The chair of exams regulator Ofqual is to stand down at the end of the year.
Roger Taylor, who has been a member of the organisation’s board since 2012 and its chair since 2016, will be replaced by academy trust leader Ian Bauckham on an interim basis pending a “fair and open” competition to find a permanent replacement.
It comes after a tumultuous year for the regulator which saw its chief regulator Sally Collier resign in the summer following this year’s exams fiasco.
Taylor stayed on, but the Department for Education announced today that he has tendered his resignation.
“Ofqual is an organisation of enormously dedicated and professional people who care deeply about the importance of qualifications and their role in supporting the benefits of high-quality education,” said Taylor.
“After what has been a very difficult summer, I am leaving the organisation in good shape and in good hands. We have put in place measures for young people sitting exams in 2021 which represent the best approach to these difficult times.”
It comes after Schools Week revealed that former Cambridge Assessment CEO Simon Lebus is being lined up take over as chief regulator in January, again on an interim basis.
Dame Glenys Stacey, who served as the regulator’s chief before Collier, has been doing the job in an acting capacity since her successor’s resignation earlier this year.
Bauckham, who has served on the Ofqual board since 2018, said he was “pleased to accept the role of interim chair”, and “very much look forward to the year ahead as we continue our work to oversee examinations and qualifications across England”.
Bauckham is the CEO of the Tenax Schools Trust and chair of the Oak National Academy.
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