Agenda item

That the Committee note the arrangements currently in place for assessments in 2022 and recognise the hard work of secondary schools in Flintshire in supporting their examination year groups.

In presenting the report the Chief Officer (Education & Youth) explained that during the last two years there had been different approaches for key stage 4 and 5 learners.  This report provided an update for this year following arrangements put in place by Welsh Government (WG)

The Senior Manager for School Improvement provided an update on the preparations for this year for GCSE and A Level examinations.  During the past two years, due to the pandemic, these had been cancelled and replaced with Centre Assessed Grades in 2020 and Centre Determined Grades in 2021.  The report presented the current position and the contingency plans and assessments which would be put in place if circumstances changed.   These had been shared with schools, parents and learners who were sitting examinations at GCSE and A Level this summer.  She confirmed that the spring examinations had taken place in January and praised the schools for the hard work they had undertaken and the support they were providing to learners.

Councillor Martin White referred to the upheaval and changes that the students had endured during the last two years with this year’s students finding it more challenging preparing for the examinations.   The Chair agreed saying the pandemic had impacted the learning of our young people but praised the way they had coped, and the support provided by schools and parents.

The Senior Manager for School Improvement agreed saying everyone was aware of the challenges faced by these young people and paid tribute to their resilience.  Despite the disruption some mock examination had been able to take place.  She provided information on the work undertaken with Qualifications Wales and the WJEC on the paperwork and support provided to enable these young people to succeed.

The Chair sought reassurance that the papers would allow flexibility as some learners may have missed topics because of self-isolation or school closures.  In response the Senior Manager for School Improvement confirmed that Qualifications Wales and the WJEC had provided schools with information in advance on the requirements for the adapted examinations.  The challenges were different across Wales and the new curriculum would be delivering teaching content and skills to learners at a local level.  This information would form part of discussions on what qualifications and assessments would look like for learners in the future and how this would fit into the new curriculum from next September.  There were a lot of positive outcomes coming from this.

The recommendation, as outlined within the report, was moved by Councillor Janet Axworthy, and seconded by Councillor Tudor Jones. 

RESOLVED:

That the Committee note the arrangements currently in place for assessments in 2022 and recognise the hard work of secondary schools in Flintshire in supporting their examination year groups.