Qualifications and Regulation Group
04 October2016, Paper 2 – Regulation Overview
Regulation in England
Since the last meeting of the Qualification and Regulation Group on 07 June 2016there have been a number ofdevelopments in relation to regulation by Ofqual. Key areas are outlined below:
1. GLH and TQT
■From 01 October 2015 it has been a requirement for any new qualifications that are entered into regulation to have a TQT value assigned to them.
■The 30 June 2016 deadline has now passed for the application of TQT to specific categories of qualifications (as detailed in RO39 and RO40). Members feedback on this would be welcomed.
■All existing qualifications will be required to have TQT assigned by 31 December 2017 (but this date will be kept under review).
2. RO Letters
■RO Letters – Since the last meeting two RO letters have been issued by Ofqual:
-RO50, which provided an overview of changes made to the General Conditions. The letter clarified that the D9 only currently applies to legacy GCSEs and AS and A levels. The letter also provided an overview of changes made to the Conditions in response to the change of Regulator in Northern Ireland.
-RO51,which advised AOs of the action to be taken to withdraw 2000 unused qualifications from the Register. This was in direct response to the report of the Sainsbury Panel on technical education.
-There was also a letter sent to all ROs in August ‘requesting information’ in relation to G4 with a deadline of 09 September for responses.
3. The Ofqual Portal
Ofqual replaced the Regulatory IT System (RITS) with the Portal at the end of June 2016. There has been limited feedback from members on their early use of the Portal so it seems not to have caused major issues to date. Members are welcome to advise FAB if this is not the case.
The next additions to the Portal will include:
a-AO management of permissions
b-A ‘contact Ofqual’ area for all types of contact
c-Bulk upload facility (timing to be confirmed).
4. The new Register of Regulated Qualifications has also been launched feedback on the new Register can be sent to . If members wish to access the old Register for any reason, this is now archived and can be found at:
5. Guidance
Following a consultation which closed in January 2016, Ofqual (finally) published an updated version of its Guidance to the General Conditions of Recognition in July 2016. This updated guidance includes the final version of the additional guidance included in the consultation. Page 103 of this document includes guidance on making changes to incorrect results.
Ofqual also published the outcome of the consultation on the guidance which summarises the action it has taken in response to the consultation and a full analysis of the consultation responses.
6. Undertakings, directions and fines
There have been a number of undertaking by AOs in the last few months and these have been published on the Ofqual website and summarised in the FAB Update on 05 August 2016. Most notable has been the confirmation of Ofqual’s intention to issue its first fine. This is a significant step for the sector and illustrates Ofqual’s willingness to use the full range of its regulatory tools.
7. Ofqual Annual Statement of Compliance (SoC) 2016
The deadline for the submission of the 2016 SoC was 30 September 2016 for Ofqual as well as Qualifications Wales and CCEA Regulation.
8. Ofqual Chair and other staff changes- Sally Collier was appointed to the post of Ofqual Chief Regulator and commenced the role at the end ofApril.Since then, the Chair of Ofqual, Amanda Spielman, has moved to Ofsted. There is, therefore, a vacancy for the position of Chair of Ofqual. Ofqual announced in August that Jeremy Benson has decided to leave Ofqual and his position will be looked after by Phil Beach until further notice.
9. Functional skills reform – Ofqual is closely involved in the ETF reform project with a view to new functional skill qualifications being available from September 2018. FAB continues to work with the FAB Functional Skills Group to keep them up to date with developments in this area. Draft ALN standards and draft content for the FS qualifications have been consulted upon.
10.FAB Board/Ofqual meeting 09 June and 05 September - following the last meeting of the QRG, representatives of the FAB Board met with Ofqual to discuss a range of issues including the Portal, Ofqual’s legal enforcement activity, audit activity and links with the other regulators. An informal note of the meeting was published for members in the Update on 17 June. Another meeting took place on 05 September and key points will be provided at the meeting on 04 October.
11. End point assessment - In July, Ofqual published information on the regulation of new apprenticeship end-point assessments (EPAs). The document clarifies that assessment organisations wanting to offer EPAs which Ofqual will regulate, will need to be recognised by Ofqual before applying to the Skills Funding Agency’s Register of Apprenticeship Assessment Organisations.
12.General Conditions of Recognition – Ofqual published an updated version in June 2016.
13. Consultations issued in this period included:
■Entry Level Qualifications: removing unnecessary regulations. This consultation proposed the removal of the regulations in ‘Criteria for entry level qualifications’. Ofqual believes these regulations are not necessary for the regulation of qualifications at entry level and are an unnecessary burden as they duplicate many requirements in other regulations. Closing date 07 October.
Regulation in Wales
Since the last meeting of the Qualification and Regulation Group in June 2016 there have been a number of developments in relation to regulation by Qualifications Wales. Key areas are outlined below:
- Regulatory Strategy Project- Qualifications Wales (QW) is reviewing its regulatory strategy, which was largely adopted from the Welsh Government. The regulatory strategy refers to the way in which QW regulates and works with awarding bodies, on behalf of learners. The review project began in February 2016 and the findings to date have been published on the QW website. The published information confirms that QW will maintain the concept of the Conditions and review them with stakeholders, and anticipate that they may change. QW is also looking into identifying and sharing good practice approaches.
- The review of qualifications and the qualification system in the health and social care sector– QW published its report on thisreview. The report included nine commitments to action that QW will take to address the issues identified by the review. Actions included a commitment by QW to oversee the development of a new suite of qualifications for health and social care for learners in Wales. Action A9 confirms that QW will ask awarding organisations to respond to the accounts of poor assessment practice identified during the review and will consider whether its regulatory requirements are sufficient.
- Amendments to the Interim Standard Conditions of Recognition - QW published an updated version (July 2016) of its Interim Standard Conditions of Recognition. The new version includes capitalisation of the terms Approved and Designated which are also now in bold throughout the Conditions.
- QW Newsletter- The Examiner - At the end of May, Qualifications Wales issued its first newsletter for awarding bodies which will be issued every 2 months.
- Fee Capping Policy - QW published its Fee Capping Policy which explains the circumstances under which Qualifications Wales may impose a limit on the amount an awarding body may charge in connection with the award of publicly funded qualifications that are approved or designated by Qualifications Wales under the Qualifications Wales Act 2015. Qualifications Wales also published its:
■Welsh Medium and Bilingual Qualifications Policy
■Regulatory Appeals and Taking Action when things go wrong.
- Consultations- QW consulted on the Draft Restricted Qualifications Policy. FAB provided a response to the consultation which sought views on the proposed rationale and process for restricting qualifications in Wales. The final policy and analysis of the consultation responses received have now been published. It has also more recently issued a consultation on the next steps in the review of the health and social care sector. This consultation closes on 05 October.
- Logo transition - In its letter to responsible officers, dated 27 July 2015, Qualification Wales stated that the deadline for the transition to the use of the Qualifications Wales logo (in place of the Welsh Government logo) would be 31 December 2015. Members should ensure this has been actioned and some have received follow-up action from QW following the submission of certificate templates as part of the 2016 SoC.
- QiW– the IT system for Wales has been operational for a few months now and AOs are required to use this system to provide information on all approved and designated qualifications that they offer in Wales. Feedback on this system is welcome.
- Qualifications Wales RO letters since the last meeting have included:
■QWCC1-004_16E -New published policy on Fee Capping and revised Regulatory Appeals and Taking Action when things go wrong policies
■QWCC1-005_16E - Amendments to Interim Standard Conditions of Recognition.
■QWCC1-006_16E- Additional Standard Conditions of Recognition for GCSE and GCE Qualifications and Technical Requirements
■QWCC1-008_16E- Publication of the Restricted Priority Qualifications Policy.
■QWCC1-009_16E- Welsh Grant funding.
Regulation in Northern Ireland
Since the last meeting of the Qualification and Regulation Group on 07 June 2016there have not been any major announcements by CCEA Regulation. Members are reminded of previous significant communications:
1.Information on the new Logo - All AOs that are now regulated by CCEA Regulation will have 2 years to update their certificates with the new CCEA Regulation logo i.e. until 5 May 2018.
2.Statements of Compliance 2016- The window for submission of Statement of Compliance will be from 1st June to 5pm 30September 2016. A template for submissions has been provided.
3.AO Quarterly Return- In order to meet Condition E5.2, AOs are required to summit a quarterly return on proposed qualifications they intend to offer in N Ireland. A template has been provided. The first return is due by 30 June 2016 and the next one will be due on 30 September 2016.
Regulation in Scotland
The landscape in Scotland remains relatively stable. The FAB/JCQ Scotland Advisory Group is due to meet again on 09 November 2016. Jamie Hepburn MSP, the Scottish Minister for Employability and Training will attend.
In July, the Scottish Government launched a consultation to gather views on options for the use of Apprenticeship Levy funding being transferred to the Scottish Government. The consultation closed on 26 August 2016.
Table of Key Dates/deadlines
Date/deadline / Activity required01 October 2015 / From this date any new qualifications that are entered into regulation are required to have a TQT value assigned to them.
31 December 2015 / Deadline for logo transition in Wales.
30 June 2016 / As specified in RO39 and RO43 GLH/TQT should be assigned to specific categories of qualifications.
30 June 2016 / Deadline for completing the template of proposed qualifications for Northern Ireland for the months of July August and September.Submissions required on a quarterly basis.
09 September 2016 / Deadline to respond to the request for information on G4, issued by Ofqual.
30September 2016 / Deadline for completing the template of proposed qualifications for Northern Ireland for the months of October November and December 2016. Submissions required on a quarterly basis.
30 September 2016 / Deadline for SoC to Ofqual, QW and CCEA Regulation.
30 September 2016 / Deadline for withdrawing 2000 qualifications from the Register in response to RO51.
24 October 2016 / Date upon which qualifications not withdrawn from the Register in response to RO51 will no longer be visible on the Register.
31 March 2017 / Deadline for specifications to be linked to qualifications on the Register.
31 December 2017 / All existing qualifications will be required to have TQT assigned by this date (but this date will be kept under review).
05 May 2018 / Deadline for the changeover to the use of the CCEA Regulation logo.
The Group is asked to:
■Identify any areas of recent regulatory change that require further clarification.
■Identify any issues or concerns that arise in relation to recent regulatory developments.
■Identify any further action required by FAB in relation to the regulatory developments outlined above.
Tags: QRG, Regulation, Oct 2016