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This guide provides you with information about this year's arrangements for qualifications regulated by Ofqual. It also explains what support is in place when taking exams and assessments.

Applies to England

Documents

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If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email publications@ofqual.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Details

This guide is for students taking any of the following qualifications:

GCSEs

AS or A levels

other general qualifications, including International Baccalaureate, core mathematics and Pre-U

Technical Qualification (part of a T Level)

BTEC, Cambridge Technicals and other vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) taken alongside GCSEs and A levels

In this guide, we refer to schools and colleges as a collective term for all schools, colleges and other exam centres.

Some students won't be studying at a school or college and will be private candidates. They are often home educated or are re-taking a qualification after leaving school or college. They may be studying with a distance learning provider, tutor, parent, or without any support. Private candidates will need to register at a school, college or other exam centre to sit their exams. More information on how to do this can be found in this guide. We make clear in this guide where information only applies to a certain type of qualification. If you are not sure exactly which qualifications you are taking, check with your school or college.

This guide talks about awarding organisations and exam boards. All organisations that offer qualifications regulated by Ofqual are called awarding organisations. The 4 awarding organisations that offer GCSEs, AS and A levels in England are also called exam boards.

This guide refers to exams officers. An exams officer is the person in a school or college that organises exams. An exams officer's duties will vary by school or college. Check with your school or college who your exams officer is and how to contact them.

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Report a problem with this page

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This guide provides you with information about this year's arrangements for qualifications regulated by Ofqual. It also explains what support is in place when taking exams and assessments.

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DfE: Guide to post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below in England from 2025

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DfE: Guide to post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below in England from 2025

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Published: 20th April 2023
Summary - Post 16 Level 3 there will be a choice of A level or T level with the option to take additional single size (1 A level equivalent) technical qualification alongside an A level if you wanted a mixed programme. The old style 2 year full time BTEC technical qualifications type programme will gradually disappear.

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An overview of post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below for awarding organisations and providers.

Details

The guide provides a high-level overview of the post-16 qualifications landscape from 2025 onwards, including:

changes to the funding approval process and criteria

the subjects that will be considered for funding

the implications for the availability of qualifications for teaching in England

The separate level 2 and 3 timeline documents provide a chronology of important dates for awarding organisations.

Post-16 qualifications at level 2 and below from spring 2023 signposts awarding organisations and providers to information that is already available and which they may find helpful in preparing for the reforms at level 2 and below.

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Guide to post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below in England

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Skip to main content We use some essential cookies to make this website work. We'd like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services. We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services.

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Published: 21 March 2023
This guide for students provides information about this year’s arrangements for qualifications regulated by Ofqual. It also explains what support is in place when taking exams and assessments.

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Skip to main content

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We'd like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services.

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You have rejected additional cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time.

Accept additional cookies Reject additional cookies View cookies

This guide provides you with information about this year's arrangements for qualifications regulated by Ofqual. It also explains what support is in place when taking exams and assessments.

Applies to England

Documents

Request an accessible format.

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email publications@ofqual.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Details

This guide is for students taking any of the following qualifications:

GCSEs

AS or A levels

other general qualifications, including International Baccalaureate, core mathematics and Pre-U

Technical Qualification (part of a T Level)

BTEC, Cambridge Technicals and other vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) taken alongside GCSEs and A levels

In this guide, we refer to schools and colleges as a collective term for all schools, colleges and other exam centres.

Some students won't be studying at a school or college and will be private candidates. They are often home educated or are re-taking a qualification after leaving school or college. They may be studying with a distance learning provider, tutor, parent, or without any support. Private candidates will need to register at a school, college or other exam centre to sit their exams. More information on how to do this can be found in this guide. We make clear in this guide where information only applies to a certain type of qualification. If you are not sure exactly which qualifications you are taking, check with your school or college.

This guide talks about awarding organisations and exam boards. All organisations that offer qualifications regulated by Ofqual are called awarding organisations. The 4 awarding organisations that offer GCSEs, AS and A levels in England are also called exam boards.

This guide refers to exams officers. An exams officer is the person in a school or college that organises exams. An exams officer's duties will vary by school or college. Check with your school or college who your exams officer is and how to contact them.

Thank you for your feedback

Report a problem with this page

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This guide provides you with information about this year's arrangements for qualifications regulated by Ofqual. It also explains what support is in place when taking exams and assessments.

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National Statistics: 2022 Alevel and other 16 to 18 results Breakdown

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National Statistics: 2022 Alevel and other 16 to 18 results Breakdown

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Updated: 2nd February 2023

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Release type

National statistics ?

This academic year saw the return of the summer exam series, after they had been cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, where alternative processes were set up to award grades. As part of the transition back to the summer exam series adaptations were made to the exams (including advance information) and the approach to grading for 2022 exams broadly reflected a midpoint between results in 2019 and 2021.

The 16 to 18 performance measures reported in this revised release for the 2021/22 academic year, and to be included on the Find School and College Performance Data website, have been affected by our commitment not to include results from qualifications awarded between January 2020 and August 2021 (see section 'Changes to the data in 2021/22').

Throughout this release, comparisons are made with both 2021, the most recent year, and 2019, because it is most meaningful to compare to the last year summer exams were sat. Given the unprecedented change in how A level and vocational and VTQ grades were awarded in 2020 and 2021, as well as changes to the grade boundaries and methods of assessment for 2021/22, users need to exercise caution when considering comparisons over time, as they may not reflect changes in student performance alone.

Related information

Releases in this series

View releases (23)

Methodologies

Headline facts and figures - 2021/22

A level retention

95.1%

An increase of 3.8 ppts from 2018/19

What is this?

This is the headline retention rate for A level programmes. (The percentage of students who completed their A level programme).

Applied general retention

91.7%

An increase of 5.1 ppts from 2018/19

What is this?

This is the headline retention rate for applied general programmes. (The percentage of students who completed their applied general programme).

Tech level retention

91.1%

An increase of 3.2 ppts from 2018/19

What is this?

This is the headline retention rate for tech level programmes. (The percentage of students who completed their tech level programme).

Average Point Score (APS) per entry for all level 3 cohorts is lower compared to 2020/21: A level, -2.8 pts; applied general, -0.7 pts; tech level, - 1.1 pts. However, attainment remains higher compared to 2018/19: A level, +4.9pts; applied general, +3.1 pts; tech level +1.9 pts. [An increase of 10 points is equivalent to an increase in one full grade]. This follows Ofqual's announcement in September 2021 that 2022 will be a transition year where the aim was for exam results to broadly reflect a midway point between 2021 (TAG grades) and 2019 (the last year all students sat exams).

The trend for falling average attainment across level 3 cohorts in 2021/22 compared to 2020/21 was observed across institution types generally (when grouped into state-funded schools, independent schools, sixth form colleges, and 'Other FE sector colleges') with the exception of applied general attainment in sixth form colleges and independent schools which increased in 2021/22 (+ 0.2 pts and + 0.8 pts respectively).

The disadvantage gap (between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students) is at its widest level for all Level 3 cohorts (A level, tech level, and applied general) since disadvantage measures began in 2016/17.

Gender gaps in favour of female students in average attainment at A level, applied general, and tech level have narrowed in 2021/22 compared to 2020/21; average attainment had increased more for female students than males with the alternative Centre Assessment Grade (CAG) and Teacher Assessed Grade (TAG) awarding processes in 2019/20 and 2020/21 compared with 2018/19.

The percentage of students who completed their main or 'core' aim from their study programme, known as the Retention rate, increased across all programmes in 2021/22.

Non-disadvantaged students are more likely to be retained than disadvantaged students, across all cohorts.

Students with higher prior attainment are more likely to be retained than students with lower prior attainment, across all level 3 cohorts.

Given the unprecedented change in the way results were awarded in the summers of 2020 and 2021, as well as the changes to methods of assessment for 2021/22, users need to exercise caution when considering comparisons over time, as they may not reflect changes in pupil performance alone.

The changes seen in the headline statistics likely reflect the changes in methodology for awarding grades and in calculating the measures, rather than demonstrating a difference in standards.

Explore data and files used in this release

View tables that we have built for you, or create your own tables from open data using our table tool

Browse and download open data files from this release in our data catalogue

Learn more about the data files used in this release using our online guidance

Download all data available in this release as a compressed ZIP file

All supporting files from this release are listed for individual download below:

Provisional results (November 2022) for A level and other 16 to 18 results 2021-22

Transition matrices data used for visualising the progress of pupils aged 16 to 18 from key stage 4 (KS4) to key stage 5 (KS5).

Instructions to accompany the transition matrices data

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the summer exam series was cancelled in both 2020 and 2021, and alternative processes set up to award grades. Throughout this release, comparisons are made with both 2021, the most recent year, and 2019, because it is most meaningful to compare to the last year summer exams were sat.

A/AS and vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs)

In summer 2021 students were awarded A/AS grades based on an assessment by their teachers using a range of available evidence. Students were only assessed on the content they had been taught. In 2021 some VTQ grades were decided using teacher-assessed grades, others using normal assessment routes, and some through adapted assessment such as remote invigilation.

Exceptionally in autumn 2020 and 2021 an autumn series was put in place to allow students the opportunity to try to improve their A level or AS grade from the summer, if they wished to do so. Further information on the autumn 2021 series is available at this link:
https://ofqual.blog.gov.uk/2021/12/16/as-and-a-level-results-in-the-autumn-2021-series/
A/AS exams returned in 2022 and adaptations were made to exams (including advance information), and the approach to grading for 2022 exams broadly reflected a midpoint between results in 2019 and 2021.

The diversity of vocational qualifications meant that Ofqual did not prescribe a single approach to adaptations, so Awarding Organisations (AOs) had flexibility to choose how to adapt their assessments. However, Ofqual's regulatory framework requires AOs as far as possible to ensure VTQ learners were not disadvantaged nor advantaged compared with their A level peers when setting standards.

For further information on the process to award grades in 2021 and 2022 see the following links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/awarding-qualifications-in-summer-2021/awarding-qualifications-in-summer-2021 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/guidance-for-centres-awarding-vtqs-in-2021-and-2022
Reporting of 2022 results by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) and Ofqual

As happens every year on A level results day (18 August for summer 2022 results) JCQ published data on A level entries for qualifications awarded in summer 2022, and for each subject the distribution of grades awarded (with data for the previous summer for reference): https://www.jcq.org.uk/examination-results/

The data published by JCQ can be expected to show the same broad patterns as the underlying data published in this statistical release 'Entries and results - A level and AS by subject and student characteristics (single academic year). However, the coverage of the data is different: JCQ data covers all A level entries in the UK by people of all ages. Data in this statistical release covers exam entries by 16 to 18 year olds in schools and colleges in England, and includes breakdowns by a wide range of student characteristics.

In addition, Ofqual also routinely publish data on results day: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/guide-to-as-and-a-level-results-in-england-summer-2022

Data excluded from 2021/22 measures due to alternative assessment arrangements in 2020 and 2021

We have committed not to include results of qualifications achieved between January 2020 and August 2021 in school and college performance measures on Find Schools and College Performance Data website, given the alternative assessment arrangements used to award those grades.

For consistency, when calculating 16 to 18 performance measures for 2021/22 in this statistical release, data will only include entries and grades from qualifications awarded in the 2021/22 academic year, with the exception of AS and A level qualifications taken as part of the extraordinary autumn 2021 examination series which are also excluded.

However, results from qualifications routinely offered in the autumn of 2021 that would usually be approved for reporting, such as vocational and technical qualifications taken in autumn 2021, will be included even if some of the VTQ constituent unit-level grades were awarded between January 2020 and August 2021 via Centre Assessment Grade, Teacher Assessed Grade, or another process.

The table below shows the impact at national level of excluding these data, by comparing the number of students and headline attainment measures for each cohort.

The impact on A level student numbers is modest. It is greater for students entering vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs), who are more likely to enter qualifications over multiple years. It should be noted that students may have results from multiple years including 2021/22. In this case the student is included in this data but some of their results are excluded.

The technical certificate cohort has been substantially impacted by this change, as students are often not triggered for reporting in the same year as they complete the qualification.

Smaller cohorts in 2021/22, do not necessarily translate into impacts on attainment. Nationally, the impact on A level Average Point Score (APS) is minimal (1/200th of a grade) with slightly larger changes for the level 3 vocational and technical qualifications.

Impact of the change

Number of students
-2% -10% -15% -84%

APS
+0.06 +0.60 +0.72 +0.12

Other changes for the 2021/22 release

English and maths progress measures will not be published in this statistical release until these measures return to Find school and college performance data website (likely 2024/25, as set out in 16 to 18 accountability headline measures: technical guide, due to the impact of excluding CAG/TAG grades on this performance measure).

Similarly, 16 to 18 value-added measures, which would rely on KS4 prior attainment including some data from summer 2020, continue not to be published in 2021/22. Value-added measures will return as soon as possible, which will be for the 2023/24 academic year at the earliest; further details are included in the technical guide.

Breakdowns of performance measures by prior attainment, usually published in spring with the Retention update have been brought forward to the provisional release along with other breakdowns by student characteristics. Note, we distinguish between the use of prior attainment data nationally to breakdown measures by student characteristics in this statistical release and their use to calculate performance measures that will be published for individual schools and colleges on Find School and College Performance Data.

SEN Provision contains additional breakdowns by SEN types for the first time in national level data at 16 to 18.

Additional 'bivariate' data giving a breakdown of headline attainment and disadvantage status in combination with other characteristics are available for the first time.

Changes continuing from the 2020/21 release

Characteristic breakdowns usually published in the revised update have been brought forward to the provisional release. This is a permanent change.

The rules for determining when students reach the end of their 16-18 study changed in 2020/21 and students can no longer be triggered solely due to spending two years in the same school or college. The impact of this change on 2020/21 data was to reduce the number of students in each cohort, with vocational and technical qualifications impacted most. In 2021/22, student numbers returned to pre-rule change levels, as expected.

Full details of the trigger change are set out in the section 'Changes introduced in the 2020/21 release' in the Quality and Methodology documentation.

Checking exercise and other amendments

This updated release is based on revised data. Since the release of provisional data in November, amendments to the data have been made. These include the addition of 'late' results from some Awarding Organisations, and changes made by schools and colleges through a 'checking exercise'.

The checking exercise takes place in the autumn term and gives schools and colleges the opportunity to amend their data. Some students are removed from a school or colleges results, for example because the student wasn't on roll or has not yet completed 16-18 study. Some students are added where they are flagged by a school or college as having completed 16-18 study despite not being triggered. Changes need to be approved to be included in revised data.

The 2021/22 academic year saw the return of the school and college checking exercise, after it was suspended in the two previous years. In this release data for 2019/20 and 2020/21 is labelled as 'final' data. This is provisional data adjusted for results from the autumn series for AS and A levels. (The autumn series gave students an opportunity to sit an exam if they were unhappy with the grade awarded to them through the alternative process). Data from 2019/20 and 2020/21 did not go through a checking exercise; schools and colleges did not have an opportunity to amend their data as described above.

The table shows the size of the change between provisional and revised/final data. Generally, the change in the numbers of students included in the data in 2021/22 is relatively small in terms of the overall cohort size, the exception being technical certificates where there are 655 more students in the revised release than the provisional (an increase of 87%). This increase is predominantly due to results being reported late by Awarding Organisations.

The size of the change between provisional and revised data is generally smaller in 2021/22 than in 2017/18 and 2018/19. Changes to the trigger rule were introduced to reduce the burden on schools and colleges. This gives an indication that the change is working as intended.

Change in the numbers of students between the provisional and revised/final data:

Cohort

Report year

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2020/21

2021/22

The table below shows the size of the change in the average point score between the provisional and the revised release. The changes are minimal. A change of 0.1 pts at A level / applied general / tech level is equivalent to 1/100th of a grade.

Change in Average Point Score (APS) per entry between the provisional and revised/final data.

Report year

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2020/21

2021/22

Unless stated otherwise statistics reported here refer to 16 to 18 year olds in England:

who reached the end of their 16 to 18 study in 2021/22. Students typically spend either two or three years in the 16 to 18 phase. (Usually, attainment includes results from qualifications entered during all those years. However, this year, attainment excludes results from qualifications that were awarded between January 2020 and August 2021).

who entered qualifications approved for reporting in 2022 school and college performance tables, set out in the 16 to 18 qualifications, discount codes and point scores guidance.

Qualifications are grouped into A level (subset of Academic), Applied General, and Tech Level exam cohorts at level 3, and Technical Certificates at level 2. Students can be reported in more than one exam cohort.

Student numbers by cohort

Students are included in this statistical release when they reach the end of their 16 to 18 study in schools and colleges in England. As set out in the Methodology guidance, the rules for determining when that happens changed in 2020/21, and students are no longer automatically triggered for reporting after spending two years in the same school or college.

The impact of the trigger change in 2020/21 was to reduce the number of students in each cohort, with vocational and technical qualifications impacted most. As expected, student numbers have generally returned to their pre-rule change level in 2021/22, with student numbers in all level 3 cohorts being higher than in 2019/20 and 2020/21.

Results for qualifications awarded between January 2020 and August 2021 have been excluded from the data. The technical certificate cohort has been substantially impacted by this change, as students are often not triggered for reporting until they turn 18, often a year or two after they complete the qualification. More detail is provided in the section 'Changes to the data in 2021/22', where in particular excluding CAG and TAG grades reduced reported technical certificate student numbers by 84%.

The growth in the number of students entered for applied general and tech level qualifications in 2021/22 approved for reporting in performance measures reflects the removal of funding approval from 1 August 2020 for pre-existing qualifications which were running in parallel with newer redeveloped qualifications. Prior to that numbers had been increasing more slowly following big falls in 2017/18 when qualifications were reformed. The number of students in the A level cohort, which includes students who only enter AS levels, has increased after several years of decline. (The previous decline reflected fewer AS level entries following the now completed A level reform to decouple A and AS levels.)

The overall growth in student numbers may also be partly attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some students reported here completed their pre-16 study in 2019/20 where higher grades were awarded via Centre Assessment Grades. These higher grades resulted in greater numbers of students applying for post-16 places and may have shifted some students away from level two technical certificates and into level 3 qualifications. There were also fewer alternative options available for these students in terms of apprenticeships and other employment opportunities ( Key stage 4 destination measures showed that a smaller proportion of students who completed key stage 4 in 2019/20 progressed to sustained apprenticeship or employment outcomes in 2020/21).

Disadvantage

Disadvantaged students are all students who were in receipt of pupil premium when they were in their last year of KS4.

Disadvantage measures do not include students who were not reported at the end of KS4 - for example, because they came from overseas. Students who were known to be at independent schools in their last year of KS4 are treated as non-disadvantaged.

Disadvantage measures cover students in state-funded schools or colleges.

23.6% of state-funded students, at the end of 16 to 18 study, were recorded as having disadvantaged status in 2021/22. The percentage of students examined in level 3 vocational and technical qualifications was generally in line with this. (Applied general 23.0% and tech level 23.0%). Disadvantages students were overrepresented at technical certificate with 32.4% of the cohort identified as having disadvantaged status. Disadvantaged students were underrepresented at A level with 14.3% of the cohort identified as having disadvantaged status.

Prior attainment

Prior attainment is a measure of the average points attained per qualification at Key Stage 4. Simple discounting rules apply, with the best result in any subject used when calculating the average point score at KS4. Any GCSE resits or additional qualifications gained during 16 to 18 are ignored. For the vast majority, prior attainment is between 0-9 reflecting the range of possible grades at GCSE (where 9 is the highest grade).

[Note, whilst results from January 2020 to August 2021 are removed from calculation of performance measures, for the purposes of this statistical release they will be retained when calculating a student's prior attainment to explain outcomes in performance measures, in the same way that outcomes nationally are broken down by gender, disadvantage, etc].

In 2021/22, 18.4% of students at the end of their 16 to 18 study had the highest prior attainment (grade 7+). The large majority of students with the highest prior attainment choose to study at least one A/AS level (94.8%). High attainers now make up 36.2% of the A level cohort compared to 4.7% of the applied general and 3.7% of the tech level cohort. The proportion of students with the highest prior attainment has increased year on year for each cohort since 2019/20 (from when KS4 prior attainment has been calculated in this release).

27.5% of students at the end of 16 to 18 study in 2021/22 had the lowest prior attainment (from grade 0 up to grade 4). The proportion of students with the lowest prior attainment has decreased year on year for each exam cohort since 2019/20.

This change in the distribution of prior attainment for exam cohorts, will in part reflect year on year grade increases at KS4 and in part reflect that the majority of students at the end of 16-18 study in 2021/22 will have completed KS4 in 2019/20, and whose GCSE prior attainment will include Centre Assessment Grades (CAG).

Summary

These figures give the average points and average result that students achieved throughout their 16 to 18 study. Results awarded between January 2020 and August 2021 have been excluded from this data. (See the section 'Changes to the data in 2021/22). While the majority of results come from the student's final year of study (in particular for A levels), a small number of results awarded prior to January 2020 are included.

Points are given to all qualifications so we can compare qualifications of different size and grading structures. A maximum of 60 points are available for A level, 50 points for applied general and tech level and 8 points for technical certificates. More information on points, APS bands and grade boundaries can be found in the technical guide for 16 to 18 accountability measures (from page 27).

In September 2021 Ofqual announced that 2022 will be a transition year where the aim was for exam results to broadly reflect a midway point between 2021 and 2019. Consequently, the average results are lower in 2021/22 across all level 3 cohorts than in 2020/21.

A level programmes have seen the largest decrease (2.8 pts, compared to 0.7 pts for applied general and 1.1 pts for tech level). This is as expected due to the larger increases seen in A level grades between 2018/19 and 2020/21 relative to the vocational and technical qualifications. Technical certificates have seen a small increase (0.2 pts) in the average points score. However, interpretation of this increase is undermined by a 58% drop in cohort numbers. Given that 84% of technical certificate students have been excluded form the data (see 'Changes to the data in 2021/22'), technical certificate results will not be discussed in the breakdowns, however the data is available in the table builder tool.

For all Level 3 cohorts, the average result remains the same as in 2020/21.

At A level, the South East, London and East of England tend to do better, being on or near the top in the last 3 years. These same regions have ranked in the bottom 4 for applied general in the same time period.

The North West is in the top half of the table for both A level and applied general, although the region dipped in both exam cohorts in 2020/21 when teacher assessed grades were used.

The East Midlands is in the bottom half of the table for both A level and applied general. The region attained the lowest A level results this year.

Regional rankings are more variable for tech levels (which may be attributable to the smaller total number of tech level entries).

Average results by disadvantage status

The 2021/22 disadvantage gap has increased in comparison to last year for the A level cohort and has remained stable for applied general and tech level cohorts. For the level 3 exam cohorts, the average point score has decreased for both disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students, however for A level students, the decrease was larger for disadvantaged students.

The disadvantage gap for Level 3 cohorts is at its widest point since the measure was introduced in 2016/17. (NB, this statistical release contains data for the last 5 years back to 2017/18, but disadvantage data was first published based on 2016/17 revised data).

To get a fuller picture on the impact of disadvantage status, this data should be looked at in conjunction with data on retention rates (the percentage of students who have completed their main study programme at a provider). In 2020/21, 94.3% of non-disadvantaged A level students were retained and assessed compared to 88.5% of disadvantaged students. Students are only included in the average point score measure if they are entered for examination i.e. if they are retained and assessed. More information on 2020/21 retention can be found in the 2020/21 version of this statistical release. An update to this statistical release with 2021/22 retention figures will be released on 30th March 2023.

Average results by gender

For the level 3 exam cohorts, both female and male students saw a drop in average attainment in 2021/22 when compared to 2020/21. The decrease was larger for female students than male students, which has resulted in a narrowing of the gender gap compared to last year.

When compared to 2018/19, the gender gap is slightly wider for A level students, but slightly narrower for applied general students in 2021/22. For tech level students the gender gap has reversed such that in 2018/19 it was in favour of male students, but since 2020/21 it has been in favour of female students.

The gender gap for the percentage of students achieving at least 2 A levels has been continuously decreasing for the past 5 years, falling from 5.2 ppts in 2017/18 to 0.9 ppts in 2021/22 in favour of female students.

Average results by ethnicity

Of the major ethnicity groups, Black or Black British students attained the lowest average result across all level 3 cohorts in 2021/22. At A level, Black or Black British students' attainment was almost a full grade lower than that of Chinese students. The rank order of attainment by ethnicity has remained almost unchanged at A level through the COVID-19 pandemic and the changes to the grading processes.

Prior attainment

Typically, the higher the average KS4 prior attainment, the higher the average outcome at the end of 16 to 18 study, regardless of the programme of study.

The attainment gap between students with the highest and lowest prior attainment has remained stable throughout different grading processes since 2019/20 (when this prior attainment data is available). The attainment gap at A level is around 25 pts (or 2.5 grades) and at applied general and tech level is around 19 pts (or just under 2 grades).

Average results for other student characteristics

Breakdowns of other student characteristics, including SEN provision, first language and more, are available in the featured tables and create your own tables sections of this statistical release.

This year we have introduced a new data file to this statistical release called 'Attainment and other performance measures - student characteristics and disadvantage status'. This data file gives more detail about disadvantaged students by breaking down the disadvantaged status of students by other student characteristics. In breaking down the data in this way we hope to be able to better identify how student characteristics interact. The following sections show some illustrative analyses.

Disadvantage and prior attainment

The distribution of disadvantaged students is uneven across the prior attainment bands. At A level, 9.3% of students in state-funded institutions with the highest prior attainment (grade 7+) have disadvantaged status, while 27.8% with prior attainment from grade 0 up to grade 4 have disadvantaged status.

At A level the disadvantage gap for students with the lowest prior attainment was 1.3 pts in 2021/22 or just over 1/10th of a grade. The gap increased to 2.8 pts for A level students with prior attainment from grade 4 up to grade 7 and 3.5 pts (or just over 1/3 of a grade) for students with the highest prior attainment.

The increase in the overall A level disadvantage gap was driven by the increase in the disadvantage gap for students with the highest prior attainment. (Up 0.9 pts from 2.7 pts in 2020/21). There was a small increase for those with prior attainment of grade 4 up to grade 7 (up 0.2 pts from 2.6 pts) and the gap stayed steady for those with prior attainment of grade 0 up to grade 4.

Disadvantage and other student characteristics

Across level 3 exam cohorts, non-disadvantaged students with English as their first language obtained higher average results than students with a first language other than English. However, the reverse is true for disadvantaged students. Here students with a first language other than English achieved higher average results.

Disadvantaged Black or Black British students attained the lowest average results in 2021/22 of any ethnicity across level 3 cohorts. Non-disadvantaged Black or Black British students also attained lower average results than their non-disadvantaged peers. White students had the biggest disadvantage gaps (of students with known ethnicity) across level 3 cohorts.

The disadvantage gap remains greater for female students in all level 3 cohorts, as it has since 2019/20.

Summary

Data in this section covers A level entries and results for all students aged 16-18 at the start of the respective year. Students don't need to be triggered for inclusion in this data, so it is not impacted by the change in the 'trigger' rules, introduced in 2020/21, that determined when a student had reached the end of 16-18 study. It is also not impacted by removing CAG and TAG grades from data for 2021/22.

The chart below shows the distribution of A level grades for students aged 16 to 18 for each academic year. Overall, the proportion of entries achieving top grades (between A* and B) has decreased in comparison to 2020/21 but remains higher than 2018/19.

In 2021/22, 14.8% of awarded grades were at A*. This is an increase of 6.9ppts from 2018/19, but a decrease of 4.3ppts from 2020/21. The percentage of entries achieving A*-A grades is now 36.4%, which similarly corresponds to an increase of 10.6ppts compared to 2018/19 but a decrease of 7.9ppts from 2020/21. As previously noted however, year on year comparisons cannot be interpreted as students achieving at a higher standard. Where achievement gaps alter in 2019/20 and 2020/21 compared to previous years, it might reflect the different process by which grades were awarded across these years.

A level results by gender

Overall, in 2021/22 both male and female students were more likely to be awarded the higher A level grades (A*/A/B) than in 2018/19 but less likely than in 2020/21.

Across the top A* and A*-A grades the gender gap has decreased in comparison to 2020/21. Female students continue to be more likely to achieve these grades, which has been the trend for the last three years (since 2019/20) when a reversal of the gender gap was observed.

At A*-B the gap between female and male student achievement had been continuously increasing since 2017/18, however this year the gender gap has reduced from 6.9ppts in 2020/21 to 4.7ppts.

Data is this section covers A level entries and results for all students aged 16 to 18 at the start of respective year. Students don't need to be triggered for inclusion in this data, so it is not impacted by the change in the 'trigger' rules, introduced in 2020/21, that determined when a student had reached the end of 16 to 18 study. It is also not impacted by removing CAG and TAG grades from data for 2021/22.

STEM subjects here are defined as: biology, chemistry, physics, maths, further maths, and computing.

A level grades in STEM subjects

For 2021/22, the proportion of students achieving top grades (A*, A*-A, A*-B) in STEM subjects compared to 2020/21 has fallen. At A*, the largest decrease was in further maths (8.4ppts) and the smallest decrease was in physics (4.7ppts).

The STEM subjects have generally seen large increases in the proportion of students achieving top grades when compared to 2018/19. The largest increase at A* was further maths rising by 15.7ppts, and the smallest increase was in biology at 6.3ppts. The A*-A grade boundary also observed large increases in the proportion of entries achieving these grades, ranging from computer science (17.1ppts increase) to maths (6.6ppts increase).

This section replaces one that usually describes outcomes in the English and maths progress accountability measures. These are not being created in 2021/22 in Find School and College Performance Data due to the impact of excluding CAG and TAG grades on this measure (set out in more detail in the 16 to 18 accountability measures: technical guide).

These alternative data have been published as part of this statistical release since 2015/16. Coverage is all entries and outcomes in below level 3 English and maths qualifications for students aged 16 to 18 at the start of the respective year. Unlike data based on students at the end of 16-18 study, it means these data are not impacted by the trigger change in 2020/21, and not impacted by removing CAG and TAG grades from data for 2021/22.

It also means a student here can be reported in successive years, for example at age 16 in 2019/20, at age 17 in 2020/21, and at age 18 in 2021/22 if they entered exams in each year.

The tables below focus on GCSEs, and Functional Skills qualifications at level 2, level 1 and Entry level which make up the large majority of English and maths qualifications entered below level 3 (though outcomes for Other level 2, level 1, and Entry Level qualifications are available via the 'Explore data and files' section).

Fewer students are entering below level 3 maths and English qualifications

Most students aged 16 to 18 enter below level 3 English and maths qualifications because they did not achieve a GCSE pass at grade 9-4 or equivalent during key stage 4, and so are required to continue to study those subjects under Condition of Funding rules (CoF).

The overall fall observed in the number of below level 3 entries across both English and maths in GCSEs and Functional Skills is consistent with data published in Key Stage 4 performance showing an increasing proportion of pupils achieving grades 4 or above in English and maths GCSE during key stage 4 ( increasing from 59.8% in 2018/19 to 67.1% in 2020/21 in provisional data) - and so not being required to study below level 3 English or maths during the 16-18 phase.

An additional factor explaining the big fall in entries at GCSE from 2019/20 to 2021/22 (-27% English, -12% maths) is the higher proportion of GCSE entries in 2019/20 and 2020/21 during the 16-18 phase that resulted in a grade 9-4 pass, when grades were awarded through the CAG and TAG processes, because once a student achieves a 9-4 GCSE pass during 16-18 they no longer have to continue studying English and/or maths the following year.

Achievement of Level 2 English and maths through GCSE and Functional Skills qualifications

Many more age 16-18 students enter GCSEs (a level 1/level 2 qualification) than are entered for Functional skills (distinct qualifications at level 2, level 1 and Entry level).

Overall pass rates are broadly comparable at GCSE and L1 and L2 Functional skills. Given that the prior attainment distributions are similar at GCSE and level 2 functional skills (see table below), we might have expected to see a higher level 2 pass rate (grades 9-4) at GCSE. Although it is difficult to make direct comparisons due to range of grades available within the GCSE qualification.

Qualification KS4 Prior Attainment English entries in 2021/22 Proportion of English entries at prior attainment band maths entries in 2021/22 Proportion of maths entries at prior attainment band

All level 1 and level 2 qualifications have had decreases in their pass rates in 2021/22. Mathematics qualifications have seen much larger decreases than English across all qualifications.

Maths L2 functional skills decreased by 20.8 ppts to 63.6% (12.0 ppts fall in English to 81.0%). Maths L1 functional skills decreased by 10.2 ppts to 85.4% (English fall, 3.3ppts to 94.0%). For maths GCSE the overall pass rate (grade 9-1) decreased by 5.8ppts to 84.9% (English decreased by 3.7 ppts to 85.8%) and the level 2 pass rate (grade 9-4) also decreased 16.7ppts to 15.3% for Maths and 13.9ppts to 25.7% for English

In contrast, at KS4 the English language GCSE level 2 pass rate (grade 9-4) fell by more than maths. English language fell by 4.0 ppts and maths by 3.1ppts between 2020/21 and 2021/22 (provisional data).

Pass rates in English and maths at level 2 by institution type

GCSE entries by students at independent schools are most likely to pass at level 2, but it should be noted that Condition of Funding rules are not relevant for these schools, and these students may be resitting GCSEs to improve their KS4 grade, which could have already been at grade 4 or above. Amongst state-funded institutions, students in schools are consistently most likely to pass GCSE at level 2, then sixth form colleges and other FE sector colleges in both English and maths in 2020/21 and 2021/22.

Level 2 Functional Skills entries: within state-funded institutions sixth form colleges and 'Other FE sector' colleges are consistently more likely to pass than schools. Most entries in L2 Functional Skills are in 'Other FE sector' colleges.

Applied general, tech level, and technical certificate qualifications approved for reporting in this statistical release (and institution level performance data) are updated annually and published on gov.uk:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/performance-tables-technical-and-vocational-qualifications
The concept of qualifications approved for reporting has been applied since 2015/16 following Professor Alison Wolf's Review of Vocational Education. From 2017/18 at level 3 and from 2018/19 for technical certificates, the quality threshold for vocational and technical qualifications to be included in performance measures further increased. The later reforms include criteria relating to the size, content, and assessment, including a requirement that a proportion of a qualification's content is subject to external assessment. From 1 August 2020 the ESFA removed funding approval for pre-existing applied general and tech level qualifications (which had been approved in 2015/16 and 2016/17) which were running in parallel with newer redeveloped qualifications.

The measures presented in this section show the students entering these approved qualifications as a proportion of students entering a wider set of vocational qualifications that had been approved by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) for funding during 16 to 18 study.

Proportions entering approved tech level and applied general qualifications continue to increase following a large fall in 2017/18 (when both lists of approved qualifications changed substantially), with a jump in students entering reformed versions of qualifications in 21/22 (in part attributable to the defunding of unreformed pre-existing qualifications).

The coverage of the measure for technical certificates is strongly impacted by the removal of CAG and TAG data from 2021/22 accountability data (as coverage is students at the end of 16-18 study, and level 2 vocational qualifications are more often entered during a student's first year of 16-18 study and so are excluded from the calculation).

The following table shows that there is variation in whether different institution types enter students for qualifications approved for reporting in performance tables versus the wider set of qualifications that were approved for funding.

Overall students in state-funded schools continue to be most likely to enter reformed versions of vocational and technical qualifications at level 3 (reformed in 2017/18), but 2021/22 saw a marked increase in the proportion of students entering approved/reformed applied general and tech levels across all broad institution types.

Introduction to retention measures

The Retention measure shows the percentage of students who are retained to the end of the 'core aim' (or main learning aim) of their study programme at a school or college.

Students are counted as retained if they are recorded as having "completed the learning activities leading to the learning aim" by their institution. This information is collected in the school census or for students that attended sixth form or FE colleges, the Individualised Learner Record (ILR).

Retention measures are not calculated for independent schools or special schools (both independent and maintained) as learning aims data is not available for these schools.

The Retention measure is calculated by dividing the total number of students retained by the total number of students with a core aim, in each of the five programmes approved for reporting in performance tables: academic, A level, applied general, tech level, and at level 2, technical certificate programmes.

Since academic programmes comprise largely of A levels, only data for A level core aims are described here; overall data for academic programmes can be found in the 'create your own tables' section and in the underlying data available to download.

Alongside the headline Retention measure there are two supporting retention measures:

Retained and Assessed: The percentage of students who are retained to the end of their course and are assessed.

Returned and Retained for a second year: The percentage of level 3 students who return to the same provider and complete their programme of study in their second year. (The main difference when compared to Retention is for students who complete their core aim in one year.)

A fuller description of the methodology underlying retention measures can be found in the 16-18 technical guide (from page 41).

Retention measures and the impact of the trigger change in 2020/21

The impact of the trigger rule change, meaning that students were no longer automatically reported after two years in 16-18 study, was to reduce the reported number of students in scope for retention measures across all exam cohorts in 2020/21, with the biggest impact on vocational and technical cohorts (VTQs).

For retention measures, this meant that Retention rates were slightly increased in 2020/21 for level 3 cohorts (A level, applied general, tech level) than would have been seen otherwise. However, the impact on the level 2 technical certificate cohort was a large decrease in Retention rates (and in cohort size).

Fuller analysis on the impact on 2020/21 retention data can be found in the methodology document, in the section 'Changes introduced in the 2020/21 release', under the heading 'Impact of the trigger change on headline retention rates'.

Students whose reporting was delayed for one year due to the 2020/21 trigger change are reported in 2021/22. In other words, the impact of the trigger change was one-off discontinuity in retention data for 2020/21. For this reason, when looking at trends, data for 2021/22 is better compared to data for 2019/20 and earlier years.

All level 3 study programmes show increases in Retention rates in 2021/22 (A level +0.1 pts to 95.1%; applied general +1.8 pts to 91.7%; tech level +0.5 ppts to 91.1%). This continues a trend of increasing Retention rates since 2018/19. A level programmes continue to have the highest Retention rate as has been the case since the measure was introduced in 2015/16, but for the first time applied general programmes have a higher Retention rate than tech levels programmes.

Technical certificates have had lower Retention rates than Level 3 cohorts since being added to performance measures in 2016/17. However, they have seen an increase in Retention rate this year (+4.5 ppts to 86.6%), recovering from the impact of the trigger change that was seen last year and returning to previously-seen levels.

For the A level and applied general cohorts, rates for the Retained and Assessed measure have increasingly followed the same general trend as the Retention rate in recent years. Similarly, the Returned and Retained measure now also follows the same trend. This is most notable for the A level cohort where the phased decoupling of AS and A levels predominantly between 2017 and 2019 has resulted in a much smaller proportion of the A level cohort taking AS levels only and not then returning for a second year of study.

The tech level cohort shows a slightly different pattern this year whereby the Retained and Assessed rate has dropped slightly despite increases in both the Retained rate (retention to the end of the course) and the Returned and Retained rate (retention specifically over two years of a course). This means that within this cohort there was an increase in the proportion of students not being assessed at the end of their course .

The much smaller technical certificate cohort (Level 2) was heavily impacted by the trigger change in 2020/21 and shows less stable trends. In addition, the low cohort numbers mean that breakdowns of the technical certificate data, by student characteristics become increasingly unreliable, and therefore this cohort isn't discussed further.

Due to the similarity in the trends shown by the three retention measures, in particular for the two largest cohorts (A level and applied general), our further narrative will focus on the Retained and Assessed measure. Further breakdowns of the Retention measure and the Returned and Retained measure across all qualification cohorts are available in underlying data and through the table builder.

The Retained and Assessed rate is higher for non-disadvantaged students across all level 3 cohorts. Disadvantaged tech level students are least likely to be Retained and Assessed at 79.1%, which is 7.1 ppts lower than their non-disadvantaged peers. The Retained and Assessed disadvantage gap is smaller for A level and applied general (5.6 ppts and 5.3 ppts respectively).

The disadvantage gap has been narrowing for the A level cohort since 2018/19 (from 8.4 ppts to 5.6 ppts). Similarly, the applied general cohort has, overall, seen a substantial decrease in the gap in that time (from 7.9 ppts to 5.6 ppts). In contrast, the tech level cohort did not consolidate an initial decrease in the gap in 2019/20 and is now only slightly smaller than in 2018/19 (from 7.6 ppts to 7.1 ppts).

Changes to the distribution of prior attainment at A level between 2017/18 and 2021/22

The coverage of the retention measures is different to the attainment measures, and is described above in 'Retention: introduction and changes to the data in 2021/22'. The largest difference is that independent schools are excluded from the data, and this impacts the distribution of the prior attainment groups as students from independent schools have higher prior attainment on average.

The distribution of prior attainment has changed over time for all cohorts. The proportion of A level students with low prior attainment (from grade 0 up to grade 4) has decreased from 8.1% of the cohort in 2017/18 to 1.9% in 2021/22. High prior attaining students (average grade 7 or more) have increased their proportion of the cohort from 16.1% in 2017/18 to 35.3% in 2021/22.

This increase in the proportion of KS4 students achieving grades averaging 7 or more, in part reflects year on year grade increases at KS4, and in part reflects that most A level students at the end of 16-18 study in 2021/22 will have completed KS4 in 2019/20, and so their GCSE prior attainment will include Centre Assessment Grades (CAG).

However, in the vocational and technical cohorts, a larger proportion of students are being reported after three years in 16-18, hence prior attainment for these cohorts is less affected by CAGs. This is following delay in their reporting last year due to the change in the rule in 2020/21 triggering students for reporting.

Overall, students with the highest average prior attainment (grade 7+) are most likely to be Retained and Assessed in their main programme of study and students with the lowest prior attainment (grade 0 up to grade 4) the least likely to be Retained and Assessed. The highest Retained and Assessed rate is for high prior attaining A level students at 98.7%. The lowest Retained and Assessed rate is also for A level students. Low prior attaining A level students have a Retained and Assessed rate of 66.0%.

The Retained and Assessed rate for low prior attaining A level students has fallen and is now close to the 2018/19 rate, whereas the rate remains higher for other level 3 cohorts.

A full breakdown of all three retention measures by a range of other student characteristics is available through the table builder. Here, we draw attention to small number of breakdowns that may be of interest.

English Language

Across all level 3 cohorts, students with English as their first language have lower Retained and Assessed rates than students who do not. The difference is driven by poor rates for disadvantaged students with English as their first language.

The applied general cohort similarly has an increase in the Retained and Assessed rate since last year for all major (known) ethnicity groups and shows many of the same trends between groups. The Chinese ethnic group has the highest Retained and Assessed rates since 2018/19 (now at 95.8%) and the Black or Black British ethnic group and the Mixed Dual background ethnic group have made the biggest improvements in Retained and Assessed rates over recent years (+9.9 ppts to 89.1%, +9.9 ppts to 87.0% respectively). Again, the White ethnic group shows the largest disadvantage gap and White disadvantaged students have the lowest rates for Retained and Assessed.

The tech level cohort and the technical certificate cohort have very low numbers in some ethnic groups, and show less distinct patterns over recent years.

For the A level cohort, state-funded mainstream schools and Sixth form colleges have seen an increase in rates for Retained and Assessed this year (+1.5 ppts to 95.4% and +0.5 ppts to 92.3% respectively). In contrast, 'Other FE sector colleges' have seen a decrease (-2.3 ppts to 88.2%). However, the decrease for 'Other FE sector colleges' follows very large increases last year; the relative rates of the three major institution types have returned to levels seen before the change to the trigger rule.

There have also been decreases in the Retained and Assessed rate for 'Other FE sector colleges' in the applied general and tech level cohorts, following larger increases in the previous two years. All state-funded mainstream schools continue to have the lowest Retained and Assessed rates for applied general and tech level qualifications. This has been the case since 2018/19.

This data is available through the 'Explore data and files' section in the file called 'Time series - APS per entry by institution type'.

In addition it is accessible through the dashboard linked below. The dashboard combines data from this statistical release (covering the last 5 years) with selected older data compiled from previous versions of the 'A level and other 16 to 18 results' statistical release:
16-18 Time-series attainment and single year entries
On the left-hand side, clicking on the link ' Attainment: APS per entry and average result' brings up the dashboard with attainment data in terms of APS per entry.

Data including the applied general and tech level cohorts starts in 2015/16 (when these cohorts were first defined in this statistical release, and school and college data). Data for the A level cohort starts in 2012/13.

This data is available through the 'Explore data and files' section in the file called 'Time series - A level subject entries and grade by gender'.

In addition it is accessible through the dashboard linked below. The dashboard combines data from this statistical release (covering the last 5 years) with selected older data compiled from previous versions of the 'A level and other 16 to 18 results' statistical release:
16-18 Time-series attainment and single year entries
On the left-hand side, clicking on the link ' Attainment: A level entries and grade distribution' brings up the dashboard with A level entries data by subject, and A level grades by subject.

These data cover A level entries by students aged 16 to 18 within each academic year from 1995/96.

We have moved our Transition Matrices tool into a web based app for easier use. It is available at the following link:
16-18 Transition Matrices
Transition matrices (TM) are a useful tool to help visualise the progression from different groups of attainment at key stage 4 (KS4) to outcomes achieved during 16 to 18 for a range of different subjects.

Note that the 16 to 18 outcomes here will also be impacted by the different process to award grades in 2022, which is likely to impact the relationship between outcomes and KS4 prior attainment in 2021/22 for subjects.

Help and support

Methodology

Find out how and why we collect, process and publish these statistics.

National statistics

These accredited official statistics have been independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics. Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

Accreditation signifies their compliance with the authority's Code of Practice for Statistics which broadly means these statistics are:

managed impartially and objectively in the public interest

meet identified user needs

produced according to sound methods

well explained and readily accessible

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).

OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

If you have a specific enquiry about A level and other 16 to 18 results statistics and data:

Attainment statistics team

Email: Attainment.STATISTICS@education.gov.uk
Contact name: Michael Greer

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A level and other 16 to 18 results, Academic year 2021/22

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This academic year saw the return of the summer exam series, after they had been cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, where alternative processes were set up to award grades.

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Published: 19th January 2023
"We expect that overall results in summer 2023 will be much closer to the pre-pandemic years than results since 2020. In other words, we expect that overall, nationally, results in 2023 will be lower than they were in 2022."

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Good afternoon. It is a pleasure to be with you this afternoon as Chair of Ofqual. Unfortunately, the Chief Regulator is unable to be with us today, which I know she very much regrets. She spoke to your winter conference last year in remote format, but it's obviously much better to be here face to face and talk in person.

And what a difference a year makes. Last year saw the very welcome return of a normal series of examinations and formal assessments, or nearly normal. Thank you for everything you did to enable those to run smoothly in your colleges. I know it wasn't always easy but we had a really good outcome for young people, nonetheless.

I will be saying something later on exams this summer, but I wanted to start with what is happening on the review of level 3 qualifications, including, for example, courses like BTECs at level 3, but also the whole range of alternative academic and technical qualifications at level 3.

I know that there are questions and potentially some concerns about what is happening, including the approval process for continued funding, and why all this is happening, so I thought it might be helpful for me to offer a brief overview.

Aside from a small number of exceptions, all level 3 alternative academic and technical qualifications (qualifications at level 3 which are not T Levels or A levels, like for example level 3 BTECS, alongside many others) are being required to re-apply for funding as part of a government-led streamlining programme for these qualifications.

The government's aim for this exercise is in essence threefold:

firstly, to simplify the landscape, including addressing what is seen as in some cases unnecessary duplication where that exists

to drive up the quality of qualifications and the assessment that underpins them

and to ensure that appropriate priority is given to T Levels and their place in the landscape

These alternative and technical qualifications constitute a large and complex area in comparison, say, with A levels and T Levels. For example, there are more than 60 awarding organisations offering the qualifications that are in scope, and several thousand different level 3 qualifications in the alternative academic and technical space.

Some of these are large entry and well known to you in your colleges, and some, of course, are very small in terms of entry, and not likely to be on your radar as college leaders.

Last week the government published details of their new qualifications funding approval process for qualifications at level 3. Talking to your colleagues, I know that that is under scrutiny by your representatives and I am sure debate will continue. What the document sets out to do is bring clarity on what type of L3 qualifications are likely to be publicly funded alongside A levels and T Levels, and bring clarity on the timescales.

I recommend that you take a look at this for more detailed information. I believe the Department for Education will be running some webinars to look at some of this in more detail, which may be useful for colleagues here as well.

As part of the process that awarding organisations are going through, re-applying for funding, we, Ofqual, are contributing by providing qualitative feedback to the DfE on each qualification where funding is being reapplied for, as well as on the awarding organisation itself.

This means that these qualifications are coming under much greater individual regulatory scrutiny than has been the case up to now. Ofqual has put in place a range of higher expectations relating to quality that we expect awarding organisations to meet in their reapplications. It is against those expectations that we provide our qualitative feedback to the DfE and the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE).

As the process plays out, the DfE is taking decisions on funding for the reapplications it receives taking into consideration the quality-based advice Ofqual provides, as well as the contribution of IfATE, that represents the employer voice.

It is probably important to flag that the government absolutely recognises that, alongside the aim of simplifying the landscape, there will, in the future, still need to be a range of qualifications at L3 available alongside A levels and T Levels.

For many students these qualifications are important, not only as vehicles for their continued education and engagement in education, but also because they provide important routes for further study or employment. So there will likely be many decisions to approve applications for funding, alongside decisions not to continue to fund.

You might be wondering what this means for you as a college leader.

In short, unless you are a college which offers only A levels and GCSEs, or T Levels, it is almost certain you will be offering some of these qualifications, maybe for example level 3 BTECs or equivalent.

It is also at least possible that the government will determine that some of those qualifications do not meet the criteria for continued funding, which may mean you will need to take decisions about changing the portfolio of courses you provide in the interests of your students to reflect what is available and funded in the future. So following this process, including through your representatives in this association, to make sure that you are up to speed with decisions being taken is critically important. I am sure you will also continue to make your views heard.

Grading in 2023

Moving on now, I will now say something about arrangements for grading GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2023. We published our plans back in September so that higher education institutions could factor in decisions that were being made about grading before they embarked on their offer-making, and of course because some of you will have been arriving at UCAS predictions for students. We felt it was important you had as much information as possible before you started that process. Our plans for 2023 take us a step further on the road to normality, building on what happened in 2022, while also recognising the impact of the pandemic.

You will recall that in summer 2022, we aimed for a staging post on the way back to more normal grading. In 2023, we will return to pre-pandemic grading, but with some protection in place for your students, a soft landing, if you like.

Students in the 2023 cohort have not, during their exam courses, experienced the level of national school or college closures experienced by students in the 2 years before them. But I know, from listening to teachers, college leaders and students themselves, that many have certainly experienced some level of disruption.

So, to achieve that extra bit of protection, Ofqual will put in place the same sort of safeguards used for the first students taking reformed GCSEs and A levels from 2017 onwards.

Back in the reform context, that meant not disadvantaging students in the first cohorts if overall they performed less well because they were the first to sit the new exams.

So how will it work this summer? In practice, as in any year, grade boundaries for every specification will be set by senior examiners after they have reviewed the work produced by students in their exams.

But those senior examiners will be guided in their decisions about where to set grade boundaries by information about the grades achieved in pre-pandemic years, along with prior attainment data for the cohort.

So that means students in 2023 will be protected in grading terms if their examination performance in 2023 is a little lower than it might have been had the pandemic not taken place. That is what I mean by a soft landing.

What that means is, a typical student who would have achieved an A grade in their A level geography before the pandemic will be just as likely to get an A in summer 2023, even if their performance in the assessments is a little weaker in 2023 than it might have been before the pandemic.

We expect that overall results in summer 2023 will be much closer to the pre-pandemic years than results since 2020. In other words, we expect that overall, nationally, results in 2023 will be lower than they were in 2022.

Individual providers, including colleges and schools, should be prepared for this. I know, as a school leader myself, it's worrying if you look at figures that are lower than the previous year.

It's important that we don't compare the results in 2022 with any other year. Lower results in 2023 compared with 2022 will not mean, by itself, that your college's performance has fallen. It will be much more likely to reflect the return nationally to normal grading standards.

It is important to note that, while we aim to return pretty much to normal grading in 2023, this does not mean there is any nationally pre-determined 'quota' of grades. Every set of grade boundaries, qualification by qualification, is determined by human, senior examiners, taking account of all the information they have available, including actual student performance.

I did want to sound one note of caution: if you are using summer or autumn 2022 papers as mock or trial exams, the grade boundaries set for those papers are likely to be more generous, reflecting the approach we took in 2022, both summer and autumn. Do bear that in mind if you are using the results from mocks to give indicative grades for students being examined this year.

For vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) taken alongside or instead of GCSEs and A levels, awarding organisations are expected to take account of the grading approach being used in GCSEs and A levels. So for VTQ qualifications certificating in 2023, this also means a return to normal grading arrangements.

And a word about universities and higher education: decisions about grading by themselves have no effect on the number of higher education places available. That is determined by other factors and has got nothing to do with grading decisions.

Universities themselves will take account of how exams will be graded when they make their offers, including any differences between the 4 nations of the UK (which already exist). Universities are well-experienced in factoring those in to their offering arrangements.

UCAS wrote out to all schools just after Ofqual announced our grading decision, to explain how offers will be made this year, and to confirm that universities would take our grading decision into account. The Chief Regulator also wrote to admissions officers just before Christmas.

Formulae/equation sheets, MFL and resilience

Further points on 2023: there are one or two changes to support students taking GCSEs. Students will be given formulae sheets for GCSE maths and revised equation sheets for GCSE physics and combined science, which we did in 2022 for those GCSEs. This will give some additional reassurance to GCSE students in the exam itself.

And for modern foreign languages GCSEs, Ofqual's changed requirements mean that exams do not have to test unfamiliar vocabulary. That's to make it feel a bit more accessible for students this year.

Delivering exams

Turning now to resilience, the arrangements in place should the unthinkable happen in summer 2023. Clearly the closer we get to the summer, the less likely that becomes, but we've all learned to be cautious in how we predict the future. In November, Ofqual and the DfE jointly published guidance on resilience, in the very unlikely event that exams are not able to go ahead as planned. Some colleges may be running mock exams now and I know this is a big operation, particularly in colleges such as yours with large cohorts of students. You are also, simultaneously, preparing students to take their end of year exams. Ofqual was conscious of this when we published the guidance.

The thrust of that guidance, designed to minimise the burden on you and your students, is that any assessment opportunities you plan should be in line with your normal approaches, as far as possible.

As well as all the work you do to prepare your students to take their assessments through your teaching and learning, we know that the administration and delivery of exams is something you take seriously. We take our hats off to people in colleges leading the examinations operation.

It is enormously complex, but there is training and support available, and I encourage you to make sure those who are charged with doing this work get access to the range of training available for them so they can benefit from it and deliver as well as possible on behalf of students.

If you've looked at the GCSE and A level exam timetables for next year, you'll see there are some changes from 2022.

The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) listened to feedback about the spacing between exams in the same subject in summer 2022. They have taken this on board for 2023.

They will largely be preserving those gaps, to reduce the risk of students missing all exams in a subject, but the spacing between some papers is slightly less next summer.

I did just want to draw your attention to the contingency days that they have built in. Both the 8 and 15 June will be 'contingency afternoons' and the 28 June will be a contingency day in case there is national or local disruption that would mean exams had to be re-scheduled.

Do please let your students know about this and remind them that they might have to be available on those dates. It's particularly important for them to be aware if they are planning holidays.

There are more details on the JCQ website, and a quick plug for Ofqual's resources as well: every year we provide a guide for students and a guide for schools and colleges. These will be published in the spring, and always live somewhere central on our website. I hope you'll be able to point your students to them.

Vocational and technical qualification results in 2023

And finally, just as Ofqual regulates in the interests of students of all ages and apprentices, we are also convinced of the need for parity of treatment for students across the different sorts of qualifications your colleges provide, whether vocational or academic.

So I wanted to reassure you that we have in train a series of actions to prevent a repeat of the delayed results in vocational and technical qualifications that we saw last August. I know this affected some of you and your students.

We were shocked by what became apparent in August. Not only that around 20,000 students from 1,550 centres had delayed results, but that for some time, there hadn't been a single date by which VTQ students could expect results - even when they were used for progression. That is not acceptable and Ofqual will work with the sector to fix this, not just for this summer, but for the long term and in the interests of being fair to students taking these qualifications.

Our investigation of the awarding organisations involved continues, as does our review of the extent of the problem. We will consider whether enforcement action is appropriate after that concludes.

In December, we published the 5 key actions that Ofqual, working with you and others in the sector, will deliver.

These actions cover a range of areas, and there isn't time to cover them in detail here. They include putting in place clear deadlines, improving data sharing, introducing check-ins for colleges and awarding organisations, improving information accessibility about these qualifications, improving communications from awarding organisations to centres, improving training for staff running exams, and monitoring the implementation of all this via a joint taskforce from around the sector chaired by the Chief Regulator.

We are certain that taken together these actions will to a very significant extent address the issues we saw playing out this summer (and which to a greater or lesser extent have been endemic in the system).

Thank you very much for your attention - I think we still have a few moments for any questions.

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Sir Ian Bauckham CBE at the Sixth Form Colleges Association winter conference

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Ofqual's Chair looks ahead to assessment and examination results in 2023.

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Inspiration Teaching School Hub: Spring Newsletter

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Inspiration Teaching School Hub: Spring Newsletter

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For schools in Mid, South and East Norfolk

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Julian Teaching School Hub: NPQ IN LEADING TEACHING

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Julian Teaching School Hub: NPQ IN LEADING TEACHING

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February 2023 Start

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Julian Teaching School Hub: NPQ IN SENIOR LEADERSHIP

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Julian Teaching School Hub: NPQ IN SENIOR LEADERSHIP

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February 2023 Start

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Ofqual: Letter to Heads and Principals - arrangements for exams and assessments in 2023

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Ofqual: Letter to Heads and Principals - arrangements for exams and assessments in 2023

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Published: 9th December 2022

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Thank you to you and your colleagues for the vital part you played in the successful return to exams and formal assessments earlier this year. Over one million students received more than 5 million qualifications despite the disruption caused by the pandemic. From talking to teachers and students wh…

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DfE: T Levels capital fund for September 2024

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DfE: T Levels capital fund for September 2024

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Deadline: Midday on 3 February 2023

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Stay at home

Only go outside for food, health reasons or work (but only if you cannot work from home)

If you go out, stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people at all times

Wash your hands as soon as you get home

Do not meet others, even friends or family.

You can spread the virus even if you don't have symptoms.

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Only go outside for food, health reasons or work (but only if you cannot work from home) If you go out, stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people at all times Wash your hands as soon as you get home Do not meet others, even friends or family.

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National Statistics: 2021/22 16 to 18 Results and Performance Measures 

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National Statistics: 2021/22 16 to 18 Results and Performance Measures 

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Published: 10th November

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This academic year saw the return of the summer exam series, after they had been cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, where alternative processes were set up to award grades. As part of the transition back to the summer exam series adaptations were made to the exams (including advance information) and the approach to grading for 2022 exams broadly reflected a midpoint between results in 2019 and 2021.

The 16 to 18 performance measures reported in this revised release for the 2021/22 academic year, and to be included on the Find School and College Performance Data website, have been affected by our commitment not to include results from qualifications awarded between January 2020 and August 2021 (see section 'Changes to the data in 2021/22').

Throughout this release, comparisons are made with both 2021, the most recent year, and 2019, because it is most meaningful to compare to the last year summer exams were sat. Given the unprecedented change in how A level and vocational and VTQ grades were awarded in 2020 and 2021, as well as changes to the grade boundaries and methods of assessment for 2021/22, users need to exercise caution when considering comparisons over time, as they may not reflect changes in student performance alone.

Related information

Releases in this series

View releases (23)

Methodologies

Headline facts and figures - 2021/22

A level retention

95.1%

An increase of 3.8 ppts from 2018/19

What is this?

This is the headline retention rate for A level programmes. (The percentage of students who completed their A level programme).

Applied general retention

91.7%

An increase of 5.1 ppts from 2018/19

What is this?

This is the headline retention rate for applied general programmes. (The percentage of students who completed their applied general programme).

Tech level retention

91.1%

An increase of 3.2 ppts from 2018/19

What is this?

This is the headline retention rate for tech level programmes. (The percentage of students who completed their tech level programme).

Average Point Score (APS) per entry for all level 3 cohorts is lower compared to 2020/21: A level, -2.8 pts; applied general, -0.7 pts; tech level, - 1.1 pts. However, attainment remains higher compared to 2018/19: A level, +4.9pts; applied general, +3.1 pts; tech level +1.9 pts. [An increase of 10 points is equivalent to an increase in one full grade]. This follows Ofqual's announcement in September 2021 that 2022 will be a transition year where the aim was for exam results to broadly reflect a midway point between 2021 (TAG grades) and 2019 (the last year all students sat exams).

The trend for falling average attainment across level 3 cohorts in 2021/22 compared to 2020/21 was observed across institution types generally (when grouped into state-funded schools, independent schools, sixth form colleges, and 'Other FE sector colleges') with the exception of applied general attainment in sixth form colleges and independent schools which increased in 2021/22 (+ 0.2 pts and + 0.8 pts respectively).

The disadvantage gap (between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students) is at its widest level for all Level 3 cohorts (A level, tech level, and applied general) since disadvantage measures began in 2016/17.

Gender gaps in favour of female students in average attainment at A level, applied general, and tech level have narrowed in 2021/22 compared to 2020/21; average attainment had increased more for female students than males with the alternative Centre Assessment Grade (CAG) and Teacher Assessed Grade (TAG) awarding processes in 2019/20 and 2020/21 compared with 2018/19.

The percentage of students who completed their main or 'core' aim from their study programme, known as the Retention rate, increased across all programmes in 2021/22.

Non-disadvantaged students are more likely to be retained than disadvantaged students, across all cohorts.

Students with higher prior attainment are more likely to be retained than students with lower prior attainment, across all level 3 cohorts.

Given the unprecedented change in the way results were awarded in the summers of 2020 and 2021, as well as the changes to methods of assessment for 2021/22, users need to exercise caution when considering comparisons over time, as they may not reflect changes in pupil performance alone.

The changes seen in the headline statistics likely reflect the changes in methodology for awarding grades and in calculating the measures, rather than demonstrating a difference in standards.

Explore data and files used in this release

View tables that we have built for you, or create your own tables from open data using our table tool

Browse and download open data files from this release in our data catalogue

Learn more about the data files used in this release using our online guidance

Download all data available in this release as a compressed ZIP file

All supporting files from this release are listed for individual download below:

Provisional results (November 2022) for A level and other 16 to 18 results 2021-22

Transition matrices data used for visualising the progress of pupils aged 16 to 18 from key stage 4 (KS4) to key stage 5 (KS5).

Instructions to accompany the transition matrices data

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the summer exam series was cancelled in both 2020 and 2021, and alternative processes set up to award grades. Throughout this release, comparisons are made with both 2021, the most recent year, and 2019, because it is most meaningful to compare to the last year summer exams were sat.

A/AS and vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs)

In summer 2021 students were awarded A/AS grades based on an assessment by their teachers using a range of available evidence. Students were only assessed on the content they had been taught. In 2021 some VTQ grades were decided using teacher-assessed grades, others using normal assessment routes, and some through adapted assessment such as remote invigilation.

Exceptionally in autumn 2020 and 2021 an autumn series was put in place to allow students the opportunity to try to improve their A level or AS grade from the summer, if they wished to do so. Further information on the autumn 2021 series is available at this link:
https://ofqual.blog.gov.uk/2021/12/16/as-and-a-level-results-in-the-autumn-2021-series/
A/AS exams returned in 2022 and adaptations were made to exams (including advance information), and the approach to grading for 2022 exams broadly reflected a midpoint between results in 2019 and 2021.

The diversity of vocational qualifications meant that Ofqual did not prescribe a single approach to adaptations, so Awarding Organisations (AOs) had flexibility to choose how to adapt their assessments. However, Ofqual's regulatory framework requires AOs as far as possible to ensure VTQ learners were not disadvantaged nor advantaged compared with their A level peers when setting standards.

For further information on the process to award grades in 2021 and 2022 see the following links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/awarding-qualifications-in-summer-2021/awarding-qualifications-in-summer-2021 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/guidance-for-centres-awarding-vtqs-in-2021-and-2022
Reporting of 2022 results by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) and Ofqual

As happens every year on A level results day (18 August for summer 2022 results) JCQ published data on A level entries for qualifications awarded in summer 2022, and for each subject the distribution of grades awarded (with data for the previous summer for reference): https://www.jcq.org.uk/examination-results/

The data published by JCQ can be expected to show the same broad patterns as the underlying data published in this statistical release 'Entries and results - A level and AS by subject and student characteristics (single academic year). However, the coverage of the data is different: JCQ data covers all A level entries in the UK by people of all ages. Data in this statistical release covers exam entries by 16 to 18 year olds in schools and colleges in England, and includes breakdowns by a wide range of student characteristics.

In addition, Ofqual also routinely publish data on results day: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/guide-to-as-and-a-level-results-in-england-summer-2022

Data excluded from 2021/22 measures due to alternative assessment arrangements in 2020 and 2021

We have committed not to include results of qualifications achieved between January 2020 and August 2021 in school and college performance measures on Find Schools and College Performance Data website, given the alternative assessment arrangements used to award those grades.

For consistency, when calculating 16 to 18 performance measures for 2021/22 in this statistical release, data will only include entries and grades from qualifications awarded in the 2021/22 academic year, with the exception of AS and A level qualifications taken as part of the extraordinary autumn 2021 examination series which are also excluded.

However, results from qualifications routinely offered in the autumn of 2021 that would usually be approved for reporting, such as vocational and technical qualifications taken in autumn 2021, will be included even if some of the VTQ constituent unit-level grades were awarded between January 2020 and August 2021 via Centre Assessment Grade, Teacher Assessed Grade, or another process.

The table below shows the impact at national level of excluding these data, by comparing the number of students and headline attainment measures for each cohort.

The impact on A level student numbers is modest. It is greater for students entering vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs), who are more likely to enter qualifications over multiple years. It should be noted that students may have results from multiple years including 2021/22. In this case the student is included in this data but some of their results are excluded.

The technical certificate cohort has been substantially impacted by this change, as students are often not triggered for reporting in the same year as they complete the qualification.

Smaller cohorts in 2021/22, do not necessarily translate into impacts on attainment. Nationally, the impact on A level Average Point Score (APS) is minimal (1/200th of a grade) with slightly larger changes for the level 3 vocational and technical qualifications.

Impact of the change

Number of students
-2% -10% -15% -84%

APS
+0.06 +0.60 +0.72 +0.12

Other changes for the 2021/22 release

English and maths progress measures will not be published in this statistical release until these measures return to Find school and college performance data website (likely 2024/25, as set out in 16 to 18 accountability headline measures: technical guide, due to the impact of excluding CAG/TAG grades on this performance measure).

Similarly, 16 to 18 value-added measures, which would rely on KS4 prior attainment including some data from summer 2020, continue not to be published in 2021/22. Value-added measures will return as soon as possible, which will be for the 2023/24 academic year at the earliest; further details are included in the technical guide.

Breakdowns of performance measures by prior attainment, usually published in spring with the Retention update have been brought forward to the provisional release along with other breakdowns by student characteristics. Note, we distinguish between the use of prior attainment data nationally to breakdown measures by student characteristics in this statistical release and their use to calculate performance measures that will be published for individual schools and colleges on Find School and College Performance Data.

SEN Provision contains additional breakdowns by SEN types for the first time in national level data at 16 to 18.

Additional 'bivariate' data giving a breakdown of headline attainment and disadvantage status in combination with other characteristics are available for the first time.

Changes continuing from the 2020/21 release

Characteristic breakdowns usually published in the revised update have been brought forward to the provisional release. This is a permanent change.

The rules for determining when students reach the end of their 16-18 study changed in 2020/21 and students can no longer be triggered solely due to spending two years in the same school or college. The impact of this change on 2020/21 data was to reduce the number of students in each cohort, with vocational and technical qualifications impacted most. In 2021/22, student numbers returned to pre-rule change levels, as expected.

Full details of the trigger change are set out in the section 'Changes introduced in the 2020/21 release' in the Quality and Methodology documentation.

Checking exercise and other amendments

This updated release is based on revised data. Since the release of provisional data in November, amendments to the data have been made. These include the addition of 'late' results from some Awarding Organisations, and changes made by schools and colleges through a 'checking exercise'.

The checking exercise takes place in the autumn term and gives schools and colleges the opportunity to amend their data. Some students are removed from a school or colleges results, for example because the student wasn't on roll or has not yet completed 16-18 study. Some students are added where they are flagged by a school or college as having completed 16-18 study despite not being triggered. Changes need to be approved to be included in revised data.

The 2021/22 academic year saw the return of the school and college checking exercise, after it was suspended in the two previous years. In this release data for 2019/20 and 2020/21 is labelled as 'final' data. This is provisional data adjusted for results from the autumn series for AS and A levels. (The autumn series gave students an opportunity to sit an exam if they were unhappy with the grade awarded to them through the alternative process). Data from 2019/20 and 2020/21 did not go through a checking exercise; schools and colleges did not have an opportunity to amend their data as described above.

The table shows the size of the change between provisional and revised/final data. Generally, the change in the numbers of students included in the data in 2021/22 is relatively small in terms of the overall cohort size, the exception being technical certificates where there are 655 more students in the revised release than the provisional (an increase of 87%). This increase is predominantly due to results being reported late by Awarding Organisations.

The size of the change between provisional and revised data is generally smaller in 2021/22 than in 2017/18 and 2018/19. Changes to the trigger rule were introduced to reduce the burden on schools and colleges. This gives an indication that the change is working as intended.

Change in the numbers of students between the provisional and revised/final data:

Cohort

Report year

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2020/21

2021/22

The table below shows the size of the change in the average point score between the provisional and the revised release. The changes are minimal. A change of 0.1 pts at A level / applied general / tech level is equivalent to 1/100th of a grade.

Change in Average Point Score (APS) per entry between the provisional and revised/final data.

Report year

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2020/21

2021/22

Unless stated otherwise statistics reported here refer to 16 to 18 year olds in England:

who reached the end of their 16 to 18 study in 2021/22. Students typically spend either two or three years in the 16 to 18 phase. (Usually, attainment includes results from qualifications entered during all those years. However, this year, attainment excludes results from qualifications that were awarded between January 2020 and August 2021).

who entered qualifications approved for reporting in 2022 school and college performance tables, set out in the 16 to 18 qualifications, discount codes and point scores guidance.

Qualifications are grouped into A level (subset of Academic), Applied General, and Tech Level exam cohorts at level 3, and Technical Certificates at level 2. Students can be reported in more than one exam cohort.

Student numbers by cohort

Students are included in this statistical release when they reach the end of their 16 to 18 study in schools and colleges in England. As set out in the Methodology guidance, the rules for determining when that happens changed in 2020/21, and students are no longer automatically triggered for reporting after spending two years in the same school or college.

The impact of the trigger change in 2020/21 was to reduce the number of students in each cohort, with vocational and technical qualifications impacted most. As expected, student numbers have generally returned to their pre-rule change level in 2021/22, with student numbers in all level 3 cohorts being higher than in 2019/20 and 2020/21.

Results for qualifications awarded between January 2020 and August 2021 have been excluded from the data. The technical certificate cohort has been substantially impacted by this change, as students are often not triggered for reporting until they turn 18, often a year or two after they complete the qualification. More detail is provided in the section 'Changes to the data in 2021/22', where in particular excluding CAG and TAG grades reduced reported technical certificate student numbers by 84%.

The growth in the number of students entered for applied general and tech level qualifications in 2021/22 approved for reporting in performance measures reflects the removal of funding approval from 1 August 2020 for pre-existing qualifications which were running in parallel with newer redeveloped qualifications. Prior to that numbers had been increasing more slowly following big falls in 2017/18 when qualifications were reformed. The number of students in the A level cohort, which includes students who only enter AS levels, has increased after several years of decline. (The previous decline reflected fewer AS level entries following the now completed A level reform to decouple A and AS levels.)

The overall growth in student numbers may also be partly attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some students reported here completed their pre-16 study in 2019/20 where higher grades were awarded via Centre Assessment Grades. These higher grades resulted in greater numbers of students applying for post-16 places and may have shifted some students away from level two technical certificates and into level 3 qualifications. There were also fewer alternative options available for these students in terms of apprenticeships and other employment opportunities ( Key stage 4 destination measures showed that a smaller proportion of students who completed key stage 4 in 2019/20 progressed to sustained apprenticeship or employment outcomes in 2020/21).

Disadvantage

Disadvantaged students are all students who were in receipt of pupil premium when they were in their last year of KS4.

Disadvantage measures do not include students who were not reported at the end of KS4 - for example, because they came from overseas. Students who were known to be at independent schools in their last year of KS4 are treated as non-disadvantaged.

Disadvantage measures cover students in state-funded schools or colleges.

23.6% of state-funded students, at the end of 16 to 18 study, were recorded as having disadvantaged status in 2021/22. The percentage of students examined in level 3 vocational and technical qualifications was generally in line with this. (Applied general 23.0% and tech level 23.0%). Disadvantages students were overrepresented at technical certificate with 32.4% of the cohort identified as having disadvantaged status. Disadvantaged students were underrepresented at A level with 14.3% of the cohort identified as having disadvantaged status.

Prior attainment

Prior attainment is a measure of the average points attained per qualification at Key Stage 4. Simple discounting rules apply, with the best result in any subject used when calculating the average point score at KS4. Any GCSE resits or additional qualifications gained during 16 to 18 are ignored. For the vast majority, prior attainment is between 0-9 reflecting the range of possible grades at GCSE (where 9 is the highest grade).

[Note, whilst results from January 2020 to August 2021 are removed from calculation of performance measures, for the purposes of this statistical release they will be retained when calculating a student's prior attainment to explain outcomes in performance measures, in the same way that outcomes nationally are broken down by gender, disadvantage, etc].

In 2021/22, 18.4% of students at the end of their 16 to 18 study had the highest prior attainment (grade 7+). The large majority of students with the highest prior attainment choose to study at least one A/AS level (94.8%). High attainers now make up 36.2% of the A level cohort compared to 4.7% of the applied general and 3.7% of the tech level cohort. The proportion of students with the highest prior attainment has increased year on year for each cohort since 2019/20 (from when KS4 prior attainment has been calculated in this release).

27.5% of students at the end of 16 to 18 study in 2021/22 had the lowest prior attainment (from grade 0 up to grade 4). The proportion of students with the lowest prior attainment has decreased year on year for each exam cohort since 2019/20.

This change in the distribution of prior attainment for exam cohorts, will in part reflect year on year grade increases at KS4 and in part reflect that the majority of students at the end of 16-18 study in 2021/22 will have completed KS4 in 2019/20, and whose GCSE prior attainment will include Centre Assessment Grades (CAG).

Summary

These figures give the average points and average result that students achieved throughout their 16 to 18 study. Results awarded between January 2020 and August 2021 have been excluded from this data. (See the section 'Changes to the data in 2021/22). While the majority of results come from the student's final year of study (in particular for A levels), a small number of results awarded prior to January 2020 are included.

Points are given to all qualifications so we can compare qualifications of different size and grading structures. A maximum of 60 points are available for A level, 50 points for applied general and tech level and 8 points for technical certificates. More information on points, APS bands and grade boundaries can be found in the technical guide for 16 to 18 accountability measures (from page 27).

In September 2021 Ofqual announced that 2022 will be a transition year where the aim was for exam results to broadly reflect a midway point between 2021 and 2019. Consequently, the average results are lower in 2021/22 across all level 3 cohorts than in 2020/21.

A level programmes have seen the largest decrease (2.8 pts, compared to 0.7 pts for applied general and 1.1 pts for tech level). This is as expected due to the larger increases seen in A level grades between 2018/19 and 2020/21 relative to the vocational and technical qualifications. Technical certificates have seen a small increase (0.2 pts) in the average points score. However, interpretation of this increase is undermined by a 58% drop in cohort numbers. Given that 84% of technical certificate students have been excluded form the data (see 'Changes to the data in 2021/22'), technical certificate results will not be discussed in the breakdowns, however the data is available in the table builder tool.

For all Level 3 cohorts, the average result remains the same as in 2020/21.

At A level, the South East, London and East of England tend to do better, being on or near the top in the last 3 years. These same regions have ranked in the bottom 4 for applied general in the same time period.

The North West is in the top half of the table for both A level and applied general, although the region dipped in both exam cohorts in 2020/21 when teacher assessed grades were used.

The East Midlands is in the bottom half of the table for both A level and applied general. The region attained the lowest A level results this year.

Regional rankings are more variable for tech levels (which may be attributable to the smaller total number of tech level entries).

Average results by disadvantage status

The 2021/22 disadvantage gap has increased in comparison to last year for the A level cohort and has remained stable for applied general and tech level cohorts. For the level 3 exam cohorts, the average point score has decreased for both disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students, however for A level students, the decrease was larger for disadvantaged students.

The disadvantage gap for Level 3 cohorts is at its widest point since the measure was introduced in 2016/17. (NB, this statistical release contains data for the last 5 years back to 2017/18, but disadvantage data was first published based on 2016/17 revised data).

To get a fuller picture on the impact of disadvantage status, this data should be looked at in conjunction with data on retention rates (the percentage of students who have completed their main study programme at a provider). In 2020/21, 94.3% of non-disadvantaged A level students were retained and assessed compared to 88.5% of disadvantaged students. Students are only included in the average point score measure if they are entered for examination i.e. if they are retained and assessed. More information on 2020/21 retention can be found in the 2020/21 version of this statistical release. An update to this statistical release with 2021/22 retention figures will be released on 30th March 2023.

Average results by gender

For the level 3 exam cohorts, both female and male students saw a drop in average attainment in 2021/22 when compared to 2020/21. The decrease was larger for female students than male students, which has resulted in a narrowing of the gender gap compared to last year.

When compared to 2018/19, the gender gap is slightly wider for A level students, but slightly narrower for applied general students in 2021/22. For tech level students the gender gap has reversed such that in 2018/19 it was in favour of male students, but since 2020/21 it has been in favour of female students.

The gender gap for the percentage of students achieving at least 2 A levels has been continuously decreasing for the past 5 years, falling from 5.2 ppts in 2017/18 to 0.9 ppts in 2021/22 in favour of female students.

Average results by ethnicity

Of the major ethnicity groups, Black or Black British students attained the lowest average result across all level 3 cohorts in 2021/22. At A level, Black or Black British students' attainment was almost a full grade lower than that of Chinese students. The rank order of attainment by ethnicity has remained almost unchanged at A level through the COVID-19 pandemic and the changes to the grading processes.

Prior attainment

Typically, the higher the average KS4 prior attainment, the higher the average outcome at the end of 16 to 18 study, regardless of the programme of study.

The attainment gap between students with the highest and lowest prior attainment has remained stable throughout different grading processes since 2019/20 (when this prior attainment data is available). The attainment gap at A level is around 25 pts (or 2.5 grades) and at applied general and tech level is around 19 pts (or just under 2 grades).

Average results for other student characteristics

Breakdowns of other student characteristics, including SEN provision, first language and more, are available in the featured tables and create your own tables sections of this statistical release.

This year we have introduced a new data file to this statistical release called 'Attainment and other performance measures - student characteristics and disadvantage status'. This data file gives more detail about disadvantaged students by breaking down the disadvantaged status of students by other student characteristics. In breaking down the data in this way we hope to be able to better identify how student characteristics interact. The following sections show some illustrative analyses.

Disadvantage and prior attainment

The distribution of disadvantaged students is uneven across the prior attainment bands. At A level, 9.3% of students in state-funded institutions with the highest prior attainment (grade 7+) have disadvantaged status, while 27.8% with prior attainment from grade 0 up to grade 4 have disadvantaged status.

At A level the disadvantage gap for students with the lowest prior attainment was 1.3 pts in 2021/22 or just over 1/10th of a grade. The gap increased to 2.8 pts for A level students with prior attainment from grade 4 up to grade 7 and 3.5 pts (or just over 1/3 of a grade) for students with the highest prior attainment.

The increase in the overall A level disadvantage gap was driven by the increase in the disadvantage gap for students with the highest prior attainment. (Up 0.9 pts from 2.7 pts in 2020/21). There was a small increase for those with prior attainment of grade 4 up to grade 7 (up 0.2 pts from 2.6 pts) and the gap stayed steady for those with prior attainment of grade 0 up to grade 4.

Disadvantage and other student characteristics

Across level 3 exam cohorts, non-disadvantaged students with English as their first language obtained higher average results than students with a first language other than English. However, the reverse is true for disadvantaged students. Here students with a first language other than English achieved higher average results.

Disadvantaged Black or Black British students attained the lowest average results in 2021/22 of any ethnicity across level 3 cohorts. Non-disadvantaged Black or Black British students also attained lower average results than their non-disadvantaged peers. White students had the biggest disadvantage gaps (of students with known ethnicity) across level 3 cohorts.

The disadvantage gap remains greater for female students in all level 3 cohorts, as it has since 2019/20.

Summary

Data in this section covers A level entries and results for all students aged 16-18 at the start of the respective year. Students don't need to be triggered for inclusion in this data, so it is not impacted by the change in the 'trigger' rules, introduced in 2020/21, that determined when a student had reached the end of 16-18 study. It is also not impacted by removing CAG and TAG grades from data for 2021/22.

The chart below shows the distribution of A level grades for students aged 16 to 18 for each academic year. Overall, the proportion of entries achieving top grades (between A* and B) has decreased in comparison to 2020/21 but remains higher than 2018/19.

In 2021/22, 14.8% of awarded grades were at A*. This is an increase of 6.9ppts from 2018/19, but a decrease of 4.3ppts from 2020/21. The percentage of entries achieving A*-A grades is now 36.4%, which similarly corresponds to an increase of 10.6ppts compared to 2018/19 but a decrease of 7.9ppts from 2020/21. As previously noted however, year on year comparisons cannot be interpreted as students achieving at a higher standard. Where achievement gaps alter in 2019/20 and 2020/21 compared to previous years, it might reflect the different process by which grades were awarded across these years.

A level results by gender

Overall, in 2021/22 both male and female students were more likely to be awarded the higher A level grades (A*/A/B) than in 2018/19 but less likely than in 2020/21.

Across the top A* and A*-A grades the gender gap has decreased in comparison to 2020/21. Female students continue to be more likely to achieve these grades, which has been the trend for the last three years (since 2019/20) when a reversal of the gender gap was observed.

At A*-B the gap between female and male student achievement had been continuously increasing since 2017/18, however this year the gender gap has reduced from 6.9ppts in 2020/21 to 4.7ppts.

Data is this section covers A level entries and results for all students aged 16 to 18 at the start of respective year. Students don't need to be triggered for inclusion in this data, so it is not impacted by the change in the 'trigger' rules, introduced in 2020/21, that determined when a student had reached the end of 16 to 18 study. It is also not impacted by removing CAG and TAG grades from data for 2021/22.

STEM subjects here are defined as: biology, chemistry, physics, maths, further maths, and computing.

A level grades in STEM subjects

For 2021/22, the proportion of students achieving top grades (A*, A*-A, A*-B) in STEM subjects compared to 2020/21 has fallen. At A*, the largest decrease was in further maths (8.4ppts) and the smallest decrease was in physics (4.7ppts).

The STEM subjects have generally seen large increases in the proportion of students achieving top grades when compared to 2018/19. The largest increase at A* was further maths rising by 15.7ppts, and the smallest increase was in biology at 6.3ppts. The A*-A grade boundary also observed large increases in the proportion of entries achieving these grades, ranging from computer science (17.1ppts increase) to maths (6.6ppts increase).

This section replaces one that usually describes outcomes in the English and maths progress accountability measures. These are not being created in 2021/22 in Find School and College Performance Data due to the impact of excluding CAG and TAG grades on this measure (set out in more detail in the 16 to 18 accountability measures: technical guide).

These alternative data have been published as part of this statistical release since 2015/16. Coverage is all entries and outcomes in below level 3 English and maths qualifications for students aged 16 to 18 at the start of the respective year. Unlike data based on students at the end of 16-18 study, it means these data are not impacted by the trigger change in 2020/21, and not impacted by removing CAG and TAG grades from data for 2021/22.

It also means a student here can be reported in successive years, for example at age 16 in 2019/20, at age 17 in 2020/21, and at age 18 in 2021/22 if they entered exams in each year.

The tables below focus on GCSEs, and Functional Skills qualifications at level 2, level 1 and Entry level which make up the large majority of English and maths qualifications entered below level 3 (though outcomes for Other level 2, level 1, and Entry Level qualifications are available via the 'Explore data and files' section).

Fewer students are entering below level 3 maths and English qualifications

Most students aged 16 to 18 enter below level 3 English and maths qualifications because they did not achieve a GCSE pass at grade 9-4 or equivalent during key stage 4, and so are required to continue to study those subjects under Condition of Funding rules (CoF).

The overall fall observed in the number of below level 3 entries across both English and maths in GCSEs and Functional Skills is consistent with data published in Key Stage 4 performance showing an increasing proportion of pupils achieving grades 4 or above in English and maths GCSE during key stage 4 ( increasing from 59.8% in 2018/19 to 67.1% in 2020/21 in provisional data) - and so not being required to study below level 3 English or maths during the 16-18 phase.

An additional factor explaining the big fall in entries at GCSE from 2019/20 to 2021/22 (-27% English, -12% maths) is the higher proportion of GCSE entries in 2019/20 and 2020/21 during the 16-18 phase that resulted in a grade 9-4 pass, when grades were awarded through the CAG and TAG processes, because once a student achieves a 9-4 GCSE pass during 16-18 they no longer have to continue studying English and/or maths the following year.

Achievement of Level 2 English and maths through GCSE and Functional Skills qualifications

Many more age 16-18 students enter GCSEs (a level 1/level 2 qualification) than are entered for Functional skills (distinct qualifications at level 2, level 1 and Entry level).

Overall pass rates are broadly comparable at GCSE and L1 and L2 Functional skills. Given that the prior attainment distributions are similar at GCSE and level 2 functional skills (see table below), we might have expected to see a higher level 2 pass rate (grades 9-4) at GCSE. Although it is difficult to make direct comparisons due to range of grades available within the GCSE qualification.

Qualification KS4 Prior Attainment English entries in 2021/22 Proportion of English entries at prior attainment band maths entries in 2021/22 Proportion of maths entries at prior attainment band

All level 1 and level 2 qualifications have had decreases in their pass rates in 2021/22. Mathematics qualifications have seen much larger decreases than English across all qualifications.

Maths L2 functional skills decreased by 20.8 ppts to 63.6% (12.0 ppts fall in English to 81.0%). Maths L1 functional skills decreased by 10.2 ppts to 85.4% (English fall, 3.3ppts to 94.0%). For maths GCSE the overall pass rate (grade 9-1) decreased by 5.8ppts to 84.9% (English decreased by 3.7 ppts to 85.8%) and the level 2 pass rate (grade 9-4) also decreased 16.7ppts to 15.3% for Maths and 13.9ppts to 25.7% for English

In contrast, at KS4 the English language GCSE level 2 pass rate (grade 9-4) fell by more than maths. English language fell by 4.0 ppts and maths by 3.1ppts between 2020/21 and 2021/22 (provisional data).

Pass rates in English and maths at level 2 by institution type

GCSE entries by students at independent schools are most likely to pass at level 2, but it should be noted that Condition of Funding rules are not relevant for these schools, and these students may be resitting GCSEs to improve their KS4 grade, which could have already been at grade 4 or above. Amongst state-funded institutions, students in schools are consistently most likely to pass GCSE at level 2, then sixth form colleges and other FE sector colleges in both English and maths in 2020/21 and 2021/22.

Level 2 Functional Skills entries: within state-funded institutions sixth form colleges and 'Other FE sector' colleges are consistently more likely to pass than schools. Most entries in L2 Functional Skills are in 'Other FE sector' colleges.

Applied general, tech level, and technical certificate qualifications approved for reporting in this statistical release (and institution level performance data) are updated annually and published on gov.uk:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/performance-tables-technical-and-vocational-qualifications
The concept of qualifications approved for reporting has been applied since 2015/16 following Professor Alison Wolf's Review of Vocational Education. From 2017/18 at level 3 and from 2018/19 for technical certificates, the quality threshold for vocational and technical qualifications to be included in performance measures further increased. The later reforms include criteria relating to the size, content, and assessment, including a requirement that a proportion of a qualification's content is subject to external assessment. From 1 August 2020 the ESFA removed funding approval for pre-existing applied general and tech level qualifications (which had been approved in 2015/16 and 2016/17) which were running in parallel with newer redeveloped qualifications.

The measures presented in this section show the students entering these approved qualifications as a proportion of students entering a wider set of vocational qualifications that had been approved by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) for funding during 16 to 18 study.

Proportions entering approved tech level and applied general qualifications continue to increase following a large fall in 2017/18 (when both lists of approved qualifications changed substantially), with a jump in students entering reformed versions of qualifications in 21/22 (in part attributable to the defunding of unreformed pre-existing qualifications).

The coverage of the measure for technical certificates is strongly impacted by the removal of CAG and TAG data from 2021/22 accountability data (as coverage is students at the end of 16-18 study, and level 2 vocational qualifications are more often entered during a student's first year of 16-18 study and so are excluded from the calculation).

The following table shows that there is variation in whether different institution types enter students for qualifications approved for reporting in performance tables versus the wider set of qualifications that were approved for funding.

Overall students in state-funded schools continue to be most likely to enter reformed versions of vocational and technical qualifications at level 3 (reformed in 2017/18), but 2021/22 saw a marked increase in the proportion of students entering approved/reformed applied general and tech levels across all broad institution types.

Introduction to retention measures

The Retention measure shows the percentage of students who are retained to the end of the 'core aim' (or main learning aim) of their study programme at a school or college.

Students are counted as retained if they are recorded as having "completed the learning activities leading to the learning aim" by their institution. This information is collected in the school census or for students that attended sixth form or FE colleges, the Individualised Learner Record (ILR).

Retention measures are not calculated for independent schools or special schools (both independent and maintained) as learning aims data is not available for these schools.

The Retention measure is calculated by dividing the total number of students retained by the total number of students with a core aim, in each of the five programmes approved for reporting in performance tables: academic, A level, applied general, tech level, and at level 2, technical certificate programmes.

Since academic programmes comprise largely of A levels, only data for A level core aims are described here; overall data for academic programmes can be found in the 'create your own tables' section and in the underlying data available to download.

Alongside the headline Retention measure there are two supporting retention measures:

Retained and Assessed: The percentage of students who are retained to the end of their course and are assessed.

Returned and Retained for a second year: The percentage of level 3 students who return to the same provider and complete their programme of study in their second year. (The main difference when compared to Retention is for students who complete their core aim in one year.)

A fuller description of the methodology underlying retention measures can be found in the 16-18 technical guide (from page 41).

Retention measures and the impact of the trigger change in 2020/21

The impact of the trigger rule change, meaning that students were no longer automatically reported after two years in 16-18 study, was to reduce the reported number of students in scope for retention measures across all exam cohorts in 2020/21, with the biggest impact on vocational and technical cohorts (VTQs).

For retention measures, this meant that Retention rates were slightly increased in 2020/21 for level 3 cohorts (A level, applied general, tech level) than would have been seen otherwise. However, the impact on the level 2 technical certificate cohort was a large decrease in Retention rates (and in cohort size).

Fuller analysis on the impact on 2020/21 retention data can be found in the methodology document, in the section 'Changes introduced in the 2020/21 release', under the heading 'Impact of the trigger change on headline retention rates'.

Students whose reporting was delayed for one year due to the 2020/21 trigger change are reported in 2021/22. In other words, the impact of the trigger change was one-off discontinuity in retention data for 2020/21. For this reason, when looking at trends, data for 2021/22 is better compared to data for 2019/20 and earlier years.

All level 3 study programmes show increases in Retention rates in 2021/22 (A level +0.1 pts to 95.1%; applied general +1.8 pts to 91.7%; tech level +0.5 ppts to 91.1%). This continues a trend of increasing Retention rates since 2018/19. A level programmes continue to have the highest Retention rate as has been the case since the measure was introduced in 2015/16, but for the first time applied general programmes have a higher Retention rate than tech levels programmes.

Technical certificates have had lower Retention rates than Level 3 cohorts since being added to performance measures in 2016/17. However, they have seen an increase in Retention rate this year (+4.5 ppts to 86.6%), recovering from the impact of the trigger change that was seen last year and returning to previously-seen levels.

For the A level and applied general cohorts, rates for the Retained and Assessed measure have increasingly followed the same general trend as the Retention rate in recent years. Similarly, the Returned and Retained measure now also follows the same trend. This is most notable for the A level cohort where the phased decoupling of AS and A levels predominantly between 2017 and 2019 has resulted in a much smaller proportion of the A level cohort taking AS levels only and not then returning for a second year of study.

The tech level cohort shows a slightly different pattern this year whereby the Retained and Assessed rate has dropped slightly despite increases in both the Retained rate (retention to the end of the course) and the Returned and Retained rate (retention specifically over two years of a course). This means that within this cohort there was an increase in the proportion of students not being assessed at the end of their course .

The much smaller technical certificate cohort (Level 2) was heavily impacted by the trigger change in 2020/21 and shows less stable trends. In addition, the low cohort numbers mean that breakdowns of the technical certificate data, by student characteristics become increasingly unreliable, and therefore this cohort isn't discussed further.

Due to the similarity in the trends shown by the three retention measures, in particular for the two largest cohorts (A level and applied general), our further narrative will focus on the Retained and Assessed measure. Further breakdowns of the Retention measure and the Returned and Retained measure across all qualification cohorts are available in underlying data and through the table builder.

The Retained and Assessed rate is higher for non-disadvantaged students across all level 3 cohorts. Disadvantaged tech level students are least likely to be Retained and Assessed at 79.1%, which is 7.1 ppts lower than their non-disadvantaged peers. The Retained and Assessed disadvantage gap is smaller for A level and applied general (5.6 ppts and 5.3 ppts respectively).

The disadvantage gap has been narrowing for the A level cohort since 2018/19 (from 8.4 ppts to 5.6 ppts). Similarly, the applied general cohort has, overall, seen a substantial decrease in the gap in that time (from 7.9 ppts to 5.6 ppts). In contrast, the tech level cohort did not consolidate an initial decrease in the gap in 2019/20 and is now only slightly smaller than in 2018/19 (from 7.6 ppts to 7.1 ppts).

Changes to the distribution of prior attainment at A level between 2017/18 and 2021/22

The coverage of the retention measures is different to the attainment measures, and is described above in 'Retention: introduction and changes to the data in 2021/22'. The largest difference is that independent schools are excluded from the data, and this impacts the distribution of the prior attainment groups as students from independent schools have higher prior attainment on average.

The distribution of prior attainment has changed over time for all cohorts. The proportion of A level students with low prior attainment (from grade 0 up to grade 4) has decreased from 8.1% of the cohort in 2017/18 to 1.9% in 2021/22. High prior attaining students (average grade 7 or more) have increased their proportion of the cohort from 16.1% in 2017/18 to 35.3% in 2021/22.

This increase in the proportion of KS4 students achieving grades averaging 7 or more, in part reflects year on year grade increases at KS4, and in part reflects that most A level students at the end of 16-18 study in 2021/22 will have completed KS4 in 2019/20, and so their GCSE prior attainment will include Centre Assessment Grades (CAG).

However, in the vocational and technical cohorts, a larger proportion of students are being reported after three years in 16-18, hence prior attainment for these cohorts is less affected by CAGs. This is following delay in their reporting last year due to the change in the rule in 2020/21 triggering students for reporting.

Overall, students with the highest average prior attainment (grade 7+) are most likely to be Retained and Assessed in their main programme of study and students with the lowest prior attainment (grade 0 up to grade 4) the least likely to be Retained and Assessed. The highest Retained and Assessed rate is for high prior attaining A level students at 98.7%. The lowest Retained and Assessed rate is also for A level students. Low prior attaining A level students have a Retained and Assessed rate of 66.0%.

The Retained and Assessed rate for low prior attaining A level students has fallen and is now close to the 2018/19 rate, whereas the rate remains higher for other level 3 cohorts.

A full breakdown of all three retention measures by a range of other student characteristics is available through the table builder. Here, we draw attention to small number of breakdowns that may be of interest.

English Language

Across all level 3 cohorts, students with English as their first language have lower Retained and Assessed rates than students who do not. The difference is driven by poor rates for disadvantaged students with English as their first language.

The applied general cohort similarly has an increase in the Retained and Assessed rate since last year for all major (known) ethnicity groups and shows many of the same trends between groups. The Chinese ethnic group has the highest Retained and Assessed rates since 2018/19 (now at 95.8%) and the Black or Black British ethnic group and the Mixed Dual background ethnic group have made the biggest improvements in Retained and Assessed rates over recent years (+9.9 ppts to 89.1%, +9.9 ppts to 87.0% respectively). Again, the White ethnic group shows the largest disadvantage gap and White disadvantaged students have the lowest rates for Retained and Assessed.

The tech level cohort and the technical certificate cohort have very low numbers in some ethnic groups, and show less distinct patterns over recent years.

For the A level cohort, state-funded mainstream schools and Sixth form colleges have seen an increase in rates for Retained and Assessed this year (+1.5 ppts to 95.4% and +0.5 ppts to 92.3% respectively). In contrast, 'Other FE sector colleges' have seen a decrease (-2.3 ppts to 88.2%). However, the decrease for 'Other FE sector colleges' follows very large increases last year; the relative rates of the three major institution types have returned to levels seen before the change to the trigger rule.

There have also been decreases in the Retained and Assessed rate for 'Other FE sector colleges' in the applied general and tech level cohorts, following larger increases in the previous two years. All state-funded mainstream schools continue to have the lowest Retained and Assessed rates for applied general and tech level qualifications. This has been the case since 2018/19.

This data is available through the 'Explore data and files' section in the file called 'Time series - APS per entry by institution type'.

In addition it is accessible through the dashboard linked below. The dashboard combines data from this statistical release (covering the last 5 years) with selected older data compiled from previous versions of the 'A level and other 16 to 18 results' statistical release:
16-18 Time-series attainment and single year entries
On the left-hand side, clicking on the link ' Attainment: APS per entry and average result' brings up the dashboard with attainment data in terms of APS per entry.

Data including the applied general and tech level cohorts starts in 2015/16 (when these cohorts were first defined in this statistical release, and school and college data). Data for the A level cohort starts in 2012/13.

This data is available through the 'Explore data and files' section in the file called 'Time series - A level subject entries and grade by gender'.

In addition it is accessible through the dashboard linked below. The dashboard combines data from this statistical release (covering the last 5 years) with selected older data compiled from previous versions of the 'A level and other 16 to 18 results' statistical release:
16-18 Time-series attainment and single year entries
On the left-hand side, clicking on the link ' Attainment: A level entries and grade distribution' brings up the dashboard with A level entries data by subject, and A level grades by subject.

These data cover A level entries by students aged 16 to 18 within each academic year from 1995/96.

We have moved our Transition Matrices tool into a web based app for easier use. It is available at the following link:
16-18 Transition Matrices
Transition matrices (TM) are a useful tool to help visualise the progression from different groups of attainment at key stage 4 (KS4) to outcomes achieved during 16 to 18 for a range of different subjects.

Note that the 16 to 18 outcomes here will also be impacted by the different process to award grades in 2022, which is likely to impact the relationship between outcomes and KS4 prior attainment in 2021/22 for subjects.

Help and support

Methodology

Find out how and why we collect, process and publish these statistics.

National statistics

These accredited official statistics have been independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics. Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

Accreditation signifies their compliance with the authority's Code of Practice for Statistics which broadly means these statistics are:

managed impartially and objectively in the public interest

meet identified user needs

produced according to sound methods

well explained and readily accessible

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).

OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

If you have a specific enquiry about A level and other 16 to 18 results statistics and data:

Attainment statistics team

Email: Attainment.STATISTICS@education.gov.uk
Contact name: Michael Greer

Press office

If you have a media enquiry:

Telephone: 020 7783 8300

Public enquiries

If you have a general enquiry about the Department for Education (DfE) or education:

Telephone: 037 0000 2288

Opening times:
Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays)

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A level and other 16 to 18 results, Academic year 2021/22

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This academic year saw the return of the summer exam series, after they had been cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, where alternative processes were set up to award grades.

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Published: 17th November 2022

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T Levels support for schools and colleges

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This week's newsletter includes updates on:

New: T Levels Connect service to help you find employers

Our digital team have been working closely with providers to get your views on delivering T Levels and we've heard that finding employers for industry placements continues to be a challenge. We also know while employers are interested in T Levels and industry placements, they aren't always able to dedicate time to contacting providers.

With this in mind, we've been working on a great new service which allows employers to express interest in T Levels, and providers to see that interest in order to initiate contact. Our hope is that the ' Connect with employers interested in T Levels service' will help you do exactly that: connect and build relationships with employers about all things T Levels - from career talks to hosting industry placements.

The service will launch on Monday 21 November.  Find out more.

T Level Transition Programme: New Marketing subject content development

Your support is needed to shape the proposed Marketing National Technical Outcomes for future programmes in the Sales, Marketing and Procurement route.

Register your interest by midnight Monday 5 December via the online registration form to get involved and please share the link to the registration form with colleagues in your organisation.

This is an exciting and unique opportunity for education professionals, teachers, curriculum leads and T Level and T Level Transition Programme leads to work with government and other education and industry professionals in an online review of the T Level Transition Programme's Marketing National Technical Outcomes subject content in the Sales, Marketing and Procurement route.

The time commitment is for two online sessions, each 2.5 hrs in duration. It is vital that you attend both sessions as these are equally important to the content development work. There will be some work outside meetings to read draft materials and to gather views from your network so that you are ready to give feedback. In total, we estimate this will require up to two days of your time, including preparation and attendance at meetings on the following dates and times:
Session 1 Thursday 19 January 2023 @ 3:00-5:30pm Session 2 Monday 6 February 2023 @ 3:00-5:30pm
Your role in the process is important and contributions are highly valuable to developing a quality product for our young people. Further information on the T Level Transition Programme is available from gov.uk, including the Framework for Delivery and the national technical outcomes for existing T Level Transition Programmes.

If you have a question, please email the team TLevelTransition.PROGRAMME@education.gov.uk.

TLTP on the 'T Levels support for schools and colleges' website and Provider Case Studies

Providers will be aware that up to date information and guidance on all things T Levels can be found at the T Levels support for schools and colleges site on Gov.UK. This now includes a section dedicated to the T Level Transition Programme (TLTP) which gives providers information about how to register for, plan, promote, market and deliver their TLTPs. It also provides regular updates on forthcoming TLTP-related events and any new resources for providers to use. These resources now include a series of Video Case Studies in which some of the early TLTP Providers (those who began to deliver TLTP in 2020 and 2021) outline the approaches they each took in designing, developing and implementing the T Level Transition Programme in their own education institutions and provide key advice based on their own experience to support your planning.

Along with the Case Studies, there are also some bitesize promotional videos that can be used to promote TLTP to your key stakeholders. We hope you find all of these really useful.

Awarding Organisations updates

Pearson's November E-Bulletin was published and included the following:

Q&A Networks and Training events

Registrations and entries

Legal Services update

Read the November E-Bulletin Have your say...
If you would like to know more about the T Level Technical Qualification in Catering and the supporting resources that will be available to assist with your planning and delivery, Highfield are looking to host a forum in December 2022 where you can have your say!

If you would like to be a part of this forum please get in touch at tlevels@highfield.co.uk
T Level Familiarisation webinars
City & Guilds are running familiarisation webinars for Engineering and Manufacturing (17, 18 November) and Agriculture, Land Management and Production (25 November). These webinars are designed for providers that are not yet delivering T Levels and are an opportunity to find out more about the programmes available with City & Guilds. They are aimed at tutors, curriculum managers, trainers, assessors, and quality leads. Register for these events online: Events and webinars - T Levels | City & Guilds (cityandguilds.com)
Digital Credentials for Providers
In recognition of being an approved T Level provider, City & Guilds are awarding centres a digital credential. Digital credentials allow us to recognise and communicate all skills consistently. We do this by using the Open Badge Standard, a universal format that creates data that can be validated quickly and easily. Your digital credential will be issued automatically to the named T Level lead contact we have on record. Find out more about digital credentials: Digital Credentials | City & Guilds (cityandguilds.com)
Approval Window for Eligible Providers
The approval window for eligible providers opens on Monday 27 February 2023, ready for first teaching in September 2023. Application forms for approval to deliver T Levels in 2023 will be released in January on the T Levels Resource Hub: Resource Hub - T Levels | City & Guilds (cityandguilds.com). We will be running webinars to support providers and these dates will be made available shortly.

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This week's newsletter includes updates on: Our digital team have been working closely with providers to get your views on delivering T Levels and we've heard that finding employers for industry placements continues to be a challenge. We also know while employers are interested in T Levels and industry placements, they aren't always able to dedicate time to contacting providers.

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Y7-13
Deadline: Every month

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Our Film of the Month competition celebrates exceptional young filmmaking talent from across the UK. Filmmaking is more accessible than it ever has been, and that's illustrated in the quantity and quality of the entries we receive every month.

Film of the Month is open to all young people aged 5 to 19 across the UK. However, if you are 17 and under and want to submit your film, a parent or guardian will need to provide their details to give consent for you to participate. If you submit your film without these details, it will be disqualified.

We place no restriction on genre or theme, and provide guides and resources on all aspects of the production process, so that even the most inexperienced filmmaker can feel confident in submitting an entry.

Filmmaking is an accessible and beneficial tool for engaging young people, giving them a voice and the opportunity to share their stories with others. The collaborative nature of our filmmaking programme also serves as a valuable tool for bringing young people together and improving social development.

Entries are judged by Into Film staff, and guest judges, and are assessed on the idea, sound, story and look, as well as the technical ability on display.

We encourage entrants to also submit their film into the Into Film Awards, our annual ceremony which seeks to further honour and celebrate the incredible breadth and depth of young filmmaking talent in the UK.

Enter Competition

We recommend you enter using a desktop computer and an up to date browser

To enter, please complete the entry form. You will then be instructed to upload your film and you will receive confirmation on the upload page that this has been successful. If you are aged 17 or under, please make sure you ask a parent or guardian to complete the entrant details part of the form. Films can also be entered by a parent/guardian, teacher or other adult on behalf of a young person or group of young people.

We are looking for the most creative and engaging short films, with strong stories. In order to be shortlisted for the judges' consideration, entrants must meet the following criteria:

You must be between 5 and 19 years of age at the time of submitting your film (if your film has been made by a group of young people, the average age of all members must be 19 and under).

Your film should be no longer than 10 minutes in duration, including titles and credits

Any music, video or still images used in the film should be cleared for use by the copyright holder or be copyright free (please refer to the downloable IP checklist below for more information on this)

You must NOT feature the surnames of any young people under the age of 18, anywhere in the film, including the titles and credits. Into Film are committed to the protection and safety of young people, and the addition of surnames in your films can compromise this. If surnames are included in your film, your entry may be disqualified.

We will not be judging technical ability alone. Judges will use the following criteria to make their decisions on the winning film:

Idea - the film idea is original and creative and has been delivered well

Story - the story is strong and engaging and captures the audience's attention

Sound - the music, sound effects and dialogue are clear and strengthen the narrative

Look - the use of camera angles, movement, lighting and framing support the narrative

The following are NOT eligible for entry to Film of the Month:

Training videos

Music videos

'Making of' documentaries

Trailers or extracts of longer films

Straightforward recordings of arts (or other) events

Film clips made soley for the purpose of curriculum learning (such as record and playback)

Video diaries or vox pops

You can view our terms and conditions here.

Each month, one winning film will be selected and the young filmmakers will receive an Into Film goody bag, have their film showcased on the Into Film Shorts YouTube channel, and be interviewed for a news story on the Into Film website.

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Top Tips for Young Filmmakers

Top tips on making sure your film is compliant before it is completed.

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Any film. Any genre. Any time of year. Enter our Film of the Month competition today.

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JCQ: Key dates in the examination cycle document - June 2023

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JCQ: Key dates in the examination cycle document - June 2023

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Published: 8th November 2022
Contingency days update: Timetabled for the afternoons of the 8 and 15 June and all day of 28 June 2023. To be used in the event of national or significant local disruption to examinations

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Ofqual: A review of the quality of T-level courses: interim report

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Ofqual: A review of the quality of T-level courses: interim report

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Published: 24th October 2022

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Executive summary

T levels provide learners aged 16 to 19 with a new opportunity to study a high-quality and ambitious technical qualification.

We visited a sample of providers that were among the first to offer these qualifications. This study evaluates the quality of T-level courses in those providers.

We hope that this interim report will help providers, employers and policy-makers to reflect and build on how T levels are taught in the future.

In 2023, we will visit these providers again, and some new ones, to see how T-level courses have been developed further.

Main findings

Our research shows that providers are committed to making T levels a success.

On T levels, we found that:

some providers gave learners initial advice and guidance that focused on preparing them for the expectations of T levels. Learners were given information about the different components of the course and what their next steps could be. However, not all learners felt prepared for how much work they had to do for a T-level course

although some teachers were well prepared for teaching T-level courses, many did not receive comprehensive training and found teaching the new curriculum challenging. Recruitment and retention of staff with sufficient knowledge and experience were challenging due to the pandemic and sector workforce challenges

some providers did not have access to resources such as textbooks and practice exam papers

providers that were more effective had already used the flexibility in the new T-level courses to sequence different components in a coherent way that develops learners' knowledge and skills

learners were appreciative of the quality of teaching on their T-level course. However, teachers faced challenges in balancing all the requirements of the course

the more effective industry placements gave broad, high-quality and appropriate experiences that helped learners make decisions about their futures

the more effective T-level curriculums were developed by providers in collaboration with employers

at the time of our visits, many learners were experiencing delays in starting industry placements, primarily due to the impact of COVID-19. Providers of digital, construction, and health and science courses in particular were struggling to find employers

On the T Level Transition Programme ( TLTP), we found that:

the TLTP did not always result in learners progressing to a T level as intended

teaching on the TLTP was generally of a high standard.

the quality of work experience for learners on the TLTP was not always high. Providers did not always help learners on the programme to find meaningful work experience relevant to their course

Background

T levels are 2-year technical qualifications that the Department for Education launched in September 2020. Learners can choose to study these after completing GCSEs. They are broadly equivalent in size to 3 A levels and include a substantial industry placement.

They were developed in response to the 2016 Sainsbury Review. This review recommended 'systematically reform[ing] technical education for the long term' and 'ensuring individuals can develop the technical knowledge and skills that industry needs'. Courses are now available in occupational areas where there is a substantial requirement for technical knowledge.

The courses have been developed in collaboration with employers and education providers. They combine practical and knowledge-based learning at a college, other further education provider or school with significant work experience through an industry placement. T levels therefore provide an opportunity for learners to gain the knowledge and skills needed for university courses, higher apprenticeships or skilled employment.

T levels include:

exams, which test theory, concepts and contextual understanding of the sector

a substantial employer-set project based on a real-life work problem that assesses contextual English, mathematics and transferable skills

assignments or projects that assess technical competence in the selected occupation

an industry placement of at least 45 days

employability, enrichment and personal development sessions

At the point of our visits, between December 2021 and April 2022, providers could offer T levels in:

There are plans to introduce more T levels until over 20 courses are available. This will cover sectors ranging from agriculture to catering and engineering to science.

Some providers are also offering learners the TLTP. This is a 1-year level 2 course designed to support progression to a T level.

The TLTP gives learners the opportunity to study technical content and develop English, mathematics and digital skills, alongside work experience and personal development.

Methodology

Our overall research aims to evaluate the quality of T-level courses. For this interim study, we wanted to assess early implementation. Next year, we will carry out a final study evaluating how the quality has improved.

This study investigated the strengths and weaknesses of the new T-level courses. During the visits, inspectors evaluated:

the main strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum

how well industry placements were being implemented

how well providers met the needs of learners

We visited a sample of 24 providers. Ten of these were running the TLTP, which inspectors also evaluated.

A group of inspectors visited each provider to carry out visits. The T-level visits took place over 3 days and the TLTP visits over 2 days. We evaluated the quality of provision of each subject in line with the criteria in the education inspection framework.

Inspectors carried out deep dives into each T level and the TLTP. The deep dives covered:

the curriculum

the integration of personal development and wider curriculum

how learners were assessed

the quality of learners' work

the quality of teaching

the quality of industry placements and work experience

the appropriateness of teacher training

During each visit, we spoke to the following:

Following each visit, inspectors completed evaluation reports on each course. Our research and evaluation team carried out a thematic analysis of these reports using qualitative analysis software.

Report findings

Some providers gave learners initial advice and guidance that focused on preparing them for the specific expectations of T levels. Learners were given information about the different components of the course and what their next steps could be. However, not all learners felt prepared for how much work they had to do for a T-level course.

T levels aim to be ambitious. The specific expectations include a combination of exams, a substantial industry placement and an employer-set project.

Inspectors saw examples of some providers managing learners' expectations well. Some providers informed learners about the expectations of T-level courses before they enrolled. Providers arranged information and guidance events and held summer schools. They also ensured that learners knew about their suitability for the course, the structure of the course and progression opportunities. As a result, most learners felt well informed about the course before it started.

Most providers considered carefully which T-level courses to introduce. Providers used their existing relationships with local employers to offer relevant opportunities for their learners. They also considered the subject-specific expertise of their teachers. Providers also used data on the career or further education destinations of their previous learners to identify which T levels to offer.

Most staff gave learners plenty of information about career choices and the different options available. Learners who received this were clear about their chosen careers and the different ways to get there, for example through an apprenticeship or university course.

Learners are not required to achieve a grade 4 in mathematics and English at GCSE to do a T level. However, teachers in some providers were conscious that there were gaps in learners' knowledge, particularly in mathematics and English. This was because of the disruption they had experienced during the pandemic and because they had received centre-assessed GCSE grades that did not always accurately reflect their knowledge. Therefore, some providers chose to require learners to have a minimum of GCSE grade 5 in English and mathematics. This was to ensure that they could cope with course expectations.

Despite this, at the start of their courses, learners did not always have the requisite knowledge and skills. Some teachers assessed learners before the start of the course to identify knowledge gaps. They then ensured that they covered any gaps in their teaching. For example, on one digital course, teachers identified through initial assessments that learners did not know the programming language 'Python' and, as a result, they ensured that this was taught. Teachers also set projects for learners to complete in the summer holidays before they started.

However, some learners still commented that the course turned out to be more challenging and involved a greater depth of learning than they had anticipated.

In a small number of cases, the initial advice and guidance to learners was not effective or was non-existent. Furthermore, learners were not always aware of T levels because of poor information and guidance from schools. In providers where initial advice was weaker, some learners were placed on T-level courses without a clear idea of what they entailed.

Furthermore, the route from T levels to university has not been made clear. Among leaders, teachers and learners, there were concerns about how well university admissions staff understand T levels and the knowledge and skills that learners develop on these courses.

If T levels are to be successful, providers need to inform learners about the expectations of their chosen T-level course. They should help learners to understand how the course helps them to achieve their chosen career. Universities need to recognise and value T levels as qualifications and include them in their entry requirements.

Although some teachers were well prepared for teaching T-level courses, many teachers did not receive comprehensive training and found teaching the new curriculum challenging. Recruitment and retention of staff with sufficient knowledge and experience were challenging due to the pandemic and sector workforce challenges.

Some teachers were well prepared for teaching T-level courses. Providers supported teachers delivering T-level courses by:

having regular meetings and informal discussions, including feedback from observations on what is working well and what can be improved, and planning the curriculum and industry placements

providing internal training sessions and inset days

allowing time for teachers' continuous professional development ( CPD)

Providers also used their links with local employers to support teachers' CPD. For example, teachers sat in on employer workshops or visited workplaces. Curriculum leaders spoke positively about using external industry specialists to fill gaps in teachers' knowledge.

Staff from different subjects and industry specialist teachers worked together to ensure that teaching was based on an expert understanding of the core concepts needed and how to sequence them. In one example, teachers on a construction course did not have experience of the kind of written assessment required for T levels. These construction teachers worked with the English department to understand what to expect from the learners' written assignments and how to improve learners' English.

Awarding bodies also provided training for staff. For example, teachers and managers had direct contact with a specialist from the Council for Awards in Care, Health and Education to help them teach. Some providers were complimentary about the direct help that their awarding body gave. Teachers said the awarding body provided detailed schemes of work and devised webinars that enabled them to explore how best to plan and teach the programme.

However, many teachers reported that developing and teaching the new T-level curriculum alongside other commitments was challenging. They struggled to keep up to date with the new curriculum area.

Most leaders and teachers had taken part in the T Level Professional Development programme run by the Education and Training Foundation ( ETF). However, many teachers did not feel it prepared them to teach T levels. Training was disrupted due to COVID-19. Staff found placements to update their industry knowledge useful, but some of these were delayed or not available. Some teachers said they were not given sufficient time for training and had not attended all the sessions provided. Many teachers participated in ETF webinars on troubleshooting aspects of T levels. Some found them useful at the beginning, while others described them as 'poor'.

Some providers had found it difficult to recruit industry specialist teachers. They reported that it was more challenging to recruit teachers for the construction course than for the other courses because of a lack of applicants with suitable knowledge and expertise. One provider had concerns about offering other T levels in the future, because they thought they would struggle to recruit specialist teachers.

Some providers did not have access to resources such as textbooks and practice exam papers.

Across all T levels, providers were dissatisfied that some resources from awarding bodies were initially not available. Textbooks, teaching materials and sample exam papers were either delayed or in short supply. Staff reported that the quality of resources varied. They identified inconsistencies in both the curriculum content and assessment content, and spelling errors. Some staff were frustrated about not having clear direction, support and timely answers from their awarding body.

As a result, some teachers were unsure of the breadth and depth of content that they should cover in modules. They were also uncertain about how to ensure learners had the required level of knowledge and skill to pass their exams.

Consequently, not all learners were confident about how prepared they would be for the summative T-level exams. Most 2022 learners had never taken external exams and said that they would value more opportunities to practise exam questions.

Providers will now be in a stronger position, since course textbooks and awarding body materials have been published. However, all awarding bodies must ensure that resources are available in good time for future T-level courses.

Providers that were more effective had already used the flexibility in the new T-level courses to sequence the T-level components in a coherent way that develops learners' knowledge and skills.

Providers have flexibility to structure curriculum content in the best way to develop learners' knowledge and skills. Inspectors saw good practice in some providers where teachers sequenced and linked topics in a way that complemented each other. As a result, learners were better able to make links between concepts and developed foundational knowledge first, which they then built on over time. For example, in one health T level, learners were taught foundational knowledge on infection control, safeguarding and musculoskeletal systems at the beginning of the course to prepare them for industry placements.

Teachers used practical examples and case studies to develop knowledge. Some providers built high-quality, industry-standard simulated work environments, such as hospital wards, often using capital funding awarded from central government. This helped learners to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours they need for work. For example, learners on a healthcare course commented that learning how to use medical equipment, such as blood pressure cuffs, gave them a realistic idea of what it is like to be a healthcare professional.

However, not all courses or providers could provide realistic working environments to help learners develop their theoretical knowledge when not on placement. For example, on education courses, some providers had only built simulated early years environments. This was despite many learners on the T level working with other age groups.

Some providers set a project for learners to complete at the beginning of their course to develop fundamental vocational knowledge. In one construction course, learners carried out a project based on building a house. The design brief allowed them to demonstrate a range of skills and knowledge, including:

research skills, when finding suitable land

law knowledge, when obtaining the appropriate permissions

mathematics and design skills, when sourcing materials and costing the build

When structuring the curriculum, providers also considered the most beneficial time for placements. Some providers planned for learners to take placements in blocks. For example, employers in digital industries gave learners experience of working intensively on time-bound projects. Other providers chose to begin their placements early in the course. This was so that learners could practise the skills they learned throughout the course.

Teachers made sure that learners could apply theoretical concepts in practice. For example, in one education and childcare T level, learners studied theorists such as Pavlov, Thorndike and Skinner. This helped them to understand children's behaviour and responses. They then applied this knowledge when planning activities for children on their placements.

In the weakest examples, learners reported a disconnect between their industry placement and theory sessions. Some employers didn't know what learners were studying in the classroom, so they did not routinely give them the opportunity to put theory into practice.

In a small number of providers, inspectors found the curriculum to be underdeveloped and not sequenced effectively. Fundamental concepts were not introduced early enough or revisited sufficiently so that learners could apply them in different contexts. In one example, the provider taught project management tools without considering what tools learners would need in the other parts of the course. As a result, learners were unable to apply these in their other learning. Without coherent sequencing, learners will not be able to make links between topics and modules or make good progress through the curriculum.

Concerningly, a number of providers simply used the list of topics in the specification from the awarding organisation as a curriculum. This meant that they did not sufficiently consider learners' needs when planning the curriculum. This led to providers teaching subjects in the order set out in the specification of each T level.

Many leaders talked about adapting and improving their curriculum planning after the first year. They mentioned changes to the sequencing of course content and the time spent on certain aspects of the course. They also mentioned running more refresher sessions on study skills. In future, providers will need to use the flexibility of T levels to ensure that they teach content in the best way for learners.

Learners were appreciative of the quality of teaching on their T-level course. However, teachers faced challenges in balancing all the requirements of the course.

Inspectors found that the curriculum was often at the right level for learners to develop the skills and knowledge required for the T level. Teachers asked pertinent questions to check and develop learners' understanding. Learners appreciated this high-quality teaching.

Teachers used a variety of assessment methods to check learners' understanding, knowledge and recall. Teachers used this information to identify gaps in learning and to adjust their teaching. Learners said that feedback helped them to improve their work and address weaknesses.

However, in a few cases, inspectors found that the curriculum was not challenging enough. For example, in one digital course, the problems that learners were expected to solve were mundane, requiring them to copy and paste code into a solution rather than writing it from scratch.

Providers faced challenges in balancing all the requirements of the course. Course leaders and teachers expressed concerns that there was too much content to cover in class. This led to some modules feeling rushed.

Some providers struggled to offer personal development or wider curriculum sessions on topics such as mental health, money management and team working. They found it difficult to make time to include these in the timetable along with the vocational curriculum and the large industry placement.

Most learners received study skills sessions, such as academic writing and referencing. However, inspectors found that learners did not always remember or use this knowledge correctly or consistently when producing research-based work.

Furthermore, teachers told us there was insufficient time for learners to work towards re-sitting their GCSEs if they needed to. There was some concern that studying for mathematics and English GCSEs alongside a T level would add stress and pressure.

The less effective providers were not monitoring learners' progress enough, checking for understanding in lessons or giving effective feedback. Not all teachers had yet developed a fully effective assessment strategy. Some assessment activities were poorly planned and executed, or pitched at the wrong level to check learners' understanding. As a result, learners did not make good progress and struggled to remember concepts they had been taught.

Most providers had appropriate arrangements in place to identify and support learners who had additional needs. However, in a small number of cases, the help providers gave was not effective. For example, they dealt with requests for support too slowly. Where support was weaker, inspectors reported that some learners seemed disengaged in lessons.

The more effective industry placements gave broad, high-quality and appropriate experiences that helped learners make decisions about their futures.

Every T level includes an industry placement to develop technical occupational skills. Learners develop work-related skills by working with experienced professionals.

The more effective placements involved providers linking these to learners' future career goals. These placements helped learners to make decisions about their future careers. In the best examples, placements inspired and excited learners and helped them to make progress. Learners' experiences developed their thinking in a way that purely classroom-based learning would not have. These placements were highly valued by learners. Learners said that placements were enjoyable, productive, informative and helped to develop their life skills and interaction with colleagues.

Most learners benefited from high-quality industry placements with employers. In the education T level, for example, learners managed the behaviour of a whole class of children with support. In a digital course, learners were taught how to edit code, monitor website analytics, design graphics, post social media content and create email campaigns.

Placements offer learners a broad experience by giving them opportunities in different departments or roles, for example different hospital wards in health and science placements. In one construction placement, the employer planned for learners to experience the whole of a building project. This helped them to understand how different specialisms, such as plumbing and electrical engineering, contribute to a building project.

Placements with a good breadth of experiences helped learners to make career decisions. Learners said that placements helped to identify areas they wanted to specialise in, some of which they would not have considered previously.

In the more effective placements, employers helped learners to secure their practical learning and progress through the curriculum faster. Learners were given specific responsibility for a task or additional responsibility. In one education T-level placement, the employer saw learners as trainee teaching assistants or nursery practitioners. In one digital placement, an employer entrusted a learner with the redesign of the company website. This learner modernised the website, made it more accessible and used analytics to increase the site's social media presence.

However, a small number of learners reported that they had only been allowed to observe or complete basic tasks. For example, they were asked to prepare the children's snacks in education settings or complete data entry on digital placements.

Inspectors also reported that some placements lacked structure. This meant that learners had no clear expectations for what they needed to do and when. Some managers had ensured that an agreement was in place to allow learners to cover the required criteria and learning outcomes. However, in some providers, there was no focus on specific knowledge and skill development over time.

When designing the next T-level courses, employers should focus on giving learners experiences that are relevant to their course. Providers should monitor learners' achievements and progress, ensuring that placements have a positive impact. We found that this was not happening in some cases.

The more effective T-level curriculums were developed by providers in collaboration with employers.

The most effective T-level curriculums were developed through collaboration between providers and employers. Learners benefited from employers' expert and up-to-date knowledge and skills. For example, the head of clinical education from the local hospital helped to develop facilities and taught on a health T-level course. Employers also taught learners about professional behaviours in the workplace and what they could expect on placement. Consequently, learners got an excellent introduction before starting their placement. Industry specialists and staff from employers had given skills classes, for example on interview skills or employer expectations, and workshop-based sessions. Learners enjoyed these sessions.

Collaboration between providers and employers was also essential to organising placements. Inspectors saw examples of good practice where providers worked with employers effectively to plan high-quality experiences. Employers were well briefed in the requirements and expectations of the industry placement and were involved in planning the T level. Employers valued regular updates from the provider's staff. They felt that strong communication helped them to support learners on placement. During many placements, teachers monitored learners' progress closely. They visited learners while they were on placement and assessed their practical work. On the best placements, employers encouraged learners to reflect on their own progress.

In a small number of cases, providers did not tell employers what was being taught and when. As a result, employers were not able to plan a placement that put into practice the knowledge and skills that learners gained in the classroom.

In a small number of cases, neither employers nor learners could explain how learners were assessed in the workplace. These employers reported that they had not been asked to complete any assessments of learners' work or provide feedback on their progress.

The strongest employers and providers worked together to ensure that learners understood and worked in line with health and safety procedures when on placement. Some employers were clear about their safeguarding responsibilities. However, others were less confident about safeguarding arrangements for learners. To help these employers, some providers had developed employer guidebooks and established a point of contact.

At the time of our visits, many learners were experiencing delays in starting industry placements, primarily due to the impact of COVID-19. Providers of digital, construction, and health and science courses in particular were struggling to find employers.

Work-based learning is a fundamental part of the T-level course. Without this, learners will not have sufficient experience of working with experienced professionals or work environments. They will therefore miss out on opportunities to learn skills needed for their career.

Not all learners had been on a placement at the time of our visit. Inspectors reported that learners were experiencing delays in starting placements, often due to the impact of COVID-19. In some cases, learners had a placement planned but it had not yet started. In others, learners did not have any placement planned. Learners who had not been able to go on placement felt that they were at a disadvantage and had had a lesser experience than their peers.

Providers of digital, construction, and health and science courses struggled to attract enough high-quality employers. The pandemic was a significant barrier for employers when offering placements. Many businesses required their staff to work from home, or had experienced staff shortages and could therefore no longer host a learner on placement.

Health and science placements were particularly affected. To work in some health settings, learners had to be over the age of 18 and double vaccinated against COVID-19. Disclosure and Barring Service checks were delayed, which prevented learners from starting placements. Some placements in local hospitals were unable to go ahead. Therefore, many learners were on placement in pharmacies and care homes, which did not always directly link to their future career goals.

Providers of digital T levels also had difficulties organising placements. They reported that IT support is often provided by small businesses with limited capacity to take on placement learners. Providers offering digital T levels also expressed some concern that the industry capacity for placements will not be enough when the number of providers increases.

Providers that have historically offered childcare and education courses told inspectors that their pre-existing relationships with employers were vital in providing placements. As a result, employers understand the requirements of the placement and have experience in supporting learners. In one provider, learners benefited from excellent placements with schools that were committed to providing high-quality, relevant experiences. This contrasts with digital programmes, for example, where providers did not always have these relationships.

There were a handful of cases, mostly on health and science and digital courses, where no learners on the course had been able to start a placement. Providers reported that industry placements were due to start later in the year.

Two providers delayed the start of the industry placement because learners were not ready for work. These providers felt that the effects of isolation and the pandemic had led to weaker social skills and a lack of confidence. However, these learners were on placement at the time of our visit and employers thought it was a positive experience for both learners and themselves.

Delays to placements led to frustration and anxiety for learners.

The TLTP did not always result in learners progressing on to a T level as intended.

At some providers, the TLTP was preparing learners effectively to study a T level. The curriculum design enabled learners to gain the skills, knowledge and positive behaviours they needed. Learners gained a good basic understanding of topics that they would expand on in the T level. However, during our visits it was clear that many learners would not necessarily progress to a T-level course from the TLTP.

In some cases, this was due to providers setting up TLTP courses without the clear purpose of preparing learners for a T level. For example, providers had offered learners the TLTP in subjects that are not yet offered as a T-level course, making immediate progress to a T-level course impossible. For example, there is no T level in sport for learners studying a sport TLTP. Inspectors also saw examples of learners being placed on the TLTP to retake GCSEs before progressing to their preferred A-level courses.

Indeed, many learners were unclear about their next steps after the TLTP. Some learners said that this was because of a lack of careers advice and guidance. Some could talk about their preferred career paths but were unsure of how to achieve their ambitions. Learners were not always able to identify the different T levels that they might take on completing the TLTP.

Some learners on the TLTP did not expect to get the grades required to progress to a T level. Additionally, learners did not always feel well prepared for the quantity of work they would need to complete on their TLTP. Some found the timetable and workload difficult to manage, particularly those who were also studying English and maths GCSEs.

As a result, it was clear that many learners would not necessarily start a T-level course once they had completed the TLTP.

Teaching on the TLTP was generally of a high standard

Even though the TLTP was not always clearly going to lead to a T level, the quality of teaching on the TLTP was generally of a high standard. Teachers were well qualified and learners benefited from their experience. The strongest teachers understood what learners needed to gain from the TLTP.

Most learners completed work to a high standard and engaged well in lessons. Learners benefited from constructive and developmental feedback from their teachers, which improved their knowledge and skills.

As with T-level courses, teachers used a range of assessment tools to check learners' understanding and make sure that they were retaining knowledge over time. These included written tasks, verbal discussions and presentations. When teachers found that learners had not understood topics, they extended sessions or revisited learning to overcome learners' difficulties. Some teachers taught learners exam techniques to make sure that they were ready to sit T-level exams.

Leaders had generally planned a good range of personal development activities as part of the TLTP. Teachers were running regular sessions on professional and personal skills. Some providers were also offering targeted help to improve their employability. This included interview practice and CV writing sessions.

The quality of work experience for learners on the TLTP was not always high.. Providers did not always help learners on the programme to find appropriate work experience relevant to their course.

Learners' work experience, a fundamental part of the TLTP, was not always of a high quality. The best work experience was organised by staff, who ensured it was relevant to the course content. Providers had sometimes integrated level 2 qualifications into the TLTP. This is because the qualifications often required learners to complete industry placements in multiple settings.[footnote 10]

Concerningly, at a few providers, learners themselves were responsible for sourcing work experience. Learners were not always successful at arranging work experience or ensuring that they were relevant to their learning. At one provider, only one learner on the course was on work experience at the time of the visit. This had been arranged by a member of the learner's family and there was little evidence of input from the curriculum team. Additionally, unlike learners on T-level courses, TLTP learners did not always have access to work experience coordinators.

Without strong coordination and planning from the provider, TLTP learners may not be gaining the full opportunities and skills they need from their work experience, if at all. This is a fundamental element of the course, giving learners the workplace skills they need to progress to a T level. Providers need to ensure that they are providing this fundamental component of TLTP.

Recommendations from our visits

Based on our findings, we recommend that providers:

provide initial advice and guidance to learners before they start a T-level course, such as summer schools and projects, to help them decide on which pathway to study

make sure that the curriculum sequences the different components of a T level in a coherent way that develops learners' knowledge and skills

reduce any delays to learners going on placements

collaborate with employers to make sure that learners get a high-quality curriculum

monitor learners' achievements and progress and the impact of placements on learners' knowledge and skills

ensure that learners on the TLTP get relevant work experience

We also recommend that employers:

provide placements that give learners appropriate experiences relevant to their T level

The Department for Education should:

We recommend that awarding bodies:

make sure that teachers and learners have access to the resources they need in good time

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A review of the quality of T-level courses: interim report

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T levels provide learners aged 16 to 19 with a new opportunity to study a high-quality and ambitious technical qualification. We visited a sample of providers that were among the first to offer these qualifications. This study evaluates the quality of T-level courses in those providers.

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UEA: Film Studies: British Film – Social Realism

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UEA: Film Studies: British Film – Social Realism

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Year 12/13
15:15 - 16:15
14th November 2022

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Channel Talent - Interactive school webinars

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Register here
In this Film Studies session, Keith M Johnston, Professor of Film & Television Studies in the School of Art, Media and American Studies at University of East Anglia, will run an interactive talk for students on British Film - Social Realism.

Since the 1930s, British cinema has been hailed for its 'social realist' approach to cinema with a series of films, film movements, and directors that are regularly discussed in relation to that term. But what exactly is a 'social realist' film? And why has Britain's film industry returned to it time and time again?

From creative documentaries on housing problems to fictional narratives about other social 'problems', via angry young men (and women) and films that set out to change government policy, this session will explore how social realism developed in specific historical moments and in relation to particular social issues. It will look at key figures and films from different time periods and encourage you to consider what a social realist British film should look like in the year 2022

The session will develop thinking, skills and approaches to support students in their Film Studies studies and future aspirations.

Lecturer Profile (Please Click): Professor Keith M Johnston is an expert on comedy, science fiction, horror, and social realism within British Cinema history.

Our events are designed so that a group of students can take part from a classroom or students and teachers can take part as individuals, either from school or from home. This means that sessions will continue irrespective of possible school closures.

As a live, participative event, this session will not be recorded but slides and other resources will be shared after the event, where available.

Suitable for: Year 12 & 13 students (and equivalent) studying, or with a possible interest in studying, Film Studies and related disciplines.

Preparation/Pre-Reading: Students may wish to consider the topic in advance and questions they have. Students can also think about questions about studying Film Studies at university level.

The IT Setup: The event will be run on Bluejeans (similar to Zoom) and participants will be able to join using laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. If you are joining as a school group, we recommend connecting with one device and projecting on to a whiteboard. You will be able to interact with the university via a microphone and/or typed comments and questions. Full details will be sent to those who have registered (see below) prior to the event.

Booking a Place: This is free for schools and colleges. If you would like to take part in this event, please register your interest using the link to the registration form below:
Register here

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Film Studies: British Film - Social Realism With Professor Keith M Johnston From University of East Anglia - Channel Talent - Interactive school webinars

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Register here In this Film Studies session, Keith M Johnston, Professor of Film & Television Studies in the School of Art, Media and American Studies at University of East Anglia, will run an interactive talk for students on British Film - Social Realism.

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29th & 30th June 2023
BFI Southbank and Online

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The BFI Film and Media Conference (fomerley the BFI Media Conference) is a unique CPD opportunity for teachers of KS4/5 Film, Media and English. We look forward to welcoming you for sessions packed with opportunities to hear from and talk directly with industry practitioners, researchers and other teachers, leaving you full of ideas to take back to your students. Programme available from April 2023.

Early bird booking opens March 2023.

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The BFI Film and Media Conference (fomerley the BFI Media Conference) is a unique CPD opportunity for teachers of KS4/5 Film, Media and English. We look forward to welcoming you for sessions packed with opportunities to hear from and talk directly with industry practitioners, researchers and other teachers, leaving you full of ideas to take back to your students.

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18:00-20:00
8th December 2022
Norwich University of the Arts.

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Thursday 8 December | 6.00 to 8.00pm

Join Jon Dunleavy, Course Leader for BA (Hons) Animation and BA (Hons) Animation and Visual Effects for this follow up session on digital drawing on campus at Norwich University of the Arts.

You'll have an opportunity to experiment in Adobe Photoshop, to explore drawing techniques and will begin to develop your own character cast sheet. This session is for teachers, technicians and advisers and you do not need to have attended the first session in October 2022.
This event is being hosted for Teachers, Technicians and Advisers.

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Thursday 8 December | 6.00 to 8.00pm You'll have an opportunity to experiment in Adobe Photoshop, to explore drawing techniques and will begin to develop your own character cast sheet. This session is for teachers, technicians and advisers and you do not need to have attended the first session in October 2022.

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Ofqual: Apply to be an external expert with Ofqual - Subject matter expertise in vocational and technical subject areas

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Ofqual: Apply to be an external expert with Ofqual - Subject matter expertise in vocational and technical subject areas

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Updated: 20th October 2022

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Find out what the role of an external expert involves and how to apply.

We often require advice from people with expertise to help with our work on qualifications and assessments for GCSEs, A levels, a wide range of vocational and technical qualifications and new apprenticeship end-point assessments.

External experts are invaluable to the work we do to ensure the qualifications we regulate are fit for purpose ensuring that the right things can be assessed in a consistent way.

What we look for in external experts

We are looking for people from a wide range of backgrounds.

You might:

be a teacher, practitioner, assessor, examiner or an academic

have extensive skills and experience in a particular industry

How to apply

If you would like to provide subject matter expertise in vocational and technical subject areas, please register your interest.
Register your interest
We are not currently seeking additional subject matter expertise in academic subjects.

Current experts

To see who is currently advising us, download our current .

Terms and conditions, and privacy statement

These are the terms and conditions for external experts and the .

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Apply to be an external expert with Ofqual

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Ofqual & DfE: Consultation on Ensuring the resilience of the qualifications system in 2023: GCSE, AS, A level, Project and AEA

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Ofqual & DfE: Consultation on Ensuring the resilience of the qualifications system in 2023: GCSE, AS, A level, Project and AEA

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Published: 29th September 2022
Deadline: 20th October 2022

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Detail of outcome

As outlined in our consultation document, both the DfE and Ofqual have responsibilities in this area, and so we consulted jointly.

The DfE is responsible for its policy for qualifications (including whether the government considers that exams can go ahead safely and fairly as planned) and the subject content that is taught and assessed. Ofqual is responsible for assessment arrangements and is therefore responsible for setting rules to implement alternative arrangements, if required.

As outlined in the consultation, the DfE considers that, if it becomes necessary to cancel exams this should apply to all students and a TAG approach should be implemented nationally. This would only happen due to an event like the pandemic which has such severe and catastrophic consequences for a significant number of students. The DfE has also confirmed that TAGs would not be used to award a grade when exams take place.

In line with our respective responsibilities, Ofqual and the DfE have decided to implement the proposals set out in the consultation about the provision of guidance for teachers on how they should collect evidence of student performance. The DfE has decided that the provision of guidance for schools and colleges is appropriate, given its responsibilities in this area. Ofqual has decided that the proposed guidance would support schools and colleges in gathering evidence of student performance that could be used to determine a TAG should exams not be able to go ahead as planned. Ofqual has revised the guidance consulted on, in response to feedback, with a view to minimise further the burden on students, schools and colleges. Ofqual has taken a decision to publish the final guidance, in line with its responsibilities for qualifications and assessments, including in the unlikely case that exams cannot go ahead.

The government is firmly committed to exams taking place. Schools and colleges are, therefore, not asked to determine TAGs and should not seek to do so. Guidance on how to determine a TAG, and on any quality assurance and appeal processes, will be provided only in the unlikely event that exams are not able to go ahead safely or fairly. These arrangements would depend on the nature and timing of any decision that exams cannot take place.

In this decisions document and the accompanying analysis, we have not sought to discuss every point made by those who responded to our consultation. In taking our respective decisions and finalising the guidance we have, however, considered all the points made in response to the consultation.

Detail of feedback received

The Department for Education (DfE) and Ofqual welcomed the return of exams and other formal assessments in summer 2022, for the first time since 2019. Exams and other formal assessments are the best and fairest way of assessing what students know and can do. That's why it was so important that students were able to take exams in 2022 and can continue to take them in 2023 and in the future.

The national cancellation of exams - and the need for alternative assessment arrangements - is now very unlikely. The government does not expect to ever be in the situation again where exams do not go ahead, but good public policy means having contingency, even for extremely unlikely scenarios.

A consultation, prepared jointly by the DfE and Ofqual, invited views on guidance to schools and colleges about gathering assessment evidence to support resilience in the exams system in the unlikely event it is necessary to use that evidence to inform Teacher Assessed Grades (TAGs). The proposed guidance was designed to allow schools and colleges to decide how to gather evidence of student performance in assessments in ways that align with their normal arrangements for preparing students for exams. The consultation asked for the views of relevant people and institutions, such as students, teachers, exam boards, schools and colleges and their representatives on the proposed guidance. In particular, it sought their views on whether it supported the gathering of evidence to build resilience in the system whilst minimising any additional burden on teachers and students.

Responses to the consultation have informed the arrangements for gathering assessment evidence to support resilience in the exams system in 2023 that we have now put in place. The decisions taken on the final form of the guidance are set out in a decisions document, and the final guidance itself can be found here . The consultation was available online for 21 days and received 213 responses.

Original consultation

Summary

Consultation proposals for gathering evidence of student performance in GCSE, AS, A level, Project and AEA qualifications to support qualification system resilience in 2023.

This consultation ran from

Consultation description

We welcomed the return of exams and other formal assessments in summer 2022, for the first time since 2019. Exams and other formal assessments are the best and fairest way of assessing what students know and can do. That's why it was so important that we got back to students taking them in 2022, and that this continues next year.

The national closure of schools or cancellation of exams - necessitating the use of alternative assessment arrangements - is now very unlikely. The government does not expect to ever be in the situation again where exams do not go ahead, but good public policy means having contingency, even for extremely unlikely scenarios.

It is important to learn lessons from the past 3 years. We have taken into account feedback received on the arrangements in place in 2022 and we propose to put in place arrangements which will build resilience in the exam system next year. We know that most schools and colleges have robust and effective assessment activities in place to monitor students' progress and prepare them for exams, such as mock exams, and these are well established.

This document, prepared jointly by the Department for Education (DfE) and Ofqual, invites views on guidance to schools and colleges about gathering assessment evidence to support resilience in the exams system in the unlikely event it is necessary to use that evidence to inform Teacher Assessed Grades (TAGs). It is designed to allow schools and colleges to determine arrangements to gather evidence that align with their normal arrangements for preparing students for exams.

The proposals in this consultation apply to GCSEs, AS, A levels, Project Qualifications and the Advanced Extension Award (AEA) in mathematics.

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Ensuring the resilience of the qualifications system in 2023: GCSE, AS, A level, Project and AEA

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Consultation proposals for gathering evidence of student performance in GCSE, AS, A level, Project and AEA qualifications to support qualification system resilience in 2023.

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Eduqas: A-level Media Studies: Assessment and Classroom Practice - Non-Exam Assessment (Online)

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Eduqas: A-level Media Studies: Assessment and Classroom Practice - Non-Exam Assessment (Online)

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16:00-18:00
6th December 2022
Online

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EDUQAS: A-level Media Studies: Assessment and Classroom Practice - Exam Components (Online)

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EDUQAS: A-level Media Studies: Assessment and Classroom Practice - Exam Components (Online)

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16:00-18:00
29th November 2022
Online

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Deadline: 14th October 2022

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Pearson: NEW BTEC Tech Awards L1/2 Support Pages 

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Pearson: NEW BTEC Tech Awards L1/2 Support Pages 

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Published: 3rd October 2022

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Copyright © 1996 - 2022 Pearson All rights reserved.

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Year 12/13
17:30-18:30
13th October 2022

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Channel Talent - Interactive school webinars

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Register here
In this Screenwriting session, Steve Waters, Professor of Scriptwriting in the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing at University of East Anglia, will run an interactive skills and insight workshop for students on The Art of Screenwriting.

This online session will explore the basics of screenwriting: why is a screenplay formatted as it is? How can your story be told visually and dramatically? What role does sound or point of view play?

Using extracts from screenplays and writing exercises, this workshop offers some ways into writing for Film and Television.

The session will develop skills and approaches to support students in their Screenwriting interests.
Lecturer Profile (Please Click): Professor Steve Waters
Our events are designed so that a group of students can take part from a classroom or students and teachers can take part as individuals, either from school or from home. This means that sessions will continue irrespective of possible school closures.

As a live, participative event, this session will not be recorded but slides and other resources will be shared after the event, where available.

Suitable for: Year 12 & 13 students (and equivalent) studying, or with a possible interest in studying, Screenwriting and related disciplines.

Preparation/Pre-Reading: Students may wish to consider the topic in advance, with respect to challenges they may face or questions they have. Students can also think about questions they have about studying Screenwriting at university level.

The IT Setup: The event will be run on Bluejeans (similar to Zoom) and participants will be able to join using laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. If you are joining as a school group, we recommend connecting with one device and projecting on to a whiteboard. You will be able to interact with the university via a microphone and/or typed comments and questions. Full details will be sent to those who have registered (see below) prior to the event.

Booking a Place: This is free for schools and colleges. If you would like to take part in this event, please register your interest using the link to the registration form below:
Register here

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Screenwriting: Skills & Insight - The Art of Screenwriting: Workshop with Professor Steve Waters From University of East Anglia - Channel Talent - Interactive school webinars

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Register here In this Screenwriting session, Steve Waters, Professor of Scriptwriting in the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing at University of East Anglia, will run an interactive skills and insight workshop for students on The Art of Screenwriting. This online session will explore the basics of screenwriting: why is a screenplay formatted as it is?

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UEA: How Do Actors & Directors Read Film Scripts? - Online

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UEA: How Do Actors & Directors Read Film Scripts? - Online

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Year 12/13
15:35-16:20
3rd October 2022

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Channel Talent - Interactive school webinars

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Register here
Join Christabelle Dilks for a fascinating in-depth Headliner as she explores the importance of the Script in film and television drama. Imagine you're a producer or a designer: what clues can you find in the script to help you do your job? Christabelle has a long track-record working for the BBC and Channel 4 and in the Headliner recorded resource which sets the scene for the live tutorial (see below) she explains to students Who's Who on a Film Set, and demonstrates how the script contains vital clues.

Then, in a live tutorial on Monday 3rd October at 3:35pm, Christabelle invites students to imagine they are actors preparing to perform the central roles in a popular recent TV drama series. Students will learn how to analyse a short scene from the script to discover the hidden structure and character clues it contains. Would-be directors will be invited to imagine how they would direct the scene. An essential session for all budding actors and filmmakers! (See Preparation/Pre-Reading below to download the scene).

The session aims to deepen students' understanding of the topic whilst enabling them to access and experience a live online university tutorial.

Lecturer Profile (Please Click): Christabelle Dilks worked as an actor at the National Theatre before training as a film director. She worked in film and television for many years as a writer and script-editor before teaching screenwriting and media production at UEA.

Our events are designed so that a group of students can take part from a classroom, or students and teachers can take part as individuals, either from school or from home. This means that sessions will continue irrespective of possible school closures.

As a live, participative event, this session will not be recorded but access to the Headliner recording will continue to be accessible.

Suitable for: Key Stage 5, and equivalent, students studying or with an interest in studying Media & Communication, Film and related subjects. Teachers and members of school staff, as always, are welcome too and participants can join as individuals from school/college or home, or as a group from school/college.

Preparation/Pre-Reading: Students are asked to watch the Headliner recording and, afterwards, as per the instructions in the Headliner, please consider Scene 20 from (Click Here) Normal People Episode 1 Script and have this to hand for the live tutorial (NB, we will focus on Scene 20 though you are welcome to read the whole episode).

The IT Setup: The event will be run on Bluejeans and participants will be able to join using laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. If you are joining as a school group, we recommend connecting with one device and projecting on to a whiteboard. You will be able to interact with the university via a microphone and/or typed comments and questions. Full details will be sent to those who have registered (see below) prior to the event.

Booking a Place: This is free for schools and colleges. If you would like to take part in this event, please register your interest using the link to the registration form below:
Register here

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Media & Film: Creative Media Production - How Do Actors & Directors Read Film Scripts? University Tutorial With Christabelle Dilks From University of East Anglia - Channel Talent - Interactive school webinars

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Register here Join Christabelle Dilks for a fascinating in-depth Headliner as she explores the importance of the Script in film and television drama. Imagine you're a producer or a designer: what clues can you find in the script to help you do your job?

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AQA: GCSE and A-level Media Studies: NEA arrangements for summer 2023

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AQA: GCSE and A-level Media Studies: NEA arrangements for summer 2023

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Published: 8th September 2022

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The Department for Education (DfE) and Ofqual have confirmed the arrangements for subject content in GCSE, AS and A-levels and non-exam assessment (NEA) in qualifications taking place in the 2022 to 2023 academic year. For students taking exams in summer 2023, the usual arrangements for NEA are now in place.

To support your teaching, we wanted to remind you of the specification requirements for GCSE and A-level Media Studies for 2023. Please re-visit the original specifications which you can download from our GCSE Media Studies (8572) and A-level Media Studies (7572) specification pages. Here you'll find information on NEA and how this should be assessed.

For summer 2023: GCSE and A-level

For Media Studies NEA, we'll only accept the standard submissions of final products, we cannot allow submissions of a prototype/mock-up with supporting evidence.

The 2023 NEA briefs were released on Centre Services on 1 March 2022.

With the exception of musical performances and existing company logos, students should not use any non-original material in their media products. If a student does use any non-original images, footage or text, they should be aware that their marks will be limited by the marking criteria. All non-original material must be acknowledged on the candidate record form.

CSP booklet

You can find the latest version of the 2023 Close Study Product (CSP) booklet on Centre Services following the instructions below.

Log in to Centre Services

Go to 'Resources'

Select 'Assessment and training' from the dropdown menu

Select 'Media Studies' from the list of subjects

Using the filters on the left, select the qualification and specification level you need

Under 'Resource type', select 'Preliminary material'

From the list of results, you'll be able to download the 2023 CSP booklet.

For GCSE only

For His Dark Materials, the link to BBC iPlayer in the CSP booklet begins with a three-minute recap of series 1. This does not form part of study for students. Students should study from the start of series 2, episode 1: 'The City of Magpies', when Lyra wakes up.
See all updates

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GCSE and A-level Media Studies: NEA arrangements for summer 2023

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The Department for Education (DfE) and Ofqual have confirmed the arrangements for subject content in GCSE, AS and A-levels and non-exam assessment (NEA) in qualifications taking place in the 2022 to 2023 academic year. For students taking exams in summer 2023, the usual arrangements for NEA are now in place.

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ETF: T-LEVEL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OFFER FOR LEARNING PROVIDERS AND PRACTITIONERS

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ETF: T-LEVEL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OFFER FOR LEARNING PROVIDERS AND PRACTITIONERS

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This suite of courses is suitable for anyone supporting T Level learners with embedded English, maths and digital competencies in T Levels.

The suite of courses is made up of:

Supporting T Level Learners with Embedded English (online)

Supporting T Level Learners with Embedded Maths (online)

Supporting T Level Learners with Embedded Digital (online)

Supporting T Level Learners with Embedded English, Maths and Digital (face-to-face or live online)

Course delivery: a mixture of online and face-to-face courses.

Taking both course options will maximise the impact of your CPD activity, but if you are time-limited, taking either the online course or the face-to-face/live online event will provide you with the knowledge you need.

Supporting T Level Learners with Embedded English

This course will introduce vocational teachers to the General English Competencies and explore how these can be used to develop the embedded English skills of learners on T Levels. It will help you to:

examine the General English Competencies in vocational context

explore and evaluate practical pedagogical approaches to teaching, learning and assessment of the General English Competencies in T Levels.

Course delivery: online course, accessed through the Professional Development Platform once you have inputted your T Level Occupational Specialism.

Recommended six hours of self-guided learning.

Supporting T Level Learners with Embedded Maths

This course will introduce vocational teachers to the General Maths Competencies and explore how these can be used to support learners as they develop and apply the embedded maths skills in T Levels. It will help you to:

consider some teaching, learning and assessment activities that will support the development of learners' procedural fluency and conceptual understanding of maths skills

explore and examine practical pedagogical approaches to teaching maths skills within your specialist area

review some resources that you can use to help your learners develop the required maths skills for employment.

Course delivery: online course, accessed through the Professional Development Platform once you have inputted your T Level Occupational Specialism.

Recommended six hours of self-guided learning.

Supporting T Level Learners with Embedded Digital

This course will introduce vocational teachers to the General Digital Competencies and explore how these can be used to develop the digital skills and confidence of learners on T Levels. It will help you to:

examine the General Digital Competencies in vocational context

explore and evaluate practical pedagogical approaches to teaching, learning and assessment of the General Digital Competencies in T Levels

identify resources and activities to help learners to develop and demonstrate their digital knowledge, skills and understanding in vocational context.

Course delivery: online course, accessed through the Professional Development Platform once you have inputted your T Level Occupational Specialism

Recommended six hours of self-guided learning.

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T Level Role and Route Specific Training - The Education and Training Foundation

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This suite of courses is suitable for anyone supporting T Level learners with embedded English, maths and digital competencies in T Levels. The suite of courses is made up of: Supporting T Level Learners with Embedded English (online) Supporting T Level Learners with Embedded Maths (online) Supporting T Level Learners with Embedded Digital (online) Supporting T Level Learners with Embedded English, Maths and Digital (face-to-face or live online) Course delivery: a mixture of online and face-to-face courses.

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Ofqual: Arrangements for 2022 to 2023 NEAs and Exams

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Ofqual: Arrangements for 2022 to 2023 NEAs and Exams

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- Ofqual confirms the usual arrangements for NEA, fieldwork and practical science are in place for 2023.
- Ofqual will ask exam boards to look carefully at the design of the exam timetable for next year, to see if the increased spacing between subjects in the exam timetable should be retained.

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Applies to England

In 2021 and 2022, Ofqual made a range of adjustments to the arrangements for NEA and fieldwork and practical science requirements in some GCSE, AS and A level subjects to respond to public health measures. Given that they are no longer in force, for the 2023 cohort Ofqual confirms that, as planned, the usual arrangements for NEA, fieldwork and practical science are now in place.

For the 2022 cohort, the Department for Education determined that there should be a choice of topics in GCSE English literature, history and ancient history and a choice of content in GCSE geography as part of a range of adaptations to GCSE, AS and A levels for this year. For 2023, the Department for Education confirms the return to full subject content coverage for those GCSE subjects.

For other qualifications, including vocational and technical qualifications taught alongside or instead of GCSEs, AS and A levels, a range of adaptations were permitted in academic year 2021 to 2022. Awarding organisations decided which adaptations were appropriate for their qualifications in accordance with Ofqual's Vocational and Technical Qualifications Contingency Regulatory Framework (VCRF). Some adaptations were in response to public health restrictions. Given that public health restrictions are no longer in place, these adaptations are no longer necessary for the academic year 2022 to 2023 onwards.

This means that schools and colleges have the information they need to plan their teaching of the required content and to provide non-exam assessments. The Department for Education and Ofqual will continue to monitor the path and impact of the pandemic and evaluate the delivery of arrangements this year, including the provision of exam aids, such as formulae sheets, and advance information to support students' revision, before finalising 2023 arrangements. Our intention is to return to the carefully designed and well-established pre-pandemic assessment arrangements as quickly as possible, given they are the best and fairest way of assessing what students know and can do.

For GCSEs, AS and A levels, Ofqual will, as planned, consider the approach to grading for 2023 in light of outcomes in 2022. Ofqual will also ask exam boards to look carefully at the design of the exam timetable for next year in the light of experience this year, to see if the increased spacing between subjects in the exam timetable should be retained.

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Subject content and assessment arrangements in the academic year 2022 to 2023

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AQA: GCSE and A-level Media Studies NEA: use of non-original material for 2023

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AQA: GCSE and A-level Media Studies NEA: use of non-original material for 2023

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Published: 5th July 2022

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The non-exam assessment (NEA) briefs for submission in 2023 were released on 1 March 2022. For students submitting their NEA in 2023 and onwards, we have clarification about the use of non-original material in their work.

With the exception of musical performances and existing company logos, students should not use any non-original material in their media products. Existing company logos can include those from social media, age restriction ratings and barcodes. The use of existing logos does not apply where an original logo is required as part of the brief, this must be created by the student.

All other images, footage and text is to be created by the student. If a student does use any non-original images, footage or text, they should be aware that their marks will be limited by the marking criteria. All non-original material must be acknowledged on the candidate record form.

Students do not have to write and record their own musical performances, either to use as part of a soundtrack or in a music video. Musical tracks that they use should be acknowledged on the candidate record form.

For the 2022 series Ofqual permitted the use of all non-original material. There are no planned changes to 2023 submission.
See all updates

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GCSE and A-level Media Studies NEA: use of non-original material for 2023

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The non-exam assessment (NEA) briefs for submission in 2023 were released on 1 March 2022. For students submitting their NEA in 2023 and onwards, we have clarification about the use of non-original material in their work. With the exception of musical performances and existing company logos, students should not use any non-original material in their media products.

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Ofqual: Post 16 qualifications that sit alongside A and T levels - Second Consultation launched

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Ofqual: Post 16 qualifications that sit alongside A and T levels - Second Consultation launched

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Published: 30th June 2022
Consultation Deadline: 10th August 2022

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Ofqual seeks views on its detailed proposals for regulating a range of academic and technical level 3 qualifications.

Ofqual has today confirmed how it will make sure there is quality and fairness for students who take level 3 qualifications that sit alongside A levels and T Levels. These decisions are informed by the views of students, employers, awarding organisations, and others who recognise the importance of these qualifications which enable progression into higher education and employment.

Alongside these decisions, in a second consultation Ofqual is seeking views on:

titles of qualifications

grading of alternative academic qualifications

details of the proposed draft regulations

Ofqual's proposals focus on providing students with good quality, fair assessments, supported by meaningful grading scales and titles which make it clear, to all, what these level 3 qualifications represent.

For alternative academic qualifications, Ofqual is requiring that awarding organisations should set and mark at least 40% of the assessment to be undertaken by all students, at the same time. For these alternative academic qualifications, Ofqual is also proposing putting in place guidance regarding grading scales and is considering a move to a smaller number of common grading scales in the future.

Dr Jo Saxton, Ofqual Chief Regulator, said:

It is important that students have access to high-quality qualifications that will help them to build a meaningful career. Qualifications lead to better opportunities in life.

It is also important that students and employers can easily identify which qualifications are relevant to them and understand what the grades awarded represent.

Ofqual has drawn up its proposals for regulating alternative level 3 qualifications to make sure students best interests are met.

These proposals all contribute to making sure that qualifications approved for use alongside A levels and T Levels are of high quality and relevant, an ambition the Department for Education (DfE) confirmed in July 2021 in i ts plans to reform post-16 qualifications.

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) is currently consulting on proposals for its approval of level 3 alternative technical qualifications.

Ofqual, IfATE and DfE are working together to provide awarding organisations with a streamlined approval process for all level 3 qualifications, with no duplication of, or tension between, requirements. Awarding bodies will only be required to submit one set of documents for approval.

The aim is to have one single source of information once Ofqual's and IfATE's consultations are complete.

Ofqual's consultation opens today Thursday, 30 June 2022 and runs for six weeks, closing on Wednesday 10 August 2022.

Thank you for your feedback

Report a problem with this page

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Post 16 qualifications that sit alongside A and T levels

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Skip to main content We use some essential cookies to make this website work. We'd like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services. We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services.

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Provisional entries for GCSE, AS and A level Summer 22

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Provisional entries for GCSE, AS and A level Summer 22

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Currys & Digital Poverty Alliance: Free technology to 4-16yrs children who need it.

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Currys & Digital Poverty Alliance: Free technology to 4-16yrs children who need it.

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Priority Area:  Norfolk Coast (Kings Lynn and West Norfolk, North Norfolk, Great Yarmouth local authorities)

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Not as a loan or rental. It’s for your family, for good. Connecting disadvantaged families to devices and connectivity across the UK. Apply now!

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Ofsted: Inspection Data Summary Report (IDSR) - Updated guidance on report

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Ofsted: Inspection Data Summary Report (IDSR) - Updated guidance on report

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Updated: 7th June 2022

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School inspection data summary report (IDSR) guide

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This guide provides an overview of the inspection data summary report (IDSR) for primary and secondary schools, including schools with a sixth form and gives guidance on interpreting the data.

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Julian Teaching School Hub: NPQLT 2022/23

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Julian Teaching School Hub: NPQLT 2022/23

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Ofqual: Podcast on Marking and grading in summer 2022

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Ofqual: Podcast on Marking and grading in summer 2022

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Published: 13th May 2022

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Ofqual Podcast: Marking and grading in summer 2022

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No deadline - Ongoing Competition

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Our Film of the Month competition celebrates exceptional young filmmaking talent from across the UK. Filmmaking is more accessible than it ever has been, and that's illustrated in the quantity and quality of the entries we receive every month.

Film of the Month is open to all young people aged 5 to 19 across the UK. However, if you are 17 and under and want to submit your film, a parent or guardian will need to provide their details to give consent for you to participate. If you submit your film without these details, it will be disqualified.

We place no restriction on genre or theme, and provide guides and resources on all aspects of the production process, so that even the most inexperienced filmmaker can feel confident in submitting an entry.

Filmmaking is an accessible and beneficial tool for engaging young people, giving them a voice and the opportunity to share their stories with others. The collaborative nature of our filmmaking programme also serves as a valuable tool for bringing young people together and improving social development.

Entries are judged by Into Film staff, and guest judges, and are assessed on the idea, sound, story and look, as well as the technical ability on display.

We encourage entrants to also submit their film into the Into Film Awards, our annual ceremony which seeks to further honour and celebrate the incredible breadth and depth of young filmmaking talent in the UK.

Enter Competition

We recommend you enter using a desktop computer and an up to date browser

To enter, please complete the entry form. You will then be instructed to upload your film and you will receive confirmation on the upload page that this has been successful. If you are aged 17 or under, please make sure you ask a parent or guardian to complete the entrant details part of the form. Films can also be entered by a parent/guardian, teacher or other adult on behalf of a young person or group of young people.

We are looking for the most creative and engaging short films, with strong stories. In order to be shortlisted for the judges' consideration, entrants must meet the following criteria:

You must be between 5 and 19 years of age at the time of submitting your film (if your film has been made by a group of young people, the average age of all members must be 19 and under).

Your film should be no longer than 10 minutes in duration, including titles and credits

Any music, video or still images used in the film should be cleared for use by the copyright holder or be copyright free (please refer to the downloable IP checklist below for more information on this)

You must NOT feature the surnames of any young people under the age of 18, anywhere in the film, including the titles and credits. Into Film are committed to the protection and safety of young people, and the addition of surnames in your films can compromise this. If surnames are included in your film, your entry may be disqualified.

We will not be judging technical ability alone. Judges will use the following criteria to make their decisions on the winning film:

Idea - the film idea is original and creative and has been delivered well

Story - the story is strong and engaging and captures the audience's attention

Sound - the music, sound effects and dialogue are clear and strengthen the narrative

Look - the use of camera angles, movement, lighting and framing support the narrative

The following are NOT eligible for entry to Film of the Month:

Training videos

Music videos

'Making of' documentaries

Trailers or extracts of longer films

Straightforward recordings of arts (or other) events

Film clips made soley for the purpose of curriculum learning (such as record and playback)

Video diaries or vox pops

You can view our terms and conditions here.

Each month, one winning film will be selected and the young filmmakers will receive an Into Film goody bag, have their film showcased on the Into Film Shorts YouTube channel, and be interviewed for a news story on the Into Film website.

Downloads

Top Tips for Young Filmmakers

Top tips on making sure your film is compliant before it is completed.

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Any film. Any genre. Any time of year. Enter our Film of the Month competition today.

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NUA: Teacher, Technician and Adviser Workshop Series 2022

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NUA: Teacher, Technician and Adviser Workshop Series 2022

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21st June - 8th July 2022
Online

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Tuesday 21 June - Friday 8 July

Creative teachers, technicians, heads of departments and career advisers, you are welcome to our 2022 Teacher, Technician and Adviser Workshop Series.

Across three weeks, we will be hosting a range of creative and inspiring workshops that you can get involved with from the comfort of your own home.

Plus, join us on campus for our Teacher, Technician and Adviser Day for the chance to get stuck-in with practical workshops on campus with our amazing course academics.

Upcoming Online Workshops

Available online workshops to book.

Being a Multi-Specialist in the Creative Industries
Tuesday 21 June | 4.30 - 5.30pm
Join Akin Akinsiku, BAFTA award-winning Creative Director, for this inspirational talk on why we should encourage our students to be ambitious multi-specialists, who can harness their creativity to create change in the world around us.

Akin will offer tips on how you can best prepare your students to widen their horizons beyond the course specific subject they study. Akin will look at how being a multi-specialist enabled his own success, as an NUA BA Graphic Design graduate with over twenty years of experience in television and advertising, working for organisations such as Nickelodeon and Sky.

Making Comics
Thursday 23 June | 4.30 - 5.30pm
In this workshop, we will explore what goes into making a comic book. You will try your hand at a bit of creative writing, create a dummy book, and adapt your writing into a visual narrative. If there is time you will have a chance to produce an idea for a cover design.

Led by BA Illustration Lecturer Christian Peterson.

Do / Make / Think
Saturday 25 June | 10.00 - 11.00am
Participants will undertake a number of quickfire activities to stimulate lateral or unorthodox creative thinking. Fundamentally you will be challenged to make art from low-tech materials and whatever is around you.

Led by BA Fine Art Senior Lecturer Desmond Brett.

Designing User Experiences
Monday 27 June | 4.30 - 5.30pm
Join Graphics courses Lecturer David Watson for an introduction to User Experience Design through an exploration of collaborative design and prototyping tools.

Visual Merchandising for Fashion
Wednesday 29 June | 4.30 - 5.30pm
Join Alexandra Hill, Course Leader for Fashion Communication and Promotion and Fashion Marketing and Business, as well as Lecturer Holly Farrar for an introduction to the fundamentals of visual merchandising and current industry trends.

You will have the opportunity to create a visual merchandising concept and receive tips on how you and your students can make a great digital mood board.

A Tool-kit for Creating a Stand-Out Graphics Portfolio
Saturday 2 July | 10.00 - 11.00am
Join Lecturers Jamie Johnstone and Chelsea Carter to hear all about the four different Graphics courses at Norwich University of the Arts, as well as receiving a toolkit of information on workshops and practical tasks to take back to the classroom.

This tool-kit will enable your students to create the work we're looking for in a stand-out Graphics portfolio and give you the context of why this type of work is important to us and the learning of our applicants.

Mindful slow-stitch Textile Practice
Tuesday 5 July | 4.30 - 5.30pm
This session is relevant for all of us in education where increasingly we are coping with students suffering from stress and anxiety, which can have a negative impact on academic practice. Slow Stitch is about adopting a less-is-more approach, valuing quality over quantity, and bringing a meaningful and thoughtful approach to making.

This workshop looks at a way of using simple techniques and reused and re-invented materials to help students slow down and spend time in conversation and reflection, enabling them to build a stronger sense of resilience.

On Campus Event
Friday 8 July | 10.00am - 4.15pm
Join us on campus for our 2022 Teacher, Technician and Adviser Day for an intro to our creative campus and the chance to get stuck-in with practical workshops.

*You will have the chance to select your 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice for workshop attendance for the TT&A Day below. We will then allocate 2 workshops for your timetable based upon your preferences.

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Teacher, Technician and Adviser Workshop Series 2022

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Tuesday 21 June - Friday 8 July Creative teachers, technicians, heads of departments and career advisers, you are welcome to our 2022 Teacher, Technician and Adviser Workshop Series. Across three weeks, we will be hosting a range of creative and inspiring workshops that you can get involved with from the comfort of your own home.

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JCQ: An introduction to becoming an examiner or marker

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JCQ: An introduction to becoming an examiner or marker

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Exam boards are offering an opportunity to join examiner teams in several subjects for this summer’s exam season. Examining gives you a chance to network with other subject experts, gain insight into the latest approaches to how your subject is assessed and earn extra income for approximately three weeks of work.

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Join all the other teachers who help students receive recognition for their learning, and also enable them to progress to the next stage of their development, by becoming an examiner. You'll gain a better understanding of the subject specification and how the examination system works.

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JCQ: Guidance for centres managing exams - June 2022 Series

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JCQ: Guidance for centres managing exams - June 2022 Series

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Published:

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UEA & UOS: Media Studies: Involvement & Production by Audience

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UEA & UOS: Media Studies: Involvement & Production by Audience

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Y12/13
Online
14:00-15:00
25th May 2022

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Channel Talent - Interactive school webinars

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University of Surrey: Dr Nathalie Weidhase is Lecturer in Media and Communication in the Department of Sociology. Fans play an important part in contemporary media industries. This session will start with a short history of fandoms and how we think of them. We'll look at fans as not just mindless followers of celebrities or artists, but critical media audiences, and often creative media producers themselves. From fanzines to fanfiction and vidding, fan audiences have a long history of media production that works in conversation with wider media cultures and industries. This interactive session will explore how understanding fandoms may help us understand wider audience behaviour in contemporary mediated societies.

University of East Anglia: Clare Precey, Course Director for Broadcast Journalism, School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies will discuss Radio Audiences and Interactivity. Before we can create content for media audiences we need to understand them and their needs. To serve those audiences we need to understand who they are and what they are interested in. In this session we will learn about different UK radio audiences, and we'll come up with ideas for factual programmes. We'll also look at how audiences interact with programme producers to co-create content and build a sense of ownership, identity and affinity.

insight4me is a series of subject specific webinars for Year 12 & 13 students, and equivalent. The sessions directly support students' current studies by giving an insight into particular curriculum areas whilst affording an understanding of how these subjects continue beyond A-levels, T-levels, IB, BTEC and equivalent qualifications, and how they vary between universities.

In this insight4me Media Studies online event for schools and colleges, University of East Anglia and University of Surrey will each have roughly 30 minutes to deliver a punchy, topic based 'micro' talk. Within an overall session theme of Media Audiences - Involvement & Production by Audience, the universities have the freedom to choose their own focus and use the time to convey the key points of the case studies for the students.

Our events are designed so that a group of students can take part from a classroom or students and teachers can take part as individuals, either from school or from home. This means that sessions will continue irrespective of possible school closures.

As a live, participative event, this session will not be recorded but slides and other resources will be shared after the event, where available.

Suitable for: Year 12 & 13 students (and equivalent) studying, or with a possible interest in studying, Media Studies and related disciplines. Student groups, and individual students and teachers are very welcome to join us.

Preparation/Pre-Reading: Students may wish to consider the 2 topics and discuss some of the key elements in advance. Students can also think about questions they have about studying Media Studies at university level.

The IT Setup: The event will be run on Bluejeans (similar to Zoom) and participants will be able to join using laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. If you are joining as a school group, we recommend connecting with one device and projecting on to a whiteboard. You will be able to interact with the university via a microphone and/or typed comments and questions. Full details will be sent to those who have registered (see below) prior to the event.

Booking a Place: This is free for schools and colleges. If you would like to take part in this event, please register your interest using the link to the registration form below:

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Media Studies: insight4me Media Studies - Media Audiences - Involvement & Production by Audience With Clare Precey From University of East Anglia & Dr Nathalie Weidhase From University of Surrey - Channel Talent - Interactive school webinars

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Enjoy two university Media Studies talks with the theme, 'Media Audiences - Involvement & Production by Audience', directly enriching the Year 12 & 13 Media Studies curriculum and supporting progression. We are joined by University of East Anglia & University of Surrey.

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JCQ: A guide to the special consideration process

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JCQ: A guide to the special consideration process

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Updated: 8th April 2022
Now includes an appendix ‘Supplementary guidance on the special consideration process for centres in England June 2022 examination series’ which gives examples of possible scenarios of students with Covid-19 or with symptoms of Covid-19 and what schools and colleges need to do.

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Updated: 21st April 2022

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T Levels: what they are

T Levels are new 2-year courses which are taken after GCSEs and are broadly equivalent in size to 3 A Levels. Launched in September 2020, these courses have been developed in collaboration with employers and education providers so that the content meets the needs of industry and prepares students for entry into skilled employment, an apprenticeship or related technical study through further or higher education.

T Levels offer students practical and knowledge-based learning at a school or college and on-the-job experience through an industry placement of at least 315 hours - approximately 45 days.

The courses are available at selected colleges, schools and other providers across England.

T Levels are being gradually rolled out. The first 16 have now been launched and our aim is to have 24 T Levels available.

We have published a list of the providers offering T Level courses up to September 2024.

How T Levels will work with other qualifications

T Levels will become one of the main choices for students after GCSEs alongside:

apprenticeships for students who wish to learn a specific occupation 'on the job'

A levels for students who wish to continue academic education

other qualifications not served by A levels or T levels, including sport science, performing arts and small qualifications designed to be taken alongside A levels

The Department for Education ( DfE) is streamlining and improving the quality of the post-16 level 3 qualifications system. We are strengthening progression pathways, creating clearly defined academic and technical routes with high quality qualifications leading to further study, and/or skilled employment. This will help students to make good choices and see more easily how their study will help them to progress.

T Levels are based on the same standards as apprenticeships, designed by employers and approved by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (the Institute).

We expect the total time for a T Level to be around 1,800 hours over the 2 years, including the industry placement. This is a significant increase on most current technical education courses.

T Levels differ from an apprenticeship. T Levels prepare students for work, further training or further study. An apprenticeship is typically 80% on-the-job and 20% in the classroom and is more suited to those who want to earn a wage and learn at the same time, and are ready to enter the workforce at age 16.

How T Levels have been developed

Employers and providers work together to develop each T Level, with support from DfE and the Institute. Groups of employers have defined the skills and requirements for each T Level course by participating in T Level panels. This ensures that students taking T Levels will develop the technical knowledge and skills required by employers in that industry.

The T Level panels have developed the content for the technical qualifications which are part of each T Level programme, based on the same standards as apprenticeships. These plans are then tested and reviewed with students, education providers and additional employers.

The technical qualifications for 2020, 2021 and 2022 T Levels have been approved by the Institute.

Structure of a T Level

T Levels require students to undertake both a technical qualification and an industry placement with an employer.

Students are also required to work towards the attainment of maths and English if they have not already achieved grade 4 at GCSE, as students do on other 16 to 19 programmes. However, T Level students are no longer required to achieve either a grade 4 in English and maths GCSE or level 2 in functional skills to pass their programme.

Transition programme

The T Level transition programme is a 1-year post-GCSE study programme designed to support progression to, and success on, a T Level. It's aimed at students who would like to do a T Level but would benefit from additional preparation and support before starting one.

The programme gives students the opportunity to study technical content aligned to T Levels and develop their English, maths and digital skills, alongside work experience and personal development.

You can see a list of providers delivering the transition programme.

The T Level transition programme framework for delivery has guidance on how the programme should be delivered from academic year 2022 onwards.

Industry placements

Every T Level includes an industry placement with an employer focused on developing the practical and technical skills required for the occupation. These will last a minimum of 315 hours (approximately 45 days) but can last longer.

Employers can offer industry placements as a block, day release or a mix of these, and can discuss sharing part of the placement with another employer if necessary.

Providers will support employers offering industry placements. This will include assistance with paperwork, a careful planning process and support with designing the industry placement.

DfE 's employer engagement teams work with employers of all sizes and providers on industry placements.

Employers interested in finding out more about industry placements can contact 08000 150 600, email tlevel.placement@education.gov.uk or visit T Levels and industry placement support for employers.

Grading and certification

Students who complete their T Level get a nationally recognised certificate which shows their overall grade and a breakdown of what they have achieved.

The T Level certificate includes:

an overall grade for the T Level, shown as pass, merit, distinction or distinction*

a separate grade for the core component, using A* to E

a separate grade for each occupational specialism, shown as pass, merit or distinction

It also confirms that the student has:

completed the industry placement

met any additional mandatory requirements

A student's overall T Level grade is worked out from the grades they achieved on the core component and the occupational specialism(s).

Students who do not pass all elements of their T Level get a T Level statement of achievement which shows the elements they have completed.

If students have attained maths or English qualifications at level 2, this is also referenced on T Level certificates and statements of achievement.

Entry to higher education and UCAS tariff points

T Levels provide several progression options for students, including:

skilled employment

an apprenticeship

higher education

To help T Level students progress into higher education, UCAS tariff points are allocated to T Levels.

UCAS points are allocated to the overall T Level grade. Students must achieve at least an overall pass grade to receive UCAS points.

To support students that partially achieve their T Level, UCAS tariff points are also available for both elements of the technical qualification:

an allocation for students that have passed the core component and completed the industry placement

an allocation for students that have passed the occupational specialism component and completed the industry placement

As the relative weighting of the core and occupational specialism for each T Level varies, the UCAS points for partial achievement will also vary across T Levels. Tariff allocations for partial achievement of each T Level are available on the UCAS tariff calculator.

You can find a list of higher education institutions who accept T Levels for entry onto one of their courses.

Register to deliver T Levels

Providers can register to deliver T Levels from September 2024.

The closing date for registration is 24 March 2023. We recommend that providers register as early as possible so they can take advantage of support that will be offered.

Funding for providers

We recognise that significant additional funding is needed for the successful introduction and delivery of T Levels.

T Levels involve more hours than most current technical qualifications at level 3 and providers are funded for the extra hours involved and for organising industry placements.

Guidance on the next steps for providers includes more information on how T Levels are funded.

All T Level providers receive funding for state-of-the-art specialist equipment. All providers, apart from independent training providers, can bid for funding to refurbish existing facilities or build new buildings. Over £400 million has been made available so far for T Levels capital.

Support for professional development

To be sure that T Levels deliver great outcomes for learners, we are giving teachers and leaders the support they need to deliver them. T Level professional development is available from the Education and Training Foundation ( ETF), at no charge to all providers delivering and planning to deliver T Levels.

The offer is shaped around the needs of providers and their workforce alongside relevant regional, employer and curriculum needs. It includes:

training needs analysis to help identify any gaps in skills and knowledge around T Levels

understanding T Levels to help staff in different roles understand T Levels and how they can support their successful introduction

T Level role and route-specific training - pedagogical and subject-specific courses, and other activities structured to meet an individual's professional development needs

professional development for leaders - support for staff in leadership roles to help with T Level planning and implementation.

networks and TRIPs - route-specific networks and T Level resource improvement projects (TRIP) providing opportunities to produce resources for planning and delivering T Levels

industry insights - opportunities for staff to increase and update their knowledge by:

undertaking placements within industry

accessing industry-relevant mentoring

participating in group industry collaboration

engaging in industry-led workshops

Timeline

September 2020

The first T Level courses started in:

design, surveying and planning for construction

digital production, design and development

education and early years

September 2021

T Level courses started in:

building services engineering for construction

digital business services

digital support and services

health

healthcare science

onsite construction

science

September 2022

T Level courses started in:

accounting

design and development for engineering and manufacturing

engineering, manufacturing, processing and control

finance

maintenance, installation and repair for engineering and manufacturing

management and administration

September 2023

T Level courses will start in:

agriculture, land management and production

legal services

September 2024

T Level courses will start in:

animal care and management

craft and design

hair, beauty and aesthetics

media, broadcast and production

September 2025

T Level courses will start in:

Further planned T Levels

A T Level is planned in Catering, for delivery beyond 2024.

Find out more

Students

Visit our T Levels website where you can add your postcode to find colleges, schools or other providers who are offering T Levels. You can also find guidance at the Get the Jump content hub.

Watch our industry placement videos to hear from students and employers who have benefited from industry placements.

Employers

To find out more about industry placements, contact 0800 0150 600, email tlevel.placement@education.gov.uk or visit T Levels and industry placement support for employers.

Providers

The T Level action plan has detailed information about how we have been developing the T Level qualifications for post-16 students since 2017.

It includes sections on:

the rollout of T Levels

case studies

T Level provider information

T Level results and certification

T Levels for adults

T Level capital

progression to and from T Levels

the Ofsted Thematic Review of T Levels

the role of IfATE in T Level delivery

industry placements

communications and marketing

We also have information for providers about the next steps towards delivering T Levels.

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T Levels are new 2-year courses which are taken after GCSEs and are broadly equivalent in size to 3 A Levels. Launched in September 2020, these courses have been developed in collaboration with employers and education providers so that the content meets the needs of industry and prepares students for entry into skilled employment, an apprenticeship or related technical study through further or higher education.

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Ofqual: Special consideration for illness etc..

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Ofqual: Special consideration for illness etc..

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Published: 22nd April 2022

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Ofqual requires exam boards to:

have clear arrangements for giving special consideration

publish details of those arrangements, including what special consideration is available, and how students qualify for it

We do not specify what special consideration exam boards should give, or how they should determine eligibility for it.

However, all the exam boards offer three different types of support for students who are affected by circumstances outside their control, all of which are types of special consideration:

1. changes to the way assessments are taken for students with temporary injuries or illnesses (sometimes referred to as 'access arrangements').

2. a small number of extra marks for students whose exam performance is affected by temporary illness, injury, indisposition, or an unforeseen incident.

3. awarding the qualification even though the student was absent from an exam or formal assessment (a student must have completed at least one component to be eligible for this type of special consideration).

JCQ provide more information about these different types of support.

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Guide for schools and colleges 2022: GCSEs, AS and A levels

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Ofqual requires exam boards to: have clear arrangements for giving special consideration publish details of those arrangements, including what special consideration is available, and how students qualify for it We do not specify what special consideration exam boards should give, or how they should determine eligibility for it.

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DfE: Everything you need to know about Covid measures during exams this summer

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DfE: Everything you need to know about Covid measures during exams this summer

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Published: 12th April

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*This post was updated on Tuesday 17 May 2022. Students studying for their GCSEs, A levels and vocational qualifications will be preparing to sit their exams this summer. We know that there may be instances where students contract the virus during the exam period, as we continue to live with COVID-19.

Here we look at what students should do if they display the symptoms in UKHSA guidance or receive a positive Covid test result while taking their exams.

Exams have been spaced by a minimum of ten days between the first and last exam in any subject, to reduce the chance of students missing all exams in a subject because of illness.

Parents should, wherever possible, encourage their children to attend their exams. However, there may be exceptional cases though where this will not be possible, e.g., a temporary illness on the day of the examination.

Will I have to provide proof of a positive Covid test if I fail to sit an exam due to Covid?

No - there is no requirement for you to complete a COVID-19 test to provide evidence of your absence from an exam. You should speak to your school, college, or exam centre, who can provide you with a self-certification form for you or your parents/carers to complete and tell you if there is anything else you need to do.

I am taking my A levels and have a high temperature on the day of one of my exams, what should I do?

UKHSA guidance advises you to stay at home and avoid contact with others, until you no longer have a high temperature and are well enough to attend your exams.

As your exams have been spaced by at least ten days you will be able to receive A-level grades based on the other components completed, as you are considered to have an acceptable reason for missing the exam.

You need to ask your school, college, or exam centre to make an application for special consideration and complete any forms they ask you to do. This is important because if your centre doesn't make the special consideration application, you would receive a 0 for the missed exam.

I have taken a COVID-19 test under the direction of my GP and have a positive test result, what should I do?

The UKHSA guidance is that you stay at home and avoid contact with others for 3 days (if 18 and under) or 5 days (if 19 or older) after the day you took the test. You should speak to your school, college, or exam centre, who can provide you with a self-certification form to complete and tell you if there is anything else you need to do. As your exams have been spaced by at least ten days you will be able to receive A-level grades based on the other components completed, as you are considered to have an acceptable reason for missing the exam. If your centre doesn't make the special consideration application, you would receive a 0 for the missed exam, so speak to them as soon as possible.

I am taking my A levels and am feeling unwell and experiencing a high temperature, but I still want to attend my exam. Can I still sit it?

UKHSA guidance is to stay at home and avoid contact with others until you no longer have a high temperature.

JCQ guidance confirms that following UKHSA guidance is an acceptable reason to miss an exam, and you will be eligible to receive special consideration. You should speak to your school, college, or exam centre, who can provide you with a self-certification form to complete and tell you if there is anything else you need to do.

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Everything you need to know about Covid measures during exams this summer

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This post was updated on Tuesday 17 May 2022. Students studying for their GCSEs, A levels and vocational qualifications will be preparing to sit their exams this summer. We know that there may be instances where students contract the virus during the exam period, as we continue to live with COVID-19.

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Young Norfolk Arts: Calling all young filmmakers!

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Young Norfolk Arts: Calling all young filmmakers!

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Y12/13
Deadline: 22nd May 2022

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What is it about and what can I submit?

The Young Norfolk Arts Collective are looking for short films of a maximum length of 15mins that haven't been shown publicly before and are looking for submissions of all genres and types of filmmaking and animation, and with any theme. There will also be the opportunity after the screening to network with the public, filmmakers and professionals to create and build relationships.

Films not selected for the screening at the Norwich Arts Centre will still be showcased in some capacity online.

Films submitted must be family friendly due to the audience of the festival being for children and young people.

We expect the short films to be already made and are not looking for new films to be created within the time leading up to the deadline submission date at midnight on Sunday 22nd of May.

How to submit

This opportunity is open for anyone aged 16 - 30 living in (or with links to) Norfolk and you can submit 1 film only.

To submit your work, please complete this form asking for personal details and information about the film submitted. You will need to add a link to the film for us to view which could be a unlisted Youtube link, Dropbox, WeTransfer or any other platform of your choosing. If you have any questions please email info@yougnnorfolkarts.org.

Deadline for submissions is midnight on Sunday 22 May 2022.

If successful, you will need to provide the film for the screening and high resolution film stills (150 - 300dpi) so we can promote your film and the event.

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CALLING ALL YOUNG FILMMAKERS | Young Norfolk Arts

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Calling all young filmmakers! We need your help in shaping our film screening for the Young Norfolk Arts Festival 2022, which will be held at the Norwich Arts Centre on Sunday 3rd of July and online.

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Ofqual: Updated with additional information for teachers on collecting evidence for use in contingency arrangements

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Ofqual: Updated with additional information for teachers on collecting evidence for use in contingency arrangements

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Updated: 25th March 2022

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Recent updates regarding regulated qualifications.

Delivery of vocational and technical qualification results for 2024 and beyond

Ofqual has announced arrangements to ensure the timely delivery of results for students taking vocational and technical qualifications in 2024 and beyond.

Dr Jo Saxton, Chief Regulator, has also written to all schools and colleges in England to explain the arrangements in more detail, and how they differ from those implemented in 2023.

GCSE, Level 1, Level 1/2 and Level 2 vocational and technical qualifications results, summer 2023

Ofqual has published 2 guides to today's (24 August 2023) exam results:

These guides summarise the headline figures across England and reflect Ofqual's decision to return to pre-pandemic grading this summer.

You can explore the results in more depth - including breakdowns by centre type, subject and region - using Ofqual's interactive visualisations.

Ofqual has also summarised the key data in infographics for GCSE and Level 1, Level 1/2 and Level 2 VTQ.

AS, A level and Level 3 vocational and technical qualifications results, summer 2023

Ofqual has published 2 guides to today's (17 August 2023) exam results:

These guides summarise the headline figures across England and reflect Ofqual's decision to return to pre-pandemic grading this summer.

You can explore the results in more depth - including breakdowns by centre type, subject and region - using Ofqual's interactive visualisations.

Ofqual has also summarised the key data in infographics for AS and A level and Level 3 VTQ.

Industrial action

The Department for Education has issued guidance that recommends that schools should prioritise the running of examinations and assessments on any strike days, and should review their contingency plans to enable this to happen.

Schools, colleges and other exam centres should speak to the relevant awarding organisations if they are expecting any disruption that might affect the sitting of exams and assessments.

Replacement certificates

Ofqual does not hold copies of your certificates - we can't tell you your grade or provide replacements. Certificates are held by the exam board you sat your qualification with. If you don't know which exam board you took your qualification with, ask your school. If your school don't know you will need to ask each exam board to do a search for you - they will charge you for this.

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Updated: February 2022

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16 to 18 accountability headline measures

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Guide for schools, colleges and local authorities on how the 16 to 18 performance measures are calculated.

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Secondary accountability measures Guidance 2022

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Secondary accountability measures Guidance 2022

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Updated: February 2022

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Information for schools about secondary school accountability measures, including Progress 8 and Attainment 8.

Applies to England

Documents

Details

This document explains how secondary accountability measures are calculated. It also gives more information about announced policies that apply to accountability measures for the 2022 to 2023 academic year.

This information is for:

senior leaders working in secondary schools and trusts, including maintained schools, academies, alternative provision, free schools and special schools

independent schools or colleges with 14 to 16 provision seeking information on secondary accountability measures

governors and trustees

local authorities

It applies to:

local-authority-maintained schools

academies

free schools

further education colleges with 14 to 16 provision

Find school and college performance data.

KS4 qualifications, discount codes and point scores for the school performance measures.

A short video explaining Progress 8 is also available:
Progress 8 video

Thank you for your feedback

Report a problem with this page

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Secondary accountability measures (including Progress 8 and Attainment 8)

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Information for schools about secondary school accountability measures, including Progress 8 and Attainment 8.

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Because of the ongoing impacts of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, there are some changes to how GCSE Media Studies will be assessed in 2022.

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There are changes to these qualifications based on the outcomes of the Ofqual consultation on NEA arrangements for summer 2022. The changes are designed to reduce the pressure on teachers and students in the 2021/22 academic year, and to safeguard against ongoing public health concerns.

Please read this information alongside the specification. Ofqual have confirmed that candidates taking A Level Media Studies in summer 2022 can submit prototypes or mock-ups, with supporting evidence as necessary, if they have not been able to produce finished products for their NEA production.

Candidates can still submit completed NEA productions where they are able to

Prototypes should reflect the required length for the production stated in the NEA briefs

The requirements and conditions set out in the specification for completing the NEA task remain in place for 2022 submissions

The marking criteria remains unchanged for 2022.

If you have concerns about an individual candidate's ability to complete their NEA as required, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, please contact us as soon as possible at general.qualifications@ocr.org.uk

Advance information

This is now available for the assessment of this qualification for summer 2022:

A Level Media Studies for academic year 2021/22

Prototypes should not contain found materials except as permitted by the specification. Non-original material may be used in any supporting evidence submitted by the student. A statement of intent must be included in the submission.

Candidate submissions should make clear their intended use of digital convergence in their cross-media production. Candidates may submit prototypes in response to the set brief along with supporting evidence as set out below.

Briefs 1 to 4: Online production

In response to the set brief candidates may submit:

a working prototype of the homepage and one linked webpage of the required website which demonstrates use or intended use of images, text, audio/audio-visual content, interactive features, layout, typography, and colour. The required audio/audio-visual content may be submitted as a script, storyboard or animatic, or

a mock-up of the homepage and one linked page of the required website which demonstrates use or intended use of images, text, audio/audio-visual content, interactive features, layout, typography, and colour. The required audio/audio-visual content may be submitted as a script, storyboard or animatic.

Prototypes should include some original text and at least one original image.

Supporting evidence may include: wireframes, draft layouts, draft copy, original/non-original images, annotated drawings/sketches, a pitch, sample font styles/colour schemes, explanation of digital convergence.

Brief 1: Television and online

In response to the set brief candidates may submit:

a prototype for a three-minute television sequence which may take the form of a rough cut. This should include some edited original footage and audio and may also include music, audio effects, graphics, titles, original images, storyboard frames and/or other placeholders, or

a treatment and annotated storyboard for a three-minute television sequence, or

a shooting script and annotated storyboard for a three-minute television sequence.

Supporting evidence may include: scripts, shot lists, an animatic for the title sequence, annotated storyboards, original/non-original photographs, annotated drawings/sketches, a pitch, casting considerations, location reports.

Brief 2: Radio and online

In response to the set brief candidates may submit:

a prototype for a 3 minute radio sequence which should include some original audio content and may also include audio effects/music, read-throughs of intended content and placeholders, or

an outline script for a 3 minute radio sequence together with a range of sample audio (e.g. interview segment, jingle, presenter's introduction).

Supporting evidence may include: draft script, running order, sample audio recordings and music/sound effects, a pitch, outline of planned audio and editing ideas, casting considerations.

Brief 3: Magazines and online

In response to the set brief candidates may submit:

a prototype for the front covers and contents pages of two editions of a new magazine that demonstrates use or intended use of images, text, layout, colour, and typography. The prototype should include some original images and text

Supporting evidence may include: draft copy, draft layouts, original/non-original images, annotated drawings/sketches, a pitch, sample font styles/colour schemes.

Brief 4: Music videos and online

In response to the set brief candidates may submit:

a prototype for a 3 minute music video which may take the form of a rough cut. This should include some edited original footage and may also include graphics, original images, storyboard frames and/or other placeholders, or

a shooting script and annotated storyboards for a three-minute music video.

Supporting evidence may include: scripts, shot lists, annotated storyboards, original/non-original photographs, annotated drawings/sketches, a pitch, casting considerations, location reports.

Please read this information alongside the specification. Ofqual have confirmed that candidates taking AS Level Media Studies in summer 2022 can submit prototypes or mock-ups, with supporting evidence as necessary if they have not been able to produce finished products for their NEA production.

Candidates can still submit completed NEA productions where they are able to

Prototypes should reflect the required length for the production stated in the NEA briefs

The requirements and conditions set out in the specification for completing the NEA task remain in place for 2022 submissions

The marking criteria remains unchanged for 2022.

Advance information

This is now available for the assessment of this qualification for summer 2022:

AS Level Media Studies for academic year 2021/22

Prototypes should not contain found materials except as permitted by the specification. Non-original material may be used in any supporting evidence submitted by the student. A statement of intent must be included in the submission.

Candidates may submit prototypes in response to the set brief along with supporting evidence as set out below.

Brief 1: Television

prototypes of the television adverts which may take the form of rough cuts. Prototypes should include some edited original footage and audio and may also include music, audio effects, graphics, titles, original images, storyboard frames and/or other placeholders, or

scripts and annotated storyboards for the television adverts.

Supporting evidence may include: shooting scripts, shot lists, annotated storyboards, original/non-original photographs, annotated drawings/sketches, a pitch, casting considerations, location reports.

Brief 2: Print

prototypes for the required print adverts that demonstrate use or intended use of images, text, layout, colour, and typography. Prototypes should include some original images and text.

Supporting evidence may include: draft copy, draft layouts, original/non-original images, annotated drawings/sketches, a pitch, annotated sample font styles/colour schemes.

Brief 3: Radio

prototypes of the radio adverts which should include some original audio content and may also include dialogue, music, sound effects, read-throughs of intended content or placeholders, or

scripts for the radio adverts and some sample audio (e.g. music, audio effects).

Supporting evidence may include: draft scripts, sample audio recordings and music/sound effects, a pitch, outline of planned audio and editing ideas.

Support

There are resources dedicated to changes for 2022.

NEA Prototype with commentary:Music video and online (2022). (Please note that an interchange log in is required to download this resource.)

Contact us

You can contact us by email media@ocr.org.uk, Twitter @OCR_Media_Film or call on 01223 553998.

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AS and A Level - Media Studies - H009, H409 (from 2017) - OCR

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There are changes to these qualifications based on the outcomes of the Ofqual consultation on NEA arrangements for summer 2022. The changes are designed to reduce the pressure on teachers and students in the 2021/22 academic year, and to safeguard against ongoing public health concerns. Please read this information alongside the specification.

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Ofqual: Coping with exam pressure - a guide for students

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Ofqual: Coping with exam pressure - a guide for students

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Updated: 3rd March 2022

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Coping with exam pressure - a guide for students

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Candidates can submit prototypes or mock-ups, with supporting evidence as necessary if they have not been able to produce a finished product for their NEA production.
The limits on the use of found materials stated in the NEA briefs apply to any prototypes/mock-ups. Additional non-original material may be used in any supporting evidence submitted by the student.

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Ofqual: Subject-by-subject support for GCSE, AS and A level students in 2022

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Ofqual: Subject-by-subject support for GCSE, AS and A level students in 2022

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Published: 7th February 2022

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Overview of the support being provided for each qualification for students taking GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2022.

Applies to England

Additional support this year

A package of support has been put in place for students taking GCSE, AS and A level qualifications in summer 2022. It is intended to make sure that we are being as fair as possible to students given the disruption they have experienced, and many continue to face, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Part of the changes includes more generous grading this year to provide a safety net for students who may have been impacted by the pandemic.

Advance information might look different for different subjects because of how they are structured and assessed, but as far as possible the exam boards have made sure the approaches within a subject are the same.

These changes apply in England and to Ofqual regulated qualifications taken elsewhere.

Exam boards have published specific information about the changes for each qualification they offer, you should check their websites for more information:

GCSEs

Where we list changes for subjects in 2022, we only list what has changed, not what is remaining the same.

Ancient history, GCSE

Art and design, GCSE

Changes for 2022

More information is available from the exam boards:

Astronomy, GCSE

Biblical Hebrew, GCSE

Biology, GCSE

Business, GCSE

Chemistry, GCSE

Citizenship studies, GCSE

Classical civilisation, GCSE

Classical Greek, GCSE

Combined science, GCSE

Changes for 2022

1. Information on some of the exam content has been provided to help students focus their revision.

2. A revised equation sheet has been provided for teaching and learning.

3. A clean copy of the equation sheet will be provided for students in the exams.

4. Teachers can deliver practical work by demonstration.

5. Examiners will build in generosity for students when setting grade boundaries.

More information is available from the exam boards:

Computer science, GCSE

Dance, GCSE

Design and technology, GCSE

Drama, GCSE

Economics, GCSE

Electronics, GCSE

Engineering, GCSE

English language, GCSE

English literature, GCSE

Film studies, GCSE

Food preparation and nutrition, GCSE

Geography, GCSE

Changes for 2022

1. Exams will cover less content than usual.

2. In the exams there will be a choice of content on which students must answer questions.

3. There will be no questions on the student's fieldwork experience.

4. Fieldwork requirements have been relaxed.

5. Examiners will build in generosity for students when setting grade boundaries.

More information is available from the exam boards:

Geology, GCSE

Changes for 2022

More information is available from the exam boards:

History, GCSE

Latin, GCSE

Maths, GCSE

Modern foreign languages, GCSE

Changes for 2022

More information is available from the exam boards:

Music, GCSE

Physical education, GCSE

Physical education (short course), GCSE

Physics, GCSE

Changes for 2022

1. Information on some of the exam content has been provided to help students focus their revision.

2. A revised equation sheet has been provided for teaching and learning.

3. A clean copy of the equation sheet will be provided for students in the exams.

4. Teachers can deliver practical work by demonstration.

5. Examiners will build in generosity for students when setting grade boundaries.

More information is available from the exam boards:

Psychology, GCSE

Religious studies, GCSE

Religious studies (short course), GCSE

Sociology, GCSE

Statistics, GCSE

AS and A levels

Accounting, AS and A level

Ancient history, AS and A level

Art and design, AS and A level

Biblical Hebrew, A level

Biology, AS

Biology, A level

Business, AS and A level

Chemistry, AS

Chemistry, A level

Classical civilisation, AS and A level

Classical Greek, AS and A level

Computer science, AS and A level

Dance, A level

Design and technology, AS and A level

Drama and theatre, AS and A level

Economics, AS and A level

Electronics, AS and A level

English language, AS and A level

English language and literature, AS and A level

English literature, AS and A level

Environmental science, A level

Changes for 2022

More information is available from the exam boards:

Film studies, AS and A level

Changes for 2022

More information is available from the exam boards:

Further maths, AS and A level

Geography, AS

Geography, A level

Geology, AS

Changes for 2022

More information is available from the exam boards:

Geology, A level

Changes for 2022

More information is available from the exam boards:

History, AS and A level

History of art, AS and A level

Latin, AS and A level

Law, AS and A level

Maths, AS and A level

Modern foreign languages, AS and A level

Changes for 2022

1. Information on some of the exam content has been provided to help students focus their revision.

2. Examiners will build in generosity for students when setting grade boundaries.

More information is available from the exam boards:

AQA - Bengali (Listening, Reading, Writing), A level

AQA - French, A level

AQA - French, AS

AQA - German, A level

AQA - German, AS

AQA - Modern Hebrew (Listening, Reading, Writing), A level

AQA - Panjabi (Listening, Reading, Writing), A level

AQA - Polish (Listening, Reading, Writing), A level

AQA - Spanish, A level

AQA - Spanish, AS

Pearson Edexcel - Arabic (2018), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Chinese (2017), A level

Pearson Edexcel - French (2016), A level

Pearson Edexcel - German (2016), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Greek (2018), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Gujarati (2018), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Italian (2017), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Japanese (2018), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Persian (2018), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Portuguese (2018), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Russian (2017), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Spanish (2016), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Turkish (2018), A level

Pearson Edexcel - Urdu (2018), A level

WJEC Eduqas - French, AS and A level

WJEC Eduqas - German, AS and A level

WJEC Eduqas - Spanish, AS and A level

Music, AS and A level

Music technology, AS and A level

Philosophy, AS and A level

Physical education, AS and A level

Physics, AS

Physics, A level

Politics, AS and A level

Psychology, AS and A level

Religious studies, AS and A level

Sociology, AS and A level

Statistics, AS and A level

Background to these changes

Full details of the changes we have made to our rules can be found in the decisions for the consultations ' Proposed changes to the assessment of GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2022' and ' Arrangements for non-exam assessment for qualifications in 2022 '.

Vocational and technical qualifications

Where needed, [awarding organisations are allowed to make adaptations to assessments and qualifications due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Schools and colleges have already been told what these changes will be, and you should speak to your school or college for further details about your specific qualification.

Accessible version of diagram

Generous grading

Exams will be graded more generously this year providing a safety net for students.

Changes to coursework

Non-exam assessment and fieldwork requirements adjusted, with flexibility in some subjects.

Optional content

There will be less content or fewer topics for students to learn in some GCSEs.

Support materials

Students will get formulae and equation sheets in some exams and won't have to memorise as much.

Advance information

Exam boards will give information on the focus of exams for most subjects to help students revise.

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Subject-by-subject support for GCSE, AS and A level students in 2022

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Overview of the support being provided for each qualification for students taking GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2022.

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JCQ:  Summer 2022 Exams and Advance Information 

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JCQ:  Summer 2022 Exams and Advance Information 

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Updated: 7th February 2022

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BFI: KS5 Film Studies: Close Up - Pulp Fiction

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BFI: KS5 Film Studies: Close Up - Pulp Fiction

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Y12/13
Online
11:00-12:00
27th April 2022

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KS5 Film Studies: Close Up - Pulp Fiction

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Take a deep dive into Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994) with a focus on Postmodernism - 11am to 12pm, 27 April, online.

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DfE: Special consideration policies for technical qualifications in 2022

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DfE: Special consideration policies for technical qualifications in 2022

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A summary of special consideration policies for awarding organisations offering Applied Generals, Tech Awards, Tech Certs and Tech Levels in England.

Applies to England

Documents

Details

Special consideration may apply where a student has temporarily experienced an illness or injury, or other event outside their control, which is likely to have affected their ability to show their true abilities in an assessment. It allows the student to receive an assessment outcome despite the disadvantage.

This document gives a summary of the special consideration policies for each awarding organisation offering Applied Generals, Tech Awards, Tech Certs and Tech Levels in England.

Thank you for your feedback

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Special consideration policies for technical qualifications

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Ofqual Dr Jo Saxton: Speech at Sixth Form Colleges Association Conference

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Ofqual Dr Jo Saxton: Speech at Sixth Form Colleges Association Conference

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19th January 2022
Sets out the support for students taking exams and assessments this year, including advance information and a fair approach to grading

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Good morning, everyone. Bill: thank you so much for inviting me. I'm thrilled to be with you, in spirit if not in person.

I first met Bill in something like 2008. I went to see him in his office somewhere high up in Millbank tower. It had the most stunning view across south Westminster. Bill deployed me as a literacy consultant, and not long after, I found myself in a particularly tough new academy in the East Midlands. At that time, challenging educational circumstances on the ground did not include providing and complying with public health measures, and it did not include devising and determining high stakes assessments on top of everything else. Your response to the scale and pace of the change required by the pandemic in the last 2 years is simply breath-taking-more so than any view.

Let me give a sense of scale. Thanks to your commitment and efforts, and those of many thousands of other sector colleagues, despite exams being cancelled, last year 1.2 million students received grades for GCSE, AS and A levels. You, and staff at schools and exam centres, submitted 5.7 million Teacher Assessed Grades for students in England last summer. That includes over 750,000 A level TAGs.

And, in the spring and summer of 2021 alone, thanks again to your efforts, awarding organisations were able to issue over 1 million qualification results to students taking Functional Skills qualifications, Core Maths, International Baccalaureate diplomas, Cambridge Pre-Us, Applied Generals, Tech Levels and others.

2022 is still very young, yet as at today, over 500 regulated assessments and exams have taken place, that's 480,000 entries, or 89% of the January series will have been undertaken, which is extraordinary, given the pressures of the Omicron variant. Once again, in very large part because you have adapted staffing, prioritisation and invigilation, and many of you will have even reorganised your facilities to enable COVID-safe exam sittings to go ahead.

None of us would have chosen this turn of events, and whilst media commentators are right that it has shown the extraordinary purpose, commitment, drive and dedication of those who work in colleges, sixth forms and schools - for which I, and Ofqual of course applaud you - I think there is a bigger point here, and it is about adaptation.

As Darwin and Wallace posited in the 1890s, it is the ability of a species to adapt to its environment that determines its success. The versatility you have all shown over the past 2 years - and the scale of change to qualification and assessment policy and practice that you have realised - must surely exceed that of any generation of educators, certainly in recent history.

And as you know, there are more novel and important adaptations to come, in the form of advance information next month, together with a measured approach to ensure fair grading in the summer. I want to talk to you now about both of these; how they were conceived; why I believe they will help your students, and why they will mark an important staging post in our move back towards normality.

Advance Information

The first point I want to make about advance information is that it's not something we would have contemplated in 'normal times'. In fact, we have gone to great lengths - the whole qualification system has gone to great lengths traditionally - through Ofqual's regulations to reduce the risk of any student or teacher knowing in advance the focus of any exam paper. But we wanted a way to make the exam experience less daunting for students, while also preserving the integrity of the content coverage, as well as preserving the integrity of the assessments themselves.

The whole point is to provide as universal as possible a revision aid for students. And this, combined with the anticipation of a difficult winter, is how policymakers arrived at the 7 February publication date. Any earlier, and content coverage would have been affected; any later and it comes too late in the day for revision to be effective, too late to allow you to recap and review where necessary.

Obviously this is the first time this innovative approach has been taken, and 2022 exam papers were not designed with the publication of advance information in mind. I've no doubt that some people will feel we haven't gone far enough, and others will feel we have gone too far. But the people who matter to me the most are the students - and my sincere hope is that - with guidance from you - they will be able to benefit from the information being shared.

Advance Information is novel for everyone in the exam system. Exam boards have developed it for almost every subject. They've worked at pace to do so in the interests of students. They have done their absolute level best to deliver focused aids, without revealing the questions, and you can imagine that's definitely an art rather than a science. If they'd gone too close to revealing the questions it would have undermined exams and turned them into short-term memory tests rather than true measures of what students have learned, know, understand and can do.

There has been some commentary already about whether advance information will mainly benefit more able students because it might support them to revise for the higher tariff questions.

Of course, much of the advance information gives a steer on how to revise for higher tariff questions, although not all of it.

Bluntly, to focus advance information on low tariff questions would be nonsensical. It would be silly to publish a document that says something like; you will be asked to identify the year in which the Versailles Treaty was signed, or the year in which Magna Carta was signed. Clearly, at that point, the exam would stop being an exam.

But supporting students to revise for higher tariff questions does not mean that advance information will only support the most able students. Higher tariff doesn't necessarily mean harder content. We know that candidates from across all abilities and demographics gain marks across an exam paper and not only in the low tariff questions. And we hope that the benefit of advance information will mean that students who suffered the most disruption, or those who are less able, may gain confidence to tackle elements of a paper that they might previously not have felt confident to try.

And just as much as advance information is a new phenomenon for the boards and for colleges and schools, so is it new for us at Ofqual. It presents us, as the regulator, with a novel and interesting challenge. We have created a regulatory framework for exceptional measures that would, quite simply, have been unthinkable in a normal exam context. The pandemic has required a range of regulatory reprioritisation and adaptation in the same way that you have had to reprioritise and adapt your normal practice. I am clear that our regulations must align to the interests of students - given the impact on their education experience these past 2 years. So, what does this novel situation look like from the regulator's point of view?

First, the tenet must hold true that Ofqual does not see exams before they are sat. That doesn't change this year. Each year the number of people that know the content of live papers before they are sat is very tightly controlled by exam boards, and that's right. That's key to fairness for students, and important to minimise the risk of any leaks. The exam boards are accountable to Ofqual for the quality and security of their papers. And this year they are also accountable to us for the accurate and careful introduction of advance information.

So, our approach has been about putting in place principles to ensure that advance information secures the interests of students and we've set the right regulations to enable that.

In practical terms, that means that we have worked with subject specialists and our assessment design team, and the boards to agree over 300 specifications how the advance information will work. You get a sense of what a dramatic innovation that is for us to have adapted our rules to allow this is, if you recall the outrage some years ago when a broadsheet newspaper sent a journalist to attend an exam board event, at which hints about the focus of certain questions were allegedly provided in this meeting. The scale of that shock really puts this year's innovation into perspective.

I see it as a really exciting adaptation. We will, of course, be monitoring its effect closely. Shortly after publication, we will be reaching out to hear your - and your students' - views on how it delivers the intentions. We will do so again once exams have been sat. There is much to learn from what will happen in the coming months and so we will expand a wide-ranging research programme to evaluate the impact of advance information to inform thinking for future years. But I ask that when you receive the advance information, please do remember the positive intentions behind it - it represents a unique coming together of everybody across the qualification system to act in the interests of students, to provide them with support whilst also enabling the re-instatement of the tried, tested - and trusted - approaches to the awarding of qualifications.

Grading

Our approach to advance information was informed and driven by the views of you and of your students - we heard from teachers who were anxious about their students' ability to cover the full range of subject content. We heard from students about their varied experiences of the pandemic.

This same listening approach was applied to how we've tackled grading too.

It was clear talking to students and their parents, that they wanted to get back to normal, but not to do so in one single leap.

At the end of September, we announced our resulting approach to grading next summer, one intended to be as fair as possible to 2022 students. Fair, because it will provide a safety net to students who have been so affected by the pandemic. Fair, because it will iron out some of the anomalies that have come into play through the non-examined years. Fair because it will secure consistency between subjects and between exam boards. Let's remember too that this year marks the return to exams - the way the qualifications have been designed - with all students assessed in the same way, marked, and graded consistently and externally to the same standard. That, along with advance information which itself provides unprecedented support, represents an unprecedented package of aid.

So, 2022 is a transition year to reflect the realities of the pandemic and that students' education does continue to be disrupted. Remember the package as a whole - it works together as a complete aid and support. You need to not try to pick apart individual elements of it.

The results in 2020 and 2021, when exams were cancelled, were clearly out of line with the results of previous exam years. As we ourselves learn to adapt to living with COVID-19, it is right that we take steps to resume arrangements that are coherent with those from pre-pandemic years. We must do it gradually; and this underpins our so-called midpoint approach.

Let me be clear, there is no single statistical midpoint. There will be no standardisation model to determine students' grades. Grade boundaries for each specification will be set by senior examiners, critically, only after they have reviewed the work produced by students. As a check and balance, of course exam boards will use other evidence, including statistical evidence of how students were graded when exams were last taken, so that grade boundaries do, indeed, deliver this generous midpoint approach. That means you can assure your students and their families that, as regulator, we are doing everything we can to secure approaches to standards which are fair, whichever exam board a student is working with, whichever subject. As regulator, one of the key things that we do is review the results. I started to experience this process for the autumn series. Results across every subject in every board are reviewed in great detail and Ofqual checks the appropriate processes have been followed; considers anomalies with exam boards, before results are issued.

Because the process of determining grade boundaries must follow the act of script marking, which of course follows candidates sitting papers, what we can't tell you is precisely what these arrangements mean for results. But I can assure you that our grading requirements will provide a safety-net for this cohort and it is likely to mean that results overall are higher than in normal years.

Talking to UCAS, and to employers, they wanted to see grades that were closer to the currency they were used to. They also recognised it was not right to implement this in one go. We've heard concerns that repeating 2021 outcomes would likely lead to universities devising alternative entry arrangements and raising the grades on which offers are based. Contributing to a system where that might happen would not actually increase opportunity for students in practice.

Vocational and Technical Qualifications grading

Coherence, parity if you will, between vocational and technical qualifications and general qualifications is really important - and something that the regulatory framework devised during the pandemic better supports than pre-pandemic arrangements.

Ofqual's specific regulatory framework for awarding vocational qualifications in the pandemic requires awarding organisations to secure, as far as possible, that VTQ students are neither disadvantaged nor advantaged compared with their GCSE and A level peers. That principle has not existed in legal regulatory terms before.

Boards will take account, therefore, of the approach for GCSEs and A levels when setting standards in their own vocational and technical qualifications. We, as regulator, will closely monitor the arrangements and look at what awarding organisations are putting in place for their qualifications to ensure they are delivered fairly and are appropriately adapted in the interests of students.

Contingencies

I am really aware that some of you, and your students, would dearly like us to switch off contingencies given the government's confidence and commitment to exams going ahead. But I'm afraid that the need to collect evidence of student performance in case exams don't take place is important. It won't surprise you that I can't agree to turn off those arrangements. Not, of course, that it's entirely in my gift.

As well as showing us your incredible resilience and ability to adapt, the pandemic has also been unpredictable. That's the one predictable thing about the pandemic; it's continually surprised us and caught us off guard. It wouldn't be doing justice to you and your students to stand down contingencies at this time.

I am, nonetheless, hugely sympathetic to how challenging operationally and emotionally for you and your students it is to ride both these horses, but there are no plans to turn off Plan B.

Ofqual: expert and human, regulating in the interests of students

I promised Bill to leave time to take your questions, but before doing that, please allow me to share a little bit about myself, given this is my first chance to speak to you.

I am here today as Chief Regulator, but I am above everything else, like you, an educator.

I thrive in challenging environments - and actually anyone who knows me will tell you that I actively seek them out. Whether that is leading schools in disadvantaged communities, working in central government in the eye of a pandemic, or coming to Ofqual as we move further through the demands and opportunities the pandemic has forced.

For me, there is nothing more important in education than young people getting the qualifications they need to unlock their future. This is something I live and breathe.

I live and breathe it because that was precisely my own experience.

My qualifications opened all sorts of doors for me - including studying and working in six different countries around the world, and I want everyone to have those same opportunities - but especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

That's why I am here. Every day I think about those students - those with caring responsibilities at home; those who have a fractured or chaotic home life; those whose families are working second, or even third jobs, to keep their homes warm and food on the table - I want qualifications to work for them in the best way possible, to open doors for them.

These are the students who I've started to talk about as being my compass. Their interests are my true north. And this true north breathes life into Ofqual's statutory objectives.

What flows from that, is an Ofqual which is expert, absolutely, but an Ofqual that must also be human. That means listening - to students of all ages, but also to you, those who teach and lead them. You who make the longlist of qualification choices for them, you who support them as they work towards securing qualifications that have the potential to change their lives.

Over the coming weeks and months, I will be spending time with colleges, sixth forms, schools, different education and training providers in every region of England, so that I can listen to you, to students, to governors and to parents. I want to hear directly about the challenges faced in the qualification system. It's only by hearing and responding to these challenges that I and we at Ofqual can improve how assessment and qualifications work. Some of these things that we'll hear about, Ofqual can do something about. There are others that won't be in our gift, but we can do our best to play our active part in the system which we regulate on behalf of students.

I've so far been lucky enough to visit some colleges in the West Midlands and some schools in the south west. Some of this listening work will happen virtually so that the pandemic doesn't slow us down, nor interrupt your day too much.

What's important is that the insights we gain from you, your students and their families, inform our decisions. To those who think accessible qualifications are dumbing down, I say there is no better illustration of the importance of the power of the functional skills curriculum and those qualifications that enable entry into employment, than what I saw at Hereward College. There I met Sophie and Akram who were developing and practising functional skills in the college's hospitality training centre. Graduates of the college dramatically exceed national averages of employability for those with SEND, and those 2 were well on their way to being able to be employed by a national hotel chain. I am proud that one of the first decisions taken during my tenure as Chief Regulator was to publish a consultation on improving the accessibility of assessments, and another decision on the regulation of reformed digital functional skills. These are live examples of acting in the interest of students.

From visiting Walsall College, I gained real insight into how working with a range of awarding organisations can really meet a college's needs. The Walsall team shared how, while the larger AOs (awarding organisations) have the breadth and can deliver at scale, it is often the smaller ones - many of whom offer the end-point assessments for apprentices - who offer a personal and flexible approach to assessment bookings, which is really useful to help provide confidence and support, and take an element of stress out of the system as apprentices get closer to being ready to take their end point assessment. Accordingly, we will continue to be nuanced in our consideration of applications by organisations seeking entry to this sector and to our recognition. Assessment and organisational capacity must be balanced with a student-centric culture.

Conclusion

Listening to and acting in the interests of students is the true north for everything I will do as Chief Regulator. The context we must navigate together is one of adaptation and innovation, crystalised by the pandemic. But it also a time of reform, already in train pre-pandemic - T Levels, apprenticeship expansion, among others.

I have not even touched on the possibilities afforded by technology and other innovations. I am convinced of the opportunities they present to improve assessments for students and apprentices - to make them more accessible, more valid, more reliable. We will work together on these in the coming years. We need to ensure that both what we assess and how we assess it stays relevant to needs of employers and society at large.

We share, I have no doubt, a commitment to ensuring that qualification evolution is squarely in the interests of students and apprentices. I am hugely grateful to teachers in colleges, schools and training providers across the country, for the vital part they will play as we navigate the way forward together.

Thank you.

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Dr Jo Saxton at Sixth Form Colleges Association conference

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The Chief Regulator sets out the support for students taking exams and assessments this year, including advance information and a fair approach to grading.

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SMBP Scheme Applications Open - Year 12&13

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SMBP Scheme Applications Open - Year 12&13

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Applications Deadlines:
National Online week is end of March

Work Insight & Skills week is end of May

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OCR: Cambridge Nationals and Technicals - January 2022 exams update

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OCR: Cambridge Nationals and Technicals - January 2022 exams update

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Published: 7th January 2022

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January 2022 exams update

The start of this new term is a very busy and uncertain one for everyone in schools and colleges. Here's a summary of key information to support you and your students taking Cambridge Nationals and Cambridge Technicals exams which start on Monday 10 January.

As a reminder, here are the communications about running exams in January 2022 that we sent to schools and colleges in December:

On 2 January 2022, the Education Secretary repeated his message about exams and assessments going ahead in the new year, ' so that students, who have worked so hard to prepare for them, have the chance to demonstrate what they know'. On the same day, the DfE issued updated public health guidance for centres preparing for and running exams on 1) wearing face coverings and 2) self-isolation arrangements.

The DfE stated the following on wearing face marks for exams: 'We would not ordinarily expect candidates and invigilators to wear face coverings during exams but they may wear them if they wish to and settings should be sensitive to the needs of individuals.' The DfE confirmed that candidates who have symptoms, test positive or are self-isolating due to Covid, cannot attend exams. The DfE stated: 'Schools and colleges should contact awarding bodies on the candidate's behalf to determine the next available assessment opportunity.'

Arrangements for your students who are not able to take a Cambridge National or Cambridge Technical exam in January 2022 due to temporary issues

We hope as many of your students as possible are prepared and able to take exams this month. However, if your students have or are in self isolation due to Covid for example, they cannot attend exams.

For students who are due to complete their qualification in June 2022 and who are not able to take exams in January 2022 due to temporary issues including Covid, the first option to consider is to reschedule their exams in the June 2022 series instead. However, if rescheduling exams in the June 2022 series instead is not possible and your students would be disadvantaged by this, an alternative option for students planning to complete the qualification in June 2022 is to submit a request for a special consideration absence. Students who are eligible will be given an assessed grade for exams they were planning to take in the January series. See below for more details.

For students who were due to complete their qualification in January 2022 and who are not able to take exams this month due to temporary issues such as Covid, please submit a request for special consideration absence in the normal way. See below.

For students who are not due to complete their qualification until 2022/23 and who are not able to take the exams in January 2022, please reschedule their exams for June 2022 or for a series in 2022/23.

If you decide to request special consideration absence for a student affected by a temporary issue at the time of assessment, and leading to an assessed grade ( see below), our Special Consideration Online will be open until 31 January 2022. This applies to any student who is in a position to certificate in January 2022 or June 2022, and misses their timetabled exam due to illness, injury, bereavement or self-isolation. If you have any queries, please get in touch with our Special Requirements Team.

Assessed grades for students who are not able to take an exam in January 2022 due to temporary issues

A student may receive an assessed grade if they are unable to take an assessment due to circumstances outside their control. To produce an assessed grade, we estimate how a student would have performed on a missing unit by looking at their performance on other units they have completed. We will use the proportional method that calculates an average grade based on the other grades a student has achieved. We will estimate an externally assessed unit based on other externally assessed units. If your qualification only has one externally assessed unit, then we will calculate the assessed grade on the other units in the qualification.

Greater flexibility in running January 2022 exams

To give you more support at this uncertain time, we can confirm that:

Exam start times: Schools and colleges are currently allowed to vary the start of exams (ie 9.00am and 1.30pm) by up to 30 mins from the published time without informing OCR. However, if you experience disruption relating to Covid during January 2022, we will allow you to start the exam later than that, provided a member of staff supervises your students from no later than 30 minutes after the published start time until the exam starts. Please email gqcompliance@ocr.org.uk to explain the arrangements on the day of the exam itself.

Minimum invigilator requirements: We will permit an invigilator/student ratio of 1 to 40 rather than 1 to 30 in the January 2022 exams. In exceptional circumstances, exams can continue if the Head of Centre is confident it can be done with integrity if a number of invigilators aren't present at short notice and your school or college has exhausted other options. We will also permit the use of subject teachers to invigilate January 2022 exams, providing they aren't the sole one for a group of students they have taught. Please email gqcompliance@ocr.org.uk to confirm any exceptional invigilation arrangements that are made on the day.

Remote invigilation: We are not able to offer this for your students in January 2022 unfortunately. If your students are not able to be invigilated, you can apply for special consideration if they are certificating in January 2022 or June 2022. Please contact our Special Requirements Team as above.

Alternative exam accommodation: To help you manage January 2022 exams, you will be allowed to relocate an exam to an alternative venue at short notice if it's due to a medical condition. Please inform the JCQ Centre Inspection Service via an alternative site form using the Centre Admin Portal.

Withdrawals and refunds

If you decide a student is not sufficiently prepared to take an exam in January, and you wish to withdraw an entry at short notice, we will offer a refund. If your students are not able to take the January exam due to illness or injury and you intend to reschedule the exam for June 2022 instead, we will also refund you. If you decide to take the option of requesting special consideration for those eligible students taking January 2022 exams, which will lead to an assessed grade, this is not refundable because your student receives a grade. For this option, your entry for the January 2022 series needs to remain in place otherwise we will not be able to award an assessed grade for a student. Please see our FAQ for more details.

Extra support for exams officers from OCR; our emergency exams officer contingency service

We know exams officers are essential to the running of exams. With this in mind, we want to provide an additional support service for schools and colleges who find themselves unexpectedly without an exams officer. Call our Customer Support Centre and let us know you have an 'emergency exams officer'. We'll answer any initial queries you have and then put in you touch with a customer support manager who will make sure you have everything you need to manage the exam series.

If you, or anyone in your school or college, has any questions about running our January exams, please get in touch with us. We're here to support you on 01223 553998 or support@ocr.org.uk.

We wish your students all the best for their exams.

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January 2022 exams update The start of this new term is a very busy and uncertain one for everyone in schools and colleges. Here's a summary of key information to support you and your students taking Cambridge Nationals and Cambridge Technicals exams which start on Monday 10 January.

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AQA Update - Using November Papers as Mocks

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AQA Update - Using November Papers as Mocks

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Deadline: 31st March 2022
Into Film Award Categories

Best Film 12-15

Best Film 16-19

Best Animation 11 and Under

Best Animation 12 and Over

Changes for a Better World

Into Film Club of the Year

Review of the Year

Ones to Watch

Audience Choice

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The Into Film Awards returns in 2024, and promises to once again be a fantastic celebration of young filmmaking talent from across the UK.

Taking place on Tuesday 25 June 2024, once again at central London's famous ODEON Luxe Leicester Square, the Into Film Awards will showcase young filmmaking talent, with categories designed to highlight the large pool of young creatives in the UK. We set out to discover and honour the most talented young filmmakers from across the UK - as well those people who facilitate and support their filmmaking journey.

New categories for this year are the Filmmaking Champion award, which seeks to recognise and honour those individuals or groups that help support young people find an outlet through filmmaking, and Time for Action, a special category, sponsored by Swatch, which asks young people to create a film that raises awareness of issues important to them, and explores the changes they would like to make in the world, whether big or small; personal or society wide.

The full list of categories at the 2024 Into Film Awards are...

Best Animation - 11 and Under

Best Animation - 12 and Over

Best Film - 11 and Under

Best Film - 12-15

Best Film - 16-19

Best Documentary

Filmmaking Champion

Time for Action

Ones to Watch

Audience Choice

Head over to our submissions platform to find out more details about each category, and to get your entries started. Entries are open until 23:59 on 31 March 2024. Entries can be submitted or edited right up until that time. You can also read Into Film's terms and conditions for competition entry here.

To enter the Awards, you'll need to be logged in to your Into Film Account. If you don't have an Account, it only takes You must be aged 20 or over to submit an entry - if you are aged 19 or under, please ask a parent, guardian, educator, or other adult to submit your entry on your behalf. a moment to set one up!

The Into Film Awards ceremony itself is always a highlight of the calendar, with famous faces and incredible talent from across the film industry on hand to present the awards.

We encourage children and young people aged 5-19 from all backgrounds and with all abilities to get involved. Entries are open now until 23:59 on Sunday 31 March 2024, giving you plenty of time to submit your films - or even create brand new ones!

Check out the video below to see highlights of the 2022 Into Film Awards, hear from the celebrity presenters, and get a sense of what it's like to be at this very special event.

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Find all about the Into Film Awards, our star-studded celebration of young filmmaking talent from across the UK.

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BFI: Revision study day for KS4 Media Studies

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BFI: Revision study day for KS4 Media Studies

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Y11
London
10:30-15:00
10th March 2022

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Revision study day for KS4 Media Studies

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Join us for a revision study day to embed core ideas needed in exams - 10:30am to 3pm, 10 March, in-venue at BFI Southbank.

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Getting Started: Ways to Teach and Assess BTEC Tech Award in Creative Media Production 2022

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Getting Started: Ways to Teach and Assess BTEC Tech Award in Creative Media Production 2022

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16:00-18:00, 12 January 2022

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Summary - Getting Started: Ways to Teach and Assess BTEC Tech Award in Creative Media Production 2022

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Ofqual: Letter to schools - Advance information

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Ofqual: Letter to schools - Advance information

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Published: 9th December 2021

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I write to update you about the nature of the advance information, on the content of some GCSE, AS and A level exams, which the exam boards will be publishing by 7 February 2022.

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JCQ: Advance Information for Qualifications in 2022

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JCQ: Advance Information for Qualifications in 2022

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23rd to 29th October 2021

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Are you 16-19? Passionate about film? Interested in a career in the film industry? If so, the BFI Film Academy is for you!

Film Academy is a fast paced, fun and practical filmmaking experience, designed for young people with some demonstrable interest and/or experience in film.

It is designed to build knowledge and skills alongside introducing the different pathways into the industry.

Film Academy has an excellent track record of inspiring the next generation of UK filmmakers and crew. It is a well respected and recognised stepping stone towards further education, training and employment.

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Are you 16-19? Passionate about film? Interested in a career in the film industry? If so, the BFI Film Academy is for you! Film Academy is a fast paced, fun and practical filmmaking experience, designed for young people with some demonstrable interest and/or experience in film.

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Guidance for schools/college: Awarding VTQs in 2021 and 2022

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Guidance for schools/college: Awarding VTQs in 2021 and 2022

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Published: 2nd December 2021

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About this document

This document is for those working in colleges, schools, training providers and other settings (or 'centres') where assessments for vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) and general qualifications other than GCSEs, AS and A levels, AEAs and project qualifications (or 'other general qualifications') are scheduled to take place in the academic year 2021 to 2022.

In this guidance we, as regulator, explain how VTQs and other general qualifications will be awarded this academic year. We outline what we expect from awarding organisations and what you and your students should expect to happen over the coming year.

Arrangements for awarding VTQs in the academic year 2021 to 2022

The government's intention is that exams and other formal assessments, including for VTQs and other general qualifications, will go ahead in the academic year 2021 to 2022. We have looked at how our regulations can help make this happen.

We know students taking exams and assessments this year may have already experienced significant disruption to their learning or work over the last year as a result of the pandemic. Your students may also need further support from you this year should the public health situation worsen and cause further disruption. Our regulations can help awarding organisations support you so your students can demonstrate their knowledge, skills and understanding in assessments, and in this way achieve their outcomes and progress to the next stage of their lives.

Qualifications can be adapted

To help mitigate the impact of the pandemic on students and their learning, we are continuing to allow awarding organisations to adapt their exams and other formal assessments for VTQs.

We require awarding organisations to continue to carefully balance mitigating the effects of the pandemic on teaching and learning with the need to ensure that results are fair, consistent and allow students to progress. For example, assessments may need to be adapted to free up time to focus on catch-up and teaching the remaining qualification content.

Ofqual has put in place a number of requirements that awarding organisations must follow when determining if their adaptations remain appropriate in the context of the 2021 to 2022 academic year. For example, we still expect that all content should be taught, as far as is feasible, so that students are as well-prepared as possible for progression to the next stage of their education, training, or employment.

To align with government policy, this year, we are no longer allowing awarding organisations to award results using alternative evidence such as teacher-assessed grades (TAGs). These were a necessary mitigation when exams and formal assessments could not take place.

We also expect awarding organisations to consider how making some adaptations now could make their VTQs more resilient if there is further disruption so that exams and other formal assessments could continue, as far as possible. We require awarding organisations to ensure, as far as possible, that the adaptations applied do not disadvantage, or advantage, students against their peers taking similar VTQs or, where relevant, GCSEs, AS and A levels.

Ofqual continues to work closely with awarding organisations, as we have done throughout the pandemic, so that awarding organisations provide colleges, training providers and schools with clear information in a timely manner to enable them to implement the adaptations fairly and consistently. In turn, we expect awarding organisations to continue to work collaboratively together and with centres, professional organisations and sector bodies in ensuring their approaches to awarding make sure that students completing these qualifications this year have the knowledge and skills employers expect.

There is a range of different qualification structures and assessment methods used in VTQs. As last year, we expect awarding organisations offering similar qualifications to continue to work with each other to ensure consistency is maintained where possible and appropriate. Awarding organisations will have different approaches, because of the variety of assessment methods, structures, and purposes of VTQs. Awarding organisations are best placed to understand the kinds of adaptation that work best for their qualifications and meet the needs of the students that take them so where there are differences, this is for a good reason.

The Conditions, requirements and guidance setting out our regulatory requirements for awarding organisations offering VTQs and other general qualifications affected by the coronavirus pandemic this year are set out in the Vocational and Technical Qualifications Contingency Regulatory Framework (the VCRF).

As in any other year it is important to us that:

results secure public confidence so teachers and employers can be confident this year's results will reflect what students know, understand, and can do, and students can progress to the next stage of their lives

students receiving VTQ and other general qualification results this year are neither advantaged nor disadvantaged compared to students studying for GCSEs, AS and A levels

What this means for you

1. Your awarding organisation should have provided you with the information you need to support you in implementing their adaptations. They should also provide you with details of the arrangements that will need to be made for any students who need reasonable adjustments.

2. This year, awarding organisations are likely to ask you for more information about which learners are planning to take assessments, when they plan to take them and when they are likely to award certificates. You might find it helpful to start capturing this information as early as possible.

3. If you ordinarily choose to deliver modular qualifications with assessments at the end of the course, you should consider whether that is appropriate this year. You might decide to run assessments throughout the year instead.

4. If you want to change the timing or delivery of assessments, then contact your awarding organisation to make sure this is done in the right way.

Arrangements for continuing students

Students who completed some of their exams or formal assessments in either the 2019 to 2020 or the 2020 to 2021 academic years, and who will complete the remainder of their qualification this academic year or in the future, are able to carry forward any results they have achieved so far. This applies whether the result was awarded using an adapted assessment or through use of alternative sources of evidence, such as TAGs.

In the same way, students starting new programmes of study this year will be able to carry the results of their adapted assessments forward. Arrangements for 2022 to 2023 have not been confirmed yet.

What this means for you

To make sure these arrangements are as manageable as possible for centres, many awarding organisations may use their normal quality assurance policies and procedures, however arrangements may be adapted to reflect current public health advice. On-site visits, for example, may be adapted to remote or virtual visits. Your awarding organisation will tell you what to expect.

Performance table qualifications

Awarding organisations must take account of the Department for Education's technical guidance when developing their approach to adaptation for VTQs approved for inclusion in performance tables. Where it is possible to do so, we expect awarding organisations to use similar approaches to adaptation for other qualifications at the same level leading to similar progression opportunities.

Assessments can be reduced, as is possible for VTQs that are not included in performance tables, but we expect that all of the qualification content should be taught where this is possible and the number of guided learning hours for each qualification should remain the same.

What this means for you

1. If you ordinarily choose to deliver performance table qualifications with assessments at the end of the course, you should consider whether that is appropriate this year. You might decide to run assessments throughout the year instead.

2. You should consider the Department for Education's decision not to limit the number of resits that are permitted for qualifications listed in performance tables. This means you can choose to assess earlier, without putting your students at a disadvantage.

3. If you want to change the timing or delivery of assessments, then contact your awarding organisation to make sure this is done in the right way.

T Levels

The arrangements for the Technical Qualifications of T Levels are in line with other VTQs. This means that the core and occupational specialism components exams and assessments should go ahead in 2021 to 2022. In the case of further significant disruption, the Department for Education may permit adaptations to content and or delivery of assessments where appropriate.

Functional Skills qualifications

As with other VTQs, we expect all Functional Skills qualifications (FSQs) assessments to go ahead in 2021 to 2022 and the full subject content to be taught across all levels.

Our expectation is that awarding organisations will continue to put in place adaptations relating to the delivery of FSQ assessments where necessary. Awarding organisations have put in place a range of approaches to give students as much opportunity as possible to take assessments. Some examples include:

changes to invigilation arrangements, including remote invigilation and remote assessment of the speaking, listening and communicating component

additional flexibility for exam dates and windows for assessments

additional guidance about the distribution and collection of papers, for example collation of scripts after students have left exam rooms, quarantining papers before and after use, and extended timescales to return scripts after exams

adaptations to guidance for individuals involved in examination delivery, for example invigilators, readers and or scribes

What this means for you

You should contact your awarding organisation to find out more about the arrangements they have put in place. The table below shows the range of assessment options for FSQs offered by each awarding organisation.

Awarding organisation

Remote invigilation

On-screen or computer based

Paper based

Awarding organisation provided test centre

Apprenticeship end-point assessments

The flexibilities for the assessment of apprenticeships are being overseen by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education and are not covered by the VCRF.

Monitoring the public health situation and contingency planning

It is possible that further disruption may occur over the course of 2021 to 2022. Even if some public health restrictions were to be needed over the next academic year, it should still be possible for students to take exams and formal assessments safely. If there is further disruption, we would ask awarding organisations to consider whether further adaptations to their qualifications are necessary and possible.

We need to have contingency plans in place for the event that students cannot sit exams and formal assessments.

If the government decides that exams and formal assessments cannot take place in the summer then as in 2021, it is possible that VTQs and other general qualifications may be awarded through TAGs. GCSEs and A levels may also be awarded through TAGs. The evidence for TAGs is likely to come from the assessments your students have already taken during the year or other work. Many VTQs are modular and designed so that assessments can take place throughout the year. This means it is unlikely that there will be any additional assessments to inform the TAG.

You can find more information about contingency arrangements in the Department for Education's contingency guidance for vocational and technical qualifications.

What this means for you

1. If you ordinarily choose to deliver modular qualifications with assessment at the end of a course, you may wish to consider whether that is appropriate this year. You might decide to run assessments throughout the year instead.

2. If you want to change the timing or delivery of assessments, then contact your awarding organisation to make sure this is done in the right way.

Results

Approaches to awarding may differ between awarding organisations. This will depend on how the qualification is assessed and was assessed in summer 2021 and or summer 2020. Some qualification will have standards aligned to those of similar subjects in GCSEs and A Levels. Some VTQs saw an increase in outcomes and higher grades during the pandemic, but that was not the case for others. Awarding organisations will take all these factors into account, to ensure learners get fair results.

Most results will continue to be issued to normal timescales. Roll-on roll-off qualifications, and those not tied to an academic year, will continue to be awarded throughout the year.

Where VTQ results are used to support progression to further or higher education, results should be awarded on or before the following dates:

18 August 2022 for level 3 qualifications

25 August 2022 for level 2 qualifications

This is in line with A level and GCSE results days and ensures that students wishing to progress onto further or higher education are not disadvantaged compared to students taking A levels or GCSEs.

What this means for you

1. Your awarding organisations will confirm their results days.

2. The results of roll-on roll-off qualifications will continue be awarded in line with current timescales.

3. You should receive results data in good time to allow you to prepare for the distribution of results on the correct days.

4. Please ensure that you have the right people and resources available at your centre who can respond to queries from students, queries from the awarding organisation, and help prepare for the distribution of results.

Appeals

Awarding organisation appeals processes will be the same as any other year. Awarding organisations are still required to consider appeals for students whose results were based on alternative evidence such as TAGs. For more information, please contact your awarding organisation.

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Guidance for centres: awarding VTQs in 2021 and 2022

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This document is for those working in colleges, schools, training providers and other settings (or 'centres') where assessments for vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) and general qualifications other than GCSEs, AS and A levels, AEAs and project qualifications (or 'other general qualifications') are scheduled to take place in the academic year 2021 to 2022.

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Steve Connolly: The Changing Role of Media in the English Curriculum

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Steve Connolly: The Changing Role of Media in the English Curriculum

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Book

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DfE: Guidance for schools/colleges on contingency arrangements for GCSEs, AS and A levels in summer 2022

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DfE: Guidance for schools/colleges on contingency arrangements for GCSEs, AS and A levels in summer 2022

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Published: 11th November 2021

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Arrangements for exams and non-exam assessments for students taking qualifications in summer 2022.

Details

The government is clear that students entering GCSEs, AS or A levels in 2022 should expect to take exams in the summer and complete any non-exam assessments in the usual way throughout the year.

In recognition of the fact that students' education has been disrupted by the pandemic, they will be given extra help to prepare for their exams, as detailed in this publication.

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Guidance on contingency arrangements for GCSEs, AS and A levels in summer 2022

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Arrangements for exams and non-exam assessments for students taking qualifications in summer 2022.

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DfE: Contingency arrangement for awarding qualifications in summer 2022

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DfE: Contingency arrangement for awarding qualifications in summer 2022

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Updated: 11th November 2021

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Contingency arrangements: GCSE, AS, A level, Project and AEA

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Consultation proposals for contingency arrangements for the award of GCSE, AS, A level, Project and AEA qualifications in 2022.

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Into Film: A FRESH PERSPECTIVE: MAKING MINDFUL FILMMAKERS

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Into Film: A FRESH PERSPECTIVE: MAKING MINDFUL FILMMAKERS

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Online
Tuesday 30 November 2021

16:15 - 17:45

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Date

Tuesday 30 November 2021

Time

16:15 - 17:45

Length of webinar

1 hour 30 minutes

For Phase of education

Secondary

Cost

Free

Date

Tuesday 30 November 2021

Time

16:15 - 17:45

Length of course

1 hour 30 minutes

For Phase of education

Secondary

Cost

Free

Language

English

In this webinar, our guest speaker will be on hand to guide you through a simple, mindful filmmaking activity and share insider tips, not found elsewhere on the course. You will also discover how framing and camera angles can support a mindful approach to filmmaking by exploring emotional awareness and considering alternative viewpoints. This will be a great chance to consolidate your learning with your peers and access resources available exclusively to webinar attendees!

This webinar is only for educators of 5-19 year olds. If you are having trouble accessing this webinar or if you have any additional accessibility requirements, please contact onlinehelp@intofilm.org

This training supports

PSHE Education

Health

Social

Personal

Got some feedback?

We'd love to hear your thoughts on our online training.

Contact us

Who will you learn with?

Jane Coulter

Programme Delivery Coordinator - South West

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A Fresh Perspective: Making Mindful Filmmakers

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Tuesday 30 November 2021 16:15 - 17:45 1 hour 30 minutes Secondary Free Tuesday 30 November 2021 16:15 - 17:45 1 hour 30 minutes Secondary Free English In this webinar, our guest speaker will be on hand to guide you through a simple, mindful filmmaking activity and share insider tips, not found elsewhere on the course.

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The Global Media Education Summit 2023: A Review

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Education events

Events for primary KS2 and secondary Film and Media Studies, MFL, History and English KS3 to KS5. Throughout the year, online and at BFI Southbank.

Resources for teachers

Teaching and learning materials for anyone teaching with, or about, film.

CPD for teachers

Resources and events for teachers' continuing professional development.
Explore CPD for teachers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Education events Events for primary KS2 and secondary Film and Media Studies, MFL, History and English KS3 to KS5. Throughout the year, online and at BFI Southbank. Resources for teachers Teaching and learning materials for anyone teaching with, or about, film. CPD for teachers Resources and events for teachers' continuing professional development.

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Careers, jobs and skills training in film, TV, VFX, animation and games

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We are investing in the future of the animation, film, TV, VFX and games industries in the United Kingdom. Find training, information, connections and advice on your career in screen.

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Our resources use the unique medium of film to open-up the curriculum in exciting, accessible ways, enhancing classroom lessons and Into Film Clubs.

Into Film has been invaluable in supporting pupils' wellbeing and mental health through access to high-quality resources

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Into Film | Film in Education | Film Clubs - Into Film

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Into Film puts film at the heart of children and young people's education, helping to support their academic, cultural, and social development.

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BFI: Diversifying film and media studies Seminars

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BFI: Diversifying film and media studies Seminars

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Online
30th September to  25th November 2021
4.30pm-5.30pm

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Across the autumn term of 2021, we are planning a series of roundtable seminars to identify concrete actions that will promote diversity in film education:

30 September: Pedagogy for Diversity: how should we change teaching and learning?

14 October: Access to Diverse Film Content and People: exploring an expanded view of the production, distribution and exhibition industries

4 November: Curriculum: how can we reshape curriculum to take advantage of new pedagogies and industry support?

25 November: Institutions: how might supporting organisations like BFI, Into Film and others revise what they currently offer?

Each seminar will run for an hour at 4.30pm on Zoom, and will feature some input to start the discussion.

We envisage around 25 people taking part in each. If you would like to join us, fill in the form below.

We are especially keen to involve teachers who come from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

If you are not able to attend (and even if you are), we have set up a Google Form to solicit ideas, suggestions and proposals around each seminar theme. Contribute to form

Following the seminars, we will compile a set of outcomes, resources and proposals, and publish them on these and our partners' webpages.

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Across the autumn term of 2021, we are planning a series of roundtable seminars to identify concrete actions that will promote diversity in film education: 30 September: Pedagogy for Diversity: how should we change teaching and learning?

# data[].attributes.headline
MEA: A Response to the DCMS Online Media Literacy Strategy

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MEA: A Response to the DCMS Online Media Literacy Strategy

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Published: 12th October 2021

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The Media Education Association: A Response to the DCMS Online Media Literacy Strategy

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In July 2021, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport published its new Online Media Literacy Strategy. The Strategy is designed to go alongside the Online Safety Bill, which is currently pending, and sets out how the government is going to support media literacy alongside the other measures in the Bill.

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Pearson: Assessment Update for 2021/2022

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Pearson: Assessment Update for 2021/2022

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Published: 8th September 2021

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One Page Summary of Ofqual changes to the assessment of GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2022

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One Page Summary of Ofqual changes to the assessment of GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2022

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30th September 2021

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Published: 6th August 2021

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Published: 6th August 2021

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In this consultation, the Department for Education (the Department) has written Part A (arrangements for academic year 2021 to 2022) and Ofqual has written Part B (regulatory arrangements for academic year 2021 to 2022). This division reflects the key roles and responsibilities of the 2 organisations. The 2 parts of the consultation are linked - the policy position in Part A informs the approach taken in Part B.

Foreword

The government's intention is that exams and assessments will take place in the academic year 2021 to 2022. This is because assessments and exams continue to be the fairest way for students to evidence what they know, all other things being equal.

We recognise that the impact of what has been experienced since March 2020 must not be ignored and students and teachers are at the heart of our considerations.

When undertaking a qualification, a student is setting out on a journey of development, with an aim of gaining skills or improving what they know and can do. The impact of the pandemic, and the measures needed to manage it, mean that many students - whether they are studying at college, in the community, through a training provider, or as part of their employment - have not had the tuition or education they might otherwise have expected. Other aspects of their lives may also have been disrupted.

The period since March 2020 has also been challenging for the teachers and trainers who support students, and for the colleges, training providers and employers who facilitate and administer their qualifications. They have demonstrated great commitment, resilience and flexibility as they have worked to ensure that their students are awarded the grades they deserve. These challenges, and the efforts required to address them, must also be borne in mind when considering the approach to assessing and awarding qualifications in 2021 to 2022.

Awarding organisations have also had to respond to the range of issues and challenges arising from the pandemic. They have worked with employers and providers to deliver and certificate qualifications that have met both their and students' needs. Awarding organisations have adapted qualifications where appropriate. Many have increased their provision of remote invigilation and remote assessment, and have adopted new models of quality assurance.

We know that there is a need for clarity on the approach to assessing and awarding qualifications in the academic year 2021 to 2022 in line with the government's intention.

In this joint consultation we set out the arrangements for assessing and awarding VTQs and other general qualifications in the academic year 2021 to 2022. These proposals are made in the context of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has resulted in disruption to education during the current (2020 to 2021) and previous (2019 to 2020) academic years. Arrangements for GCSEs, AS and A levels are being consulted on in parallel.

In Part A of this consultation, the Department sets out its policy position and the scope of adaptations to assessments and qualifications that may be necessary to address the ongoing impact of the pandemic in the academic year 2021 to 2022. The Department is consulting on the equalities impacts of this policy.

In Part B of this consultation, Ofqual sets out the changes to its regulatory arrangements to implement the Department's policy position, as set out in Part A of this consultation. Ofqual is consulting on the impact of changing the categorisation of qualifications in its regulatory framework and on minor updates to the drafting of that framework to reflect the context of academic year 2021 to 2022. This will permit awarding organisations to continue to make adaptations to their qualifications and assessments.

Ofqual and the Department want to hear the views of students of all types of assessments and external exams, their employers, parents and carers, their teachers and trainers, college and school leaders and others who have an interest, including further and higher education providers.

We look forward to your views.

Proposals at a glance

The government's intention is that exams and assessments for vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) and other general qualifications will go ahead in the academic year 2021 to 2022.

The government recognises, however, that students who will be taking exams and assessments have experienced significant disruption to their education and that these students may also need continued support in the face of any further disruption.

This is a joint consultation by the Department for Education (the Department) and Ofqual. It sets out the scope of the adaptations to assessments and qualifications that the Department considers may be necessary and appropriate to address the ongoing impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It also sets out the small number of changes necessary to Ofqual's regulatory arrangements to permit awarding organisations to make those adaptations.

Audience

This consultation is open to anyone who may wish to make representations but may be of particular interest to:

students and apprentices who are expecting to sit assessments and/or be awarded a vocational or technical qualification, or other general qualification, in 2021 and 2022

the family, parents or carers of these students

teachers, tutors, exam staff and other representatives from schools, colleges, training providers, apprenticeship providers, and other places where the relevant qualifications are delivered

the awarding organisations regulated by Ofqual, and their representative bodies

higher education institutions, further education colleges and training providers that may be making offers to students for future academic years

education representative bodies

employers who might be receiving job applications from students taking these qualifications, or who might already employ these students

professional bodies, regulators and industry groups

Duration

This consultation will be open for 2 weeks starting on 12 July 2021 and ending on 26 July 2021 at 23:45. We have set the length of this consultation so that decisions can be announced before the start of the next academic year, giving students, teachers and awarding organisations time to adapt their qualifications and assessments for 2021 to 2022 academic year.

Respond

Please respond to this consultation by completing the online response form.

For information on how we will use and manage your data, please see Annex A: Your data.

Introduction

We recognise that schools, colleges, training providers and their students, together with awarding organisations, are currently focused on teaching, delivering exams and assessments, and progressing teacher-assessed grades (TAGs). We know there is a need for clarity on the approach to assessing and awarding qualifications in line with the government's intention that exams and assessments for vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) and other general qualifications will go ahead in the academic year 2021 to 2022.

In Part A of this consultation, the Department for Education (the Department) sets out its policy position and scope of adaptations to assessments and qualifications that may be necessary to address the ongoing impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the academic year 2021 to 2022. The Department is consulting on the equalities impacts of this policy.

In Part B of this consultation, Ofqual sets out the changes to its regulatory arrangements to implement the Department's policy position, as set out in Part A of this consultation.

In March 2021, in response to the ongoing impact of the pandemic and the government's decision that it was not viable for some exams and assessments to take place, Ofqual introduced the VTQ Contingency Regulatory Framework (VCRF). The VCRF included provisions targeted at 2 groups of qualifications:

for Category A qualifications, assessments were expected to continue but awarding organisations were permitted to make adaptations to their assessments and qualifications to take account of the ongoing impact of the pandemic, where they could do so without undermining the validity and reliability of the qualifications

for Category B qualifications, awarding organisations were permitted to award results using alternative evidence, including TAGs, where exams and assessments did not take place

By including the 2 separate categories permitting different approaches, Ofqual's intention was that the VCRF would be sufficiently flexible to enable it to regulate qualifications beyond summer 2021 without requiring major changes to the provisions within the regulatory framework.

Now that the Department has set out the policy position that exams and assessments will take place in the academic year 2021 to 2022, Ofqual is changing the categorisation of qualifications and is moving all qualifications to Category A. This will permit awarding organisations to make adaptations to their assessments and qualifications but not to award results using alternative evidence, including TAGs. Ofqual is consulting on the impact of that change and on minor updates to the drafting of the VCRF to reflect the context of academic year 2021 to 2022.

It should be noted that, although Ofqual is withdrawing the designation of Category B qualifications for the academic year 2021 to 2022, the Category B conditions, requirements and guidance will be retained within the VCRF. Consequently, if, at any point it is decided that it is not viable for exams and assessments to take place, Ofqual would be able to reintroduce Category B qualifications and to permit the awarding of results using alternative evidence such as teacher judgement, following further consultation.

We will consider responses to the consultation carefully and are aiming to announce our decisions in early August. These adaptations will apply for students taking exams and assessments in the academic year 2021 to 2022 only, and it is our firm intention that exams and assessments will return to normal in the academic year 2022 to 2023.

Consultation details

Part A - arrangements for academic year 2021 to 2022

This section of the consultation document has been written by the Department for Education.

Introduction

Throughout 2020 to 2021, awarding organisations made changes to their qualifications (adaptations) in response to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

These changes were made to:

free up teaching time

take account of public health restrictions that could have had an impact on the way the assessments could be conducted

These adaptations included, but were not limited to:

reduction in number of internal assessments, whilst ensuring all content is taught

reduction of hours of work experience or work placement

longer and more assessment windows

social distancing adaptations (for example, professional discussion in place of certain practical activities)

greater flexibility in invigilation rules (for example, to allow subject teachers to invigilate their own subject)

Due to the ongoing impact of the pandemic and the consequent disruption to education, on 4 January 2021, the Department confirmed that it was no longer viable for exams to go ahead for some vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) and other general qualifications and consulted on the alternative arrangements for awarding. Exams and assessments for VTQs that required assessment to demonstrate occupational or professional competency, or to confer a 'licence to practise' continued to take place wherever possible, where they could be delivered in line with Public Health England (PHE) measures. Those qualifications which had a mixed purpose (such as Functional Skills and ESOL qualifications) continued where the assessments could be delivered in line with PHE measures, in-person or remotely. For these exams and assessments, awarding organisations continued to apply adaptations where necessary. The government consultation and response is online: Regulatory arrangements for the awarding of vocational and technical and other general qualifications in 2020 to 2021

We recognise the effort that schools, colleges and awarding organisations have made in delivering teaching, exams, assessments, and TAGs for academic year 2020 to 2021. We know that we now need to provide certainty on the approach for the academic year 2021 to 2022.

This consultation sets out the Department's policy position on exams and assessments in 2021 to 2022, as well as the adaptations that will be permitted to VTQs approved for inclusion in performance tables (PTQs). It asks a question about the equalities impact assessment of this policy position. This is followed with Part B of the consultation setting out further detail on the regulatory arrangements that Ofqual intend to put in place to allow for various types of adaptation to be made to VTQs.

Departmental policy position on VTQ adaptations in 2021 to 2022

The government is committed to ensuring exams and assessments go ahead in the academic year 2021 to 2022. However, we recognise that students who will be taking exams and assessments in 2021 to 2022 have had significant disruption to their education since March 2020, and we will continue to support students in the face of any further disruption.

To help support students' education recovery and progression to the next stage in their studies and careers, we need to ensure that teaching time in 2021 to 2022 is maximised and that qualifications are resilient to any further potential COVID-related disruption.

Some stakeholders are reporting that the greatest impact of missed education so far can be seen in practical subjects (such as construction, engineering, motor vehicle, catering and hospitality, health and social care, and hair and beauty) as online delivery and accessing facilities and the workplace for assessment is most challenging in these areas.

The government has committed to a long-term education recovery plan. The government is investing over £3billion in a package of measures to support education recovery, including tutoring, summer schools and mental health support, as well as further training and development for teachers. This package sits alongside the ongoing successful rollout of the vaccination programme, the ending of class and year group bubbles (from 19 July), the ending of legal requirements to self-isolate for contacts of a positive case for everyone aged under 18 (from 16 August) and significant improvements in the ability of schools and colleges to deliver remote education where necessary.

A student's study programme often contains additional hours spent on mathematics and/or English alongside the taught hours for their VTQ. There will also be hours assigned for work placements, tutorials, project work and for multiple internal assessments. This means that for many students, finding sufficient additional time in their timetables for activities to support education recovery will be challenging.

As many VTQs are used for progression to further study, employment, or to demonstrate occupational competency, the government believes that all content should be taught, as far as is feasible, so that students are as well-prepared as possible for progression to the next stage of their education, training or employment. There has, however, been significant disruption to students' and other learners' education since March 2020, which will be carried into the upcoming academic year. This means that it may be necessary and appropriate for adaptations to be made to assessments to recognise the disruption to teaching and learning, and to free up time to focus on catch up and teaching the remaining qualification content, to support education recovery.

As reflected in Ofqual's regulatory arrangements when agreeing the approach for awarding VTQs and other general qualifications in the summer of 2020 and summer of 2021, a one-size-fits-all approach is not suitable for VTQs. The variety in assessment structures and delivery within the VTQ landscape will mean that awarding organisations will need to take decisions regarding the most appropriate approach to awarding based on the detail of their qualifications.

Ofqual's regulatory arrangements require awarding organisations to design and implement adaptations which are appropriate for their qualifications. The principles contained within Ofqual's framework help to promote consistency of approach and we will look to Ofqual to ensure consistency.

We also expect awarding organisations to consider whether making some adaptations now will make their VTQs more resilient to any further disruption as a result of a changing public health situation, so that as many exams and assessments can continue, even in light of further disruption to education.

For qualifications where the exams and assessments are used to demonstrate occupational competency, it is important that there is consistency in the approach to adaptations taken across awarding organisations for similar qualifications, which are supported by employers and relevant industry bodies, to ensure that occupational and professional standards are maintained.

Additionally, VTQ students and other learners should not be advantaged or disadvantaged in comparison to their peers taking other VTQs and/or general qualifications. There should be a consistent approach across different awarding organisations for similar qualifications, where possible and appropriate. For other qualifications used alongside or instead of GCSEs, AS and A levels to support progression to further or higher study, awarding organisations should have reference to the suite of adaptations that are permitted to VTQs approved for inclusion in 2022 performance tables, as set out below, where appropriate.

We expect awarding organisations to be clear in their communications to centres, and minimise any additional burdens on centres, where possible.

VTQs approved for inclusion in 2022 performance tables (performance table qualifications)

Principles for performance table qualifications

VTQs currently approved by the Department for inclusion in 2022 performance tables must continue to comply with the definitions and characteristics contained within the 2020 Technical Guidance for their specific category of performance tables qualification, unless an adaptation has been previously agreed with the Department since the publication of the 2020 Technical Guidance. For ease of reference, these are the definitions and characteristics contained within Sections 2 and 3 of the 2020 Technical Guidance (based on the guidance published in November 2017) - see ' 14 to 19 qualifications technical guide: 2020 performance tables '.

Adaptations already approved by the Department to qualifications included in 2020, 2021 and 2022 performance tables will be allowed to continue during the academic year 2021 to 2022. Any additional adaptations proposed by awarding organisations to their PTQs for delivery in 2021 to 2022 should only be those of the type set out below under the heading 'Permitted adaptations under the Technical Guidance' and must be submitted to the Department for approval before they are shared with centres and implemented. Details of the Department's approvals process for PTQs being delivered in 2021 to 2022 will be sent to the relevant awarding organisations in due course.

Scope

The arrangements outlined under the headings 'Permitted adaptations under the Technical Guidance' and 'Functional Skills qualifications' are for VTQs approved for inclusion in 2022 performance tables as Technical Awards, Technical Certificates, Tech Levels or Applied General qualifications.

The scope of the adaptations for 2022 performance tables qualifications includes all students who will be taking assessments for these qualifications in the academic year 2021 to 2022. However, it should not be assumed that any adaptations to assessments will continue in 2022 to 2023; it is our firm intention that exams and assessments will return to normal in the academic year 2022 to 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, a student who has received a result from an adapted assessment in 2021 to 2022 will be able to carry this result forward into 2022 to 2023 and beyond.

Permitted adaptations under the Technical Guidance

Adaptations should ensure that parity is maintained where possible with qualifications at the same level that are leading to similar progression opportunities. This is to ensure that students and other learners taking VTQs are neither advantaged nor disadvantaged in comparison with their peers taking general qualifications (for example, GCSEs, AS or A levels).

Assessments may be adapted, but we expect to see the minimum thresholds stated within the Technical Guidance maintained for the amount of external assessment within the qualification. Assessments can be streamlined (for example, to reduce duplication of testing of a particular skill or section of knowledge, or to amalgamate two assessments into one).

As in the 2020 to 2021 academic year, we will permit up to two retake opportunities for external assessments for all four categories of performance table VTQs (i.e., for Applied General, Tech Level, Technical Certificate and Technical Award). Assessment opportunities where students have received results based on teacher-assessed grades (TAGs) and centre assessment grades (CAGs) do not count towards these retake opportunities.

As permitted in 2020 to 2021, we will permit a reduction in the number of internal assessments but awarding organisations should ensure that any adaptations maintain the validity of the qualification. We expect all of the content of the qualification to be taught where feasible. We expect that the reduction in the internal assessments of the qualification should be kept to a minimum.

The Department recognises that the methodology used for aggregating final results may need adaptation if the number of internal assessments reduces within the qualification, and awarding organisations are currently discussing possible approaches with Ofqual. However, we expect any revisions to grading to be compliant with the criteria for grading set out in the 2020 Technical Guidance. For the avoidance of doubt, a student who has received a CAG or a TAG in either 2019 to 2020 or 2020 to 2021 will be able to carry this result forward.

We will permit awarding organisations to roll over any internal assessments (both the task and any evidence generated) into the academic year 2021 to 2022 for any students who was working towards them in 2020 to 2021 but was unable to complete them due to public health restrictions. This will only apply where the task was intended to be used solely in the academic year 2020 to 2021. This is to minimise the disruption for students who might be part-way through doing them but who were not able to receive a TAG. This flexibility will not apply to students starting internal assessments in academic year 2021 to 2022.

Synoptic assessment is a characteristic in its own right and must remain a feature of performance tables qualifications. Synoptic assessment may be adapted, in line with the scope outlined above, but must still remain within the qualification, in some form, for the qualification to remain approved for inclusion in performance tables.

Where assessments have been streamlined, the number of guided learning hours should remain broadly unaltered for each qualification, as any hours gained from streamlining assessment are to be used for education recovery and learning. However, we expect an awarding organisation to alert the Department (at technical.education@education.gov.uk) if they believe that the number of taught hours, either in person or online, for students and other learners would lessen significantly under their proposed adaptations.

In relation to employer involvement, we understand that there may be parts of industry where employer involvement may not be possible to such an extent in 2021 to 2022 compared to what is set out in the 2020 Technical Guidance, because of any public health restrictions. Awarding organisations and centres should seek credible alternatives in order to satisfy the Employer Involvement criterion, to make sure students and other learners continue to have the opportunity to acquire the skills and knowledge that they would normally acquire through these activities. Awarding organisations should inform DfE (at technical.education@education.gov.uk) if it appears at a future date that circumstances are preventing credible alternatives to be found for particular sector subject areas.

Functional Skills qualifications

As with other vocational and technical qualifications, we expect all Functional Skills qualifications (FSQs) exams and assessments to go ahead in 2021 to 2022, and the full subject content to be taught across all levels. Given their small size and focus on assessing underpinning skills and knowledge, the exams and assessments are not structured in a way that permits a reduction of content or streamlining of assessments.

Our expectation is that awarding organisations will continue to put in place adaptations relating to the delivery of FSQ exams and assessments where necessary, as they did in 2020 to 2021. Examples of adaptations for 2020 to 2021 academic year included, but were not limited to:

changes to invigilation arrangements, including remote invigilation and remote assessment of the speaking, listening and communicating component

additional flexibility for exam dates and windows for assessments.

additional guidance about the distribution and collection of papers, for example collation of scripts after learners have left exam rooms, quarantining papers before and after use, and extended timescales to return scripts after exams

adaptations to guidance for individuals involved in examination delivery, for example invigilators, readers and/or scribes

T Levels

The Department's policy for T Level assessments in 2021 to 2022, in line with other VTQs, is that exams and assessments should go ahead.

Our expectation is that any adaptations to the scope of content or streamlining of assessments would be most suited to the Core assessments (most likely taken by 1st year students next summer), and that the ability to adapt the content of Occupational Specialism (OS) assessments (taken by 2nd year students next summer) will be very limited given they test whether a student is sufficiently competent to enter work in relevant occupations.

Students will be embarking on either the Core or the OS in September, either of which will be a new phase of learning for them with new content so the impact of lost education from the previous year may be less significant than for other 16 to 19 programmes. It is not clear at this stage, therefore, that adaptations to the content of T Level assessments will be necessary in 2021 to 2022.

However, should there be further significant disruption to learning, we may permit adaptations to content and/or delivery of assessment, where appropriate. Should adaptations be required these will be communicated to providers at the first available opportunity and will follow the principles and guidelines used for other VTQs.

If further disruption means adaptations to the conduct and delivery of assessments are required, these will need to be agreed by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education and Ofqual and will need to be tailored to each T Level as the design of the assessments varies. Adaptations may include for example:

changes to arrangements for the conditions under which assessments are taken

additional flexibility for exam dates and windows for assessments

additional guidance about the distribution and collection of papers, for example collation of scripts after learners have left exam rooms, quarantining papers before and after use, and extended timescales to return scripts after exams

adaptations to guidance for individuals involved in assessment delivery, for example invigilators, readers and/or scribes

Monitoring the public health situation and contingency planning

There is, of course, continued uncertainty about the path of the pandemic, including whether further disruption may occur over the course of the 2021 to 2022 academic year. Even if some public health restrictions were to be needed over the next academic year, we believe it will be possible for students to take exams safely, but we need to have plans in place for the unlikely event that that is not possible. There also remains a small risk that there is further disruption to education during the next academic year which is so extensive that, even with remote education in place and the adaptations proposed, going ahead with exams would not be the fairest approach for students.

The Department and Ofqual will work together to develop contingency plans for scenarios where exams or assessments cannot be held for any reason, either locally or nationally, or where individual students are unable to sit exams due to illness or self-isolation. It will be essential that any contingency approach delivers grades that support students to progress and does not detract from high quality teaching and preparation for exams and assessments. Should we conclude that additional arrangements are required, for example permitting the awarding of results using alternative evidence such as teacher judgement_,_ we will ask Ofqual to consider putting in place any relevant regulatory arrangements within its remit. Contingency arrangements are considered further in Part B of this consultation.

The Department will also continue to work with the sector and Ofqual to monitor the ongoing impact of COVID-19 and ensure there is continued alignment between VTQs and GCSEs, AS and A levels, to mitigate any disadvantage or advantage between the 2 cohorts.

Equalities considerations

In developing our policy position, we have considered the likely impact on persons who share particular protected characteristics, in order to enable us to comply with the public sector equality duty in section 149(1) of the Equality Act 2010. This requires us to have due regard to the need to:

1. Eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act 2010.

2. Advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

3. Foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

In developing our policy position, we have sought to ensure that the approach does not unfairly disadvantage students and other learners, including on the basis of sharing a protected characteristic, those who receive SEN support and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. We are unable to predict all the adaptations awarding organisations may make under the VCRF. Therefore. we have considered whether any of the permitted adaptations to performance tables, primarily those set out under the heading 'Permitted adaptations under the Technical Guidance', might have an impact on students and other learners (positively or negatively). We set these considerations out below and seek views on this.

While it is not possible to completely remove all identified negative impacts, we are keen to understand whether respondents agree with the impacts we have identified, whether there are other impacts that we have not identified, and, whether there are ways to mitigate these impacts.

Characteristics of the VTQ cohort

We know that generally learners with protected characteristics, particularly those with disabilities, are more likely to take vocational and technical qualifications.

At level 3, in 2020 to 2021, a higher proportion of enrolments on non-A level qualifications were learners who identified as having a learning difficulty or disability (LLDD), than those studying A levels and level 3 qualifications more generally (19% of enrolments on Applied General qualifications (AGQs) and 23% on Tech Levels, compared to 16% for A levels and 17% for all level 3 qualifications).

Furthermore, learners at level 3 are more likely to be female than male, and that is particularly the case for Applied General qualifications (AGQs), Tech Levels and Access to HE qualifications. There are some differences in terms of ethnicity. Amongst learners at level 3, those studying Tech Levels were disproportionately from white backgrounds. Those studying AGQs and Access to HE qualifications were less likely to be white than those studying at level 3 in general (67%, 71% and 77% respectively). Proportionally, slightly more enrolments on AGQs were from Black and Asian learners than on all level 3 qualifications (8% and 14% of enrolments on AGQs were from Black and Asian learners respectively, compared to 5% and 10% on all level 3 qualifications). However, this is not the case for Tech Levels or Access to HE qualifications.

At lower levels (level 2 and below), learners are more likely to be adult learners than those studying at level 3. This is also the case for Functional Skills qualifications (FSQs) where only 28% of enrolments on FSQs were from learners aged 16 to 19.

20% of enrolments on level 2 qualifications identified as having a learning difficulty or disability, increasing to 27% of enrolments on level 1 and 29% of enrolments on entry-level qualifications. 21% of learners on FSQs identified as having a learning difficulty or disability. Amongst learners at lower levels, including FSQs, the majority of learners were white, except for entry level qualifications, where the majority of learners come from BAME or unknown backgrounds (specifically from Asian, black and other backgrounds)

Impacts on individuals with protected characteristics

All students who were preparing to take VTQs next year will have been affected by the pandemic. Most will have been directly affected by the closure of schools and colleges. Students who were studying independently, for example because they are home educated, might have been less directly affected by these closures, but they will, nevertheless, have been affected by changes to routine aspects of their lives.

There is no doubt that the disruption to some students' education will have been more severe than others. Some students will have had the opportunity - and will have chosen - to engage in a full programme of remote learning facilitated by their school or college. Others will have not had such a full opportunity, in particular some VTQs require access to specialist equipment that cannot be accessed remotely.

Those students whose education might have been and might continue to be most badly disrupted include students:

with caring responsibilities, including adult learners with childcare responsibilities

whose homes are not conducive to study

without devices at home (for example computers)

with limited or no access to the internet

without access to specialist equipment or software

with SEND who have not been able to access their normal learning support

who might be particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 and were required to shield longer than other learners

from Gypsy Roma and Traveller communities

from BAME communities whose families might have been affected by COVID-19 or who themselves felt particularly vulnerable to the virus

whose first language is not English

in lower socio-economic groups

The government's planned measures to make up for missed education will target some such students. Additionally, the permitted adaptations are intended to assist in minimising any differential education experiences of all students but cannot fully address the differential education experiences.

In proposing changes to exam and assessment arrangements for PTQs, we have taken care to consider how any changes might have an impact on SEND students who will have reasonable adjustments when taking their exams and assessments. We consider that the adaptations made by awarding organisations should not affect the accessibility of these qualifications. For example, if awarding organisations change the mode of assessment, they will need to continue to ensure that reasonable adjustments are readily available, for example the provision of extra time. However, some students and other learners with protected characteristics may be disadvantaged if an awarding organisation decides to conduct some of their assessments remotely. This could be because they do not have access to IT equipment to access remote assessments, specialist equipment or software needed to complete remote assessments, or access to reliable internet connectivity, for example in rural locations. Some students and other learners could also be disadvantaged if their school or college does not provide necessary equipment or resources.

Some could argue that these adaptations do not go far enough. However, we need to also ensure that students and other learners are able to progress to the next stage of their lives. Going further, and reducing the content taught, could risk their ability to progress. There are health and safety risks to the general public in, for example, reducing content of qualifications which allow a learner to demonstrate occupational competence.

There are concerns that VTQ students may be disadvantaged, particularly those demonstrating protected characteristics, compared to their counterparts taking GCSEs, AS and A levels, if the standard set for GCSE, AS and A levels is more generous than the standard for VTQs. The Department is clear that awarding organisations should ensure that VTQ students are not disadvantaged compared to their peers, as far as possible, particularly for those VTQs most similar to GCSEs, AS and A levels. Nevertheless, the Department will continue to work with Ofqual to monitor this, particularly in light of the grades awarded in Summer 2021 for both VTQs and GCSEs, AS and A levels.

Question 1

Are there any other equalities impacts that we have not identified and should consider?

Question 2

Do you have views on how any potential negative impacts on particular groups of students could be mitigated?

Part B - regulatory arrangements for academic year 2021 to 2022

This section of the consultation document has been written by Ofqual.

Changes to the categorisation of qualifications

Qualification categories in the VCRF

When we introduced the VCRF in March 2021, we included conditions, requirements and guidance addressing 2 categories of qualifications.

Qualifications in Category A of the VCRF were those VTQs where we permitted awarding organisations to only issue results on the basis of evidence from exams and other assessments. These were those qualifications which assess occupational or professional competency, proficiency, or act as a licence to practise, where it would not be safe to award these qualifications using alternative evidence. It also included performing arts graded examinations which assess proficiency.

For these qualifications, as far as has been possible in 2021, awarding organisations have continued to make exams and other assessments available to learners, remotely or in person where it is safe to do so. We permitted awarding organisations to carry forward the adaptations already made under the Extended ERF in autumn 2020 or to make further adaptations where this could be done without undermining the validity and reliability of the qualifications. In some cases, however, even with adaptations, where it was not possible for exams and assessments to take place, then awarding organisations have been permitted to delay them.

Qualifications in Category B of the VCRF were those VTQs and other general qualifications where we permitted awarding organisations to issue results using alternative evidence, including TAGs. These arrangements were permitted because exams and/or internal assessments had not taken place, and/or when students could not safely access the assessments. Qualifications in this category were those which are used for progression to further or higher study or into employment, where the issuing of results to students needed to be prioritised. It included those qualifications used alongside or instead of GCSEs, AS and A levels, where we expected awarding organisations to award results in a similar way to those qualifications, examples of which are Applied Generals, Technical Awards and Tech Levels. Awarding organisations were also permitted to make adaptations to assessments and qualifications in Category B.

In addition, within Category B, we also included those qualifications which were important for progression to further or higher study or employment, but which are different from GCSEs, AS and A levels in their characteristics and delivery; examples include Functional Skills Qualifications and ESOL Skills for Life. For these qualifications, we expected awarding organisations to make exams and assessments available to students in person, where it was safe to do so, or remotely. However, where students were ready to sit exams or assessments for these qualifications but could not do so, then we permitted awarding organisations to issue results based on alternative evidence, such as TAGs.

For Category B qualifications, we said that any student expecting to sit an assessment between 1 August 2020 and 31 August 2021 could be eligible to receive a result based on alternative evidence or TAGs.

Changing our approach to the categorisation of qualifications for the academic year 2021 to 2022

As set out in Part A of this consultation, the Department's intention is that exams and assessments for VTQs and other general qualifications will go ahead in the academic year 2021 to 2022.

The government recognises, however, that students who will be taking exams and assessments have experienced significant disruption to their education and that these students will also need continued support in the face of any further disruption.

As such, the Department has confirmed in Part A that it may be appropriate for adaptations to be made to some assessments and qualifications to take account of the disruption to teaching and learning, to free up time to focus on education recovery activities and teaching, including any remaining qualification content. In Part A of this consultation document the Department has also set out its expectations around the scope of adaptations for different groups of qualifications - performance table qualifications, FSQs and T-Levels.

In light of the government's intention, we have decided that all Category B qualifications will now fall under Category A of the VCRF. This means that awarding organisations will only be permitted to issue results on the basis of evidence from exams and other assessments. Results cannot be awarded based on TAGs. Awarding organisations will be permitted to continue with any adaptations they have already made to their qualifications under the VCRF or to make further adaptations where this can be done without undermining the validity and reliability of the qualifications, to address the ongoing impact of the pandemic.

To achieve this change in classification, we propose to issue a notice to awarding organisations to withdraw the designation of Category B qualifications from 1 September 2021. We will also make minor drafting changes to the VCRF Conditions to reflect this change (VCR1.3 and the Interpretations and Definitions section of the revised VCRF accompanying this consultation).

This change in categorisation will not adversely affect students currently taking qualifications which fall under Category B. Awarding organisations will still be required to allow the progress of appeals for students whose results are based on alternative evidence, including TAGs, and to allow for the determination of results for any students eligible for a result based on alternative evidence or TAG but who did not receive one in summer 2021. Any students who are not expecting to complete their qualification this summer (sometimes described as mid-flight or non-certificating learners) but who receive any results for component or units of their qualification based on alternative evidence, including a TAG, will still be able to carry those results forward when they certificate.

The change in categorisation will also not have any implications for qualifications already falling under Category A. Awarding organisations will continue to be permitted to make those adaptations to assessments and qualifications, where this can be done without undermining the validity and reliability of those qualifications.

Although we are withdrawing the designation of Category B qualifications, we will retain the Category B conditions, requirements and guidance within the VCRF. This again allows us to future-proof our regulatory framework. If there is a change in government policy in response to a worsening public health situation, and it is decided that it is not viable for exams and assessments to take place at any point in the future, we would be able, following a further consultation, to reintroduce Category B qualifications and to permit the awarding of results using alternative evidence such as teacher judgement. We are therefore not making any substantive changes to the VCRF where it refers to Category B. We are, however, taking this opportunity to correct minor typographical errors in Table 1 of the Guidance on the determination of results for Category B Qualifications (see 'Table 1: sources of information' in the revised VCRF Guidance accompanying this consultation).

Question 3

Do you have any comments on the impact of our decision to withdraw the designation of Category B qualifications at this time and to move all qualifications under Category A?

Changes to the VCRF

Requirements and guidance in relation to adaptations

The VCRF includes requirements and statutory guidance with which awarding organisations must comply or have regard to when deciding whether and how to make adaptations to their assessments and qualifications.

Within the requirements, we have also set out the following guiding principles to steer awarding organisations' approach to adaptation.
The principles in relation to Category A Qualifications
An awarding organisation must take all reasonable steps to comply with the principles below when complying with Condition VCR2 in relation to a Category A Qualification.

Principle A1- As far as possible and without prejudice to the other principles, an awarding organisation must seek to ensure that the Adaptations which it makes to a qualification assist with mitigating the impact on teaching, learning or assessments caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on Learners taking that qualification.

Principle A2- An awarding organisation must seek to ensure that, where it makes any Adaptations to its qualifications in accordance with the VCR Conditions, the Validity and Reliability of those qualifications is maintained.

Principle A3- An awarding organisation must seek to maintain standards, as far as possible, within the same qualification in line with previous years, and across similar qualifications made available by the awarding organisation and by other awarding organisations.

Principle A4- An awarding organisation must seek to ensure, as far as possible, that the Adaptations which it makes to a qualification do not serve to advantage or disadvantage Learners taking that qualification against their peers taking similar VTQs or, where relevant, general qualifications not covered by the VCR Conditions.

We have reviewed these requirements, guiding principles and statutory guidance and have concluded that we do not need to make substantial changes to take account of the context of academic year 2021 to 2022.

We consider that they already sufficiently address the Department's expectations:

around the need for consistency of approach to adaptation across awarding organisations

around the need for awarding organisations to take into account manageability for their centres and to communicate with them in a clear and timely manner

that VTQ students should not be advantaged or disadvantaged in comparison to their peers taking other VTQs and/or GCSEs, AS and A levels

The statutory guidance on adaptations is not prescriptive in its approach. We consider that awarding organisations are best placed to make judgements about what adaptations would be appropriate without undermining the validity and reliability of their qualifications and we do not propose to change this. We do however expect awarding organisations to take account of the views of employers and other stakeholders when developing their approach to adaptations, including taking account of the Department's technical guidance for performance table qualifications.

The conditions, requirements and guidance in the VCRF already require awarding organisations to work together, where relevant, to develop consistent approaches to adaptations for similar qualifications and take account of manageability for their centres. As noted above, Principle A4 addresses the need for VTQ students not to be disadvantaged in comparison to their peers taking other VTQS and/or GCSEs, AS and A levels.

Therefore, we are only proposing to make the following minor drafting changes to the Guidance in relation to the adaptation of vocational and technical qualifications:

to update the introductory section to reflect the context of academic year 2021 to 2022 (see 'Context' in the revised VCRF Guidance accompanying this consultation)

to update our guidance on delaying or rescheduling assessments to reflect the current policy position that exams and assessments will take place (see 'Additional factors' in the revised VCRF Guidance accompanying this consultation)

to recognise that awarding organisations may already have taken steps to develop their understanding of their centres we have updated and retitled the guidance related to this (see 'Improving understanding of Centres and Learners' in the revised VCRF Guidance accompanying this consultation)

Question 4

Do you have any comments on the proposed changes to the drafting of the statutory guidance on adaptation in the revised VCRF?

Arrangements for appeals

General Condition of Recognition I1 requires awarding organisations to establish, maintain and comply with an appeals process in relation to all the qualifications they make available.

In the context of the VCRF, we included statutory guidance on compliance with Condition I1 expecting awarding organisations to give students, for those qualifications most closely aligned to GCSEs, AS and A levels, the right to access an appeal on the same basis as those set out for GCSEs, AS and A levels where possible and appropriate.

As explained earlier, although we are withdrawing the classification of Category B qualifications at this time, awarding organisations must permit the progress of appeals for students where they have received results on the basis of alternative evidence, including TAGs.

Under General Condition H6.3(a) an awarding organisation is required to correct any incorrect result which it discovers through its appeals process. In Condition VCR7.3 we effectively disapplied General Condition H6.3(a) by allowing awarding organisations to use the guidance in the General Conditions to decide whether or not it is appropriate to correct an incorrect result discovered during an appeal. This was a significant change to allow awarding organisations greater flexibility due to the complexities of 2020 to 2021. The same approach was taken under the General Qualifications Alternative Awarding Framework. In the context of exams and assessments taking place in academic year 2021 to 2022, we consider that Condition VCR7.3 is no longer necessary. We are proposing to remove this discretion by disapplying Condition VCR7.3 in a notice. This means that, as in any year where appeals are processed under General Condition H6.3, if an incorrect result is discovered during an appeal, it must be corrected, whether that be up or down.

In Condition VCR7.1, we also took account of the particular situation which applies to Technical Qualifications (TQs) within T Levels. In relation to T Levels, we have disapplied Condition TQ1.1(c) of the qualification-level conditions for Technical Qualifications. This is to make it clear that Condition I1 applies to these qualifications under the VCRF.

We have proposed a drafting amendment to Condition VCR7.1 so that it applies only to a qualification that is designated as a Category B qualification. The effect is that Condition VCR7.1 will remain in place only for any appeals stemming from qualifications that fell within Category B before the designation was removed. From 1 September 2021, Condition TQ1.1(c) would, therefore, no longer be disapplied under the VCRF.

Question 5

Do you have any comments on the proposed changes to arrangements for appeals in the revised VCRF?

Changes to the statutory guidance on remote invigilation

The statutory guidance on remote invigilation in the VCRF was drafted in 2020, when we introduced our first extraordinary regulatory framework in response to the onset of the pandemic. The guidance sets out the factors to which an awarding organisation should have regard, as part of their consideration to introduce remote invigilation as an adaptation.

Since then we have worked with awarding organisations to develop a shared understanding of the term remote invigilation and the related term of remote assessment. This is another adaptation to the delivery of assessments introduced by awarding organisations in response to the pandemic.

We have therefore decided to update the statutory guidance on adaptation to include these definitions and to make some further minor adaptations to the wording for consistency.

These changes will not have any practical implications for awarding organisations or centres around the delivery of assessments using remote assessment or remote invigilation but will provide greater clarity and consistency.

Question 6

Do you have any comments on the proposed changes to the guidance on remote invigilation and the introduction of guidance on remote assessment in the revised VCRF?

Awarding organisation record keeping of decisions

Condition VCR5 requires awarding organisations to maintain a record of the decisions they have made around the adaptation of qualifications in Category A and to make that record available to Ofqual on request.

We do not propose to make any changes to this Condition. However, we wish to remind awarding organisations that they will need to update their record keeping to reflect the withdrawal of the Category B classification and the move of all qualifications into Category A. They must also ensure that their record keeping reflects any adaptations already agreed with the Department.

We will take a targeted and risk-based approach to the monitoring of these records.

Monitoring the public health situation and contingency planning

In Part A of this consultation document, the Department committed to considering the need for contingency plans in the event of further disruption as a result of the pandemic.

We explained earlier (under the heading, 'Changing our approach to the categorisation of qualifications for the academic year 2021 to 2022') that we have retained the provisions for Category B qualifications to allow us to future-proof the VCRF. If there is a change in government policy in response to a worsening public health situation, and it is decided that it is not viable for exams and assessments to take place at any point in the future, we would be able to reintroduce the designation of Category B qualifications. This would permit awarding organisations to issue results based on alternative evidence, including the use of teacher judgement.

In order to inform our contingency planning, we want to understand how arrangements this year could be improved upon should TAGs form part of the approach for VTQs in 2022. We recognise that there are lessons to be learnt from the process and now that TAGs have been submitted to awarding organisations we are interested in your views on potential improvements to the process, should we need to do something similar next summer. Teachers can send their views on the TAG process and there is a separate survey for students to give their views on TAGs.

We accept however that should there be further disruption but not a national lockdown, for example extended regional lockdowns, that it may be necessary to consider further adaptations to take account of differential learning loss.

As stated in the VCRF statutory guidance on compliance with General Condition G7 (Arrangements for Special Consideration), special consideration does not apply where students have missed teaching and learning as consequence of the pandemic. It applies when students have temporarily experienced an illness or injury or some other event outside their control which means that they cannot access assessments as normal. We are considering whether it may be necessary and appropriate to introduce additional arrangements to address differential learning loss arising from regional disruption. Should we conclude that this is the case, we will consult later in 2021. In developing our approach, we will seek alignment with arrangements for GCSEs, AS and A levels where appropriate, so that VTQ students are not advantaged or disadvantaged compared to their peers.

Question 7

What factors do you think we may need to consider in developing any contingency plans?

Equalities impact assessment

As a public body, we are subject to the public sector equality duty. Annex B sets out how this duty interacts with our statutory objectives and other duties.

Awarding organisations are required to comply with equalities legislation, and our existing General Conditions of Recognition reinforce this in relation to the qualifications they make available. They are required to monitor their qualifications to identify features which may disadvantage a group of students who may share a protected characteristic, and this applies to the design, delivery and award of their qualifications.

Although we are withdrawing the Category B qualification classification at this time and making minor amendments to the drafting, we are retaining the VCRF. In our previous consultations on the VRCF we set out our assessment of the equalities impacts of the framework and we consider these impacts again below. We have not identified any additional equalities impacts arising from the decision to move all Category B qualifications into Category A and the amended conditions, requirements and statutory guidance we are proposing to put in place. We would welcome views on this and, if there are further equalities impacts that we have not identified, how these might be mitigated.

Differing impacts on particular groups of students and socio-economic factors

The impact of the pandemic has affected different students in different ways. Even students for whom their circumstances appear the same, could have been affected to differing extents in terms of having missed teaching and learning, or their preparedness or ability to take assessments. While this will impact all students, some students who shared particular protected characteristics (disabled and BAME students) may experience those disadvantages to a greater extent than other students.

Some students could also be affected as a result of socio-economic factors. Some students who share particular protected characteristics (disabled and BAME students), are more likely to be from more disadvantaged backgrounds, for example due to not having the same access to equipment and resources as those from other backgrounds. Students who share particular protected characteristics (disabled and BAME students) may be more likely to be affected by such factors.

We developed the VCRF to ensure that as far as possible, students are not disadvantaged, including as a result of sharing a protected characteristic. Given the overall impact of the disruption, and the fact that it has been experienced differently by different students, it is unlikely that any alternative arrangements for awarding will fully mitigate these disadvantages. We sought to ensure though, as far as is possible, that the alternative arrangements for awarding do not make them worse. The framework is flexible and allows, but does not require, assessments to be adapted to allow as many students as possible to receive a result. It remains possible that for qualifications signifying occupational competence, where these are unable to proceed, in their normal or adapted form, some students may be delayed in receiving a result.

Mental health

We know from our previous consultations that many people are concerned about the potential impact of arrangements for assessment and awarding VTQs on students' mental health. These concerns relate both to the arrangements themselves, and the lack of certainty over what the arrangements will be in the future. It is possible that while these impacts will apply to many students, it could be greater on disabled students with conditions such as autistic spectrum disorders.

It is unlikely we can directly address the impact on students' mental health through our regulation. We are however aiming to reduce the impact where we can. We are doing this by allowing awarding organisations to take flexible approaches to the adaptation of assessments. The arrangements set out in this consultation will enable awarding organisations to provide clarity to those due to take their assessments in academic year 2021 to 2022. We require awarding organisations to communicate with their centres clearly and in a timely manner and we will continue to provide relevant information as soon as we can.

Access to equipment

We have previously identified the impact that a lack of access to equipment and resources may have, along with the potential absence of support needed to use these resources. This may impact disabled students to a greater extent, who may rely on additional support as part of their normal way of working.

As we have set out in our previous impact assessment, we cannot, through our regulation, ensure that students have access to the necessary equipment. But we do set requirements on awarding organisations to ensure that assessments are fit for purpose and can be delivered. Awarding organisations must also ensure that in making any adaptations to assessments, it minimises bias as far as is possible to ensure that an assessment does not produce unreasonably adverse outcomes for students who share a protected characteristic. We monitor awarding organisations to ensure they meet our requirements.

Nature of assessment

It is possible that students taking some types of assessments, in particular practical assessments, or those taking assessments in settings other than centres, such as workplaces could be disadvantaged. The students taking qualifications covered by these proposals are more likely to share protected characteristics (disabled students, BAME students) so could be disproportionately affected.

We have previously set out that our arrangements are intended to be flexible, so that awarding organisations can determine the most appropriate approach for their qualifications and assessments. An awarding organisation will be expected to consider when deciding its approach, how assessments are normally taken, and any arrangements that need to be in place to allow them to be taken in alternative ways. There will be some qualifications, such as some which are intended to signal occupational competence, for which an adaptation is not possible, therefore students may be delayed in receiving a result. Disabled students who cannot take an adapted assessment as a result of their disability, despite adaptations being accessible for other students, may be disadvantaged to a greater extent.

Race

Many of the qualifications covered by these proposals were more likely to be taken by BAME students, meaning any disadvantage could disproportionately affect BAME students. Additionally, BAME students have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, so may have experienced the other disadvantages identified to a greater extent.

We are retaining requirements relating to equalities considerations, that awarding organisations must ensure that, in any approach to adaptations, they minimise bias as far as is possible. This means that they will need to ensure that the assessment does not produce unreasonably adverse outcomes for students who share a protected characteristic. We will also continue to remind awarding organisations of the other obligations that they must meet relating to equalities considerations under the General Conditions.

Special educational needs and disabilities

We have previously identified concerns that students with special educational needs or disabilities could be disadvantaged. In particular, we have identified concerns in relation to students with disabilities, including those with autistic spectrum disorders, who may suffer from greater anxiety and find it more difficult to access adapted assessments as a result, and deaf students, who may struggle to access some adapted assessments. SEND students may also find it more difficult to access remote assessments. Students who require reasonable adjustments may also be disadvantaged if these adjustments were not available for adapted assessments, or if they required different reasonable adjustments as a result of any adaptations to assessments.

Awarding organisations are required under Ofqual's General Conditions and by wider equalities legislation, to make reasonable adjustments. We also require awarding organisations to take account of equalities considerations when deciding how, or whether, to adapt assessments. The VCRF allows awarding organisations to be flexible in their approaches, to take account of these needs.

Question 8

Are there any potential positive or negative equality impacts arising from our decision to withdraw the Category B qualification classification at this time and our proposed changes to the drafting of the VCRF, apart from those we have explored? If yes, what are they and how might they be mitigated?

Regulatory impact assessment

In our previous consultations on the VCRF we set out our assessment of the regulatory impact of our proposals. As already noted, although we are withdrawing the Category B qualification classification at this time and making minor amendments to the drafting, we are retaining the VCRF.

In our previous consultations on the VRCF we set out our assessment of the regulatory impacts of the framework and we consider these impacts again below. We have not identified any additional regulatory impacts arising from decision to move all Category B qualifications into Category A and the minor amendments to the conditions, requirement and statutory guidance we are proposing to put in place.

Our assessment of the impact following our previous consultations suggested that while there may be some savings, overall there is likely to be an increased burden as a result of implementing these arrangements. We would welcome views on this however, and if there are further regulatory impacts that we have not identified, how these might be mitigated.

To help assess the impact, we are also asking questions about the cost of implementing our proposals. These questions are intended to give respondents the opportunity to submit further detail about the regulatory impact of the proposal and are based more around specific cost categories, and any wider impact from our proposal including an impact on fees. We would encourage you to respond to these questions if possible, to help provide a clear picture of the potential impacts.

Direct delivery costs

The VCRF builds on the arrangements previously in place. Awarding organisations will however need to consider whether to put in place adaptations to reflect the context of academic year 2021 to 2022. There will therefore be an additional burden on these organisations of meeting these requirements. In addition, if, as a result of meeting the requirements of the VCRF, awarding organisations decide to put in place adaptations to their qualifications, there is likely also to be a cost to centres of familiarising themselves with, and implementing, any new awarding organisation requirements.

There will be costs involved in delivering results under these arrangements, and of communicating requirements to centres, supporting centre activities and managing continued increased volumes of enquiries from centres and students.

There may also be costs associated with investment in IT and systems technology needed to deliver adapted assessments including specialist hardware or software and training in how to use these.

There are likely to be direct costs to centres of delivering adapted assessments, including administrative burdens of familiarisation, delivery and supporting students.

Provision of equipment and administration costs

There is likely to be a cost relating to the provision of equipment and resources required for the delivery of adapted or remote assessments. These included costs for awarding organisations of developing and delivering adapted assessments, including developing new approaches, implementing new invigilation approaches, communicating changes with centres, and monitoring and quality assuring the delivery of remote or adapted assessments. Centres, teachers and students are likely also to experience similar costs as part of teaching and learning, to ensure students are sufficiently prepared to take assessments. There are also likely to be administrative costs associated with the proposed approach, such as photocopying and printing of any additional assessment materials.

We expect awarding organisations to ensure that their approaches are manageable to deliver. The burden imposed by any particular adaptation on an awarding organisation, its centres and students will be something which the awarding organisation considers as part of deciding whether that adaptation is appropriate to implement.

Consistency of approach for qualification delivery

Teachers and centres may experience additional costs and burden if they are required to follow different arrangements from different awarding organisations. Many centres deliver qualifications from multiple awarding organisations, therefore the greater the consistency between the arrangements, the lower the potential burden on centres.

The VCRF aims to balance the need for flexibility to recognise the wide range of VTQs and the settings in which they are taken, with the need, as far as possible, to minimise the burden on centres, and ensure consistent and fair approaches. We provide statutory guidance on factors to be considered by awarding organisations when determining their approach.

Cost savings

It is possible that there will be some continued savings as a result of adaptations. Some of the activities carried out under the VCRF will be in place of activities that are no longer happening, and the alternative approach may be cheaper to implement (for example, remote assessments replace paper-based exams).

Potential impact on qualification fees

It is possible that alternative approaches may impact on the fees paid by centres to awarding organisations, if for example any savings in delivering assessments in alternative ways were passed on to centres. At this stage, we do not know whether this will be the case. Awarding organisations are required to publish information about their fees for purchasers or potential purchasers. It is possible that the changes required by this consultation may impact on fees that have already been paid, or may be paid in the future, for example passing on any savings in delivering assessments. While such changes may not be clear at this stage, we are seeking further information about the potential impact on fees in this impact assessment.

Innovation and growth

The Deregulation Act 2015 imposes a duty on any person exercising a regulatory function to have regard for the desirability of promoting economic growth (the Growth Duty). We must exercise our regulatory activity in a way that ensures that any action taken is proportionate and only taken when needed. Growth Duty sits alongside our duty to avoid imposing unnecessary burden, as required under the ASCL Act 2009, as well as our statutory duties relating to equalities and the Business Impact Target.

We consider our proposals for adaptation are proportionate and necessary to manage the longer-term impacts of the pandemic. However, it may also be that adaptations to assessments encourage innovation and investments which yield for awarding organisations in the longer term.

Estimated costs and savings

We encourage respondents to share with us as much information as possible about the likely costs and administrative burdens, as well as any savings or benefits, of the proposals set out in this consultation, so that we may consider this information when reaching our decisions. We encourage anyone who responds to this consultation to tell us if they think there is something we could do differently that would still achieve the same aim but would reduce costs and administrative burden.

Question 9

Are there any regulatory impacts arising from our decision to withdraw the Category B qualification classification at this time and move all qualifications into Category A, apart from those we have explored? If yes, what are they and how might they be mitigated?

Question 10

What new activities do you expect to carry out as a result of your proposed approach to adaptations and what additional costs will you incur across the range of qualifications you offer? Please give monetised values for these additional costs where possible, covering, for example, direct delivery; people and staff; equipment and administration.

Question 11

What savings do you expect to make as a result of your proposed approach to adaptations? Please give monetised values where possible for any savings you may realise, compared with a normal qualification year and also compared with qualification delivery in academic year 2020 to 2021.

Question 12

Are there any other regulatory impacts, costs or benefits associated with the implementation of your proposed approach to adaptations? If yes, what are they?

Question 13

Do you anticipate any overall impact on qualification fees as a result of your proposed approach to adaptation? If so, what do you expect these might be?

Annex A: Your data

This Privacy Notice is provided by The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) and Department for Education (DfE). The relevant data protection regime that applies to our processing is the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 ('Data Protection Laws'). We ask that you read this Privacy Notice carefully as it contains important information about our processing of consultation responses and your rights.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Notice, how we handle your personal data, or want to exercise any of your rights, please contact:Data Protection Officer at dp.requests@ofqual.gov.uk

Our legal basis for processing your personal data

Where you provide personal data for this consultation, we are relying upon the public task basis as set out in Article 6 (1) (e) of UK GDPR to process personal data which allows processing of personal data when this is necessary for the performance of our public tasks. We will consult where there is a statutory duty to consult or where there is a legitimate expectation that a process of consultation will take place. Where you provide special category data, we process sensitive personal data such as ethnicity and disability, we rely on Article 9(2) (g) of UK GDPR as processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest.

Why we are collecting your personal data

As part of this consultation process you are not required to provide your name or any personal information that will identify you. However, we are aware that some respondents would like to provide contact information. If you or your organisation are happy to provide personal data, with regard to this consultation, please complete the details below. We would like to hear as many views as possible and ensure that we are reaching as many people as possible. In order for us to monitor this, understand views of different groups and take steps to reach specific groups, we are asking for sensitive data such as ethnicity and disability to understand the reach of this consultation and views of specific groups. You do not have to provide this information and it is entirely optional.

If there is any part of your response that you wish to remain confidential, please indicate in your response. Where you have requested that your response or any part remains confidential, we will not include your details in any published list of respondents, however, we may quote from the response anonymously in order to illustrate the kind of feedback we have received.

Please note that information in response to this consultation may be subject to release to the public or other parties in accordance with access to information law, primarily the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). We have obligations to disclose information to particular recipients including members of the public in certain circumstances. Your explanation of your reasons for requesting confidentiality for all or part of your response would help us balance requests for disclosure against any obligation of confidentiality. If we receive a request for the information that you have provided in your response to this consultation, we will take full account of your reasons for requesting confidentiality of your response and assess this in accordance with applicable data protection rules.

Members of the public are entitled to ask for information we hold under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. On such occasions, we will usually anonymise responses, or ask for consent from those who have responded, but please be aware that we cannot guarantee confidentiality.

If you choose 'No' in response to the question asking if you would like anything in your response to be kept confidential, we will be able to release the content of your response to the public, but we won't make your personal name and private contact details publicly available.

How we will use your response

We will use your response to help us shape our policies and regulatory activity. If you provide your personal details we may contact you in relation to your response. We will analyse all responses and produce reports of consultation responses. In the course of analysis, we will where possible avoid using your name and contact details. We will only process the body of your response but we are aware that in some cases, this may contain information that could identify you.

Sharing your response

This is a joint consultation undertaken by Ofqual and the Department for Education (DfE). Ofqual will lead the consultation and collect the responses. Therefore, your consultation response will be shared with DfE as this forms part of work involving both organisations. We need to share responses with them to ensure that our approach aligns with the wider process. Where we share data, we ensure that adequate safeguards are in place to ensure that your rights and freedoms are not affected. You can read details of how DfE processes personal data.

We use Citizen Space which is part of Delib Limited to collect consultation responses and they act as our data processor. You can view Citizen Space's privacy notice.

Your response will also be shared internally within Ofqual in order to analyse the responses. We use third party software to produce analysis reports, which may require hosting of data outside the UK, specifically the US. Please note that limited personal information is shared. All personal contact information is removed during this process. Where we transfer any personal data outside the UK, we make sure that appropriate safeguards are in place to ensure that the personal data is protected and kept secure.

Following the end of the consultation, we will publish an analysis of responses on our website. We will not include personal details in the responses that we publish.

We may also publish an annex to the analysis listing all organisations that responded but will not include personal names or other contact details.

How long we will keep your personal data

For this consultation, Ofqual will keep your personal data (if provided) for a period of 2 years after the close of the consultation.

Your data

Your personal data:

will not be sent outside of the UK unless there are appropriate safeguards in place to protect your personal data

will not be used for any automated decision making

will be kept secureWe implement appropriate technical and organisational measures

in order to protect your personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction, accidental loss or alteration, unauthorised disclosure or access and any other unlawful forms of processing.

Your rights: access, rectification and erasure

As a data subject, you have the legal right to:

access personal data relating to you

object to the processing of your personal data

have all or some of your data deleted or corrected

prevent your personal data being processed in some circumstances

ask us to stop using your data, but keep it on record

If you would like to exercise your rights, please contact us using the details set out above. You can also find further details in Ofqual's privacy information.

We will respond to any rights that you exercise within a month of receiving your request, unless the request is particularly complex, in which case we will respond within 3 months.

Please note that exceptions apply to some of these rights which we will apply in accordance with the law.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner (ICO) if you think we are not handling your data fairly or in accordance with the law. You can contact the ICO at ico.org.uk, or telephone 0303 123 1113. ICO, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

Annex B - Ofqual's objectives and duties

The Apprenticeship, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009

We have five statutory objectives, which are set out in the Apprenticeship, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009.

1. 1. The qualification standards objective, which is to secure that the qualifications we regulate:

1. a. give a reliable indication of knowledge, skills and understanding; and

2. b. indicate:

1. i. a consistent level of attainment (including over time) between comparable regulated qualifications; and

2. ii. a consistent level of attainment (but not over time) between qualifications we regulate and comparable qualifications (including those awarded outside of the UK) that we do not regulate.

2. 2. The assessment standards objective, which is to promote the development and implementation of regulated assessment arrangementswhich

1. a. give a reliable indication of achievement, and

2. b. indicate a consistent level of attainment (including over time) between comparable assessments.

3. 3. The public confidence objective, which is to promote public confidence in regulated qualifications and regulated assessment arrangements.

4. 4. The awareness objective, which is to promote awareness and understanding of

1. a. the range of regulated qualifications available,

2. b. the benefits of regulated qualifications to learners, employers and institutions within the higher education sector, and

3. c. the benefits of recognition to bodies awarding or authenticating qualifications.

5. 5. The efficiency objective, which is to secure that regulated qualifications are provided efficiently, and that any relevant sums payable to a body awarding or authenticating a qualification represent value for money.

We must therefore regulate so that qualifications properly differentiate between learners who have demonstrated that they have the knowledge, skills and understanding required to attain the qualification and those who have not.

We also have a duty under the Apprenticeship, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 to have regard to the reasonable requirements of relevant learners, including those with special educational needs and disabilities, of employers and of the higher education sector, and to aspects of government policy when so directed by the Secretary of State.

The Equality Act 2010

As a public body, we are subject to the public sector equality duty.This duty requires us to have due regard to the need to:

1. a. eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited under the Equality Act 2010;

2. b. advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it;

3. c. foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

The awarding organisations that design, deliver and award performance table qualifications are required by the Equality Act, among other things, to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people taking their qualifications.

We are subject to a number of duties and we must aim to achieve a number of objectives.

These different duties and objectives can, sometimes conflict with each other. For example, if we regulate to secure that a qualification gives a reliable indication of a learner's knowledge, skills and understanding, a learner who has not been able to demonstrate the required knowledge, skills and/or understanding will not be awarded the qualification.

A person may find it more difficult, or impossible, to demonstrate the required knowledge, skills and/or understanding because they have a protected characteristic. This could put them at a disadvantage relative to others who have been awarded the qualification.

It is not always possible for us to regulate so that qualifications give a reliable indication of knowledge, skills and understanding and advance equality between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. We must review all the available evidence and actively consider all the available options before coming to a final, justifiable decision.

Qualifications cannot mitigate inequalities or unfairness in the education system or in society more widely that might affect, for example, learners' preparedness to take the qualification and the assessments within it. While a wide range of factors can have an impact on a learner's ability to achieve a particular assessment, our influence is limited to the qualification design and assessment.

We require awarding bodies to design qualifications that give a reliable indication of the knowledge, skills and understanding of the learners that take them. We also require awarding organisations to avoid, where possible, features of a qualification that could, without justification, make a qualification more difficult for a learner to achieve because they have a particular protected characteristic. We require awarding organisations to monitor whether any features of their qualifications have this effect.

In setting the overall framework within which awarding organisations will design, assess and award performance table qualifications, we want to understand the possible impacts of the proposals on learners who share a protected characteristic.

The protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 are:

age

disability

gender reassignment

marriage and civil partnerships

pregnancy and maternity

race

religion or belief

sex

sexual orientation

With respect to the public sector equality duty under section 149 of the Equality Act, we are not required to have due regard to impacts on those who are married or in a civil partnership.

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Arrangements for the assessment and awarding of vocational, technical and other general qualifications: 2021 to 2022

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In this consultation, the Department for Education (the Department) has written Part A (arrangements for academic year 2021 to 2022) and Ofqual has written Part B (regulatory arrangements for academic year 2021 to 2022). This division reflects the key roles and responsibilities of the 2 organisations.

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If you're looking to take your media and film studies group to a great budget destination that comes packed with educational benefits, choose London.

There are many experiences in London for film and media studies such as: BFI IMAX Cinema, British Board of Film Classification and the London Film Academy. Here your pupils will be able to experience many places within London and be able to enjoy a West End show in the evening.

Our strong links with renowned organisations - plus expert service and advice from your dedicated Educational Travel Advisor - will make bridging the gap between the classroom and the day-to-day reality of this dynamic industry easier for you.

1 night's B&B accommodation

Executive coach transport from and to school and throughout your stay

Group travel insurance

1 in 8 free place ratio

Price shown is based on 40 paying passengers departing from selected departure points in November 2022 and is subject to availability.

On-tour support

On-tour support includes...

Pre-booked meals at great group prices

Pre-booked and pre-paid London Underground tickets

A choice of packed lunches for your group throughout your stay

Top visits

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter

Step onto authentic sets, discover the magic behind spellbinding special effects and explore the behind-the-scenes secrets of the Harry Potter™ film series. Tread the original stone floor of the iconic Hogwarts Great Hall, encounter animatronic creatures and wander down Diagon Alley. Located at the Studios where all eight films were produced.

EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOPS:

A programme of educational lessons has been created to complement the Studio Tour. These lessons are delivered in purpose-built classrooms by qualified teachers and use the Harry Potter™ film series as an example of the wider context and theories surrounding filmmaking and design. You'll even get access to free downloadable pre and post-visit resource packs to use in the classroom.

Lesson options include:

Screenplay Stories

Costume Characterisation

Costume Distressing

Pitching

Instructional Writing

Movie Graphic Design

Careers in the Creative Industry

Script to Screen

Camera Choices

Set Design

Movie Business

Movie Marketing

Chocolate Films - Full day or Half Day Media & Film Workshops

Chocolate Films offer a short, exciting introduction to media and film studies! Three hands-on workshops are available (half day or full day) which enable students to take their skills, creativity, and imagination to the next level. These workshops are a great way to build skills in research, crafts and media, computing and filmmaking. They will develop teamwork and build confidence and the workshops can be adapted to suit many parts of the national curriculum.

Animation Taster Workshop
Using professional animation software, the students will have opportunity to try several different styles of animation using a range of materials such as Plasticine, Lego, whiteboard pens and cut-out
silhouettes.

Animation in a Day Workshop
Professional animators will show your students new media and practical skills in animation so that they can make their own short film in one day! Learn how to storyboard, use professional animation software, and get the most out of a DSLR camera.

Online Media Workshop
Learn how to create your own website, upload videos to YouTube, podcast on SoundCloud or even create GIFs for social media campaigns. This workshop provides in-depth training from professional filmmakers with high-quality equipment and experience of online media.

City Academy Filmmaking Workshop

Filmmaking (90 mins) - During this fascinating workshop, your students will gain an insight into what it's like to work in the film industry. All tutors are working industry professionals and can instruct on storyboarding, cinematography, camera, lighting and sound. This is a hands-on, practical teaching session however each student will have limited access to equipment during a 90-minute session.

Learn about the history of the Guardian newspaper with a workshop that's designed to complement the National Curriculum and can be tailor-made to suit your particular requirements. Delivered by experienced teachers, workshop topics can include 'Make a Newspaper', 'Editorial Teams', 'Podcasting', 'Video Editing', 'Women and the Vote' and 'Civil Rights in the USA in the 1950s and 1960s'. Workshops must be booked directly with the Guardian.
Book early to avoid disappointment!

The lastminute.com London Eye

A classroom with a moving view! Standing 135m tall on the South Bank of the River Thames, nothing says iconic like The lastminute.com London Eye.

Since 2000, this world-famous structure has taken over 75million people on a journey into London's skyline. Be Inspired with our Skyline Workshops. At an additional cost, these enhanced in-pod experiences are delivered by our education hosts and include interactive activities and interesting facts on London's iconic skyline.

Developed in collaboration with education specialists, teachers can book either a KS2/KS3 version.

Our three hour and full-day programmes offer a wide selection of practical filmmaking topics. Recommended workshops, covering the key areas of cinematography and storyboarding, include:

Workshops:

Cinematography

Acting for Directors

Writing a Short Film

iPhone Film Making

As one of the busiest working studios in the UK, producing over 2,000 hours of much talked about TV a year, guests have unprecedented access into the day-to-day operations of a live studio with stories and filming insights from the studio floors shared with them along the way.

With the promise of plenty of picture and selfie opportunities on the well-loved and instantly recognisable sets, a wander down the production corridors where the green rooms, wardrobe departments, make-up areas and production offices are housed, as well as walking amongst industry producers and crew, each tour will be full of TV magic.

A specialised workshop at the Creative Media Skills Institute is a great way to introduce your group to a number of techniques and applications used in the media industry.

Choose from: Costume Breakdown, Drafting, FX Makeup, Prosthetics Makeup, Period Hair Styling, Intro into Film Directing, Intro into Set Dressing and Props Making.

Based in the heart of Pinewood Studios and surrounded by its original three stages, CMSI bring existing and working film crew directly off the set to lead their courses. After coming through studio security students will walk down Goldfinger Avenue and past the iconic 007 stage to reach the state of the art CMSI studio. Students will be introduced to Pinewood Studios, the media industry as a whole and will hear what working in the industry is really like and the many career opportunities available. Each workshop is run by an instructor who is a specialist in their field and includes a live demo and a practical session.

Available from any location in the UK, our executive coaches are fitted with seatbelts, toilet facilities, air conditioning, DVD and reclining seats.

Rail is a convenient travel option for small groups, ideal for connections to Eurostar, major airports and travel to many city destinations.

Giving you full support throughout

Before your tour

Your own dedicated NST contact

Bespoke tour itineraries

Unrivalled local knowledge & expertise

Curriculum linked visit programmes

Great value for money - no hidden costs

Free group leader inspection visits

Risk assessment guidance

Safety assured, transport, accommodation and visits

Whilst you're away

Free educational resources

Group-friendly accommodation

Exceptional standards of coaching

On-tour support from our reps on the ground

Support & assistance from our specialists throughout your tour

24/7 support just a call away

Extensive group travel insurance

On your return

Priority rebooking services

Rewarding your loyalty with our reward scheme

You say, we listen - we're committed to continuously improving our tours

School travel company of choice since 1967

"Everything for our tour to London was organised perfectly. I would highly recommend NST to other schools. They made my first trip with students easy and fun. Staff are very friendly and helpful and are always available to discuss things. I will be booking with NST again."

Sam Macpherson, Worden Sports College

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Media And Film Studies School Trips and Tours to London | NST

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If you're looking to take your media and film studies group to a great budget destination that comes packed with educational benefits, choose London. There are many experiences in London for film and media studies such as: BFI IMAX Cinema, British Board of Film Classification and the London Film Academy.

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Learn more about changes to exams and assessment in 2021. Discover Get ready for grading - our support programme for teachers - and more

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Pearson: NEW webpage for Vocational Qualifications for Teaching, learning and assessment 2021/2022

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Pearson: NEW webpage for Vocational Qualifications for Teaching, learning and assessment 2021/2022

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PLEASE NOTE: All BTEC external assessments for 2021/22 are expected to go ahead.

We released our draft exam timetables, and many centres fed-back their preference for the January series to commence one week later (from Wednesday 12 January).

In light of this, we are working quickly to review our January timetables to accommodate this later start. Please note this means results day will move to Wednesday 23 March.

We are also reviewing our February (Tech Award) timetables to also commence a week later (from Monday 7 February) with results day moving to Wednesday 6 April.

All January and February external assessment timetables will be finalised and published during the week commencing Monday 6 September.

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Teaching, learning and assessment 2021/2022

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PLEASE NOTE: All BTEC external assessments for 2021/22 are expected to go ahead. We released our draft exam timetables, and many centres fed-back their preference for the January series to commence one week later (from Wednesday 12 January). In light of this, we are working quickly to review our January timetables to accommodate this later start.

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Ofsted: New Inspection Handbook for Sep 21

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Ofsted: New Inspection Handbook for Sep 21

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Updated 27th August 2021

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Ofsted guidance on inspecting maintained schools and academies in England under the education inspection framework.

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Ofsted guidance on inspecting maintained schools and academies in England under the education inspection framework.

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ESFA: Information on the planning and delivery of 16-19 study programmes 2021-22

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ESFA: Information on the planning and delivery of 16-19 study programmes 2021-22

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Information for education and training providers on the planning and delivery of study programmes.

Details

This guide sets out the government's policy on 16 to 19 study programmes. It covers academic, technical and vocational study programmes, including traineeships and supported internships.

It applies to all providers of 16 to 19 education in England, including:

schools

further education (FE) colleges

sixth-form colleges

work-based learning providers

training providers

Previous versions of the guidance are available on the UK Government Web Archive.

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16 to 19 study programmes: guide for providers

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Information for education and training providers on the planning and delivery of study programmes.

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The Curriculum Observatory is a project started by the MEA to primarily examine two things; firstly, where is Media Studies and Media Education more broadly in the school curriculum in the UK, and secondly how is the planning, shaping and delivering of that curriculum (the bits with media in it, anyway) being influenced by examination specifications, school policies and the inspection regime.