To ask you if you mark exams?

[RainbowBabyDreams]

NC for this because this is a professionalish one for once!

Like lots of people, I earn summer money marking GCSEs and A Levels. Being a full time mum for now, this is my only chance in the year to earn some money to help our househols.

(Husband is self employed which is usually just enough, but of course he can't work now and is waiting for the June government who-knows-what)

Anyway exams are all cancelled of course.

Bugger.

Anyone else in this situation? I don't know if it counts as self-employment. Now that I think about it, IIRC it's paid on PAYE. I had already signed and returned the contract for 2020 - "contract offer" I should say.

Obviously the kids and their results are the first priority. Heaven knows what's going through their minds :-(. I wondered why they went ahead and cancelled them, rather than postponing and leaving the option open.

I'm sure someone will tell me I'm an idiot but I don't work in the government so I dunno.

Yes, I am an examiner and have had both the exams I was signed up for cancelled. I believe the exam boards are looking into the payment situation - my exam board has a Yammer forum and a lot of other people have asked the same question, so they are onto it, but I guess they are focussed on results first. We are not classed as self employed by HMRC, I always have to declare it as employment when I do my tax return.

I mark a gcse paper for one of the big exam boards and they’ve sent two emails so far, saying they’re speaking to HMRC about how they can ‘support’ examiners through this time. But I’ve got zero expectations and then anything they come through with would be a bonus I think. Gutted about it though

I think there was a union meeting about this yesterday. I'm expecting to hear something next week.
I mark exams for different institutions and boards, they are all cancelled and it looks like they are considering what to do with us. I'm not getting my hopes up though.

Meeting was Thursday, possibly. I have lost track of days.

Thanks everyone. I'm with AQA and have heard nothing at all.

I was with Cambridge but I think they've sacked me (november marking coincided with late MC and therefore I did a crap job) so I've heard nothing from them either.

I mark a core GCSE subject so obviously no work this summer - the marking usually pays for my holiday which obviously isn’t happening this year anyway. I do it for the CPD really.

But there will be a huge amount of resits or opportunities for students to take the exams they want to take in the autumn apparently, so maybe we will be asked to mark those? Bad timing for those of us teaching in schools though as the autumn term is mega busy as it stands. That’s why I don’t normally put myself forward to mark the November papers.

That's brutal of Cambridge. I only knew about the meetings because I second mark university finals too.
Sympathies on your MC, I carried on working though mine too. It's not a nice thing to do to yourself.

I do but the extra money is just a nice to have rather than essential as
I work full time as a teacher.
I’ve actually been paid extra for going in over Easter running activities with key worker/vulnerable children so that’s quite a nice bit extra instead.

I have already been asked about Sept/Oct marking. Yes, it's such a busy time of year that I don't think I could manage it.
I surprise myself that I'm sad about the marking and not just the money. It's the rhythm of my year and I like the people I work with on the exam boards.

Out of curiosity for future years to come, how to you get involved with summer exam marking? Does it require qualifications or specific experience?

Thanks FaFoutis xxx

I really hope they put something in place. I'm not working in school anymore, as I had a baby then was expecting and then not, and well it was all a bit of a tangle. I too enjoy the marking itself, especially the kids who leave the page blank hee hee

little fox just go on the exam board website or google for example become wjec examiner. They publish their current vacancies and recruit teachers only AFAIK. If you have recent experience of teaching the subject, you'll be ok.

Depends on the exam board and subject Little. Mostly you need to teach the subject, but not for all papers (I'm not a school teacher). You do need a decent qualification in the subject. The boards advertise and have very specific criteria, look on their websites.

Generally speaking once you get marking experience with one it gets you into other papers and boards.

dh is examiner aqa and writes DT paper. Its all up in the air at the mo!

I enjoy the papers where they don't know the answer so tell me about their day or draw me pictures. I'm even sadder now.

I think there's supposed to be exams in the autumn for those who disagree with the teacher assessed grade. This will mean less work but hopefully enough to go round?

I’m on maternity leave and will be missing £3-4k from marking that would’ve made all the difference to another couple of months at home.

Trying not to think about it - worse worries for now by far.

Edexcel said that if it was your main source of income that you might be able to get something particularly if you pay national insurance as a self employed person but they're looking into it still.

Today I checked the hmrc self employment help eligibility, and I'm definitely eligible for nothing. And I've not heard anything from aqa so it looks like this is a crack I'm falling down.