To wonder what will happen if exams are impacted by Corona

[B1gbluehouse]

Starting to think they aren’t going to want halls filled with 100s of kids if it spreads more.

What will happen to GCSE and A level students if they can’t take their exams?

Teachers can’t invigilate because we aren’t trained invigilators, put simply. Invigilators and teachers both work in a school, doesn’t mean we can just do each other’s jobs as simply as that, in the same way you wouldn’t expect the caretakers or lunchtime supervisors to do it.

They would have to have training but invigilating doesn't involve intensive training so hardly on a par with expecting caretakers and lunchtime supervisors to do it. We are talking about extreme circumstances with schools shut and no pupils to teach.

Also, there’s no way we would ever be allowed to invigilate in our OWN schools! We have a vested interest in our students doing well, who’s to say we wouldn’t assist them in cheating if it was just the kids and their usual staff members with no official invigilation staff?

There would be some official invigilation staff. There just wouldn't necessarily be enough if pupils had to be kept some distance apart in order to reduce the risk of infection. Not ideal but better then a whole year not been out take exams.

not been out take exams. Not being able to take exams.

Teachers can’t invigilate because we aren’t trained invigilators, put simply

How long would, it take to train you? You are already aware of the key exam regulations I am sure.

I also wonder whether non-teachers could mark exams in extremis - ie graduates of the subject concerned. At least for GCSE, A level is more difficult. Or is that another area where the government could get teachers out of retirement to do it...

Not ideal but better than not doing exams or not marking them.

Also, there’s no way we would ever be allowed to invigilate in our OWN schools

But invigilators ARE school staff. They're employed by the school, not the exam board.

And you could invigilate subjects you don't teach. I can't see a Geography teacher being much use helping a music candidate to teach, for example.

cheat not teach

Yes, I was confused on the “teachers aren’t trained” thing. It’s not rocket science.

The training takes about half a day I think. I'm sure teachers could manage to fit it in if they didn't have any pupils to teach.

Half a day?! Sacha made it sound like it was at least an intensive six week course. The drama!

We wouldn’t be allowed to invigilate in our own schools but I suppose we could be shipped in to invigilator in others.

Would this be a good idea if our own school had been closed due to pupil/staff infection (as presumably we had no classes to teach there) as we’d be potentially spreading the virus to other pupils?

Would it be allowed due to DBS checks/insurance/union guidance etc? Who knows.

They do do them from predicted grades if children miss them because they are ill for example

This is no longer true or accurate.

Would this be a good idea if our own school had been closed due to pupil/staff infection (as presumably we had no classes to teach there) as we’d be potentially spreading the virus to other pupils?

I think people are thinking of the scenario where all schools are shut to reduce the spread of infection rather than an individual school closure due to an infection of staff or pupil.

I missed out a page. I see noble has tried to tell you you are wrong woodchuck.

Once in my whole (long) career have I had to provide evidence for an ill child. We had to predict a grade and then name 5 other students of similar ability. Basically, the students got an amalgam of their grades.

This was in about 2000 and is no longer done. And also wouldn't work if a whole cohort was absent!

I'd love to know where these magical 'alternative venues' are!

I missed out a page. I see noble has tried to tell you you are wrong woodchuck.

I am only repeating what I was told by the child's parent. As I said I'm not a hundred percent sure that they didn't do any coursework but I do know that the teachers had said they wouldn't get a grade for that particular subject but the exam board said they could do it. Obviously the parent could be lying but I don't know why they would do that.

I have taught students whose students have sadly died : this is not how it works, so I don't think you have a full story there woodchuck. There is no way exam boards would speak directly to parents about this either. Bit of misinformation there!

parents have sadly died.

I have taught students whose students have sadly died : this is not how it works, so I don't think you have a full story there woodchuck. There is no way exam boards would speak directly to parents about this either. Bit of misinformation there!

Whilst I appreciate that I may not have the full story regarding whether he had done anything towards the subject, I am absolutely certain he t spoke to someone at the exam board about it. I have spoken to someone at exam board about something in the past too so I know that's not impossible.

My son was ill for most of his mocks and only did a few. So how would that even work. His predicted grades are fine though.

Also, there’s no way we would ever be allowed to invigilate in our OWN schools! We have a vested interest in our students doing well, who’s to say we wouldn’t assist them in cheating if it was just the kids and their usual staff members with no official invigilation staff?

Surely as teachers you have your own professional responsibility and it would not be worth your job to rely on a bunch of 15/16yr olds not to brag on social media that their teacher helped them. Besides in my DC's schools invigilators seem to be mainly drawn from parents responding to emails, obviously not in their own DC's exams but not entirely without invested interest in the school's results.

Was told by a subject head this morning that worst case scenario is predicted grades, with mock grade obviously contributing to this.

Clearly very bad luck for the last-minute revisers!

I am a teacher and I invigilate A levels and GCSEs at my school. I am not allowed to invigilate any subject I teach but I can invigilate all others. Teachers in state schools don’t invigilate due to the working conditions agreement which the unions fought for years ago. It has nothing to do with legality so any teacher may invigilate just not their own subject.

obviously not in their own DC's exams

I don’t think that there is anything that says you can’t

But i may have missed something in the guidelines

But Irma, where would those predicted grades and mock grades come from? As we don’t submit them to the board someone would have to submit them. So there would be scope for teachers to use their professional judgement to alter recorded grades if for example they had a student who had done poorly on mocks but repeatedly shown improvement from that time onwards, surely?

I don't know! Just what a subject told me was a proposed plan. All pupils in Yr 11 have a "working grade" and "working towards" and presumably have just done/are currently doing their mocks, so there are those grades to use as a guideline. As I said, the system is not going to suit the candidate who works like a Trojan during the Easter holidays and improves three grades, but if there is emergency closure of schools there's going to have to be some plan or other, and no plan would be perfect.

Dd is sitting her last mocks this week, if they do use mock results she will be ok (will get into her A level choices) but there are a couple subjects she could still improve on before the actual GCSE’s.

I’m trying not to stress too much as dd is already stressed.