Transparency data

Chief Regulator’s report: 18 March 2026

Updated 30 September 2026

Applies to England

This document has been subject to redactions

Date

18 March 2026

Title

Chief Regulator’s report

Report by

Sir Ian Bauckham, Chief Regulator

Paper for information and discussion

Recommendation:

The Board is asked to note the matters reported. 

Overview

1. A key area of Ofqual’s focus since the start of 2026 has been on supporting the government’s reforms. We are working at pace to develop and launch a consultation on the new Level 2/ Level 3 qualifications, including V Levels, in April.

2. Working level relationships between Ofqual and DfE teams on all reform activity are strong. I have recently had very positive meetings with the Permanent Secretary, the Secretary of State and Minister for Skills which have covered the full range of reforms in general and vocational and technical qualifications, as well as exam delivery in 2026 and Ofqual’s consultation on on-screen assessment.

3. The accountability hearing before the Education Select Committee in January went well, with the Committee asking us detailed questions on many areas of Ofqual’s regulatory activity. I was pleased that the hearing generated positive sector press coverage on Ofqual’s work.

4. Following a successful event in October with awarding organisations (AOs) on governance, in January we brought together the CEOs and held valuable discussions about reform, delivery and our regulatory priorities. In late March we are hosting a similar event with the Responsible Officers of the same AOs.

Ofqual strategy 2025 to 2028 

5. Annex A provides an overview of the progress made in delivering the Ofqual Strategy up to the end of Q3 2025 to 2026.

New qualification reforms

6. DfE published decisions on 10 March following its Post-16 Pathways consultation. DfE has also published transition arrangements where defunding of qualifications had been anticipated.

7. Ofqual’s Technical Committee has given in-depth consideration to Ofqual’s position on the new V Levels, Foundation Certificates and Occupational Certificates and these proposals are brought to the Board in full, as agreed, for consideration under a separate agenda item.

8. Following agreement with the Board on 10 February, and subsequent clearance by me and the Chair, Ofqual is launching a consultation on new recognition criteria for Tranche 1 V Levels, Foundation Certificates and Occupational Certificates. This consultation aims to ensure that the AOs offering the first set of these new qualifications have the proportionate capacity, capability and governance.

9. DfE published a consultation on 10 March proposing new Level 1 English and mathematics qualifications which would act as a stepping stone towards GCSE Grade 4, for those re-taking post-16. Ofqual worked closely with DfE officials on the development of this consultation. We will develop Ofqual policy, including new regulations within our framework, for consultation in due course. The paper on GQ reform to be considered in this meeting explores the interdependencies between these new qualifications and reformed GCSEs.

10. We are expecting to receive a Ministerial steer on reforms to GCSEs following on from the Curriculum and Assessment Review and subsequent government response. A separate paper is provided setting out Ofqual’s proposed approach, and what the Board can expect to receive on this in due course.

11. The Schools White Paper and SEND review were published by DfE on 23 February. The White Paper sets out a government ambition for significant improvement in GCSE results and an equally ambitious narrowing of the GCSE attainment gap, but it also makes clear that Ofqual is responsible for maintaining standards and that “any increase in grades must reflect genuine increases in attainment”.

Apprenticeships reform

12. Ofqual’s consultation on a new regulatory framework for apprenticeships assessment closed on 11 February. Over 100 different stakeholders were engaged with over the consultation period and 57 in-depth responses to the consultation received. The Department for Work and Pensions and Skills England have been briefed on our final set of propositions and are content. The Technical Committee is due to make decisions in March to conclude the process, with a view to publishing the final regulatory framework in early April. Ofqual continues to offer support to Skills England on communications in this area.

GCSE English language and mathematics resits

13. Results were issued by exam boards on 8 January for the November 2025 resit series for GCSE English language and mathematics.

VTQ January series

14. Around 140 VTQ exams took place over the winter series, delivered by 6 AOs. The series was delivered without any significant issues.

Summer series 2026

General Qualifications

15. Readiness review meetings have been held with the 4 exam boards and the International Baccalaureate Organisation. Marker recruitment progress is broadly in line with the same point in previous years.

16. Ofqual hosted a Braille roundtable in early March in Coventry. The event was attended by the Royal National College for the Blind, UK Association for Accessible Formats, Priestley Smith College, New College Worcester and the Royal National Institute of Blind people, as well as representatives from the 4 exam boards, NCFE and City and Guilds. We discussed examples of good and bad practice, the impacts on learners and next steps for immediate and longer-term solutions to improve quality of Braille assessment materials. It was clear that there was strong commitment to further improvement, building on major progress made recently.

17. We are taking forward work in relation to the risk of AI misuse in NEA.

Vocational and Technical Qualifications

18. Readiness reviews for VTQs will be completed by the end of March. So far no serious risks to VTQ delivery have been identified. We continue to monitor the transformation programmes of 2 AOs delivering VTQs to secure ongoing improvement.

National Reference Test

19. The National Reference Tests in English and maths were administered in schools between 20 February and 9 March. 353 schools took part, corresponding to a sample of around 8,000 students due to take each subject. Results of the NRT will become available in May, based on which I will decide whether or not an adjustment should be applied to GCSE English language and/or maths awards this summer.

Communications and stakeholder engagement

20. Between the start of the year and the date of the Board meeting, I and colleagues will have spoken at 12 conferences and visited 5 centres. I have given speeches at the SFCA and ASCL annual conferences, and the Apprenticeships and Training Conference, with a significant focus on qualifications reform.

21. There has been significant engagement with stakeholders and awarding organisations to support our consultations on on-screen assessment and apprenticeship assessment, as well as on innovative uses of AI and to support awarding organisations to embed our new Principles. We have also begun pre-consultation engagement on the new Post-16 Level 2 and Level 3 qualifications.

22. We have launched a campaign to help schools and colleges ensure the integrity of the exams system, focussed on both AI misuse in NEA and exam hall malpractice. This is based on an open letter to exam board CEOs in which I have urged them to take steps to tighten up practices in this area.

Ofqual’s work with the Home Office on secure English language tests (SELT)

23. We are engaging with the Home Office on its proposals for a single provider, digital-first, secure English language test, to be rolled out in over 140 countries. The Home Office has issued its invitation to tender with a view to first delivery of the new test in early 2027.

24. A Memorandum of Understanding between Ofqual and the Home Office to support work in relation to SELTs was signed in January.

GCSE in natural history

25. DfE has made some small revisions to its draft subject content for the proposed GCSE in natural history. The draft content remains substantially the same as that presented to the Technical Committee in April 2024. DfE is keen to seek early views on its proposals and is currently planning to consult on them in the coming months, ahead of Ofqual consulting on its expectations for how it must be assessed.

26. DfE expects the qualification to be developed for first teaching in 2029, alongside GCSEs being reformed following the Curriculum and Assessment Review and to the timelines set out in the paper on GQ reform that is presented to the Board at this meeting. As such, Ofqual will set out the proposed assessment arrangements for consultation to the timelines detailed in that paper.

Consultation on on-screen assessment

27. We published research on on-screen assessment alongside our December consultation, including a summary of a survey of students and parents on wide-scale adoption of on-screen assessment; a review of the effects of on-screen assessment on levels of engagement, cognitive demands and performance; and a literature review of ‘mode effects’ giving a framework for test developers and researchers to anticipate what features of exam questions might elicit different performance in on screen compared with paper assessment.

28. The consultation closed on 5 March and generated strong engagement.

Formulae and equation sheets

29. As the Board is aware, DfE previously decided that students taking GCSE mathematics, physics and combined science exams up to 2027 would not need to memorise the usual formulae and equations. Ofqual consulted and made the necessary technical changes to our rules to enable exam boards to provide formulae and equation sheets for these exams.

30. DfE has now confirmed the lifting of the requirement to memorise formulae and equations in GCSE mathematics, physics and combined science for the lifetime of the current specifications for these qualifications, including any resit opportunities. Ofqual is now consulting to enable us to implement the necessary regulatory arrangements.

Counter fraud programme

31. Ofqual held a third taskforce meeting with over 40 AOs in December. We had presentations from Action Fraud, Office for Students (OfS) and the Security Industry Authority (SIA) and discussed emerging risks from AOs’ fraud risk assessments.

32. We continue to develop the short, medium and long term objectives of the programme.

33. We continue to utilise material from the counter fraud communications campaign in partnership with Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) to reduce fraud and increase use of the reporting channels.

Artificial intelligence

Regulation of AOs’ use of AI 

34. Our research on the principles and implications of using AI in marking of high-stakes assessments was published in January, with a companion blog and an Op-ed published in TES. The report has been well received; OECD described the paper as “one of the most comprehensive country examples we’ve seen of research on AI that is specifically geared towards the needs of policymaking in assessment.” Ofqual was invited to talk at an OECD Interest Group on AI and High-Stakes Assessment in early March.

35. We are undertaking a structured programme of active engagement with AOs on the innovative and responsible use of AI.

36. This engagement is strengthening our evidence base and informing our regulatory thinking. Following a request jointly from the Secretaries of State for DfE, DSIT and DBT, we are preparing an update on our regulatory approach to AI, focused on supporting safe innovation, for publication in July. Building on the well-received January research, we are developing our policy approach to provide clearer guidance to AOs on automarking (AI and non-AI) and will shortly begin research into AI applications in item generation and quality assurance.

Internal use of AI

37. Ofqual continues to progress internal applications of AI to drive efficiency and consistency.

38. The Cabinet Office’s ‘AI for All: One Big Thing’ training programme has now closed, with high engagement across grades and teams. This was complemented by internal Ofqual sessions on getting the most from Copilot.

Ofqual Educational Assessment seminar

39. Our annual closed academic seminar for assessment researchers is taking place in March. We are expecting around 80 external delegates over the 2 days from 15 organisations including regulators, AOs, including the exam boards, and others. There will be 22 presentations in total, including 4 from Ofqual.

Corporate and people matters

Finance update

40. As reported in the Finance paper, we are on track to report a comfortable underspend for the year.

41. A budget paper for financial year 2026 to 2027 is presented separately.

People update

42. The 2025 to 2026 Civil Service People Survey was completed in October.

43. Following a successful recruitment process, a new Director of People and Culture has been appointed. Victoria Clayton joins Ofqual on 1 May 2026, until when the role will continue to be filled on an interim basis by Tony Bishop.