We appreciate the impact of the assessment experience on your students and their next steps. Collaborating with our regulators, we work hard to ensure that external assessments are able to go ahead where possible in challenging circumstances, and that mitigations are in place to support a range of potential issues.

It’s also essential that as a provider, you have current contingency planning in place for external assessments. We’ve recently updated our External Assessment Contingency Planning Policy and it’s important that you review this, and that Exams Officers in particular become familiar with the content, making any necessary updates to your own contingency planning. Please note that NCFE may ask to see provider contingency planning (during Assessment Audit Advisor visits, for example). Contingency planning for external assessments is also referenced in the Regulations for the Conduct of External Assessment.