Chief Executive’s Blog: Collective ownership of a fair and balanced approach

With the pandemic continuing to be a significant challenge for all of us in the education community, it’s more important than ever that we continue to work together to find a fair and balanced solution to assessing qualifications during these truly exceptional times.

Following the Minister for Education’s announcement that there will be no summer 2021 exams, the Minister established a Design and Delivery Advisory Group – please see their Terms of Reference for further information. The Group, which includes school and college leaders from across Wales and is being advised by specialists at Qualifications Wales and WJEC, will develop proposals for an approach to assessments by the end of the year.

Having met with the Group several times over the past couple of weeks, it’s clear that we’re all equally focused on doing the right thing for our learners and our teachers working on the frontline. There’s also a shared appreciation of the importance of providing teachers and learners with clarity; when the final decision is announced in January it needs to be clear, unambiguous, and understood by everyone involved.  The final decision on the way forward for 2021 will be made by the Welsh Government, in accordance with Qualifications Wales remit as a regulator.

Clearly, when we look at the relatively tight timeframes ahead of us, we’re going to need to work at pace, but it’s equally important that we also work in a considered and creative manner. Developing entirely new assessments, particularly with the levels of rigour and quality assurance that must go into the process, takes considerable time and capacity.

Agility will be key for all of us; we have pre-existing materials and processes already at our disposal, but we need to consider and agree how best to use them. The Group will provide a platform to explore ways in which we can collectively strike the right balance for teachers and learners, whilst also ensuring consistency of approach for every school, college and learner in 2021.

Whatever way forward proposed by the Group, it’s going to take a sizeable effort, shared ownership, and collective determination from across the whole education community to make it happen. Each and every one of us will need to sign up and be ready to play our part in its delivery.

Of course, this isn’t just about finding a workable solution for the class of 2021; any approach must be fit for purpose, and fair, for all learners – past, present and future. As an exam board, we are by our very nature steeped in standards and processes; our focus is always going to be about ensuring that our qualifications remain valid and meaningful and are of the same value as those awarded in other nations across the UK. Certification is there to both enable our learners to progress to their next steps in education or employment, and to reflect their knowledge, skills and understanding of a subject.

That said, it’s also worth noting that as a parent of a Year 11 student, I recognise the exceptional challenges for learners, and for their teachers, and understand the need for us all to be open to adapting to meet the needs of the wider sector in a fair and balanced way.

From a WJEC perspective, there’s a lot of focused support work going on in other areas too, and our teams have already made significant progress - making changes to assessments, developing new teaching resources and materials, providing advice and guidance, devising new CPD, and through continuing to engage with our stakeholders.

The situation continues to evolve quickly, and we will do everything we can to ensure you are kept up-to-date with all the latest news and information. Regular updates will be posted on our website, through our mailing list and on our social media channels.

I also welcome the opportunity to hear your feedback and views, you can get in touch with me directly via ian.morgan@wjec.co.uk . I wish you the very best as you continue your work during this challenging academic year.