Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to support students taking vocational qualifications who are unable to complete coursework assessments as a result of colleges being closed during the covid-19 outbreak.
No student will be disadvantaged if they cannot take their exam or assessment.
In conjunction with Ofqual, we are currently consulting on alternative arrangements for the award of vocational and technical qualifications where exams and assessments do not take place or where students have been unable to attend: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-alternative-arrangements-for-the-award-of-vtqs-and-other-general-qualifications-in-2021.
We are exploring how students who need to attend on site during the national lockdown in order to prepare for practical assessments due to be taken in February and March 2021 can do so, where it is impossible for this training to take place remotely.