Action Mats create resources for primary and early years children focussing on movement skills and active learning.
Ofqual calls for schools to be given right to see marked GCSE papers
The watchdog has also called for specially-trained reviewers, rather than ordinary examiners, to check marking where results are queried.
The news follows the revelation that the number of GCSE and A-level exam grades has soared by 27 per cent over the lat year.
In response to the statistical findings, Ofqual launched a consultation on the future of its reviews and appeals process proposing several changes.
The proposal includes the extension of the right for schools to request exam papers, currently only allowed for AS and A-levels, to include GSCEs.
Glenys Stacey, chief regulator in charge of launching the consultation, maintained the consultation was a ’significant move’, which would be welcomed by schools. However, Stacey also acknowledged the ‘administrative demand’ it would place on exam boards.
She said: “We don’t generally make proposals which are going to be unmanageable. So far, exam boards are telling us this is doable, but this is a consultation, and we will be particularly interested in the responses from exam boards.”
The proposal has been welcomed, with caution, by several exam boards and their representative body, the Joint Council for Qualifications, which assured remarks were already carried out predominantly by senior examiners.
A WJEC spokesperson said the exam board was ‘considering the practicalities of introducing new procedures and the impact this may have on us and on schools’.
Ian Stockford, Ofqual’s executive director for general qualifications, said Ofqual had made sure it engaged with boards on the proposals, adding that it was ‘worth recognising’ that the changes were ultimately aimed at changing behaviours to prevent schools indiscriminately challenging marks in the hope of a positive outcome.
He said: “What we’re trying to move towards is a position where, when genuine errors are observed, they are rightly challenged and rightly addressed. That is the endgame that we are seeking, and without giving that transparency and empowering people to look at that work and those judgments, we won’t achieve those behaviours.”
Latest News
24/04/2024 - 10:08
Poor mental health in students is contributing to growing levels of school absences, according to a new report by the Centre for Mental Health and the Children & Young People’s Mental Health Coalition.
24/04/2024 - 09:36
A report by eEnergy examines the environmental and financial impact of installing energy efficiency and waste reduction measures in schools.
23/04/2024 - 11:27
The Department for Education (DfE) said that teachers could get up to £6,000 extra to teach "vital" subjects from September.
23/04/2024 - 11:03
Education technology charity London Grid for Learning (LGfL) has designed a new internet safety game to better engage Key Stage 2 students.
22/04/2024 - 11:54
Half of schools are using funding intended for disadvantaged pupils to plug general budget gaps, a poll from the Sutton Trust has suggested.
Supplier Focus
Latest Supplier News
Borg & Overström is a UK manufacturer of premium drinking water solutions. For over 20 years Borg & Overström has developed sustainable, bottle-less, hygienic, drinking water dispensers with the aim to provide exceptional, safe, self-service drinking water into schools, universities, workplaces and communal spaces.
