Update 08: Assessment Decisions for OCN NI Professional & Technical Qualifications

At OCN NI we recognise that learners on Professional and Technical Qualifications urgently need reassurance about how their qualifications will be assessed and awarded in the coming weeks and months. The team at OCN NI have been working closely with the qualifications regulators (CCEA Regulation & Ofqual) and other Awarding Bodies to agree a similar approach to the award of qualifications, so that learners can get the qualifications they deserve and progress onto further learning and/or employment.

In a statement issued by the qualifications regulators dated 30 March 2020, they state that “… work on developing a co-ordinated approach to handling VTQ assessments continues at pace…  we are striving to secure that learners who are taking VTQs that are used for progression to and through employment, further or higher education are issued a set of results this summer in order to allow them to progress to the next stage of their lives.”

We fully appreciate that this is a frustrating time for all tutors and teachers.  However, given the complexity of the qualifications landscape, the qualifications regulators are developing guidance for all awarding bodies to enable us to implement a co-ordinated approach in order to promote as much consistency as possible between and within the sector, in order to provide the fairest possible outcomes for learners.

We expect further guidance from the qualifications regulators over the coming days and we will provide all our centres with further information as soon as possible.

 Thank you for your patience during these challenging times.

Martin Flynn
Chief Executive Officer