Coronavirus Update 03.04.20 Exams Special
Covid-19 (Coronavirus)
Update 3rd April 2020
- Public Examinations
Today (3rd April) the DfE have issued their guidance about public examinations. There are two documents:
- For students:
- For everyone (ie general guidance)
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/how-gcses-as-a-levels-will-be-awarded-in-summer-2020
To be honest, it’s difficult to see what else the Government could have done. It is arguably the fairest decision for the majority of students, and is certainly pragmatic. (At one level, I’m pleased: teachers are being asked to give “principled, evidence-based teacher assessments”, and who knows, we might be trusted to do more of this in future.) There are still details to be worked through, and more questions to be answered.
In summary,
- Teachers will be asked to predict grades for each student in each subject.
- Teachers are also required to place the students in rank order, including within the grades (i.e who is the “top” grade 5 ? who is the “second best” grade 5 ? etc).
- Teachers will use all available evidence to help them make their judgement.
- This evidence itself will not be sent to the exam boards.
- Teachers’ predictions will and must be strictly confidential.
- Mock exams alone will not be used (although they are part of the evidence)
- The deadline for the grades to be sent in is 29th
- However, there is no clear detail (yet) on how the information will be collected.
- The deadline for issue of results has gone back from “the end of July” to “no later than the planned exam results days”.
- There is no guidance (yet) about private candidates.
- There is also little guidance (yet) about situations where there is little or no evidence of a student’s performance on which to predict a grade.
- There is also no guidance (yet) specifically about vocational qualifications, eg CNAT or BTec
Here are some questions I might ask if I was in, say, Year 11 [some answers for Year 13 are slightly different, and Miss Haynes is doing a brilliant job keeping in touch and advising Year 13]:
When will I get my results ?
- At some point between the end of July and the planned exam GCSE results day of 20th A-level results day would be 13th August.
Will my grade be based on my mock exams ?
- No, not just the mocks. But yes, as part of all the information your teachers will know about you.
I didn’t do any mocks. What happens then ?
- The teachers will make their predictions based on all the other evidence they have. If you have subjects with coursework or some practice exam work or assessments, get them sent in.
So what exactly are the grades based on ?
- The guidance says: “Your school or college will consider a range of things like your classwork and homework; your results in assignments and any mock exams; any non-exam assessment or coursework you might have done; and your general progress during your course.”
Do we still have to do coursework at home ?
- Yes, if you can. If you can send in finished or even massively improved coursework (now called NEAs) it will help your teacher make their judgement, and possibly a better judgement.
Is there a deadline for coursework to be sent in ?
- It’ll vary from subject to subject, and your teachers will tell you. I don’t expect many deadlines to be after the end of April or early May, though.
What about other exam stuff that I’m being set ?
- Depends what “stuff” is. If it’s practice questions or work which could be marked and help improve your grade, then definitely do it and send it in.
What if I’m not happy with my grade when I get it ?
- There will be an appeal process, which hasn’t been explained yet. There might also be the chance of sitting an exam in the Autumn, but that again has not yet been made clear.
Having read all this and looked at the guidance, please e-mail any questions you may have to me or Miss Haynes; we might not be able to answer them (yet), though !
- Summary of Main Points: Reminder
- Clyst Vale site is closed, except our Emergency Childcare Provision (ECP) for children of key workers (and deliveries, essential contractors, etc) ·
- ECP will run daily Monday to Friday 08.30 – 17.00 throughout the holidays (including Bank Holidays) and in term-time.
- ECP has moved to a booking system. Places for the next day can be booked until 9.00 p.m. the night before (including Sunday, for Monday).
- Parents can contact us as normal, although we recommend e-mail
- Teachers are working from home to set work on the day your child will have their lesson. This will resume on Tuesday 14th
- Teachers are not expected to set work during what would have been the holiday period (March 30th to April 13th inclusive).
- Free School Meals are being provided through weekly vouchers, and we have issued these in advance for the two-week holiday. We intend to join the Government voucher scheme as soon as possible.
- School Transport is suspended. If you are a key worker and would like school transport, please contact on the day before you require transport (term-time only)
- If you have any concerns, please contact the school and ask to speak to a Designated Safeguarding Lead (Mr Sutton, Mrs Albutt, Miss McConnachie or Mr A Pearce). If this is not possible please contact MASH, The Multi-agency Safeguarding Hub: 0345 155 1071.
LINKS AND FURTHER INFORMATION
This is the Government’s guidance to parents:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/closure-of-educational-settings-information-for-parents-and-carers
The following link is the government’s advice to schools, last updated 21st April
Guidance to Educational Settings About Covid-19
The next link is Devon County Council’s dedicated website for parents for Coronavirus advice
https://www.devon.gov.uk/document/schools-and-families/
Department for Education Coronavirus helpline:
Phone: 0800 046 8687 Opening hours: 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday)
Should you have any specific queries regarding Covid-19 and Clyst Vale, please e-mail Mrs Ann Hopkins (College Manager) on .
Kevin Bawn, Principal