Guidance

This guidance sets out public health arrangements that schools, colleges and other exam centres should implement when delivering exams from August 2021 onwards.

The Tutorial Foundation will follow the Instructions for Conducting Examinations published on the Joint Council of Qualifications (JCQ) website for GCSE, AS and A level exams.

Engagement with NHS Test and Trace

You must make sure that you understand the NHS Test and Trace process.

The Tutorial Foundation will need to collect and keep contact information for candidates and invigilators so that we can share it with NHS Test and Trace if needed.  Every exam will have a seating plan, so we will add the names of the invigilators for reference if needed.

As a school, we have a large batch of Lateral Flow tests which have been supplied to us by the NHS and staff are being tested on a regular basis as per government guidelines.

Arrival and departure of candidates

As candidates arrive before the scheduled start time of exams, The Tutorial Foundation will need to keep them separate from other students arriving at the school.  You should therefore not attempt to enter the building, but ring the door buzzer and wait outside to be directed as to where you should go.

At the end of the examination you will need to walk around the outside of the building or you will be escorted and you will need to enter through the front door if you need to collect a mobile phone.

Cleaning

Exam rooms will be kept clean. Frequently touched surfaces (door handles, individual desks and so on) will be cleaned after every exam with the Selgiene Extreme T500 cleaning products, including the backs of chairs where candidates may pull chairs out to sit.

Rooms do not need to be left empty between exams, provided they are cleaned properly each time.

Set up of the exam room

Desks will not be set up face to face. For GCSE, AS and A level exams, the minimum distance in all directions from centre to centre of candidates’ chairs must be 1.25 metres, following JCQ’s Instructions for Conducting Examinations.

There is no overall limit on the number of candidates who can sit in a room, as long as desks are correctly spaced. The upper limit to the number of candidates who can take an exam in a room together depends on the desk spacing requirements.

Good ventilation is important and we will maximise this wherever possible, for example opening windows and propping open doors (not fire doors) where safe to do so (bearing in mind safeguarding in particular).

Invigilators may walk up and down aisles between desks to see all the candidates in the room.

Face coverings

Candidates and invigilators may wear face coverings during exams. However candidates masks will be inspected before the start of the examination to ensure no examination malpractice. Candidates must wear face coverings in communal areas.

Everyone who uses public transport to travel to exams must follow the requirements for wearing face coverings.

Invigilators

The Tutorial Foundation has protocols in place for visitors and temporary staff.  Before the exams, we will need to tell invigilators what they need to do to minimise contact and maintain as much distance as possible from other staff.  Invigilators do not need to wear gloves when collecting exam scripts from candidates.

Maintaining distance between staff and candidates

Invigilators and other staff are recommended to stand alongside candidates when interacting with them, rather than face to face.

If candidates need to leave the exam room, face coverings will need to be worn (for example if needing to use the bathroom) and will need to be accompanied.