25 February 2021
Please note: We have been consulting with CDMT and the Department for Education on what the relaxation of rules means for our regulated and unregulated exams for all learners. Once we have confirmation of the government guidance and this has been updated on the government websites we will update our pages with the relevant information.
Road Map out of lockdown in England
We have today received further clarification from DfE and CDMT over the meaning of the term ‘effort' to obtain a regulated qualification’ in the DfE Out of School guidance. This only covers indoor preparation for a regulated exam, in the period preceding the examination, assuming that the premises can legally open for that purpose.
From 8 March 2021, the education and training exemption for out-of-school settings is only attached to library premises, community centres, theatres and concert halls and has no age limit placed on it.
If you are able to return to face-to-face exam preparation, please contact your local authority / trading standards to confirm whether this is permitted in your setting. The Government has indicated their intention for out of school settings to return to face-to-face teaching for all children from 12 April as part of Step 2 of the Covid-19 response spring 2021. You can find more information on this here.
Please find more information on the government website here.
Therefore, from 8 March, providers should only offer indoor and outdoor face-to-face provision to:
- other children, where the provision is:
- for the purposes of obtaining a regulated qualification, meeting the entry requirements for an education institution, or to undertake exams and assessments
Department for Education and Ofqual consultation
Alternative arrangements for the award of vocational and technical qualifications in 2021
The DfE and Ofqual have today published the outcomes of the consultation with Ofqual implementing the updated regulatory arrangements in the form of the Vocational Contingency Regulatory Framework (VCRF).
There was a strong response from the awarding organisations in the performing arts sector to ensure a consistent approach for our qualifications. We can confirm that no alternative arrangements will be applied to our regulated graded examinations and teaching qualifications as they have been categorised as qualifications with assessments focusing on proficiency or occupational skills. Therefore, our examinations and assessments, whether practical or written, will continue as normal with the adaptations (e.g. remote examinations) in place where relevant. In some instances, learners have delayed their assessments due to the national lockdown, but these assessments can be taken when the restrictions have been eased.
Please find more information on the consultation on the government website.
Disruption to learning
Whilst teaching has moved online due to ongoing pandemic, we are acutely aware that many learners may be impacted by the lack of access to face-to-face teaching and similar level of exam preparation as in the past which naturally may, for example, impact their motivation, fitness levels and technique. The challenge for us as an awarding organisation delivering regulated qualifications is that there is a clear regulatory requirement to maintain standards in terms of proficiency or occupational skills required by our practical examinations. This requirement has been further emphasised by Ofqual as part of the consultation.
We introduced remote examinations in the autumn to support our members in keeping their learners motivated. To mitigate the disruption, we have tried to build maximum flexibility to our remote examinations system so that our members can enter as many or few learners to exam sessions, and at the time when the learners are ready. It is of critical importance to emphasise that teachers must take into consideration the disruption when making the judgement whether each individual learner is ready for an exam; we recognise that this is a difficult task as teachers may not have similar access to their learners, with learners also experiencing different levels of disruption. Making judgements as to when each learner is truly ready can be challenging.
Examinations in UK
We have now opened examinations bookings for the summer non-peak and peak periods until 31 August for regulated examinations. We will communicate to members when our unregulated examinations can resume.
We will continue booking all exam sessions as remote sessions and will be closely monitoring the government guidance on travel restrictions and review our approach periodically based on the guidance. In a situation where a remote exam session has been booked and travel restrictions have been lifted by the government, the UK Exams team may contact you to offer a traditional examination as an option if your examiner can safely travel to conduct the examination in person. Please do not contact your examiner to request this.
Please note that the minimum daily fee will apply for examinations conducted in person, but that remote sessions do not have a minimum daily fee.
We are anticipating an increased demand in examination applications for the spring and summer months. We will therefore be returning to our regular operational timelines, and refund and cancellation policies for applications received from 1 April. For all Theatre Faculties, please request your session at least 10 weeks in advance. Timetables and fees must be submitted to us no later than one month before the exam date. Cancellation charges will apply at 6 weeks before your exam date.
