Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what advice he is giving to schools and colleges on taking account of caring responsibilities of their students when determining GCSE and A Level grades in summer 2021.

The Department will do whatever it can to make sure no child, whatever their background or location, falls behind as a result of COVID-19. We know that young carers may be particularly vulnerable during this time and ensuring that vulnerable children and young people remain protected is our top priority.

Given the ongoing disruption to education caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, we announced in January 2021 that GCSE, AS and A level exams will not go ahead as planned this summer. The interests of pupils are at the core of our recommendations. Our priority is to ensure all those due to take exams in 2021 have the best possible chance to show what they know and can do, enabling them to progress to the next stage of their education, training or employment.

Teachers have the flexibility to use a range of evidence, including the use of optional questions provided by exam boards, mock exams, non-examined assessment coursework, or in-class tests set by the school which align closely with the awarding organisation’s specification for the qualification. Teachers can draw from a range of evidence from across the duration of the pupil’s course, to determine their grade and work produced outside of the school or college environment, for example at home, can be included as evidence to support a teacher’s judgement.

We know there has been differential education loss, as some pupils have suffered more disruption to their education than others. Because of this, pupils will only be assessed on the content they have been taught.

We have also been clear that mitigating circumstances and pupils who are entitled to reasonable adjustments should be taken into account by teachers when deciding which evidence to use, with flexibility to substitute or discount evidence.