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	<title>The second report of the Chief Regulator</title>
	<link>http://comment.ofqual.gov.uk/chief-regulators-report-dec-2009</link>
	<description>This second report reviews what we have done so far and outlines our thinking on current issues in assessment.</description>
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		<title>Introduction</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Ofqual now has very solid foundations in place and is set to start work formally in April 2010 as an independent non-ministerial government department accountable to Parliament. With the passing of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 Ofqual will become the regulator of qualifications, examinations and assessments in England. Ofqual will be the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://comment.ofqual.gov.uk/chief-regulators-report-dec-2009/uncategorized/introduction/</link>
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	<item>
		<title>Unfinished business &#8211; an update</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Hundreds of thousands of learners have achieved qualifications and national curriculum assessment results since my last report in May. I would like to offer my congratulations to all these successful candidates and their teachers. 

We are all familiar with the high profile given in August to the A level and GCSE results, followed in September [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://comment.ofqual.gov.uk/chief-regulators-report-dec-2009/section-1-unfinished-business/unfinished-business-an-update/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Executive summary</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
Ofqual now has very solid foundations in place and is set to start work formally in April 2010 as an independent non-ministerial government department accountable to Parliament. With the passing of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 Ofqual will become the regulator of qualifications, examinations and assessments in England. Ofqual will be the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://comment.ofqual.gov.uk/chief-regulators-report-dec-2009/executive-summary/executive-summary/</link>
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		<title>Winning and keeping the confidence of the public</title>
		<description><![CDATA[One of the main ways in which Ofqual can win and keep the confidence of those we regulate and of the wider public is by establishing and protecting our independence. That was an important theme of my May 2009 report and the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act.

The post of Chair of Ofqual and Chief [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://comment.ofqual.gov.uk/chief-regulators-report-dec-2009/section-4-winning-and-keeping-the-confidence-of-the-public/winning-and-keeping-the-confidence-of-the-public/</link>
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		<title>Maintaining standards in assessments</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Ofqual's responsibilities for assessment under the national curriculum and during the EYFS for children from birth to five are quite different from those we have been given for qualifications. 

The Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families is responsible for all the assessment in the national curriculum, of whatever type, and for the assessment [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://comment.ofqual.gov.uk/chief-regulators-report-dec-2009/section-3-maintaining-standards-in-assessments/maintaining-standards-in-assessments/</link>
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		<title>Raising awareness and understanding</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
Promoting the awareness and understanding of regulated qualifications is one of Ofqual’s key objectives and one without which we cannot hope to win public confidence. This vital part of our work has included talking to learners, visiting employers and addressing a wider audience through conferences.
Ofqual’s staff and myself have continued to visit schools, colleges and [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://comment.ofqual.gov.uk/chief-regulators-report-dec-2009/section-5-raising-awareness-and-understanding/raising-awareness-and-understanding/</link>
			</item>
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		<title>Standards in e-assessment</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Technology is second nature to today’s learners. They must be allowed to embrace its potential and maximise the new opportunities it provides for them to demonstrate their achievements. The use of ICT in assessment raises issues of central concern to the regulator, but we must seek ways of dealing with the challenge rather than hiding [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://comment.ofqual.gov.uk/chief-regulators-report-dec-2009/section-2-maintaining-standards-in-qualifications/standards-in-e-assessment/</link>
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		<title>Standards in unitised qualifications</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
The great increase in the number of qualifications that are unitised has been a feature of the last few years. Instead of facing a single assessment or examinations at the end of a lengthy course, learners are able to undertake assessments at the end of each section or ‘unit’along the way. This approach, which is [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://comment.ofqual.gov.uk/chief-regulators-report-dec-2009/section-2-maintaining-standards-in-qualifications/standards-in-unitised-qualifications/</link>
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		<title>Standards in Diplomas</title>
		<description><![CDATA[As I mentioned in Section 1, this was the first year in which Diplomas have been awarded. A long-standing problem of our education system has been the value accorded to vocationally-oriented qualifications for the 14–19 age range. They have tended to be judged against academic qualifications which, by their very nature, are addressing different aspects [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://comment.ofqual.gov.uk/chief-regulators-report-dec-2009/section-2-maintaining-standards-in-qualifications/standards-in-diplomas/</link>
			</item>
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		<title>Standards in vocational and occupational qualifications</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
My first report concentrated on standards in general qualifications. In this report I want to highlight our understanding of standards in vocational and occupational qualifications.
In vocational and occupational qualifications the standards are determined by the knowledge and skills needed to do a job and show that the learner is competent in the area of work [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://comment.ofqual.gov.uk/chief-regulators-report-dec-2009/section-2-maintaining-standards-in-qualifications/standards-in-vocational-and-occupational-qualifications/</link>
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