Here’s an important update on the further adaptations we’re putting in place for your learners studying Cambridge Nationals and Cambridge Technicals in 2020/21.

As you know, we’ve been working closely with the DfE and Ofqual to give you clarity after the DfE’s recent announcement on measures to support learners taking general qualifications in 2021. 

Above all, we want parity for those studying Cambridge Nationals and Cambridge Technicals, so your learners are supported with appropriate measures to achieve a result and to progress. We communicated last week about why measures such as advance notice and exam aids are not appropriate for Cambridge Nationals and Cambridge Technicals.

For your learners taking our Cambridge Nationals and Cambridge Technicals, we’re pleased to confirm a further adaptation now agreed by the DfE:

Reduced assessment of optional or mandatory moderated units

With the approval of the DfE, we are allowing assessments of moderated units to be reduced where disruption to teaching has been so great that it is necessary. We believe schools and colleges are best placed to decide which assessments to reduce. If you are teaching a course with optional and mandatory units, we will require you to prioritise the assessment of mandatory units. Any reduction in the assessment of moderated mandatory units, including if you are teaching a course with only mandatory units, should be as a last resort where all other options to complete them have been exhausted.

By reducing the amount of time you and your learners spend on the assessments of moderated units, we hope this adaptation gives more time to focus on teaching and learning. Teaching as much of the content as possible is vital for students’ progression and so we will ask schools and colleges to provide assurances of this where they plan to reduce assessment.

Learners certificating in 2021 must take assessments this year, as explained below, and we’d recommend you bank assessments as soon as you can. We’ll continue to assess knowledge and understanding in the examined units for which there is no option to reduce the assessment.

For both Cambridge Nationals and Cambridge Technicals, we will calculate the qualification-level result for learners taking account of the reduction in assessments. You will not be expected to provide centre assessment grades for these units.

Cambridge Nationals

For learners certifying in 2020-21 or in 2021-22, and where disruption to teaching has been so great that it is necessary, assessment can now be reduced by one optional moderated unit, or, where circumstances require it, one mandatory moderated unit. This might work as follows*:

• With four units left to take, learners are, where necessary, allowed to take three unit assessments
• With three units left to take, learners are, where necessary, allowed to take two unit assessments
• With two units left to take, learners are, where necessary, allowed to take one unit assessment
• With one unit left to take, learners must take one unit assessment.

For the details of how reduction of assessment of an optional or mandatory moderated unit works for each Cambridge Nationals qualification, please see here.

* Please note there is no reduction in assessment for Cambridge Nationals Information Technologies as it only has two units.

Cambridge Technicals

Level 3 Cambridge Technicals 2012 and 2016 – For learners certifying in 2020-21 or in 2021-22, and where disruption to teaching has been so great that it is necessary, assessment of one or more optional moderated unit, or, where circumstances require it, one or more mandatory moderated unit(s) can be reduced, depending on the guided learning hours (GLH) for the qualification and the unit as follows**:

• Diploma (720 GLH) and Extended Diploma (1080 GLH) – learners do not have to take assessment for one or more units up to 120 GLH
• Extended Certificate and Introductory Diploma (360 GLH) and Foundation Diploma (540 GLH) – learners do not have to take assessment for one or more units up to 60 GLH
• Certificate (180 GLH) – Reductions will apply to all subjects in the 2012 suite and only to Business, Digital Media, and Health and Social Care in the 2016 suite. For these qualifications learners do not have to take assessment for one or more units up to 60 GLH. For other 2016 subjects, learners must take all assessments.

Level 2 Cambridge Technicals 2016 – Learners do not have to take assessment for one or more units up to 60 GLH for the Certificates (180 GLH) and Diplomas (360 GLH) in all subjects, with the exception of Certificates (180 GLH) in Engineering.

Level 2 Cambridge Technicals 2012 - Learners do not have to take assessment for one or more units up to 60 GLH for the Extended Certificate (180 GLH) and Diplomas (360 GLH) in all subjects.

For the details of how reduction of assessment on optional or mandatory moderated units works for Cambridge Technicals, please see here for 2012 and here for 2016.

** Please note - there will be no reduced assessment for some Cambridge Technicals qualifications due to their size. You can see these exceptions by following the link above.

While we hope these reductions support your delivery in these challenging times, continued teaching of content as far as possible is vital for your students’ wider learning and progression. We will ask schools and colleges to provide assurances of this.

A wider package of adaptations to support your learners

Our aim is to ensure the disruption you and your learners have faced is taken into account. Alongside the reduction in optional or mandatory moderated unit assessments, we’ve put in place a package of measures so your learners are not disadvantaged. We’ve summarised our package here:

Summary of OCR adaptations for Cambridge Nationals and Cambridge Technicals

*** Deferred assessed grades

To take the disruption of 2019/20 into account, we will provide a deferred assessed grade for unit assessments that your learners were due to take in summer 2020 but were not able to as exams were cancelled. This includes where an entry for the unit was withdrawn or, due to disruption, the unit entry was missed. Under Ofqual’s Extraordinary Regulatory Framework, the deferred assessed grade will contribute to awarding at the end of the course so learners can achieve a qualification. Please see our FAQs.

We’d like to thank you for your patience and support this term. We hope this information gives you the clarity you need about the measures we’re putting in place to support you and your learners.

If you have any questions about what you have read here, please get in touch by calling us on 01223 553998 or email at support@ocr.org.uk.