Guidance

Access Consultation Forum terms of reference

Updated 22 September 2022

1. Purpose

A meeting where representatives with a relevant interest discuss the accessibility of regulated qualifications and assessments. The forum shares information and promotes good practice.

Ofqual organises the ACF. Other UK qualification regulators attend the forum (Qualifications Wales (QW) for Wales, Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) for Northern Ireland, and Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) for Scotland). The regulators and other attendees (including representative groups and awarding organisations) can use forum discussions to inform their work.

2. Scope

The main focus of the group is the accessibility of regulated qualifications and assessments for disabled learners, including the use of reasonable adjustments. The forum will consider issues affecting learners with other protected characteristics if appropriate.

3. Aims

The ACF aims to:

• promote understanding of the issues faced by disabled learners when taking regulated qualifications and assessments
• present research and share expertise
• provide an opportunity for attendees to raise questions about current practice
• be a platform for regulators to share planned work relating to the accessibility of regulated qualifications or assessments, invite feedback and expertise from attendees, and explore solutions
• encourage all attendees to share, and consider, good practice
• raise awareness and understanding of the importance of accessibility to qualification and assessment validity

4. Meetings

Ofqual will organise and chair ACF meetings at least twice a year, usually in spring and autumn. Ofqual will circulate an agenda at least 2 weeks before the meeting.

Ofqual may arrange additional meetings to discuss particular areas of work, in addition to the biannual meetings. Ofqual may invite other organisations to join those meetings as appropriate.

Ofqual will ensure visibility of relevant areas of work between the ACF and its Vocational and Technical Qualification Awarding Organisation Equalities Forum and its Vocational and Technical Qualification Stakeholder Equalities Forum (mainly attended by centres). Ofqual will consider joint meetings where appropriate. The ACF secretariat will be responsible for such joint meetings.

5. Attendance

Attendance at the forum is by invitation only. You can register your or your organisation’s interest in attending by emailing strategicrelationshipsgq@ofqual.gov.uk. Ofqual will consider reasonable requests for attendance.

Ofqual will consider requests for attendance from those who:

• represent the interests of disabled learners and the professionals who work with and support them
• represent the interests of organisations approved by a UK qualifications regulator to offer regulated qualifications
• because of their expertise can contribute to the purpose and/or aims of the group or inform a particular agenda item

Ofqual will invite attendees to suggest agenda items and will accommodate suggestions where possible. Ofqual expects attendees to present their work to support the learning of the group, to share their expertise and to consider and respect all views expressed by other attendees.

Slides and papers presented at an ACF meeting will be shared with attendees and/or shared with all regulated awarding organisations, unless Ofqual is asked to treat them confidentially. Attendees should not publish content shared with the ACF without discussion with Ofqual. Ofqual will provide attendees with a brief note of the meeting, including agreed actions.

Ofqual may contact attendees outside of meetings to follow up on contributions or to share additional relevant information.

6. Attendees

The UK qualifications regulators (Ofqual, CCEA, QW, SQA)

The Department for Education (DfE) and the Standards & Testing Agency (STA). The Welsh, Northern Irish and Scottish governments may attend directly or provide input via the relevant qualifications regulator.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission may also attend.

Representative groups:

• Ace Centre
• Autism Education Trust (AET)
• British Association for Teachers of the Deaf (BATOD)
• British Dyslexia Association (BDA)
• CALL Scotland
• Colour Blind Awareness (CBA)
• Communicate-ed
• Centre for Research in Autism and Education at UCL (CRAE)
• Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB)
• JISC
• Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ)
• National Association for Special Educational Needs (NASEN)
• National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS)
• Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)
• The Bell Foundation
• The Exams Office
• Thomas Pocklington Trust (TPT)
• UK Association for Accessible Formats (UKAAF)
• Visual Impairment Educational Workforce (VIEW)
• Welsh Association of Vision Impairment Educators (WAVIE)

Awarding organisations:

• Cambridge Assessment International Education
• City & Guilds
• International Baccalaureate (IB)
• Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations (OCR)
• Pearson
• The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA)
• Welsh Joint Education Committee (WJEC)

Ofqual will invite additional organisations or individual attendees as necessary according to the agenda.

7. Further information

Ofqual will publish these terms of reference on its website, and on the Ofqual Portal for regulated Awarding Organisations.

8. Data Protection

Ofqual will retain attendees’ personal data as follows: name, job title, organisation name, and email address.

A To understand how Ofqual processes your personal data please see our personal information charter.

If you no longer wish to be an attendee of this group, you can withdraw by contacting strategicrelationshipsgq@ofqual.gov.uk.

9. Review date

These terms of reference will be reviewed at least every 2 years. They were last reviewed in June 2022. ACF members are not required to agree to the terms of reference but they will be circulated for information.