Exams officers
Here at NCFE, we know how vital exams officers are. Without you, it would be impossible to run and administer our exams successfully, so we work hard to make it easy for you to work with us.
On this page you’ll find all the key information to support you in your role, including timetables, a key dates calendar and FAQs, as well as monthly updates to ensure you’re kept up to date with any changes, events and training opportunities.
Your monthly update (March 2025)
Below you’ll find your monthly update for March 2025.
Key dates and timetables
Second term-time checkpoint open now
The window for the second term-time checkpoint is now open and the deadline is Friday 2 May 2025. Visit our timely delivery of VTQ results webpage for more information on the actions you need to take and where to find support.
Assessments and results
Updates to our post-results services
We’ve made changes to how you request post-results services, to make the process easier for you and your learners. We’ve made it easier to request:
- enquiries about results, including a clerical check and review of marking
Following the release of external assessment results, you can now submit your requests via the NCFE Portal. Find out how to do this on our assessment results and queries webpage.
Updated assessment timetable for 2024-25
We’ve updated our assessment timetable for all CACHE and V Cert qualifications with assessments in 2024-25 and 2025-26. Click here to view the timetable and supporting documentation.
Remote invigilation requirements: learner IDs
For any external assessment sat through our remote invigilation service, it's an essential part of the process for the learner to have a valid ID available and ready to display it clearly to the system when prompted. The ID is needed so when the recording of the assessment is reviewed, we can verify that the learner is the person named on the booked assessment.
We have clear guidance on which forms of ID are accepted by NCFE, and guidance on how to display the ID when prompted by the system, to allow the ID to be reviewed and the learner verified for their assessment. Download the guidance document.
It's crucial that you ensure your learners are aware of the need for this before they sit their remotely invigilated assessment.
If we're unable to verify who the learner is, due to invalid ID or an unclear ID image, this will lead to delays in them receiving their results and may lead to their assessment being disqualified. Please contact our Customer Support team through Live Chat on our website or by email at [email protected] if you have any queries.
Important reminders
Queries about the process of applying for approval for additional NCFE qualifications?
We wanted to remind you that when applying for additional product approval, you can add multiple qualifications to the one application. Just add all the qualifications to your basket before submitting your application.
Before applying for approval, you can check if you’re already approved to deliver the qualification to avoid the need for filling in the form. It's quick and easy to check this in our Portal under ‘products’, which is available on the welcome page before proceeding. This screen allows you to search for a specific product or you can select all to show all products you’re approved to deliver.
Preventing maladministration: we’re here to support you
We know that administrative processes can be complex, and mistakes happen. But with the right preparation and simple preventative measures, many of these issues can be avoided. Our goal is to support you in getting things right the first time, saving time and effort for your team while ensuring the best outcomes for learners. Read our latest blog from Glen McEwan, Provider Assurance Manager at NCFE.
T Levels
- We’ll release results from the T Level autumn assessment series (2024) to providers on 19 March ahead of students receiving them on 20 March. Read more on our results webpage.
- View our latest T Level communications.
V Certs
- View our latest V Cert service messages.
Bite-size videos to support you
We’re creating a series of bite-size videos to support exams colleagues, some of which are already available on our YouTube channel. These detail some common themes or areas of difficulty and will also provide updates about our Portal User Guide.
You can find the upcoming post results deadlines for assessments for our CACHE and T Level qualifications in the Key Dates Schedule.
We understand that there are times when a student or provider feels that a result is at variance with their reasonable expectations. Therefore, there is a range of post-results options available to providers to support you and your students.
Requests for reviews of marking or access to scripts can be submitted by the provider on behalf of the student (with their consent), however before doing so, please ensure you’re familiar with our Enquiries about Results and Assessment Decisions Policy.
More information on post-results services can be found here.
Visit our assessment support page where you'll find everything you need to support you with assessment, including policies, forms and guidance on online assessment, remote invigilation, assessment and results queries, appeals, certificates, special considerations, access arrangements and reasonable adjustments, and much more.
Visit our delivery support page where we have over 1000 informative and engaging learning resources. Here, you'll find all you need to deliver our qualifications and support your learners.
View our Qualifications for Specific Delivery (QSID) document which provides qualification-specific instructions relating to the administration of external assessments for NCFE qualifications.
The Exams Office, in conjunction with their training partner Exams Training, offers a range of face-to-face training events delivered by industry experts, supported by high quality resources and held at 4/5-star venues across England. Events are available for:
- Exams officers
- Senior leaders/line managers
- Invigilators.
Learn more about how you can keep up to date with your training
If you require a reasonable adjustment submission and/or paper modification, please ensure they’re booked before the below deadlines:
- Reasonable adjustments (PDF requests, language modifiers and speech recognition): prior to the booking cut-off date
- Paper modifications (braille): 30 working days before the assessment
- Paper modifications (enlarged paper or coloured paper): 15 working days before the assessment
- Reasonable adjustments (practical assistant): one day prior to the assessment
- All other reasonable adjustments: up to the assessment date.
For more information on reasonable adjustments and how to submit an application, visit this page.
