications

Ofqual will deliver awarding organisations collectively to allow them to discover methods during which they’ll streamline their communications and introduce constant methods of focusing on and signalling which communications are pressing or that are basic updates.

Whereas awarding organisations are already required to make sure that colleges and schools are clear concerning the data they have to present to make sure that outcomes might be processed and colleges, schools and different centre sorts should present it in accordance with the AO’s clear timescales, there are steps awarding organisations have to take to enhance the standard, content material, timing and focusing on of their communications with centres.

The timing of the problem of outcomes implies that employees must be obtainable outdoors of time period time. Awarding organisations have to have contact particulars for a senior chief within the college who has the authority to entry data and progress selections swiftly. We suggest to require awarding organisations to gather, and to maintain updated, contact particulars for that particular person from each college and faculty and different centre sorts, in order that, ought to escalation be mandatory, it may be finished effectively and successfully.

Session

Ofqual recognises that numerous these actions could have implications for colleges, schools and different centre sorts, and awarding organisations. We’ll seek the advice of, due to this fact, on the element of those actions within the new 12 months. Following preliminary engagement with the brand new taskforce, Ofqual will search the views of the sector on: