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1. The Board is asked to note the matters reported.

2. As the Board is aware, in September the Prime Minister confirmed his support for me as the preferred candidate for the substantive (5 year) role of Chief Regulator. I now await a date for a pre appointment hearing before a newly convened Education Select Committee. The new Committee Chair is Helen Hayes MP; we understand it will likely be mid-November before full committee membership is confirmed.聽

3. The Board last met the day before the general election. Since the new government has been established, the Secretary of State for Education has set out a number of priorities that have implications for the work of Ofqual, including a Curriculum and Assessment Review, the establishment of a new body, Skills England, and a review of the planned defunding of post-16 VTQ qualifications. The Board will be aware that the Advanced British Standard is not being progressed by the new government.

4. I have had positive meetings with the new ministerial team at the Department for Education (DfE). I am confident these meetings have set strong foundations for Ofqual鈥檚 working relationship with the new government.聽

5. I have also had positive meetings with the DfE Permanent Secretary and Directors General throughout the summer period.

6. The summer series of exams and formal assessments went well, with over 7 million qualification results successfully awarded to students. Our overall communications approach was successful, playing an important part in our responsibility to secure and maintain public confidence in the qualifications awarded.

7.聽 聽 Work continues on the development of Ofqual鈥檚 Corporate Strategy, to be launched in 2025.聽

8. The government launched a Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) in July to review the existing national curriculum and statutory assessment system in England, to ensure they are fit for purpose and meeting the needs of children and young people. The CAR has published its聽.

9. The CAR Panel, chaired by Professor Becky Francis (CEO of the Education Endowment Foundation) has issued its聽Call for Evidence. This will run to 22 November.

10. The Call for Evidence is balanced and wide-ranging. The Panel will speak to a broad range of stakeholders and groups during the review. An interim report will be published early in 2025, followed by a final report in autumn 2025.

11. The framing of the Call for Evidence sets out some noteworthy principles.聽 For example, there is a strong commitment to recommendations being 鈥渆vidence and data informed鈥�; GCSEs and A Levels are cited as 鈥渜ualifications with strong domestic and international reputations鈥�; the importance of 鈥渕eaningful qualifications and assessments that are manageable, valid, fair and reliable鈥� is underscored; there is a commitment to 鈥渕aintain the important role of examinations within a balanced assessment system that captures the strengths of every young person and aligns with our commitment to high standards鈥�; and there is a determination to 鈥渢o recognise the socially progressive benefits of public examinations鈥�.

12. The Board will be aware that I attend and contribute as an observer on the Panel. This means Ofqual retains its independent role.

13. Ofqual is working closely with DfE on the legislative changes required for Skills England. DfE is aiming to introduce the relevant legislation in the autumn with a view to progressing it through Parliament over the next year.

14. The Post-16 Qualifications Review has been paused temporarily by DfE while it undertakes a 鈥榬apid review鈥� of its plans.

15.聽 Overall, the 2024 summer series of exams and formal assessments went smoothly and without significant incident.

16. Results for general qualifications were broadly in line with 2023, as expected, and public confidence in them appears to be strong.

17. As usual, after release of results, our focus turned to the delivery of post results services by the exam boards.聽

18. The Board has been briefed on a matter relating to the award of Pearson鈥檚 GCSE English language specification 2.0. We are keeping under close review Pearson鈥檚 handling of this qualification and whether further regulatory activity is appropriate.

19. Results for Level 2 and Level 3 vocational and technical qualification were delivered on time for a second year since the issues first occurred in 2022. This success followed a period of intensive monitoring of awarding聽 organisations and communication with stakeholders through the VTQ Results Group.聽

20. Revised Tech Awards were awarded for the first time this summer and this went smoothly. The risk of introducing a new 鈥榯erminal rule鈥� was managed effectively by awarding organisations.聽

21. Ofqual鈥檚 reviews of a sample of T Level assessment materials sat in summer 2024 are complete, and no significant issues were found that might have prevented a valid, reliable result being issued.

22. As in every year, analysis of the delivery of the 2024 summer series will be published in December.

23. Grading continued as normal in 2024, following the return to pre-pandemic standards in 2023. The GCSE results awarded included the agreed adjustments to grading standards in French, German and computer science.

24. On GCSE results day we published the outcome of the 2024 NRT. This showed the following:

鈥� In Maths: At grades 5 and 4, there was no statistically significant difference between 2024 and 2017; at grade 7, the results were statistically significantly higher in 2024 than 2017.

鈥� English language: At grades 5 and 4, the results were statistically significantly lower in 2024 than 2017. At grade 7, there was no statistically significant difference between 2024 and 2017.

25. I decided not to require exam boards to make adjustments to grading standards in light of the NRT results. The reasons for this were set out in the聽NRT annual statement聽published on GCSE results day.

26. In the November resit series for GCSE English language and mathematics, exam boards will carry forward the standard from the summer series in these subjects.

27. Our extensive communications and stakeholder engagement activity over the summer period was successful. This was integral to securing and maintaining public confidence in regulated qualifications. Media were briefed weeks in聽 advance and our teams regularly met with stakeholders to gauge the mood and anticipate issues.

28. We briefed media outlets ahead of Level 3 results week with our position on RAAC. We believe we made significant progress in building confidence in the idea that qualifications represent knowledge, skills and understanding demonstrated, and are not to be thought of as ways of compensating candidates for difficulties or disadvantage they may have experienced. This is a major step forward from the pandemic period, and entirely aligned with our statutory objectives.

29. Through results weeks, we engaged in a targeted way with the media. We secured an opinion piece in the Times, which was the lead story on level 2 results day. Our press release was widely quoted, including on the Guardian front page and in BBC coverage. I and the Deputy Chief Regulator gave several media interviews and were pleased with the largely fair and balanced reporting.

30. Although content with the coverage, our interaction with media and journalists revealed a limited understanding of how grading works. We are now planning our communications and stakeholder activity for the year ahead, with the aim of building better understanding of grading ahead of August 2025. Better understanding of grading will allow the focus, rightly, to be on students鈥� achievements and on what the results tell us about education.

31. I and Ofqual colleagues will be speaking at a number of national conferences through the autumn, including the CST annual conference and Schools and Academies Show in November.

32. DfE has told Ofqual that students taking exams in 2025, 2026 and 2027 will not be expected to memorise all the usual formulae and equations in GCSE mathematics, physics and combined science. DfE is writing formally to Ofqual to confirm this position. The longer-term expectations will be confirmed after DfE鈥檚 Curriculum and Assessment Review.

33. Ofqual therefore proposes to continue requiring exam boards to provide support materials for exams in 2025, 2026 and 2027, as in previous years. We are launching a public consultation in early October.

34. Ofqual is working with DfE on its review of apprenticeship end point assessments.

KS2 tests

35. KS2 results delivery went well, with marking completed and results delivered to schools on time, and no repeat of the issues seen in previous years around schools鈥� access to the results portal. KS2 reviews of marking were completed and outcomes released to schools by 11 September.

36. We will closely monitor STA鈥檚 management of the transition of the KS2 delivery contract from Capita to Pearson.

37. The Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA) plays an essential role in primary school accountability now that KS1 tests are optional. The current assessment, which measure pupils鈥� early mathematics and literacy knowledge, was developed by and is currently delivered by NFER on behalf of STA. STA is developing its own version of RBA, to be delivered into schools from September 2025 using STA鈥檚 own digital platform.

38. Ofqual will continue to monitor STA鈥檚 development of this assessment.

39. We expect to publish our annual report on the regulation of national assessments in 2024 by early 2025.

40. We are consulting with relevant awarding organisations on minor amendments to update the Qualification Level Conditions for T Level Technical Qualifications (TQs). This is to correct an anomaly whereby awarding organisations offering one fewer assessment series than normal in the first year a TQ is available are technically non-compliant.

41. We are progressing through internal governance on the draft regulatory requirements required for GCSE BSL, with a view to bringing proposals to the Technical Committee before the end of the calendar year.聽

42. The development of the GCSE in Natural History was paused by the last government.

43. In November, Ofqual is publishing a series of research reports on the CASLO family of qualifications. The aim is to embed a deeper understanding of CASLO qualifications within the sector, to enhance policy making in the area, and to provide a solid foundation for both interrogating existing practices and investigating new ones. A launch event, to which Board members are invited, is planned for 18 November.

44. Work is ongoing to develop supporting guidance on the use of AI by awarding聽organisations across the design, development and delivery of assessments.聽

45. A question on the role technology can play in supporting curriculum, assessment and qualifications has been included in the CAR Call for Evidence.

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46. The P4 report presented to the Board shows a balanced position with forecast broadly on budget.聽

47. Our bid for the first phase of the Spending Review, covering the 2025 to 2026 financial year, was submitted to HMT on 13 September in line with required timings, following Board approval. We await a formal outcome following the Budget on 30 October, which will enable us to complete detailed business planning and budgeting for next year.

48. The pay remit guidance for 2024 to 2025 mandates a 5% increase for SCS and up to 5% increase for delegated grades. Consultation with the PCS is being concluded before this award can be put into effect, which we would anticipate being in the October payroll.

49. The 2024 Civil Service People Survey went live on 10 September and is due to conclude on 8 October. Completion rates are broadly in line with expectations at the time of writing and we expect to see preliminary headline results in early December.