ESOL Skills for Life - Centre Assessment Grades: 

Trinity College London Skills for Life examinations under the Ofqual Extraordinary Regulatory Framework

The resources below are to help guide candidates and centres following the release of CAG results for Trinity Skills for Life examinations. This page includes:

• Communications from Ofqual
• Guidance on appeals procedures and policies
• Information on next available ESOL Skills for Life examinations
• Ofqual documentation

If you have any questions relating to Trinity ESOL  Skills for Life examination outcomes under the Ofqual Extraordinary Regulatory Framework (ERF), please email ukesol@trinitycollege.com

Statement from Ofqual:

Centre Assessment Grades under the Extraordinary Regulatory Framework

As a response to the COVID crisis all exams due to take place in schools and colleges this summer were cancelled. Ofqual was tasked with establishing two temporary regulatory frameworks – one for General Qualifications (GQs) and one for Vocational and Technical Qualifications (VTQs). These would allow awarding organisations and exam boards to assign a grade to as many learners as possible this summer in a fair and consistent way, enabling those learners to progress to the next stage of their learning or employment with qualifications that would be recognised by educational establishments and employers. 

The frameworks were developed in consultation with stakeholders across the education sector on an almost unprecedented scale. 

The VTQ framework reflects that there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach that would fairly recognise the 14,800 VTQ qualifications offered by over 160 awarding organisations. Ofqual designed the VTQ framework deliberately to be flexible, allowing each awarding organisation to operate in the best way to deliver grades to its learners for its own qualifications.      [Ofqual, August 2020]

How did Trinity get the results for ESOL Skills for Life candidates?

• Teachers collected all the available evidence about the candidate's English language level relevant to the exam (reading, writing, or speaking and listening)
• Teachers used the evidence to estimate the result they believe the candidate would get (if they had taken the exam)
• Trinity checked quality of the evidence and the grades
• Trinity checked overall results to check they are in line with expectations 
• Trinity released results
  

Unlike the system used for calculating GCSE and A-Level results in the UK, Trinity are not using an algorithm to change an individual’s predicted mark, nor to moderate results against a ‘rank order’ based on the historical performance of a school or centre. 

ESOL Skills for Life - Centre Assessment Grades:

Guidance for Candidates on Appeals  

Information for candidates - appeals process 

Statement from Ofqual: 

What are the grounds for an appeal?

• As vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) come in a range of shapes and sizes, and fulfil a range of purposes, they are not all being treated in the same way and the grounds for appeal may vary.
• You should speak to your school or college if you think you might have reason to appeal.
• Schools and colleges can submit an appeal on your behalf, or and in some cases awarding organisations are accepting appeals directly from learners. Private Candidates are entitled to appeal directly.
• Remember that if you appeal your grade, it can go up, down or stay the same.
• If you are unhappy with the outcome of the appeals process, you can make a complaint to Ofqual.
• If you have concerns about bias, discrimination or something else that suggests that your school or college did not behave with care or integrity when determining a centre assessment grade or providing evidence to the awarding organisation, you should normally raise these concerns with your school or college in the first instance, in some cases it may be appropriate to bring those concerns directly to the awarding organisation instead. 
• You can check your qualification's awarding organisation website for further details on appeals.

Will I get another opportunity to take my assessment?

• For many VTQs there are already a number of assessment opportunities throughout the year. Some awarding organisations are providing additional assessment opportunities for some qualifications – talk to your school or college in the first instance to see if this applies to your qualification.
   

I haven’t been assigned a grade – what do I do?

• Some learners might not have received a result and were expecting to, in which case you should first speak to your school or college.
  

[Ofqual, August 2020]

Further Information for candidates 

Appeals Process: If you have any questions relating to the appeals process, please email:

ukesol@trinitycollege.co.uk

Next Available Assessments: The health and safety of all Trinity candidates, examiners and staff is our absolute priority. We will continue to monitor all local Government advice on a daily basis and will resume face-to-face examinations as soon as it is safe to do so. For further information on when the next face-to-face ESOL assessments will be available, please email: 

ukesol@trinitycollege.co.uk

Ofqual - Extraordinary Regulatory Framework

Ofqual guidance documentation for candidates

Ofqual - Student Guide to post-16 qualification results Summer 2020

Ofqual guide for students receiving Centre Assessment Grades

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ESOL Skills for Life - Centre Assessment Grades: Trinity Guidance for Centres

Support documentation and webinars from Trinity