WIREDGOV

Announcement

QCDA transfer and closure

This update guides stakeholders to where responsibility now lies for areas of work that have transferred. It also sets out our continuing duties for the remainder of the calendar year.

Since our last stakeholder update in May 2011, we have continued to work with our sponsoring department and other agencies towards an efficient and well-managed transfer and closure of QCDA.

DfE job offer

At the end of September, the Department for Education (DfE) announced that it is now able to offer a job to those QCDA staff still at risk of redundancy who stated that their preference was to secure external redeployment at their level grade within the Civil Service.

Welcoming the DfE offer Lin Hinnigan commented, "This is fantastic news and I know many staff will be extremely relieved. The prospect of redundancy was looming large for a number of our staff and their families. This new offer from the DfE will mean their skills and expertise will be retained within the education sector."

QCDA's website

In preparation for the closure of QCDA and to reflect our remaining remit from the DfE, we have removed a number of pages and materials from our website. We are also in the process of decommissioning email addresses that are no longer needed.

When you go to the site you'll notice that the structure has changed. Materials relating to exams administration remain on the site for now.

If you can't find the resource you're looking for, you should be able to find it on the copy of the QCDA website which exists in the UK Government's National Archives.

National Curriculum Assessments

QCDA is no longer responsible for the development and delivery of statutory tests and assessments. This is now managed by the Standards and Testing Agency (STA), an executive agency of the DfE.

You can find guidance and materials about national curriculum tests at www.education.gov.uk/assessment.
If you have a query about tests and assessment, please contact the National Curriculum Assessments Helpline on 0300 303 3013.

Curriculum development

Our remit for curriculum development finished at the end of March 2011. Responsibility now rests with the DfE - see their Teaching the curriculum page for more information. Programmes of study for the national curriculum for England are published on theNational curriculum website with guidance materials and resources available on the National Archives.

General qualifications and life skills

QCDA's work on 14-19 qualification development has now ceased. Responsibility for Functional Skills, Foundation Learning, A levels, GCSEs and other general qualifications together with the research and evaluation work associated with these qualifications has moved to either the DfE or Ofqual.

Management of the GCSE mathematics linked pair pilot has transferred to DfE and the GCSE science and Functional Skills qualification reviews have transferred to Ofqual.

Responsibility for key skills has transferred to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. All remaining tests in the national key skills test bank have been sent to the awarding organisations along with mark schemes and related materials.

Examinations delivery

QCDA will continue to provide schools and colleges with support for the administration of general qualifications until it transfers to the DfE on 1 November. It will become known as the Exams Delivery Support Unit. Information about the new service will be sent to all exams officers during October.
 
Dedicated support for Diploma administration has now ended following this summer's successful awarding period, but centre support officers will still deal with enquiries about the Diploma as they do for other general qualifications.
 
The Diploma aggregation service will transfer to the DfE on 1 November and will continue to operate as normal.

The examinations scripts collection service will also transfer to the DfE on 1 November and will continue to operate as normal.

Achievement and Attainment Tables

QCDA no longer handles enquiries about the Achievement and Attainment Tables (the 'performance tables'). Standard information on the performance tables' point scores for individual qualifications and their threshold contribution can be found on Ofqual's Register of Regulated Qualifications website: http://register.ofqual.gov.uk

More information about the performance tables is available at www.education.gov.uk/performancetables

If you have a query about the performance tables, please contact the Department for Education's Public Enquiry Unit at http://www.education.gov.uk/help/contactus. You can also contact DfE on telephone 0370 000 2288.

Statutory duties

QCDA retains a statutory duty to keep qualifications, the curriculum, early learning goals, educational programmes and assessment arrangements under review until this duty is removed as a result of legislation to abolish QCDA, which we expect to be by 31 March 2012.

Contacting QCDA

QCDA no longer provides a general enquiry function. Please contact the Department for Education on www.education.gov.uk/help/contactus.