Schools desperately short of exam invigilators

[noblegiraffe]

"The National Association of Exam Officers (NAEO) is set to publish advice tomorrow to help schools struggling to recruit enough trained officers. More staff are needed to oversee the first GCSE and A-level exams to be sat in two years, with a snap poll suggesting that 83 per cent of centres are still experiencing a deficiency.
But Jugjit Chima, chief executive officer of the NAEO, has warned that some schools and colleges are "stuck", having already implemented contingency plans, such as staggered starts to exams, but still not having enough staff to oversee next month's exams."

The suggestion is that admin staff and dinner ladies could be asked to invigilate.

Geoff Barton of the ASCL commented that part of the issue is that invigilators don't want to stand in exam halls packed with children who may well have covid (no requirement to isolate) and the government should reinstate free testing for schools, at least for the exam period to provide reassurance.

www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/gcses-2022-schools-desperate-over-exam-invigilator-shortage

There are also serious concerns that desperation will lead to unsuitable candidates being hired, and an increase in exam malpractice.

www.tes.com/magazine/news/secondary/gcses-2022-crisis-fears-over-invigilator-shortage

To get a scribe you have to show it’s your normal way of working, so how come some schools recruit them just for the exams? Tbh ours just don’t provide it during term time or for lessons. I guess they’d only have to if it’s in an EHCP

Our EI receive £11 per hour + pro rata holiday pay, much work goes into schedules so they don't just do one exam if possible to make it worthwhile.

We register their DBS for them with the Update Service, many EI work for several schools during the season.

We have increased our numbers since 2020 because the exam desks are much more spaced out, frequently needing different buildings to be covered.

None of our EI declined during the past two years; many saw it as a chance to help kids during a really stressful time.

We don't ask teachers; due to the BB rules on gained time and rarely cover, but cover supervisors do assist because all the Y11 and 13 are on study leave. SLT and admin staff act as loo runners.

During the holiday admin staff are on hand to give out the exam results. I love that day! Last year I was in tonnes of family photos with happy students and parents.

Because normally, you don't have everyone needing a scribe at the same time. We split classroom assessments up to make it manageable. Exams are when they are.

I suppose they work with a TA as a scribe in class then someone impartial in the exam perhaps?

I applied. Well. I say I applied. I got the application form and couldn’t be arsed with it. NMW, training sessions that weren’t paid for. Zero hour contract with no guarantee of work. Only paid for exam hours. No travel.

The form itself was so long it was unreasonable (all my original gcse certificates, full work history from 16 that had to be detailed) and pay for my own DBS.

Nope.

i can’t support this enough!!! I want to tell them to put their hand up like the first hand I see will get £100!! Tentative waving is pointless!

But this is the issue with most non teaching jobs in school - they rely on the availability of generally degree educated, predominantly women who are prepared to work in low status jobs for low pay.

@DorotheaDiamond haha I know what you mean! The other thing is make sure they know how to tell the time especially on an analogue clock (the invigilator can’t tell them what the time is).

I do a bit of exam invigilation on my days off (I'm a part time teacher) as a favour to help out as we are very short of invigilators.
National minimum wage for a couple of hours per day just isn't worth the cost and time to travel.
Like many things I think covid is being used as an excuse but really pay is the bigger problem.

I’ve been told you can tell them the time but not how long they have left!

Pay is a problem - it’s not worth me paying for dog sitter for 2 exams spread over a whole day.

It actually can be quite tedious (I guess that’s what you want)…extra time is a nightmare…a 3 hour exam plus 25% extra time is a very very long time to be bored! Particularly as chances are that’s in a small room so you can’t even wander up and down!

i can’t support this enough!!! I want to tell them to put their hand up like the first hand I see will get £100!! Tentative waving is pointless!

i get phantom hand syndrome

i keep thinking hands are going up but its just them fiddling with their hair or itching their ear

which is about how they look actually putting their hands up

I’m semi-retired from teaching and do a little invigilation, mostly reading and scribing for students with special access arrangements. That requires particular skills such as the ability to write fast, accurately and legibly and correctly understand and interpret specialist vocabulary across a range of subjects, including at A level and BTEC Level 3. IT skills are important too with so many students using laptops, which are often old and unreliable. You need to be able to act appropriately when six laptops crash simultaneously, the wifi goes down, documents won’t save and IT support aren’t answering…
The place I work has recently increased its invigilator hourly rate by nearly 50%, which is IMO a good idea. But such extra cost would be very difficult for many schools and colleges to manage.

I used to work as an exam invigilator. 2 things have changed since 2019. Firstly I have moved house, so would need to apply again to a different school in another LEA to the one I worked in.
Secondly I am on the NHS waiting list for a routine operation and won't be in a position to work in this type of role until the surgery has taken place.

The actual application process is a pita too; instead of just whizzing your CV and adapted cover letter through Indeed, you normally ime have to go through the company site- ie school/college website. Can’t be bothered with that, particularly for a low-paid, zero hours gig that’s more trouble than it’s worth.

I’m semi-retired from teaching and do a little invigilation, mostly reading and scribing for students with special access arrangements. That requires particular skills such as the ability to write fast, accurately and legibly and correctly understand and interpret specialist vocabulary across a range of subjects, including at A level and BTEC Level 3. IT skills are important too with so many students using laptops, which are often old and unreliable. You need to be able to act appropriately when six laptops crash simultaneously, the wifi goes down, documents won’t save and IT support aren’t answering…

What a hassle! Absolutely ridiculous!

AND there has been acknowledgement of the crisis involving a shortage of invigilators. Instead of funding schools properly so that they can afford to pay invigilators more than peanuts, they have relaxed the rules around invigilation including:

The ratio being relaxed from 30:1 to 40:1

Subject teachers allowed to invigilate their own subject (this is opening up all sorts of potential issues, not least that teachers shouldn't be invigilating per their contracts at all)

Remote invigilation allowed (WHAT?)

Allowing students to sit at different sites and different times

If students can't sit an exam due to a shortage of invigilators, a grade will be calculated for them based on other exams (this is what happens if a student is ill. But I can imagine it would be awful if they turned up, ready and prepared, and got sent home).

schoolsweek.co.uk/exams-2022-invigilator-rules-relaxed-over-shortage-fears/

@noblegiraffe I'm sorry, but WHAT the F. So schools can make up grades again. I mean it went so well last year !
Back to 'some' schools getting 90% A star again.
And sitting at different times ? Well we'll just make sure our invigilators are not free until the mark scheme has appeared on TSR.

It's all nuts.

It's all nuts.

Yes. Yes it is.

So schools can make up grades again.

No, if a kid misses an exam because there isn't an invigilator, then their grade would be based on the exams that they do sit (assuming there are invigilators for those). So if a kid missed maths paper 1, their grade would be based on their performance in paper 2 and paper 3, not made up by the school.

I cannot believe that they are preparing contingencies for kids not being able to sit exams due to lack of staff, rather than even trying doing an emergency call-out for people to invigilate like they did with supply teachers in Jan.

I don't understand what Remote invigilation is.

An invigilator on zoom? CCTV?

Half an eye through the window whilst teaching y9

This, OP:

qualifications.pearson.com/en/support/Services/remote-invigilation.html

I don't understand what it actually IS, mind you.... some mention of webcams

Exams began last week in Scotland. Teachers have been asked to volunteer to invigilate as we are desperately short.

@noblegiraffe imagine it will be like Uni exams proctoring. One person watching loads. We did something similar last year - ours still sat exams, but half year 11 were off at one point with covid or isolating. Worked quite well.