Ofqual has issued a new consultation on proposed statutory guidance for awarding organisations (AOs) in relation to reviews and appeals this summer.

The guidance is particularly important this year given the unprecedented changes to determining student grades. Unlike in other years, every learner will be able to instruct the school or college which determined their teacher assessed grade (TAG) to conduct a centre review and to submit an appeal to the AO on behalf of the learner. The school or college will have no discretion whether or not to conduct the review or submit the appeal.

The proposed guidance covers:

• The learner’s right to a review and appeal
• Grounds of appeal
• Procedural and administrative errors
• Academic judgement
• Correcting results.

The proposed guidance is also relevant for those vocational and technical qualifications (category B VTQs) which will have a review and appeals process similar to that available for AS and A Levels, GCSEs and Project qualifications.

The consultation may also be of interest to staff in schools and colleges who are responsible for managing appeals, and to learners who might make an appeal after results day.

The consultation is not seeking views on the underlying policy decisions behind appeals for this summer which were confirmed in February.

The deadline for responses is Wednesday 5 May 2021.