Introducing principles into the General Conditions of Recognition

Chief Regulator, Ofqual

Qualifications play a vital role in our education and training system. Every student rightly expects their qualifications to be of good quality, fairly assessed and meaningful. Those who use qualifications, such as employers and higher education institutions, rely on them to provide trustworthy information to inform the decisions they take. A central part of Ofqual’s role is to ensure that qualifications fairly reflect students’ accomplishments and stand the test of time.

One way we do this is through the rules we set, which awarding organisations must follow. To make sure our rules are as clear and well-understood as possible, we propose to introduce 6 principles, making the underlying expectations which sit behind them more explicit. While the principles would be new, the concepts they articulate already underpin our rules.

The principles will support awarding organisations’ decision making. At board level they will support strategic decision-making and accountability. At an operational level they will provide additional clarity and coherence for those designing or running regulated qualifications. Awarding organisations may find them to be particularly relevant if they are faced with new, unexpected or novel situations

The principles will also strengthen Ofqual’s ability to respond in a principles-based manner, in addition to existing approaches, and help ensure Ofqual’s rules remain effective, both now and in the future.

These principles will play an important role in helping Ofqual secure standards and public confidence in qualifications, and I am keen to hear your views on them.