The NAEO has today (29th September) launched, in conjunction with The Exams Office, the 2025 exams officer survey.
We are asking exams officers to devote 15-20 minutes of their time before the survey closes on 31 October to provide their feedback. It is imperative that the NAEO acquires the views of the exams officer community to enable us to identify the issues and challenges facing exams officers within their centres so they can be addressed with key stakeholders such as the DFE, Ofqual, JCQ and the awarding bodies.
Your responses to the annual survey will be shared with colleagues from these key stakeholders and will help to shape policy and regulations relating to the management, administration and conducting of examinations. Your feedback will also influence the future strategy and direction of both the National Association of Examinations Officers and The Exams Office to ensure that the necessary support is given to exams officers.
In recent years, the outcomes of the NAEO survey have led to the following changes:
- The definition of the role and responsibilities of senior leaders within the management and oversight of examinations within their centre, including the need to ensure familiarisation with the relevant awarding body and JCQ documentation
- Clarity over the role and responsibilities of SENCOs and assessors in relation to access arrangements
- An expectation for teachers to acquire an understanding of the relevant awarding body and JCQ documentation for the qualifications they are delivering
- The need for SENCos to be given sufficient time to perform their role which includes acquiring training, if required, to acquire a greater knowledge and understanding of JCQ regulations
- The requirement for centres to include succession arrangements within a centre’s contingency planning
- Ensuring that exams officers have access to:
- Sufficient time to perform their role
- Continuous Professional Development, including attendance at an annual update course, for all exams officers
- Support and supervision from their senior leadership team, including in the making of effective centre-based decisions
The 2024 survey identified several areas of concern including:
- A significant number of exams officers do not have sufficient time to read and understand the regulations and perform their role
- A significant number of exams officers do not feel well supported and do not have access to a professional development programme or appraisal of their role and centre process
- A majority of exams officers do not receive any support/assistance in performing their role
- There is a lack of contingency planning in a significant number of centres
- There is a lack of succession planning in the majority of centres in the event of the absence of their exams officer at a critical stage of the exam cycle
- A significant number of senior leaders do not possess the necessary knowledge and understanding of the regulations to support and supervise their exams officer
- A significant number of heads of centre/senior leaders do not understand the scale of the exams officer role – there is a misconception that exams officers are only busy during an exam series
- Exams officers are spending an increasing amount of time in the administration, facilitation and invigilation of access arrangements
Feedback from the 2024 survey has had a direct impact upon JCQ regulations, and therefore, your participation in this year’s survey is critical if we are to further raise the profile and status of the exams officer role.
We would like to thank stakeholders, and in particular The Exams Office, for their support in promoting the annual survey.
Data from the survey will be published on the NAEO website during December.