Customer Service (03455, 10379-10380): Centre guidance on adaptations for Summer 2020

We have prepared this guidance to support centres in the delivery and assessment of our Customer Service qualifications.

For qualifications that support progression into or through employment, Ofqual has agreed that for candidates who expected to complete assessments between 20 March and 31 July 2020, but have had this disrupted, assessment should be adapted where possible to support their progression.

We advise that candidates who planned to complete assessments after 31 July 2020 should be supported to identify which activities they can complete while normal assessment arrangements cannot be carried out.  This might involve working towards knowledge-based criteria until it is safe to resume direct observation and all practical and group-based activities.

OCR quality assurance processes

Given the current circumstances, we are reviewing how we can ensure our processes continue to maintain standards while remaining accessible for as many centres and candidates as possible.

We may take slightly different approaches to sampling and requesting evidence from you, for example asking for less up-front and then requesting more if it is needed rather than asking you to provide a greater amount which we then sample from.

For verified qualifications, the ‘normal’ EQA visits will not be possible under the current circumstances, so EQAs will be conducting their processes remotely with you.

It is important for all internal assessments that robust monitoring processes are implemented by your centre.  These monitoring processes should include effective dialogue with candidates where needed to ensure the evidence being generated is both individual and authentic.

There is no set date by which assessments using adaptations must be completed but we encourage you to complete the assessment process at the earliest opportunity.

Equalities and Objectivity

For candidates with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), centres will be best placed to accommodate this when making adapted assessments available for their candidates. Reasonable adjustments and access arrangements must be made available and recognised wherever possible.

If you require any guidance or support about making reasonable adjustments for your candidates, please contact the OCR Special Requirements Team on srteam@ocr.org.uk.

Professional discussions and witness testimonies need to be fair and evidence-based to reflect what the candidate has achieved.  When leading conversations, writing testimonies or reviewing evidence you should continue to be aware of the potential effects of candidates’ characteristics (including protected characteristics) on assessment judgements and ensure that they are not affecting your judgements. Protected characteristics are legally defined and include a candidate’s sex, race, religion/belief, disability, gender reassignment or sexual orientation.

Guidance on the importance of objectivity and avoiding unconscious bias can be taken from the section in Ofqual’s publication for schools and colleges who are providing centre assessment grades for students taking GCSEs, A levels and other performance tables qualifications.  The section ‘Unconscious effects on objectivity’ is applicable to centre assessment in general. 

Permitted adaptations

The rationale for the types of adaptations for these qualifications is that the candidate may not be able to access their normal setting to carry out the activities needed to generate evidence of their skills, knowledge and understanding.  A normal setting could be the workplace, college or school.

Normally, the centre assessor will directly (face-to-face) observe the candidate carry out practical activities in a real work setting (or a simulated activity where it is permitted*) to evidence competency.  Evidence of knowledge requirements is normally produced from written work supported with real work examples/activity as a context and centres use sufficient levels of supervision to authenticate the work of the candidate. 

Candidates who have been unable to complete their assessment due to the current extraordinary circumstances brought about by the Coronavirus are permitted to:

• use audio or video evidence of a real work activity taking place (or a simulated activity, where permitted*) in place of direct (face-to-face) observation
• use professional discussion in place of direct observation of practical demonstration as evidence of competency
• Use professional discussion and/or witness testimonies as an alternative to gathering further written evidence from candidates
• cross-referencing to previous, relevant, achievement in other units.

There is no set date by which assessments using adaptations must be completed but we encourage you to complete the assessment process at the earliest opportunity.

If for any reason you cannot adapt the assessments in the ways described below whilst ensuring the required level of supervision and checks to authenticate the evidence that is being produced, the assessments will have to be delayed until it is safe to continue with them as normal.

Permissible adaptations - Knowledge requirements

It should be possible to generate knowledge-based evidence in the normal way. If it is not possible alternative methods should be considered, such as:

• professional discussion and/or witness testimonies as an alternative to gathering further written evidence from candidates.
• cross-referencing to previous achievement in other units. Depending on what the candidate has left to complete there might be suitable evidence of knowledge and understanding from units or assessment criteria that require the application of skills (typically through an explanation or description).  Also there might be evidence of knowledge and understanding from skills-based units or assessment criteria.

Alternative forms of evidence must meet the assessment requirements and criteria and this needs to be clearly referenced.

Permissible adaptations - Competence requirements

Valid and reliable evidence of competence is required for competence-based assessment criteria and where possible assessor observation should continue to be the primary source of evidence to determine if the requirements of the units have been met.  

Measures for social/physical distancing could make completion of units which require working alongside other people and using certain types of equipment more challenging.

Where practical activities and direct observation cannot be carried out in the normal setting and manner, suitable alternatives are:

• audio or video evidence of a real or simulated* work activity taking place
• professional discussion
• witness testimony
• authenticated reflective accounts, candidate-produced reports or candidate statements
• outputs from the candidate’s work or work products (with supporting documentation from a work activity)

Alternative forms of evidence must meet the assessment criteria and this needs to be clearly reference.  Other requirements can be adapted in line with this guidance.

Centres and candidates must give consideration to Safeguarding and the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) when using video or audio-only technology to support any part of the assessment process.  Secure technologies must be used.

Guidance on methods and forms of evidence

Audio or video evidence of a real work activity (or simulated activity, where permitted*) taking place

• The assessor could observe the OCR candidate carry out practical work activity remotely in real time using a secure digital meeting platform.
• Secure on-line meeting platforms can be used for group practical activities
• A candidate could record themselves and upload the recorded evidence to be assessed at a later time. (This must be a video recording so the assessor can observe the OCR candidate and authenticate the evidence as the candidate’s own work.)

Professional discussion and witness testimony

• When used as an alternative to an observed practical activity, it should be backed up, where possible, with authenticated candidate-generated work outputs/products that clearly indicate what the candidate is able to do to meet the achievement of competence-based assessment criteria.
• When used as an alternative to gathering further written evidence from candidates, they can refer back to an event or activity from the past as long as the event took place during the candidate’s registration period. (This can include times when the candidate performed an activity that was not part of a planned assessment opportunity.)
• Witness testimonies must be individual, cannot be generic statements used for two or more candidates and must reflect what was actually observed.
• Professional discussion can be used to confirm product evidence and skills-based evidence to test the candidate’s competence/understanding (discussions should be planned in advance with the candidates so that they are more structured and effective). Where written evidence is weak then a professional discussion can be used to try and draw out further evidence from the candidate. 
• Witness testimonies and discussions with candidates to capture evidence of their knowledge/understanding can be digitally recorded. (Audio-only recordings are suitable.) 

 Authenticated reflective accounts, authenticated candidate-produced reports

• Authenticated candidate-produced reports are acceptable if the authentication is confirmed by a trained and knowledgeable individual who has no relationship with the candidate (that includes family members even if they provide work experience).
• Gaps in evidence can be filled by cross-referencing to previous relevant achievement in other units. It must be clear that the candidate still meets the assessment requirements of the unit.
• These have to be signed by a responsible, objective individual and would benefit from being backed up with other evidence such as questions and answers.
• Note: photographs should not be used. They are not reliable as a primary source of evidence of a practical task as they are unlikely to show that the candidate is meeting the criteria when carrying out a task.

Any alternative forms of evidence must still meet the assessment criteria and requirements.

Centres and candidates must give consideration to Safeguarding and the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) when using video or audio-only technology to support any part of the assessment process.  Secure technologies must be used.

Ultimately, IQAs must take into consideration if any adaptions used ensure the validity, authenticity, currency, reliability and sufficiency of evidence overall.