Exams policy

Conflicts of interest and contingency planning

•  staff must inform the head of centre if they are teaching and preparing any of the following people for qualifications which are assessed internally:
  • members of family, including step-family, foster family and similar close relationships
• close friends and their immediate family, for example, son or daughter
  The head of centre will then inform the awarding body prior to the published deadline of the exam entries staff must inform the head of centre if the following people are being entered for exams and assessments at the centre or other centres:
  • members of family, including step-family, foster family and similar close relationships
• close friends and their immediate family, for example, son or daughterthe head of centre must ensure that the records include details of the measures taken. This will mitigate any potential risk to the integrity of the qualifications affected. These records should be made available to the JCQ inspector or awarding body staff when requested
• currently no centre staff member should sit an examination in their own centre
• staff taking exams in the same series of the learners should alert their line manager in the first instance. The line manager will then inform the head of centre, who will also ensure appropriate records are maintained.
• tutors, learners support assistants and any member of the leadership team who have been directly involved in the delivery of the subject matter being examined will not be present during the exam
• any learning assistants who have supported an individual or a group of learners in delivery of the subject matter will not be able to:
  • invigilate
  • offer access arrangement support to the individual or group

Qualifications offered:

• the qualifications offered at this centre are decided by the head of centre
• the qualifications offered to the candidates will be published within the InspireU information boards. Changes will be amended year on year
• informing the exams office of changes to a specification is the responsibility of the senior lead for exams
• decisions on whether a candidate should be entered for a particular subject will be taken by provision manager in consultation with the senior lead, where identified

Exam series

• external exams and assessments are scheduled throughout the year, as per internal and external schedules – refer to awarding bodies for GCSE schedules
• mock exams are:
  • held under external exam conditions but within the individual sites rather than travelling to the exam centre
  • completed based on centre and learner need
• the head of centre decides which exam series are used in the centre
• InspireU offer on-demand assessments. Each site and each cohort of learners has a pre-agreed exam window where learners can complete these assessments. If an assessment needs to be completed outside of these windows, then an exceptional circumstance form is to be completed. This must be authorised in advance by a senior lead, and the head of centre must be made aware

GCSE exam timetables

Once confirmed, the exams officer will circulate the exam timetables for external exams at a specified date before each series begins.

Entries, entry details and late entries

• candidates can request a subject entry, change of level or withdrawal and this will be reviewed by the senior lead for exams
• InspireU do not accept entries from private candidates
• InspireU acts as an exams centre for other LCC organisations and departments
• entry deadlines are circulated via the exams schedule
• tutors and the provision managers will provide estimated entry information to the exams officer to meet JCQ and awarding body deadlines
• entries and amendments made after an awarding organisation’s deadline (for example, if they are late late) require the authorisation of quality lead
• GCSE re-sits and retakes are allowed                                               
• functional skills re-sits and retakes are allowed                  
• re-sit decisions will be made by the provision manager in consultation with the quality lead

Exam fees

• candidates will not be charged for changes of tier, withdrawals made by the proper procedures or alterations arising from administrative processes provided these are made within the time allowed by the awarding bodies.
• the exams officer will publish the deadline for actions well in advance for each exams series
• GCSE entry exam fees are paid by the centre
• functional skills entry exam fees are paid by the centre
• late entry or amendment fees are paid by the centre unless requested by the candidate without endorsement from the tutor
• fee reimbursements are not sought from candidates
• re-sit fees are paid by the centre unless requested by the candidate without endorsement from the provision manager

Equality legislation

• all exam centre staff must ensure that they meet the requirements of any equality legislation
• the centre will comply with the legislation. This includes making reasonable adjustments to the service  they provide to candidates, in accordance with requirements defined by the legislation, awarding bodies, and JCQ. This is the responsibility of the additional needs specialist

Access arrangements

• the EHC Coordinator will inform the provision manager and subject teachers of:
  • candidates with special educational needs
  • any special arrangements that individual candidates will need during the course and in any assessments or exams
• the EHC coordinator will complete any necessary referrals to the Lincolnshire County Council specialist teaching team in regards to learners requiring particular access arrangements
• a candidate's access arrangements requirement is determined by the tutors, but agreed by EHC coordinator
• ensuring there is appropriate evidence for a candidate’s access arrangement is the responsibility of the:
  • provision manager, and
  • quality lead
• submitting completed access arrangement applications to the awarding bodies is the responsibility of the exams officer
• rooming for access arrangement candidates will be arranged by the exams officer
• invigilation and support for access arrangement candidates, as defined in the JCQ access arrangements regulations, will be organised by the exams officer
• any device used (for example, music playing device or computer) must be centre approved and owned by the centre
• any music used as part of an access arrangement must:
  • be pre-approved by the centre
  • only be accessible to the learner who requires this arrangement

Estimated GCSE grades

When requested by the exams officer, tutors are responsible for submitting:

• estimated grades
• tutor assessed grades

Any estimated exam grades which are required to be submitted to awarding body will be:

• internally moderated
• sent to head of centre for final approval

Managing invigilators

• external staff will be used to invigilate examinations in exceptional circumstances
• internal staff will be used where possible for examinations
• recruitment of invigilators is the responsibility of the head of centre
• securing the necessary Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) clearance for new invigilators is the responsibility of the head of centre
• DBS fees for securing such clearance are paid by the centre
• invigilators are timetabled, trained, and briefed by the exams officer
• the exams officer will hold a list of trained invigilators and hare appropriately with the provision managers

Malpractice

The head of centre, in consultation with senior lead for exams, is responsible for investigating suspected malpractice.

GCSE exam days

• the exams officer will:
  • book all exam rooms after liaison with other users
  • ensure the question papers, other exam stationery and materials are available for the invigilator
• the exams officer is responsible for setting up the allocated rooms, and will be advised of support required four weeks in advance
• an InspireU senior lead, provision manager or exams officer will start and finish all GCSE exams in accordance with JCQ guidelines
• subject staff may be present at the start of the exam to assist with identification of candidates. Any staff present must be in accordance with the rules defined by JCQ concerning who is allowed in the exam room and what they can do
• SLT may be present before the start of the exam to:
  • support in the settling of learners
  • help with the identification process
• SLT will support with supervision of rest breaks. This will allow invigilation processes to continue with little disturbance
• in practical exams, subject teachers’ availability will be in accordance with JCQ guidelines
• exam papers must not be read by subject teachers or removed from the exam room before the end of a session. Papers will be distributed to subject teachers in accordance with JCQ’s recommendations and no later than 48 hours after candidates have completed them
• after an exam, the exams officer will arrange for the safe dispatch of completed examination scripts to awarding bodies. They will work in conjunction with the business support assistants