Ofqual: what do they do?

Overview

Ofqual (The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation) regulates qualifications, examinations and assessments in England. 

You may be a teacher and might wonder what Ofqual actually does and the various responsibilities it has.

Ofqual regulates GCSEs, A levels, AS levels, vocational and technical qualifications.

It was established in April 2010 under the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 and is also covered by the Education Act 2011.

It is independent of the government and reports directly to Parliament.

In this article, we summarise the responsibilities of Ofqual and link to useful information.

Ofqual what do they do?

Ofqual is responsible for making sure that:

• People have confidence in the qualifications that it regulates
• Regulated qualifications reliably indicate the knowledge, skills and understanding students have demonstrated
• Assessments and exams show what a student has achieved
• Students and teachers have information on the full range of qualifications that it regulates

Its priorities for the years ahead are: 

• Regulating GCSEs, AS and A levels in response to the coronavirus pandemic
• Regulating vocational and technical qualifications in response to the coronavirus pandemic
• Supporting quality in regulated qualifications and assessments

Ofqual: services provided

Ofqual provide the following information:

• Find the difficulty level of a qualification and compare qualifications across different countries
• Check if a qualification is regulated and what level it is on the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF)
• How to check if the organisation giving you an award is registered and accredited by the exams regulator
• How to appeal against an exam result (GCSE or AS or A level or other qualification) or ask for it to be marked again if you think it’s wrong

We have published another article which outlines the teacher assessment grading appeals process.