Board minutes: 18 March 2026
Updated 30 September 2026
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2026
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This document has been subject to redactions
Date
Wednesday 18 March 2026
Time
9:30 am
Attendees
Board
Susan Barratt
Sir Ian Bauckham CBE, Chief Regulator
Hardip Begol CBE
Jill Duffy
Mark Farrar
Kurt Hintz
Cindy Leslie
Dr Catherine McClellan
Chris Paterson
Clare Pelham
Andrea Rigamonti
Conor Ryan
Dr Susan Tranter, Chair
Ofqual
David Bowden, Executive Director, Finance and Operations
Tom Bramley, Executive Director, Research and Analysis
Daniel Gutteridge, General Counsel
Michael Hanton, Deputy Chief Regulator
Catherine Large OBE, Executive Director, Policy
Amanda Swann, Executive Director, Delivery
Matt Trimmer, Executive Director, Strategy
Also present
Tom Barcham, Associate Director, Risk and Markets (Item 54/25)
Private Secretary
Danielle Cartwright, Associate Director, Policy (Item 57/25)
Richard Garrett, Director, Policy (Item 57/25)
Board Secretary
Lydia Waine, Director of Qualification Reform
Liz Walters, Associate Director, Policy (Item 56/25)
Mary Webb, Head of Private Office
Frances Wilson, Associate Director, VTQ Standards and Technical Issues
49/25 Welcome and apologies for absence
The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.
There were no apologies for absence.
50/25 Declarations of interest
There were no declarations of interest for this meeting.
51/25 Minutes and matters arising
i. Approval of Minutes of meeting held on 10 December 2025
With no amendments, the Minutes of the Board meeting held on 10 December 2025 were approved.
ii. Approval of Minutes of meeting held on 10 February 2026
One typing error was identified. With no further amendments, the Minutes of the Board meeting held on 10 February 2026 were approved.
iii. Matters arising from previous Board meetings
There were no matters arising from previous Board meetings.
iv. Reports and recommendations from Board committees
The Chair of the People, Resources and Finance Committee (PRF) gave an oral update to the Board on the most recent meeting.
The Chair of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC) gave an oral update to the Board on the most recent meeting.
The Chair of the Technical Committee advised the Board that one paper had been brought to the last meeting on regulatory approach. This was also on the agenda for Board discussion so feedback from the meeting would be given at that point.
v. to vii. Minutes from Board Committee meetings
The Minutes from all Board Committee meetings that had been approved since the last Board meeting were received and noted.
52/25 Decisions taken by electronic business
The Board noted one item of electronic business that had been carried out since the previous meeting:
i. E03/25: Appointment of Jill Duffy to the Technical Committee (approved by the Board on 19 January 2026).
53/25 Chief Regulator’s report
The Board received an update from the Chief Regulator
The Board was reminded that a key area of Ofqual’s focus since the start of the new year was on supporting the government’s reforms. Strong, collaborative working relationships had been formed between Ofqual and DfE on all reform activity. The Chief Regulator advised he had also had positive discussions at senior level with ministers which had covered the full range of reforms as well as exam delivery in 2026 and Ofqual’s consultation on on-screen assessment (OSA).
The Board was advised the accountability hearing before the Education Select Committee in January had gone well and there had been sector press coverage of Ofqual’s work.
The Board was presented with an update on the delivery of Ofqual’s strategy during Q3 2025 to 2026. Progress had been made across all five objectives.
With regard to the new qualification reforms, the Chief Regulator advised the government’s intentions published on 10 March following its Post-16 Pathways consultation had triggered a range of actions by Ofqual. The Board had given approval for Ofqual to launch a consultation on new recognition criteria for Tranche 1 V Levels, Foundation Certificates and Occupational Certificates.
The Board was advised DfE had published a consultation on 10 March proposing new Level 1 English and mathematics qualifications. Ofqual had worked closely with DfE on the development of the consultation and would be developing Ofqual policy for consultation in due course.
A Ministerial steer on reforms to GCSEs was expected.
The Schools White Paper and SEND review were published by DfE on 23 February. The Board was advised the White Paper made clear that Ofqual was responsible for maintaining standards and that “any increase in grades must reflect genuine increases in attainment”.
The Board was advised that readiness review meetings had been held with the four exam boards and no issues for the summer series were raised.
The Chief Regulator advised that a substantial amount of work had been undertaken in improving the quality of braille assessment materials and Ofqual had hosted a braille workshop in Coventry in early March. Although the number of assessment materials that are produced in braille are relatively small, the impact for individuals could be significant. There was a strong commitment for further improvement in this area.
Areas of malpractice risk were being closely monitored, in particular the risk of AI misuse in NEA and the taking of mobile phones and other communication devices into exam halls. A list of Ofqual engagement with stakeholders since the start of 2026 was provided for the Board. In particular, the Chief Regulator informed the Board that the ASCL conference he had attended in February had shown support for Ofqual’s campaign against malpractice.
A Memorandum of Understanding between Ofqual and the Home Office to support work in relation to SELTs was signed in January 2026.
Ofqual’s consultation on OSA had closed on 5 March.
The Board discussed Ofqual’s engagement with AOs on their innovative and responsible use of AI. This would enable Ofqual to prepare an update on its regulatory approach to AI which would focus on supporting safe innovation. The Board was advised that Ofqual was developing its policy approach to provide clearer guidance to AOs on automarking and would shortly begin research into the application of AI in item generation and quality assurance.
54/25 Strategic Risk
The Executive Director, Strategy, highlighted to the Board the key changes to the Strategic Risk Register since the last meeting.
Resolved
The Board noted the changes in the Risk.
55/25 Finance
i. Finance update
The Board was presented with the financial position at Period 10. This was forecasting a full year Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit (RDEL) underspend of £216k. Capital Departmental Expenditure Limited (CDEL) remained on track to outturn less than the full year allocation at £430k. This incorporated a 5% contingency.
The Chair of PRF advised challenge had been given around potential risks arising in the remaining months of the financial year. These included the full year vacancy factor and holiday pay. The Board was advised that nothing unmanageable was expected.
ii. Budget 2026 to 2027
The draft budget for 2026 to 2027 was presented to the Board.
Resolved
The Board approved:
i. The draft budget as set out in paragraph 12 of the paper presented and supplemented by the pay spending plans contained in paragraph 19 and non-pay spending plans contained in paragraph 16.
56/25 Regulatory approach for V Levels (L3), Foundation Certificates (L2) and Occupational Certificates (L2)
The Chair of the Technical Committee (TC) briefed the Board on the TC meeting that had been held to discuss this topic before bringing it to Board. The Board was reminded that DfE had published their decision to go ahead with the introduction of V Levels, Foundation Certificates and Occupational Certificates on 10 March. This was a significant change to the qualifications landscape for post-16 learners. The Board was advised that a small number of subjects have been confirmed for Tranche 1, ready for first teaching in September 2027. The Board was reminded that the policy on what was funded in the qualifications landscape was a decision for DfE. Ofqual’s remit was to ensure that the specific qualifications developed are of high quality and meet the assessment requirements. The Chair of TC advised the Board that the proposals in the paper had been endorsed by the Committee and the Board was being asked to agree that Ofqual now consults on these proposals and to make a decision on the proposal for grading.
The Board asked about the challenge posed by the tight timescale for first teach of Tranche 1 qualifications in 2027. The Chief Regulator advised that delivery to the timescales specified would be demanding. Ofqual would ensure it would do whatever possible within its remit to make sure those timelines were met whilst not compromising on the quality of the qualifications.
The main focus of the paper presented to the Board was to agree a proposal for grading. The TC had discussed this at their meeting and endorsed the proposal for the Pass/Merit/Distinction scale for the new qualifications at level 2. They had also endorsed the principle of specifying a common grading scale for V Levels.
Resolved
The Board agreed that:
i. Ofqual consults on the proposals that have been endorsed by the Technical Committee.
ii. For V Levels, Ofqual will require awarding organisations to use the grading scale A*-E plus an additional grade as a safety net (and Unclassified).
iii. To delegate to the Chief Regulator, in consultation with the Chair, final sign-off of the policy consultation, technical consultation and draft regulatory frameworks for consultation.
57/25 Ofqual’s approach to GQ reform
The Board was reminded that in November 2025, the government published the final report of the Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) along with the government response. This set out proposed changes for GCSE, AS and A Levels, in relation to both subject content and assessments, in national curriculum subjects. The report set out the timelines for the reform of General Qualifications with those reformed GCSEs in national curriculum subjects to be introduced for first teach in 2029 and 2030. Corresponding A Levels would be 2 years later. Ofqual is expecting a steer letter from the Secretary of State setting out expectations for the upcoming reforms to GCSEs in the first instance followed by expectations for AS and A Levels.
A paper was presented to the Board which set out the key elements expected in the GCSE steer and the work Ofqual was contemplating in order to deliver them. The Board was also given a high-level timescale for GCSE, AS and A Level reforms and information about when the Board might expect further updates and recommendations for the programme of work. The paper was intended as an update ahead of detailed considerations which would be presented to the Board at the July meeting.
The Board asked about volume of assessment in light of the expectation set out in the government’s response to CAR that it wished to see a reduction in examination time by on average 2.5 to 3 hours overall for the average student taking 8 or 9 GCSEs. The Board was advised this will be looked at across a range of subjects with careful consideration given to a number of factors.
The Board welcomed this update on future work to be carried out.
58/25 Publication of papers
The Board agreed to publish the Open Papers.
59/25 Any other business
i. End of Term of Office
The Chair advised the term of office for Catherine McClellan was due to end on 31 May 2026 and that of Mark Farrar on 30 June 2026. Although there would be an opportunity to participate in other Board meetings before then, this would be their last in-person meeting.
The Chair and Chief Regulator both warmly thanked Catherine and Mark for their contributions to the Board and Ofqual’s work during their terms of office.
Next Board meeting:
The next Board meeting will be held in Coventry on Wednesday 1 July 2026.
The meeting ended at 1:01 pm