Transparency data

Chief Regulator's Report: 13 March 2024

Updated 1 October 2024

Applies to England

Date

13 March 2024

Title

Chief Regulator’s report

Report by

Sir Ian Bauckham, Chief Regulator

Paper for information and discussion

Recommendations

The Board is asked to note the matters reported.

Overview

1.         This is my first report to the Board since taking up post as Ofqual’s Chief Regulator at the start of January. In these early weeks I have had a busy schedule of briefings on policy, operational and corporate matters, as well as a range of internal and external introductory meetings. I and the Executive team have also been spending significant time on the key current areas of focus.

2.         The Deputy Chief Regulator and I had a constructive meeting with DfE Directors in early January where we re-confirmed respective roles and responsibilities as we head towards summer in a more ‘normal’ post-pandemic context. A schedule of regular engagement with senior officials and ministers is being put in place.

3.         I am pleased to inform the Board that recruitment to fill the final vacant post in the Executive team is now complete. We have created a second Executive position in the Standards, Research and Analysis directorate. Ian Stockford, who is currently covering the ED SRA post on an interim basis, will become Ofqual’s Chief Technical Officer, leading the Standards and Strategic Projects teams. In addition, a new ED for Research and Analysis has been appointed, Tom Bramley, who will work alongside Ian, leading the Research and the Data and Analytics teams. Tom currently works as a Director at Cambridge Assessment and is a widely published and highly regarded researcher in the field.

On-screen Assessment

4.         Work continues on Ofqual’s approach to the regulation of on-screen assessment. As the Board is aware, 3 of the 4 exam boards offering general qualifications have publicly announced plans for moving GCSEs to on-screen delivery in the next few years.

5.         We are now seeing emerging findings of the research study commissioned jointly by Ofqual and DfE, being conducted by PA Consulting and due to finish at the end of March.

6.         Any transition to on-screen assessment needs care and Ofqual has a critical role to play in ensuring any new form of qualification can be safely delivered and that the interests of students are protected. We will present findings from the research to the Board for discussion once the work has completed.

Advanced British Standard (ABS)

7.         Ofqual continues to provide technical advice and support to the Department as it progresses plans to establish a new post-16 ABS qualification. The Deputy Chief Regulator and I continue to attend a weekly ABS Programme Board with senior DfE colleagues. A White Paper is expected to be published in June 2024, following the consultation by DfE.

VTQ January series

8.         The January VTQ series of exams and formal assessments progressed smoothly, and results are due to be issued by the end of March. A small number of mostly minor or non-material errors was reported (via submission of Event Notifications) and are being handled by the Ofqual team in the usual way.

Summer series 2024

Awarding organisation readiness

9.         Readiness reviews with awarding organisations ahead of the summer series are underway, attended by GQ and VTQ colleagues. The process of error reporting through Event Notifications is operating as normal, and we will monitor carefully any impacts and the actions awarding organisations take in response.

10.      We are reviewing our incident and crisis handling protocols ahead of the series. It is important to recognise that despite the significant work going into summer series readiness, risks can be mitigated but they cannot, of course, be eliminated.

Examiner recruitment

11.      Examiner recruitment for summer 2024 GCSE, AS and A level exams is underway and is being closely monitored through fortnightly data collections and engagement with JCQ. Recruitment is on track, in all cases ahead of this time last year.

Students at centres affected by RAAC

12.      We continue to engage with exam boards and DfE on support for schools and colleges impacted by RAAC, and in particular those who foresee issues with the completion of practical non-exam assessment (NEA) components due to a lack of access to specialist facilities. We have, however, been clear that while our expectation is that exam boards do all they can to support to centres, any applications for special consideration must be handled in line with existing rules to ensure our statutory standards objectives relating to standards maintenance are respected. We are seeing some public pressure around this, including from an MP with an affected school in their constituency. We are also working closely with the Department on this issue.

JCQ guidance on use of AI

13.      In February, JCQ updated its guidance to centres on the use of AI in assessment. JCQ also published useful, new resources for schools and colleges to share with students to help them understand the rules for use of AI in assessment.

VTQ results delivery

14.         The new Results Group overseeing delivery of 2024 VTQ results, replacing the 2023 Taskforce, has launched. Engagement and support of the senior stakeholders in the Group (including representatives from ASCL, Association of Colleges, Joint Council for Qualifications, Federation of Awarding Bodies, Sixth Form Colleges Association and key AOs), and across the sector, is excellent and this provides confidence that results will be delivered on time as planned. We have updated the ‘Information Hub’ where schools and colleges can find key dates for the full range of VTQ qualifications in scope. A data collection is planned to monitor progress towards results delivery, and Ofqual is hosting a webinar for AOs to support the arrangements.

Communications and engagement 

15.      A range of communications and stakeholder engagement activity is in train as we head towards the summer series. I spoke to the Curriculum and Assessment Committee at the ASCL Council on 8 February, and on 9 March I will be speaking at the ASCL annual conference. Key messages include the arrangements for 2024 exams, grading and cyber security in schools.

16.      I am attending a Confederation of School Trusts event to speak to heads of large trusts on 12 March. I am also giving an interview to TES in March.

17.      Colleagues presented at ASCL data conferences in February, and at a series of Exams Officer conferences across the country.

18.      I and colleagues are continuing to visit a range of schools and colleges delivering both GQs and VTQs, to understand views and sentiment of school leaders, teachers and their students who will be taking exams this year.

National Assessments

Annual report on national assessments regulation

19.      Ofqual regulates statutory early years foundation stage profile (EYFSP) assessments and statutory national curriculum assessments. The latter include the reception baseline assessment (RBA), the phonics screening check (PSC), the multiplication tables check (MTC), and key stage 1 (KS1) and key stage 2 (KS2) tests, and together are referred to as ‘national assessments’.

20.      Ofqual’s national assessments regulation annual report is being finalised and we expect this to be published around the time the Board meets. Ofqual regulates all aspects of development and delivery of these assessments by the Standards and Testing Agency (STA). The annual report will detail our regulatory activity and findings in relation to 2023, including the KS2 reading test that was discussed with the Board last year.

New approach to Ofqual’s regulation of national assessments

21.      Ofqual and STA have completed a review of the regulatory model for national assessments.

22.      While no formal change is required to the legal framework for regulation of national assessments, we will update Ofqual’s MoU with STA to reflect the new arrangements.

National Reference Test (NRT)

Delivery of the 2024 test

23.      The 2024 NRT test is being administered in schools between 16 February and 4 March. 360 schools were selected by NFER, of which 342 agreed to participate – more than the minimum 330 required. Results will be provided to Ofqual by the end of May and will be used to inform a decision on whether to require exam boards to adjust the grade standards when setting grade boundaries in GCSE English language and maths. The NRT results along with Ofqual’s decision will be published on GCSE results day.

NRT re-procurement

24.      Following evaluation of tenders for the NRT contract, outcome letters were issued to bidders on 16 February. On 28 February the People, Resources and Finance committee was asked to recommend to the Board that the contract be awarded to the preferred supplier. The Board’s approval to award the contract is sought under a separate agenda item.

Apprenticeships

Communications and engagement

25.         A range of communications and engagement activity took place during national apprenticeships week at the start of February, including a visit by the Deputy Chief Regulator to Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service to meet apprentices and to hear about the Service’s experience of EPA as an employer provider. The Deputy Chief Regulator, Chair and I also met with Ofqual’s own apprentices to hear about their experiences.

26.         Catherine Large delivered a speech at the Annual Apprenticeships Conference on 26 February.

DfE minor changes to GCSE and GCE qualifications 

27.         The Board was informed in December about minor changes we expected we would need to make to Ofqual’s regulatory requirements to reflect DfE changes to subject content (in GCSE Computer Science) and qualification titles (in GCSE, AS and A level Physical Education). As it is now clear that these amendments do not involve significant change or amendment to the rules, we do not propose to bring them back before the Board for approval as a reserved matter.

Wellbeing of staff in regulated AOs

28.         Colleagues are taking forward work in relation to AO staff wellbeing, in the light of the wider sectoral landscape. This work is underway, with the formation of a steering group with representatives from relevant business areas. The work is focusing on 4 key areas: policy, training, clarifying processes for AOs to raise concerns and ensuring Ofqual has a named AO point of contact for wellbeing concerns when an investigation is underway. Much of the training identified is planned to take place before the end of March.

Department of Business and Trade: Smarter Regulation

29.         Under their Smarter Regulation programme, the Department of Business and Trade (DBT) ran a consultation on the revised Growth Duty to which Ofqual submitted a response. The DBT has recently published the consultation outcome and Ofqual’s initial observations of this are:

• There is no major initial change to the requirements of in-scope organisations under the revised Growth Duty. There are substantive additions to the guidance, though they may not require changes to our approach in the short term.

• There is, however, an explicitly stated intention to commence some form of mandatory reporting against the revised Growth Duty in the near future. We expect this will become clearer in an anticipated follow-up paper.

AI regulation

30.      The Secretaries of State for Education and for Science, Innovation and Technology wrote a letter to Ofqual and a selection of other regulators in February entitled ‘Delivering a pro-innovation approach to AI regulation’. They request that Ofqual publishes an update by 30 April outlining our strategic approach to AI and the steps we are taking in line with the expectations in the government’s AI Regulation White Paper. Ofqual’s communication on the regulation of AI to date has centred on dialogue and materials for awarding organisations. This new publication will therefore be the first substantive external update Ofqual has provided on work in this area.

Corporate and People matters

2023 People Survey

31.      The results of the 2023 annual People Survey are overwhelmingly positive; benchmarking analysis shows that Ofqual is placed 8th out of 106 departments in terms of staff engagement. The results were presented and discussed at the People, Resources and Finance committee on 28 February, along with a summary of activities planned in response.

Finance

32.      Financial performance in the current year remains stable with a modest underspend being forecast for the year as at the end of P10, as reported in the separate finance paper. The finance team, working with other directorates, is focused on making appropriate spending decisions to ensure that forecast levels are maintained.

33.      The budgeting process for 2024 to 2025 has been completed, with a budget paper presented to the People, Resources and Finance Committee on 28 February. A high level of engagement from the Executive team and beyond has ensured that budgets are well aligned to the Business Plan for the year ahead and planned spend is within the levels of Ofqual’s settlement for the year.

Office move

34.      Plans for the office move are well advanced, with an anticipated move date of 2 April. Terms of Occupancy were signed with GPA on 1 March, with the main agreement allowing our occupation from 1 April and a separate agreement giving us access to complete works and other preparations from 1 March. Arrangements are in place with our contractors to commence work from 4 March, in line with our agreed schedule. Staff have been well engaged with the move, with regular updates shared and a large number of staff took the opportunity to visit the new offices in late February.

Publication of paper: Paper to be published: Yes