The past year has been especially difficult for all those in education. I would like to reiterate my thanks to all the teachers, headteachers and support staff in Newcastle-under-Lyme, who have worked incredibly hard both in delivering remote education and in helping pupils catch up with lost learning. Pupils and parents alike have also shown tremendous resilience in these extraordinary times.
The Minister for School Standards, Nick Gibb MP, gave a statement yesterday regarding awarding qualifications to pupils in 2021 and 2022. He confirmed that this summer, pupils will receive grades decided by the people who know them best: their teachers. The Department for Education consulted on this and there was widespread support for this approach from teachers, parents and students because it was seen as the fairest approach in the circumstances.
Over 99.99% of teacher-assessed grades have now been submitted for this year and these are currently being quality-checked ahead of the issuing of results in August. This approach retains faith in the grading system and gives confidence to universities and employers that students have achieved grades that align with their ability and their work.
For 2022, the Government's intention is that exams should return. I agree with this as, all other things being equal, I believe exams are the fairest way of assessing students both within schools and across the country. There will, however, be adaptations to reflect the disruption that the current Year 10 and Year 12 students have already suffered in their studies.
The Department for Education and Ofqual have launched two joint consultations on these proposed adaptations to exams and other assessments. You can contribute to the consultation here: https://www.gov.uk/.../proposed-changes-to-the-assessment...
None of this could have been achieved without those working in education, to whom we all owe a great debt of gratitude. I was glad that the Minister confirmed with me that, when devising policy, teacher workload is at the forefront of the Department's mind.
Please enjoy the summer holidays, and let's hope next year is a lot simpler.
You can watch my contribution here.