York College
‘ofqual’
A lack of regulatory powers for quality assurance providers to enforce compliance with apprentice assessment rules was a key reason for moving the job to Ofqual and the Office for Students, according to a new report. The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education has today published its first ever ‘external quality assurance’ (EQA) annual report, […]
News
The chair of exams regulator Ofqual is to stand down at the end of the year. Roger Taylor, who has been a member of the organisation’s board since 2012 and its chair since 2016, will be replaced by academy trust leader Ian Bauckham on an interim basis pending a “fair and open” competition to find […]
The government must “urgently” set out the exam adaptations that can be used by an estimated 130,000 students sitting BTEC and other technical assessments in January, the Labour Party has said. Shadow education secretary Kate Green today called it “unforgivable” that ministers had “neglected” these learners in their plans for aiding GCSE and A-level exams […]
Ofsted has today published a summary of what they found during their final “interim visits” of colleges and training providers that took place this autumn. A total of 84 providers were visited between October 19 and December 4 – the majority of which (44, or 52 per cent), were previously judged as ‘requires improvement’. The […]
Your weekly guide to who’s new and who’s leaving. Olivia Bussey, Board member, Federation of Awarding Bodies Start date: December 2020 Concurrent job: Head of quality and compliance; Ofqual responsible officer, NCC Education Interesting fact: She enjoys long runs on Saturdays, and a cool down straight after by working on random dance routines James Russell, […]
Bulletin, Movers and Shakers
A former exams company chief executive is set to replace Dame Glenys Stacey as the chief regulator at Ofqual, FE Week understands. Simon Lebus is being lined up to take over the top position at the exams regulator as Stacey’s interim period comes to end on December 31. Lebus served as the group chief executive […]
Ofqual is seeking views on its plans to release advance notice of topics ahead of exams next year, suggesting the information should not be so detailed that a student could memorise an answer. In a 10-day consultation launched today, the exams regulator has set out three principles on how it thinks the advance topics plan […]
The government has been urged to withdraw claims made in parliament about the take-up of the courses on its new ‘skills toolkit’ after FE Week started asking questions about the figures. Significant over-counting has already led to revised estimates, and an investigation by this publication has found “course start” and “registration” claims in official statistics […]
GCSE and A-level students sitting exams next year will be given more generous grading, advance notice of some topics and “exam aids” owing to the disruption caused by Covid-19. They will also be offered a “second chance” to sit papers if they miss any through illness or self-isolation and in “extreme cases” where a student […]
