Approach to Awarding in 2022-3

NOCN is able to confirm awarding arrangements from 1st August 2022, replacing those from the previous academic year.

During the 2021-22 academic year, several adaptations were in place to support the continuation of training and assessment in response to public health restrictions. As these restrictions are no longer in place, NOCN can confirm its arrangements for awarding for the 2022-23 academic year. 

Sector Statements

All sector statements have now been withdrawn. All adaptations to assessments have also been withdrawn, other than the existing flexibilities which are listed below.

Existing Flexibilities to Internal Assessment

Although adaptations to assessment have been largely withdrawn, NOCN, as part of its standard offer, will continue to support various flexibilities to assessment on an ongoing basis. These flexibilities are listed below, where these are permitted by the individual qualification:

• The use of remote assessment. For example, conducting observations, Q&A sessions, interviews or professional discussions where the learner and the Assessor are connected through video conference.
• Flexibilities in the format and delivery of Centre-devised assessments.
• Change in the content of assessment tasks, as long as these continue to meet assessment requirements.
• The use of IT to collate and record assessment evidence.
• On-demand assessment.
• Remote EQA visits and samples.

Where assessments are being conducted remotely, the Centre must ensure that all of the requirements of the assessment are met so that it is of equal rigour and quality of an in-person assessment. Assessments can be completed at a learner’s home or workplace, as long as the room they are in is conducive to assessment conditions.

Where any formal assessment is taking place, such as an observation, these must be in the presence of the Assessor, in real-time, to ensure validity and authenticity. Remote assessments must:

• Be agreed with the learner in advance, to ensure that they are adequately prepared for the assessment.
• Be conducted using a strong and reliable enough internet connection to support clear video and audio to provide the Assessor with a clear view of the learner completing the required task to allow a valid assessment decision to be made.
• Be accompanied by formal assessment records (ideally electronic) which can be stored and accessed for internal and external quality assurance purposes.

Although not always mandated, NOCN strongly recommends that centres video record all remote assessments. For some qualifications, this is mandatory. Where recorded, the Assessor must state:

• The Centre name and NOCN Centre number.
• Their name and the name of the assessment being conducted.
• The learner’s full name.
• The date and time of the beginning of the assessment and the time at which the assessment is concluded.

Flexibilities to External Assessment

Learners will be required to sit the required assessment as is standard practice. There will be no adaptations to the content or format of NOCN’s externally set assessments. This includes in apprentices completing End Point Assessments. Some flexibilities which are available as part of NOCN's standard offer do remain in place, as below:

• Online testing of knowledge through the NOCN Assessment Platform.
• Remote invigilation (both Centre and NOCN-led, where permitted by the product and where approval has been provided and NOCN systems are used).
• On-demand assessments (for End Point Assessments, the required notice period in line with the contract for EPA services still applies)

In the 2021-2 academic year, NOCN relaxed its invigilation rule around requirements of invigilators for regulated qualifications (excluding EPA). Where this was in place, centres were able to use Tutors/Assessors of the learner, or a Tutor/Assessor of the same subject, to invigilate a learner’s examination, either remotely or in-person. This was to remove what could be a barrier to a learner accessing an assessment and to support the use of covid ‘bubbles. This arrangement will end on 31st August 2022 and the usual invigilation requirements will apply.

Previous Arrangements

All learners completing their study during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 academic years should now be certificated and therefore these arrangements have now been removed from our website. If you believe you have a learner who has been affected, please contact NOCN directly for further advice.