Notice

Undertaking given by WJEC to the Ofqual in accordance with B8 of the General Conditions of Recognition

Published 18 September 2025

Applies to England

© Crown copyright 2025

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wjec-undertaking-and-notices-of-monetary-penalty-and-costs-recovery/undertaking-given-by-wjec-to-the-ofqual-in-accordance-with-b8-of-the-general-conditions-of-recognition

Background

  1. 1. WJEC is an awarding organisation recognised by Ofqual to deliver a range of General Qualifications as well as Vocational and Technical Qualifications.

  2. 2. On 8 July 2025, WJEC signed a settlement proposal by which it admitted that it had failed to comply with its Conditions of Recognition in relation to:

    1. a) reviews of marking between 2017 and 2023; and

    2. b) a failure to process a moderation scaling file for the Eduqas GCSE food preparation & nutrition qualification in summer 2024.

3. Following the incidents, WJEC took steps to prevent a recurrence.

[REDACTED]

Undertaking

  1. 8. As part of the settlement process, WJEC offered to provide an undertaking to provide Ofqual with assurance that the measures taken are effective and secure the safe and effective delivery of its qualifications in future.

  2. 9. To provide assurance that reviews of marking are conducted only by examiners who have had no prior involvement with the script in question, WJEC undertakes to:

    1. a) report to Ofqual, ahead of GCE results days in 2025 and 2026, confirming that all testing and training requirements have been met prior to the start of reviews of marking window.

    2. b) conduct an initial audit of reviews of marking for the 2025 and 2026 summer series, to confirm that reviews are only undertaken by examiners with no prior involvement with the script in question. The results of the initial audit shall be submitted to Ofqual within 2 weeks of the start of reviews of marking window for each series.

    3. c) conduct further data analysis in respect of the 2025 and 2026 summer series, following completion of the relevant window. WJEC shall submit the outcomes of this analysis to Ofqual within 4 weeks of each window closing.

  1. 10. To provide Ofqual with assurance that Moderation mark adjustments are being applied, WJEC undertakes to:

    1. a) conduct an internal review of a sample of assessments for the summer 2025, January 2026 and summer 2026 series, covering the following areas:

      1. • sampling of quality checklists to ensure that moderation decisions have been validated;

      2. • sampling to confirm that scaling has been applied; and

      3. • sampling to confirm that all aspects of the mark adjustment files have been processed.

    2. b) provide the outcome of its internal review to Ofqual for each series by no later than 13 August 2025 for the summer 2025 series, 25 February 2026 for January 2026 series, and 25 July 2026 for summer 2026 series.

Declaration

  1. 11. In giving this undertaking, I acknowledge on behalf of WJEC that:

    1. a) the rules of interpretation and definitions outlined in General Condition J1 shall apply to this undertaking;

    2. b) information required by the undertaking shall be provided by WJEC in writing via the Portal case established by Ofqual.

    3. c) Ofqual will publish this undertaking on a date to be confirmed following consultation with WJEC;

    4. d) Ofqual may take regulatory action in respect of any failure to comply with the terms of this undertaking which may include the issue of a direction, the imposition of a monetary penalty, withdrawal of Recognition, costs recovery, and/or any other such action as it deems appropriate, acting in accordance with Ofqual’s ‘Taking Regulatory Action’ policy (2012);

    5. e) nothing within this undertaking restricts Ofqual’s ability to conduct its own review, audit, investigation and/or other monitoring activity of WJEC at any time.

Signed: [REDACTED]

Name: [REDACTED] Responsible Officer
WJEC

Date: 12 August 2025

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