Month: August 2020

Please see the below letter from the Principal and other important information

COVID-19 Risk Assessment

Dear students, parents and carers,

Many of you will have seen the headline that OFQUAL has decided to adjust the examination results issued to students, Grades in public exams in 2020 have been awarded as the higher of: The Centre assessed grade or the grade produced by the OFQUAL moderation process whichever is the higher.

How grades have been set this year

“Centre assessment grades (CAGs) were submitted by schools or colleges and are the grades they judged a student would have been most likely to achieve if they had sat an exam.

We asked schools and colleges to use their professional experience to make a fair and objective judgement of the grade they believed a student would have achieved had they sat their exams this year.

Where calculated grades are higher than CAGs, calculated grades will be awarded. These grades have been standardised.”  

OFQUAL guidance

Schools and colleges used a range of evidence to make their judgements including non-exam assessments, results of homework assignments and mock exams and any other records of student performance over the course of study. At least two teachers were involved in agreeing each proposed grade, and each one was signed off by the Principal

It should be noted that for this reason, a grade that a student may have been given as a ‘mock grade’ may not satisfy the criteria needed by the examination boards when calculating the centre assessed grade for a subject for each student. – For example, this may be the case if a mock examination paper was one that the students had planned answers for in class. Therefore, a higher mock examination grade in one paper may not be eligible grounds for an appeal.

What happens if a student’s centre assessment grade is lower than the calculated grade?

“In cases where a student’s centre assessment grade is lower than their calculated grade, the higher of the 2 will be the final result.”

OFQUAL guidance

Appeals and complaints

The vast majority of students received grades that are fair and that will enable them to progress to their next stage. However, we know there are some students and families who may want to appeal a subject grade

Are there routes of appeal still open?

“Schools and colleges can only appeal where there has been an administrative error with the CAG or rank order information. Rank order information was vital to support standardisation, but any change to a student’s position in the rank order would not change the student’s CAG

Administrative errors might include, for example, mixing up 2 students with similar names, or accidentally copying across the wrong data, but do not relate to the professional judgements of centres in assigning CAGs.

Centres cannot appeal against the CAG that they decided was correct at the point of submitting it to the exam board, and for which the head of centre submitted a declaration to confirm that in the centre’s judgement this was the grade the students were most likely to have received had the exams gone ahead.

If a student is concerned that any reasonable adjustments were not taken into account when their school or college determined their CAG, they should discuss this with their school or college.”

OFQUAL guidance

Can a student appeal to receive their mock grade?

“The decision to issue students the higher of their CAG or their calculated grades means that a route to appeal on the grounds of mock exam results is not available. Mock exam results were part of the evidence schools centre took into account when determining CAGs for their students.”

OFQUAL guidance

We have published a guide on our website to help students and their families understand how appeals will operate this summer. This includes information on complaints about potential bias or discrimination. We believe such complaints will be rare, but they will be taken very seriously.

For more information on the next steps after students have received their results, contact the Examination Results Helpline on 0800 100 900. You can also contact OFQUAL directly on 0300 303 3344, or by email at public.enquiries@ofqual.gov.uk.

If you wish to request individual information regarding a grade or rank then this should be done through a request for information form that can be found on the noticeboard in Edulink.

To all students receiving their results, whatever their next step, we wish them well. They have experienced a unique disruption to their lives. Their grades awarded we hope will enable as many as possible to move on in their lives with a sense of pride in their hard work and achievements.

If you have changed your mind or are unsure about Sixth form and would like discuss it further or would like more information, please contact Mrs Sexsmith via the enquiries@weaversacademy.org.uk address with a phone number so she can call you back.

Orders from suppliers have been delayed by Covid however we have been assured they will be be ready for students to receive on the first day. Uniform packs will be organised and bagged for each student in advance and they will receive them at the end of the first day. Please attend on the 3rd September in black trousers and white shirt (or Primary skirts/trousers) and suitable school footwear.

Good Morning Everyone

Year 11, I am delighted and absolutely thrilled to see your results today!

Year 11 and Year 13, you make me feel proud of you all of the time and today, I am more proud than ever. Despite the many challenges that you have all faced in recent months you have shown real resilience and determination and I congratulate you all on your successes!

Year 13, I am so pleased that with the Government’s change of approach, a significant number of A level grades have been uplifted today and this is indeed very good news and is well deserved. New A level grades have been released on Edulink this morning and Mrs Sexsmith and Mrs Pandya are on site today if you wish to speak to them about next steps. Congratulations to you all once again.

As you know, we await the outcomes of vocational qualifications for all of you and the school will let you have those when they are released to us.

I am so sad not to be able to be with you in person this morning. I am missing not seeing your faces as you open your results. I miss the usual celebrations with you in the hall, all the noise, the balloons, hearing you sing, watching you dance and jump for joy with the staff and your families. But we are not deterred and here at school, Mr Higgins, Mrs Sexsmith and all the staff that on site are smiling and telling many stories about you and your time at the school. Everyone at here is so happy for you all today! You’ve all come such a long way.

Whether you are taking up a place in the sixth form at Weavers Academy or moving on to college, university, an apprenticeship or the workplace our sincere and heartfelt best wishes go with you wherever your next steps are taking you.

My dearest Year 11 and Year 13, please know that I am always proud of you. Please keep in touch and let us know how things are going. I look forward to seeing those of you who are taking up a place in the sixth form at Weavers in September.

Best wishes to you and to your families. Enjoy the remaining days of the holiday until you set off again on the next stage of your learning journey.

Kind regards

Ms Swaida

To parents of students joining us in September, there will be a detailed update regarding delivery from our uniform suppliers coming very soon. Look out for updates via Edulink, the school website and via social media.

More important information for our transition parents and students. Please forward any enquiries you have to:
transition@weaversacademy.org.uk
Further information can also be found on the website at:
https://www.weaversacademy.org.uk/home/parents/transitions

Dear parents, carers and students

Firstly, we would like to extend our best wishes and congratulate you students on your results and for reaching this exciting next point in your life.  We recognise how challenging the past few months have been and we are very disappointed to not be able to share your successes with you in person.

As you know, the school undertook a rigorous process of awarding our Centre Assessed Grades and feel that these accurately and fairly represented what students would have achieved had they been given the opportunity to complete their final exams in the summer term.

We understand that while many of you students will be happy with your results, some of you may be disappointed with the grades that you have been awarded by Ofqual. As you may have read, the government have now said they will apply a ‘triple locked’ approach where students’ PPE (mock exam) grades will be considered if these are higher than the grade awarded by the exam board. However, as yet the final appeals process has not yet been decided and formalised but please be assured that we will work closely with any students who require support with this when further information is published.

You will also see below that we have attached a link to questionnaire regarding future plans, please take the time to fill this is as soon as you are able so that we can best support you moving forward, ideally no later than Monday 17 August.

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=yu1GLt0A20uVy2z1Ys-7pJKPDKmGeEFHvbiDKXLaQVlUMjIxRzNNN1dYUFg1TThSMU0yRklJM0ZCTS4u

If you would like to speak to a member of staff or arrange an appointment please contact via reception, or alternatively contact Mrs Sexsmith or Mr Wallace via email at:

Claire.sexsmith@weaversacademy.org.uk

Magnus.wallace@weaversacademy.org.uk

Please be assured that we are here to help and support you through this process. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Yours sincerely

Magnus Wallace
Vice-Principal: Curriculum

Dear parent/carer,

We know that it has been a really unsettling few months for students, since schools, colleges and other providers were closed to many and exams were cancelled. We are writing to reassure you about what has been put in place so students are able to move on to further study or employment, with results which carry the same value as any other year.

How grades have been set this year

After exams were cancelled we worked with exam boards and leading assessment experts to develop a reliable method to calculate student grades. This involved asking each school or college to tell us what grade they believed each student would have received in each subject if exams had gone ahead, and how their expected performance compared to others in their class. We know teachers worked extremely hard to deliver this year’s arrangements and the majority of grades students receive will be the same, or within one grade, as their centre’s judgements – reflecting the skills, professionalism and integrity of those involved.

Schools and colleges used a range of evidence to make their judgements including non-exam assessments, results of homework assignments or mock exams and any other records of student performance over the course of study. At least two teachers were involved in agreeing each proposed grade, and each one was signed off by the head teacher or college principal.

Making sure results are as fair as they can be

It is really important that we make sure the same standard is applied for all students, whichever school, college, or part of the country they come from. That’s why we have calculated all results using the same method, which makes sure we have a level playing field for all students and results across the country are comparable. The overwhelming majority of people who responded to our consultation – including teachers and students – supported the aims of our moderation approach, because they know that if the results were not moderated, they would be unfair.

This means that this year’s results will have the same value as in any other year. Students, universities, colleges and employers can have confidence in the results – allowing the class of 2020 to compete fairly with students from previous and future years.

Despite some reports, you can be assured that the moderation process does not mean a blanket reduction in the grades that teachers put forward. Adjustments will vary across schools and colleges, and in different subjects, and will only be made where the evidence supports them.

The grades awarded will be based either entirely on the teachers’ judgements, or on a combination of their judgements and the statistical moderation. Where the moderation process finds that a school or college has over or under-estimated the likely number of students achieving a grade, the students who are moved up or down a grade are those the centre felt were closest to the grade boundary. No grade is being awarded purely on the basis of statistics.

Although the process of moderation is essential to ensure results are as fair as they can be, there is nothing fair about the fact that Covid-19 has denied young people this year the chance to demonstrate their skills in an exam. For that reason, where possible we have made decisions that work in students’ favour and overall results will be more lenient.

Of course, we can never know for sure how an individual student might have performed in their exams. Universities and colleges understand this, and many have committed to showing flexibility in their admissions decisions. Overall we believe these results will be as fair as they possibly can be in the absence of exams.

Appeals and complaints

The vast majority of students are going to receive grades that are fair and that will enable them to progress to their next stage. However we know there are some students and families who may want to appeal their grade. If this is the case, you should speak to your child’s school or college. Schools or colleges have to be the ones that submit appeals, and will do so if they believe there has been an error or that the moderation process has not produced a reliable result.

We have published a guide on our website to help students and their families understand how appeals will operate this summer. This includes information on complaints about potential bias or discrimination. We believe such complaints will be rare, but they will need to be taken very seriously.

For more information on the next steps after students have received their results, contact the Exam Results Helpline on 0800 100 900. You can also contact Ofqual directly on 0300 303 3344, or by email at public.enquiries@ofqual.gov.uk.

To all students receiving their results, whatever their next step, we wish them well. They have experienced a unique disruption to their lives. Their grades awarded over the next two weeks will enable as many as possible to move on in their lives with a sense of pride in their hard work and achievements.

Following Public Health Northamptonshire guidance we have made changes to the arrangements for the collection of examination results on the 13^th and 20^th August 2020 for students in Year 13 and Year 11.