We are delighted to announce that, since the opening of the booking window for the NAEO Summer Conference in mid-April, over 150 exams officers have booked their place for the conference which takes place on Monday 6 July at the Kia Oval Cricket Ground, Kennington, London. Please note that capacity is limited to 250 delegates.
The focus of the conference is to support delegates in Becoming a more effective exams manager/officer, with particular attention placed on helping exams managers/officers in achieving the ‘skills’ element of the Exams Officer Professional Standards.
The conference will begin at 9.15am and finish at approximately 3.30pm. The agenda for the day is as follows (two workshops will be taking place during each workshop session):
- 8.00 onwards: Registration, light breakfast & networking
- 9.15: Welcome & introductions
- 9.30: NAEO update & Exams Manager/Officer of the Year announcement
- 9.45: The Exams Office update
- 10.15: Workshop 1
- 11.15: Break
- 11.45: Workshop 2
- 12.45: Lunch
- 1.30: Workshop 3
- 2.30: Break
- 2.45: Keynote speech
- 3.15: Prize draw and closing comments
In addition to a keynote session from Ofqual, workshop content focuses upon helping exams managers/officers become more effective in their role and achieving the Exams Officer Professional Standards.
Workshop choices are as follows:
- NAEO: Five ways to make your SLT appreciate the significance of your role
- This session explores practical steps an exams manager/officer can take to demonstrate the importance of their role to the head of centre and senior leadership team. By following these five actions, exams staff can elevate the visibility and status of their role amongst their SLT while also emphasising the risks of inadequate contingency planning - particularly if the exams manager/officer is unavailable at critical points in the exam cycle.
- AQA: Summing up your Summer
- An interactive session designed to reflect on and share experiences, top tips and best practice from your Summer 2026 exam series. This forum will also help you to strengthen your own post-series review processes and gives you an opportunity to learn from and support the wider exams manager/officer community.
- Cambridge OCR: Results ready - Solutions for results and post-results issues
- This interactive session will explore some of the more complex – but commonly encountered – scenarios that arise during the results and post-results period, for example obtaining candidate consent for post-results services. Designed to strengthen your confidence and approach at results time, the workshop will support collaborative discussion and questions so you can share best practice and practical solutions to typical challenges.
- Pearson: What's next for qualifications? Reform, digital credentials, and the road ahead
- What’s changing and what do you need to do next? This session gives you a clear, practical view of qualification reform, our response to the curriculum and assessment review, and how digital credentials are rolling out in vocational qualifications and being trialled for academic qualifications. The session will cover vocational and academic qualifications, and you’ll leave with the insight you need to feel ready for what’s ahead.
- Katherine McDiarmid: Collaborative working with your SENCo
- As a serving exams officer, Katherine will be considering how an exams manager/officer should work with their SENCo throughout the access arrangements process. In this interactive session, delegates will have the opportunity to share best practice tips and to acquire information from colleagues.
- Geraldine Jozefiak (Wellbeing/Mindfulness): Emotional intelligence for exams managers/officers
- Learn how to recognise and manage your responses under pressure so you can stay in control, reduce stress, and work more effectively throughout the academic year.
As the NAEO is a not-for-profit organisation, we are grateful for the support offered by The Exams Office in helping us to host the Summer Conference. The NAEO would also like to thank Ofqual and the awarding bodies for their support in attending the conference to deliver workshops at their own expense.
The cost to attend the conference is £295+VAT which includes refreshments and lunch. However, this is discounted to £250+VAT for exams managers/officers from centres who have a current membership to The Exams Office.
Please visit the NAEO website to book your place.