CCEA responds to Department for Education and Ofqual announcement on assessment adaptations for general, vocational and technical qualifications

This announcement refers to those GCSE, AS and A level qualifications regulated by Ofqual, which are taken by a small number of students in Northern Ireland.  The majority of students in Northern Ireland sit CCEA awarding organisation (AO) qualifications.

Under the Education Minister’s direction, CCEA has implemented a range of qualification contingencies including the substantial reduction of GCSE assessment burden for 2020-2021. The Education Minister, Peter Weir MLA, also commissioned the development of a range of further contingency options for CCEA qualifications and is considering further adaptations.

Information on the assessment arrangements for CCEA GCSE, AS and A level qualifications Summer 2021 is available at www.ccea.org.uk/summer-2021.

The DfE also announced further adaptations for vocational qualifications, which will be adopted for Northern Ireland schools and colleges. CCEA Regulation welcomes this and will continue to work with the other regulators and awarding organisations to ensure that any further adaptations for vocational qualifications are put in place and communicated to schools and colleges here.

The further adaptations will allow awarding bodies to reduce the number of units assessed and encourages awarding bodies to use the full flexibilities available to them under the EERF (Extended Extraordinary Regulatory Framework).