About us

The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) regulates qualifications, examinations and assessments in England.

We maintain standards and confidence in qualifications in England:

  • GCSEs
  • A levels
  • AS levels
  • vocational and technical qualifications
  • Apprenticeship end-point assessments

We’re independent of government and report directly to Parliament.

Find out how we regulate the qualifications typically taken in an academic year in schools or colleges.

Who we are

Ofqual was set up in April 2010 under the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 and is also covered by the Education Act 2011.

We’re a non-ministerial government department with jurisdiction in England. We have 343 permanent employees as of March 2024 and are based in central Coventry.

Responsibilities

We’re responsible for making sure that:

  • regulated qualifications reliably indicate the knowledge, skills and understanding students have demonstrated
  • assessments and exams show what a student has achieved
  • people have confidence in the qualifications that we regulate
  • students and teachers have information on the full range of qualifications that we regulate

Priorities

Our priorities for 2022 to 2025 are:

  • quality and fairness for students and apprentices
  • clarity, effectiveness and efficiency in the qualifications market
  • shaping the future of assessment and qualifications
  • developing Ofqual as an effective, expert regulator and inclusive employer

Details of our goals and objectives for 2022 to 2025 can be found in ‘Ofqual’s corporate plan’.

Corporate information

Access our information

Jobs and contracts

Read about the types of information we routinely publish in our Publication scheme. Our Personal information charter explains how we treat your personal information. Read our policy on Social media use.

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