The Tent is Pitched
From Uncertainty to Direction in Skills Reform
Technical and vocational education is moving higher up the political agenda, bringing both opportunities and challenges for awarding organisations. Now that Ofqual has published its regulatory approach for V Levels, Occupational Certificates and Foundation Certificates, the focus has shifted from understanding what is changing to ensuring change is delivered effectively. Ben Rockliffe reflects on the evolving policy landscape and what it means for organisations responsible for maintaining quality, confidence and compliance.
After the FAB Conference last year, my colleague Rachael Meech reflected on the findings from our survey of awarding organisations at the 2025 Federation of Awarding Bodies Conference, looking at what mattered most to awarding bodies. The article highlighted a sector grappling with uncertainty. Assessment strategies, qualification reform, and regulatory compliance emerged as the biggest concerns for awarding organisations, against a backdrop of major policy change and incomplete information.
One phrase that stood out during those discussions was that awarding organisations are now "inside the tent". Government and policymakers reassured the sector that its voice was being heard as reforms progressed. However, at the time, many of the details remained unclear. As a sector, we understood that significant changes were coming, but we didn’t have certainty about what the future landscape would look like.
Fast forward 10 months and the tent feels rather more firmly pitched. While important questions remain, we now have greater clarity about the direction of travel. Ofqual’s regulatory approach for the revised qualifications, along with subject content for the first wave of qualifications, has been published; the recommendations emerging from Alan Milburn's review of young people and work have sharpened the debate around progression and opportunity, and Andy Burnham's proposals for new vocational pathways for 14 to 16-year-olds have added further momentum to discussions about technical and vocational education.
Not everyone will agree on every aspect of these reforms. Yet one conclusion seems difficult to dispute -technical and vocational education is now much closer to the centre of the political agenda than it has been for many years.
What mattered most to awarding bodies?
In our FAB Conference 2025 survey, we received 48 responses to the question: "Which three issues are of most importance to your awarding body?"
The top priorities identified were:
- Developing assessment strategies (18%)
- Assessment and qualification reform (17%)
- Meeting requirements for regulatory compliance (13%)
These results highlight the areas where awarding bodies had the greatest need for support and focus.
This does not mean the concerns identified in our FAB survey at the FAB November conference have disappeared. If anything, recent conversations suggest that reform remains at the forefront of awarding organisations' minds. At the FAB Apprenticeships Assessment Conference in June, we surveyed delegates again. Respondents identified developing assessment strategies (66%) and assessment and qualification reform (55%) as the issues of greatest importance to their organisations. Even in a room focused specifically on apprenticeship assessment, reform remained a dominant theme.
Perhaps that should not be surprising. The sector has experienced an almost constant cycle of policy change over the past decade. Awarding organisations have invested significant time, expertise and resources adapting to successive reforms. They are understandably keen to ensure that future changes are implemented in a way that delivers genuine benefits for learners and employers while avoiding unnecessary disruption.
This is why the conversation about stability is becoming as important as the conversation about ambition.
A recent article in FE Week from AQA's Jeremy Benson argued that technical reform needs stability as much as ambition. It is an important observation. Few in the sector would question the need to strengthen technical education, improve participation and create clearer progression routes for young people. The challenge lies in ensuring that reforms are implemented in a way that allows organisations, providers, employers and learners to adapt successfully.
Don't lose sight of the basics
Recent regulatory action across the sector also provides a timely reminder that, whilst reform is important, it is equally important not to lose sight of the fundamentals. In periods of significant change, there can be a temptation to focus on implementing new policy requirements, new qualifications or new assessment models. Yet many of the issues that attract regulatory scrutiny often stem from weaknesses in the foundations - ensuring learners are being assessed against the correct standards, maintaining robust assessment and awarding processes, managing results accurately and having effective governance and oversight arrangements in place.
For awarding organisations responding to reform, this is often a good moment to return to first principles. Are we assessing the right knowledge, skills and behaviours? Do our assessments remain valid, reliable and manageable? Are our processes sufficiently robust to maintain confidence in results and qualification outcomes as qualifications evolve? These questions are not new, but they become particularly important during periods of change. The classic validity, reliability and manageability triangle (or tent!!) provides a useful lens through which to evaluate new approaches. Reform may change what is assessed and how it is assessed, but the fundamental requirement to balance these competing considerations remains unchanged.
Reform is creating opportunity, but entry requirements are high
The publication of Ofqual's regulatory decisions for reformed vocational qualifications is a big moment for the sector. Ofqual has confirmed that awarding organisations will be subject to accreditation requirements and are expected to establish and maintain qualification-specific assessment strategies and demonstrate how their assessment approaches support the intended purposes of the qualification.
For some awarding organisations, this represents a significant opportunity. The introduction of V Levels and the new Level 2 qualifications is creating space for organisations to enter or expand within the vocational qualification market. However, in order to access the market, a high bar will need to be cleared in terms of assessment design and delivery.
Awarding organisations will need clear and well-informed assessment strategies that explain how different assessment methods work together to deliver valid and reliable outcomes. They will need approaches for integrating examinations, timetabled assessments and centre-assessed components, supported by effective quality assurance, moderation and standardisation arrangements. Grading models will need to be underpinned by defensible statistical approaches whilst ensuring outcomes remain meaningful and manageable for centres and learners. They will also need to consider where on-screen assessment can enhance the assessment experience and assessment quality in line with the needs of the sector and regulatory requirements.
We are here to help
In my conversations with awarding organisations, one theme comes up regularly: whilst most organisations understand the direction of travel, many are looking for practical support to help them respond effectively. That might mean additional capacity to develop assessment strategies, specialist expertise to support qualification reform programmes, or simply a trusted partner that can provide independent challenge and assurance before key decisions are made.
Supporting awarding organisations to take that first-principles approach is where AQA Global Assessment Services is particularly well placed to help. Our experienced AlphaPlus consultancy team combine experience in qualification development, assessment design, regulatory compliance and large-scale reform programmes, allowing us to support awarding organisations across their reform journey. We can act as an extension of an internal team, advising on compliance implications or helping to test and refine new approaches. Our input can support navigating change with confidence whilst maintaining quality and regulatory compliance.
The tent may finally be pitched, but the camping trip is far from over. For awarding organisations, the task now is not simply to understand where reform is heading. It is to help shape how the reforms are delivered. Judging by the conversations we continue to have across the sector, that remains very much a challenge worth tackling together – we look forward to continuing the conversation at FAB 2026 in November – come see us at our stand to share your thoughts.