Exam regulator Ofqual has awarded itself new powers to publicly “rebuke” rule-breaking exam boards.
The new regulatory “tool”, announced today, is intended for cases where an awarding body’s rule-breaking is not serious enough to warrant a financial penalty.
The watchdog said the “chief regulator’s rebuke” sanction will fill an “important gap” in its enforcement options and “supports agile regulation”. It hopes the new penalty will mean simple cases of misconduct or malpractice can be resolved quickly.
Ofqual published its updated compliance policy for exam boards this morning.
Chief regulator Ian Bauckham said: “This updated policy reflects our agile approach to regulation.
“We want to ensure awarding organisations resolve issues early wherever possible.
“However, when awarding organisations do not meet our high standards, we will use our enforcement powers in the interests of students and all who rely on qualifications.”
It comes as new requirements are also due to come into force in December, requiring awarding bodies to act with “honesty and integrity” and ensure they “promote public confidence in qualifications”.
According to its 2024-25 annual report, Ofqual issued six regulatory interventions to awarding organisations, resulting in fines of £805,000.
The regulator also placed special conditions on a further 14 awarding organisations to assist with its investigations or manage risks.
During the same year, it regulated a total of 255 awarding bodies that are responsible for more than 10,000 active qualifications.
Right of appeal
Awarding bodies facing public criticism via a rebuke can appeal to the regulator’s enforcement panel before publication. Rebukes will not be published until the appeal period has ended.
Ofqual first launched a public consultation on punishing non-compliant awarding bodies in 2019, but later “paused” the policy’s introduction.
It re-launched a consultation on the new policy in February this year.
The regulator says it has also introduced “more flexibility in how it issues notices of intention, that it hopes will “allow for the process to move swiftly to resolution”.
Rob Nitsch, chief executive of the Federation of Awarding Bodies, said: “The introduction of a more nuanced approach to regulatory intervention is in the interests of all and it is to be welcomed that Ofqual has taken the time to consult on these adjustments twice.”
However, it is unclear whether the regulator’s rebuke power will shorten the sometimes lengthy delay between Ofqual concluding its investigations into awarding bodies and releasing details to the public.
Earlier this year, the regulator published the action taken against the Scottish Qualifications Authority stemming from an investigation that ended in 2022.
It also announced it had fined the Yorkshire awarding body Proqual £15,000 for breaches that dated back from 2018 to 2022.
An Ofqual spokesperson said: “Investigating regulatory breaches thoroughly takes time. However, the updated policy does introduce practical improvements.
“We’ve streamlined the process for settling straightforward cases more quickly where organisations agree they’ve breached our conditions.
“This means simpler cases can be resolved faster, whilst complex investigations receive the rigorous attention they require.”
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