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JCQ regulations and shaping the exams officer role

01 Sep 2025

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The publication of JCQ’s 2025/26 regulations sees a continuation of a very encouraging, and welcome, pattern of support in shaping the exams officer role.

In recent years, JCQ have welcomed feedback from the exams officer community via the NAEO, and where appropriate, this has been incorporated within their regulations. Whilst the NAEO does not expect every suggestion to be included within the annually updated regulations, we would like to thank JCQ for their support in providing greater clarity over the role and responsibilities of an exams officer in the management, administration and conducting of examinations.

This thanks extends to key staff within JCQ and the responsible officers from its member awarding bodies who form the various committees which agree and confirm the regulations.

This article has been produced to support exams officers when engaging with their senior leadership team/line manager to confirm their role and responsibilities.

An exams officer should use the contents of this article if they feel that they are being asked to undertake a task which is not their responsibility or for which they do not possess the expertise…and where they feel that their involvement may introduce risk in the form of maladministration or centre/staff malpractice.

 

What do the regulations state?

Exams officers in every centre must be fully aware of the JCQ regulations which directly impact their role, and present these to their senior leadership team/line manager to ensure that all parties are clear over their responsibilities.

 

The role

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

Updated JCQ regulations in the General Regulations for Approved Centres document (section 5.3) for the 2025/26 academic year require the head of centre to ensure that their exams officer undertakes regular CPD, such as attending an annual update course.

The CPD needs of each exams officer will vary based upon a range of personal factors, including knowledge, experience, skill level, type of centre, qualifications administered, etc. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the exams officer and their senior leader/line manager to meet to confirm the areas which will be covered within a CPD programme and how any targets will be achieved, monitored and rewarded upon completion.

With regard to an annual course, it is imperative that an exams officer is aware of JCQ regulations, and any changes made each academic year. Although the type of update course is not specified - it could be a face-to-face training event or an online course – exams officers should ensure that they are suitably aware of the latest regulations if they are required to provide evidence to an awarding body as part of any investigation.

The NAEO Exams Officer Professional Standards have been designed to provide senior leaders/line managers with a framework to manage their exams officer’s professional development and acquire certification upon completion.

Support and Supervision

JCQ’s General Regulations for Approved Centres (section 5.3) state that the head of centre must ensure that a member of the senior leadership team is in place who has a good working knowledge of the examination system which will allow them to provide effective line management support and supervision of the exams officer to ensure that the integrity and security of examinations and assessments are maintained throughout an examination series.

Effective support and supervision from a senior leader/line manager ensures that the exams officer has a senior colleague to whom they can refer any issues, such as unreasonable parental requests/pressure, and for effective exam-related decisions to be made in line with the published regulations.

Time

The regulations also insist that exams officers are given sufficient time to perform their role, which includes understanding relevant awarding body and JCQ documentation.

Consequently, it is imperative that an exams officer is allowed time as part of their role/contracted hours to not only familiarise themselves with the JCQ regulations, but the latest updates from key stakeholders including the Department for Education, Ofqual, JCQ and its member awarding bodies, The Exams Office and National Association of Examinations Officers (NAEO).

The NAEO recommends that exams officers allocate a period of time (two to three hours) each week to read, and keep up to date with, the latest information from stakeholders.

 

Responsibilities

JCQ documentation

JCQ publishes a range of documents which detail the regulations centres must adhere to when managing, administering or conducting examinations and assessments. It is a misconception amongst senior leaders in some centres that it is only the exams officer who should be aware of the contents of these documents.

The information below confirms which members of staff should be familiar with the various JCQ documents.

Document                       

 Staff who should read/be aware of   this document

 

General Regulations for Approved Centres

 

 Heads of centre, senior leaders, exams   officers

 

Instructions for conducting examinations

 

 Heads of centre, senior leaders, exams   officers and invigilators

 

Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments

 

 Senior leaders, SENCos (or equivalent   role), assessors

 

AI Use in Assessments: Your role in protecting the integrity of qualifications

 Senior leaders, teachers and assessors

 

Guidance for centres on cyber security

 

 Centre staff

 

A guide to the special consideration process

 

 Heads of centre, senior leaders, exams   officers

 

A guide to the awarding bodies’ appeal processes

 

 Heads of centre, senior leaders, teaching   staff, exams officers

 

Exam room posters

 

 

 Senior leaders, exams officers, invigilators   (and candidates)

 

 

Information for candidates’ documents

 

 Senior leaders, exams officers, invigilators   (and candidates)

 

Instructions for conducting coursework

 

 Heads of centre, senior leaders and   subject leaders

 

Instructions for conducting non-examination assessments (GCE and GCSE specifications)

 Heads of centre, senior leaders and   subject teachers

 

Instructions for conducting non-examination assessments (Vocational and Technical Qualifications)

 Heads of centre, senior leaders and   subject teachers

 

Key dates in the examination cycle

 

 Senior leaders, teaching staff, exams   officers

 

Notice to Centres - Informing candidates of their centre-assessed marks

 Heads of centre, senior leaders, subject   leaders and subject teachers

 

Plagiarism in Assessments – Guidance for Teachers/Assessors

 

 Heads of centre, senior leaders and staff   who have responsibility for supervising   and/or marking candidates’ non-   examination assessments or portfolio work

 

Post-Results Services

 

 

 Senior leaders, teaching staff, exams   officers

 

 

Suspected Malpractice: Policies and Procedures

 

 Heads of centre, senior leaders, teaching   staff, exams officers, invigilators

 

Access arrangements

JCQ’s Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments document states the following roles and responsibilities:

Special consideration

Although exams officers may be involved in the process relating to special consideration, their role is largely administrative, whilst the decision-making responsibility rests with a member of the senior leadership team.

The table below details the relevant roles and responsibilities.

 

Senior leader - Responsibilities

Exams officer - Role

To be satisfied that the candidates’ circumstances warrant special consideration, as set out within the JCQ A guide to the special consideration process document, and that applications are sufficiently evidenced

 

To support the gathering of evidence in relation to the candidate’s circumstances as instructed by a member of the senior leadership team

 

To authorise any evidence used to support an application for special consideration

 

To process an online application for special consideration via the relevant awarding body/bodies secure site

 

To produce a statement to support an online application for special consideration. This may be applicable if the centre is aware of an ongoing medical condition which may cause sudden absence, or the candidate was known to be unwell in the run-up to the examination or the candidate turned up for the examination unwell and was sent home

 

To inform a candidate when an application for special consideration is submitted to the awarding body (although the candidate may also be informed by the member of the senior leadership team who has confirmed their satisfaction that the candidates’ circumstances warrant special consideration)

 

To produce compelling evidence to support a late application made after the published deadline or the publication of results

 

To retain evidence until after the publication of the results

 

 

Policies

The table below shows the exams-related policies which centres must have available to meet JCQ requirements…and those which involve the input of the exams officer in the creation of the policy.

Section 3.21 of JCQ’s General Regulations for Approved Centres state that it is the responsibility of a member of the senior leadership team to annually review, update and communicate within their centre these written policies which must be available for inspection/to meet JCQ requirements.

A senior leader must decide which policies they will devise or delegate, and whether they will be the individual who will approve/’sign off’ each policy.

MEETING JCQ REQUIREMENTS                                  

Involves EO

1

Cyber security (GR 3.21)

(including: annual certificated cyber security training | developing and maintaining a comprehensive cyber security policy for the centre | implementing and enforcing robust security measures)

No

2

Escalation process (should the head of centre, or a member of the senior leadership team with oversight of examination and assessment administration, be absent) (GR 5.3)

No

3

Child protection/safeguarding policy, including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) clearance (which satisfies current legislative requirements) (GR 5.3)

No

4

Complaints policy (GR 5.3, 5.8)

No

5

Conflicts of interest policy (GR 5.3)

No

6

Contingency plan (which covers all aspects of examination/assessment administration and delivery) (GR 3.17, 5.3; ICE 15)

Yes

7

Data protection policy (GR 5.3)

No

8

Equalities policy (GR 5.3)

No

9

Internal appeals procedure (which must cover at least appeals regarding internal assessment decisions, access to post-results services and appeals, and centre decisions relating to access arrangements and special consideration) (GR 5.3, 5.7, 5.8, 5.13; NEA 1)

Yes

10

Malpractice policy (which covers all qualifications delivered by the centre) (GR 5.3)

The policy must detail how candidates are informed and advised to avoid committing malpractice in examinations/assessments, how suspected malpractice issues should be escalated within the centre and reported to the relevant awarding body. It must also acknowledge the use of AI (e.g. what AI is, when it may be used and how it should be acknowledged, the risks of using AI, what AI misuse is and how this will be treated as malpractice).

Yes

11

Policy regarding the management of non-examination assessments, including controlled assessments and coursework (which includes details on how candidates’ work will be authenticated) (GR 5.3, 5.7; NEA 1) (For CCEA GCSE centres this would be a controlled assessments policy)

No

12

Whistleblowing policy (GR 5.3)

No

13

Policy on the use of word processors in examinations (GR 5.3; AARA 5.8)

Yes

14

Process in place to check the qualification(s) of the centre’s assessor(s) and that the correct procedures are followed (as in Chapter 7 of the JCQ document Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments) (GR 5.4; AARA 7)

No

15

Procedures to verify the identity of all candidates at the time of the examination or assessment (GR 5.9; ICE 16)

Yes

16

Procedures for how the centre will deal with candidates’ requests for access to scripts, clerical re-checks, reviews of marking, reviews of moderation and appeals to the awarding bodies (GR 5.13)

Yes

17

Policy for dealing with an emergency evacuation of the examination room (ICE 25)

Yes

 

Key

  • GR - General Regulations for Approved Centres
  • ICE - Instructions for conducting examinations
  • AARA - Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments
  • NEA - Instructions for conducting non-examination assessments