Transparency data

Chief Regulator's report: 16 March 2022

Updated 20 July 2023

Applies to England

This document has been subject to redactions

Date

16 March 2022

Title

Chief Regulator’s report

Report by

Dr Jo Saxton, Chief Regulator

Paper for information and discussion

Recommendations

1. The Board is asked to note the matters reported.

Overview

1. 2. In early February the General Qualifications (GQ) boards released advance information on this year’s GCSE, AS and A level exams. This was a key part of the unprecedented package of support to help prepare students for this year’s exams. The materials have been widely accessed, with Boards reporting traffic multiple times higher than that of results days.
2. 3. February also saw the publication of several important documents for the regulation of Vocational and Technical Qualifications (VTQs): Ofqual published its proposed approach to regulating Level 3 qualifications, and a report by our Research Chair, Dr Paul Newton, on CASLO (‘Confirm the Acquisition of Specified Learning Outcomes’) qualifications, a landmark piece of work to underpin improving quality and thereby the regulation of a particular type of highly used qualification. The government published its long-awaited response to the Post-18 review undertaken by Sir Philip Augur, and the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill cleared its final reading in the House of Commons.
3. 4. I continue to meet regularly with Ministers, including introductory meetings with Minister Burghart (Minister for Skills) and Baroness Barran (Minister for the School System).
4. 5. Allegations of improper grade inflation in some schools’ 2021 results were reported in the Sunday Times and Guardian last month. As the Board are aware, we established an incident team, and I called urgent meetings with the four exam board CEOs. We received assurances from the boards that all allegations they had received about malpractice had been appropriately dealt with by them. We also reiterated, where appropriate, in our communications that any teacher with knowledge of malpractice could contact Ofqual as a whistleblower.
5. 6. I have been spending a good deal of time speaking to school leaders, students and governors in schools and colleges across England, to demonstrate that we are a listening regulator and to keep connected with the lived experience of schools and colleges in the run up to the first examined series for GQs since 2019. I have now met 50 leaders representing a range of settings and contexts, some in person and some virtually.

General Qualifications

Summer 2022 GQ series

1. 7. The exam boards published advance information on 7 February. We worked with the Department for Education (DfE), the exam boards and a range of stakeholders to promote understanding of advance information and the wider package of support for students taking exams this summer.

2. 8. Our very firm, and publicly stated, intention is that exams will go ahead this year, and this is also the strong steer we have had from the Secretary of State. Contingency arrangements remain in place and schools are continuing to collect evidence which would inform TAGs in the event that these have to be used.

GQ stakeholder engagement

1. 9. Much stakeholder engagement has been focused on the release of advance information and understanding of, and support for, the wider package of measures for students taking exams this summer.
2. 10. Following the release of advance information, I contributed to webinars hosted by ASCL and CST.

Autumn 2021 GQ series

1. 11. The last of the autumn exams were held on 3 December. A level results were released on 16 December. GCSE English language and maths results were released on 13 January and the results for all other GCSEs on 24 February 2022.

Vocational and Technical Qualifications

VTQ Awarding 2022

1. 12. The VTQ January series went well, with risks being successfully managed by Ofqual and the Awarding Organisations.

T Levels

1. 13. All Wave 3 Technical Qualifications within T Level programmes have now been accredited. The first set of draft assessment materials for the Technical Qualifications in Wave 4 has now been received.

Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs)

1. 14. Feedback has been provided to the Institute on 20 qualifications in Cycle 2, and our focus is now on planning for Cycle 3, which will commence around August 2022.

Digital Functional Skills Qualifications

1. 15. The technical consultation closed on the 27 January 2022, receiving 8 responses. Final rules will be published in early March 2022 and technical evaluation will take place in the next financial year.

Apprenticeship End Point Assessments

1. 16. Good progress continues to be made on EPAO recognition and the transition of Apprenticeship Standards.

Standards and Research

Standards

1. 17.Preparations for 2022 GQ grading are ongoing.

National Reference Test (NRT)

1. 18. NRT 2022 will be administered in schools between 28 February and 11 March. 336 schools (of a maximum 360) will administer the test. This is a similar number to pre-pandemic years.

Chief Regulator engagement

1. 19. In addition to Ofqual’s stakeholder engagement, I have personally undertaken a significant amount of engagement since December.
2. 20. I have visited or spoken to school and college leaders, teachers, students, governors and parents at a number of settings across England since the last Board meeting ranging from Bradford to Morecambe Bay, to Cambridge, Coventry and Kent. I delivered a speech at the Sixth Form Colleges Association conference in January, and will be speaking at the ASCL conference, a Challenge Partners leadership event, and the Annual Apprenticeships Conference, all over the next couple of weeks.

Annexes

1. A. Confidential items
2. B. 2021 People Survey

Publication of paper

Paper to be published: Yes

Publication date (if relevant): N/A

Exemptions to publication: Section 36, Development of government policy