There is an increased risk of exam malpractice this summer owing to a “dire” shortage of invigilators for GCSEs and A levels, the government is being warned.
The shortage also means that schools face paying out for supply staff, while some are training all teachers in the event that they will need them in the summer, it is understood.
More than nine out of 10 exams officers are concerned about having an insufficient number of invigilators for this summer’s exams, a survey of 7,000 schools and colleges by the National Association of Examinations Officers (NAEO) shows.
The NAEO warns that individuals are having to be employed who are “not ideally suited to the role”, which it says raises the risk of malpractice.
And the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) has also raised concerns with the Department for Education and Ofqual about the shortage, which it says has been exacerbated by the government’s Covid policies.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of ASCL, said the union is receiving “bleak reports about the recruitment of invigilators for summer exams”.
He said many schools are “reliant on retired people to act as invigilators” but there could be some reluctance among this age group to mix in exam halls with students owing to high Covid cases.
The ASCL is also concerned that a lack of access to free Covid testing could make the problem worse.
Under the government’s Living with Covid strategy, “it will be impossible” for students to tell whether they have the virus, Mr Barton said.
GCSEs and A levels 2022: Struggle to find exam invigilators
“Inevitably, this means that there will be students sitting in exam halls who have Covid, but have no - or only mild - symptoms,” he added.
Glyn Potts, headteacher at Blessed John Henry Newman RC College in Oldham, told Tes he has concerns about the number of invigilators that will be available this summer and his school is “struggling to get a full team of invigilators for some exams at the moment”.
Mr Potts said the Living with Covid plan that the government has published “doesn’t meet the anxieties of our invigilators”, many of whom are older and some of whom “have underlying ailments”.
The two-year gap between the last set of exams and this summer’s exams is also felt to be a possible factor behind the invigilator shortage. Mr Potts said some invigilators have decided not to return to the role.
Another reason could be the rise in the number of students likely to need special arrangements for exams this year due to anxiety.
These students can request a separate room in which to sit their exam, and schools will be expected to meet these requests under the Equality Act 2010.
As well as leaving some schools struggling to find enough space in their buildings, this also requires extra invigilators at a time when they are in short supply.
If Mr Potts’ school does not manage to hire full teams of invigilators, he said supply teachers would have to fill the gaps - which would come at a cost and could be challenging because of supply staff shortages.
While Mr Potts pays invigilators to oversee exams, he said that the school normally pays for around three hours’ work to cover the travel and admin. “For supply, if we can get it, it is much higher and normally full-day costs,” he added.
Malpractice fears
In a blog titled Is there an invigilator crisis looming ahead of the summer exams series?, NAEO chief executive Jugjit Chima states that 92 per cent of exam officers are expressing concern over having an insufficient number of invigilators for this summer’s exam series.
He says the problem is due to fears over catching Covid in schools, as well as former invigilators finding better-paid roles.
“The situation is becoming so dire in some centres that all teaching staff are being trained in the event that they are required to invigilate this summer,” he writes.
The blog also states that “there are reports of centres employing individuals who may not be ideally suited to the role”.
It adds: “Although it is understandable that centres are making such decisions, to have an individual who is suspected as being less than ideal for the role must surely increase the risk of regulations not being appropriately applied, malpractice taking place in the examination room or situations not being dealt with in line with the regulations.”
His organisation planned to raise the issue with the Department for Education, Ofqual and the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ). Unless action is taken as a matter of urgency, “there may be serious issues in the conducting of examinations in many centres this summer”, Mr Chima warns.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We are aware that some schools and colleges have reported a need to recruit new invigilators for this summer’s exam series, after almost three years without exams.
“We are working closely with the awarding organisations to monitor the extent of any risk and explore if flexibility around existing requirements could help support centres without adding undue risks to exams themselves.
“We are also working closely with The Exams Office, who have developed a vacancy map that collates centre invigilator vacancies in one place, which we are sharing widely.”
A spokesperson for JCQ said: “JCQ and the Exam Boards fully appreciate the difficulty some centres have faced in securing invigilators for the summer exam series, and have therefore been working closely with the Department for Education, The Exams Office and other stakeholders to highlight the options which are available to exam officers and school leaders.
“The Awarding Organisations are actively assessing and monitoring the extent of the risk and will explore with Ofqual and the DfE if any flexibility around existing requirements could help support centres without adding unnecessary risks to exams themselves.
“In line with guidance from the DfE, we encourage centres to explore as many options as possible in their recruitment efforts, using tools such as The Exams Office’s Vacancy Map, social media platforms, parent newsletters, local university and community networks, to advertise positions which are invariably filled locally.”
An Ofqual spokesperson said: “We know schools and colleges are working hard to make sure they have the appropriate staff in place ahead of this summer’s exam series. We welcome the recent vacancy map developed by The Exams Office and the Department for Education as a tool to support centres to recruit invigilators.
“We are actively monitoring the situation and will explore if any flexibility around existing requirements could help support centres without adding unnecessary risks to the safe delivery of exams.”
