VTQ 2023 Results Action Plan: Post-results survey for schools, colleges and other exam centres

Overview

Ofqual, the qualifications regulator, is seeking your views on the measures put in place as part of the VTQ Results Action Plan to ensure students received their level 3 vocational and technical qualification (VTQ) results on time in the summer of 2023.

This survey is an opportunity for school and college leaders, teachers and exams officers working in schools, colleges and other exam centres, to tell us about your experience of implementing or using these measures. This will help us to consider improvements to our approach for 2024.

The VTQ Results Action Plan for 2023 covered level 3 qualifications used for progression to further and higher education, and 14 awarding organisations offering these qualifications signed up to the measures set out in the Action Plan. These awarding organisations were Active IQ, AIM, AQA, City & Guilds, EAL, Institute of the Motor Industry, London Institute of Banking & Finance, NCFE, OCR, Pearson, RSL, University of the Arts London, VTCT and WJEC.

The measures introduced as part of the Action Plan were:

• Two term-time checkpoints
• A deadline for awarding organisations to issue results to schools, colleges and other exam centres
• Updating Senior Designated Contact details
• Improved data tracking between awarding organisations and UCAS
• Additional support for exams officers
• Improved awarding organisation communications
• Ofqual VTQ Information Hub

Ofqual also convened a VTQ Delivery Taskforce to support the safe and timely delivery of results in 2023. The group included representatives from Association of Colleges, Association of School and College Leaders, Confederation of Schools Trusts, NAHT, National Association of Examinations Officers, Sixth Form Colleges Association, Federation of Awarding Bodies, Joint Council for Qualifications, Pearson, OCR, Office for Students and UCAS.

Ofqual is committed to taking a similar approach next year, continuing with at least one term-time checkpoint and a clear deadline for awarding organisations to issue results. We want to refine these measures to make them work better for schools, colleges and other exam centres, as well as for students. Ofqual is also considering which of the other measures in the Action Plan should continue. We plan to announce more details in October 2023.

The survey will close on 19 September 2023.

There are three parts to this survey:

• Part One: Checkpoints and results deadline
• Part Two: Other measures
• Part Three: Approach to VTQ results delivery in 2024

It is not necessary to answer every question in this survey, but the data consent and confidentiality questions are mandatory to complete.

Thank you for your interest in this survey and for any response you submit.

What happens next

Your response has been submitted - thank you for completing the survey.