Students could suffer lower grades due to walkouts
Exam boards say they WON’T take into account whether GCSE and A Level students’ work has been affected by teacher strikes – meaning teens could suffer lower grades due to the walkouts
- GCSE and A-Level pupils unlikely to receive extra marks even if teachers strike
- Teachers could walk out over £1,000 bonus and pay rise deemed ‘insulting’
GCSEs and A-Levels are little more than a month away but pupils left high and dry by teacher strikes are unlikely to receive special compensation or extra marks from exam boards.
The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), which represents the UK’s eight biggest exam boards, said there would not be extra marks for pupils who missed lessons because of ‘staff shortages’.
Teachers union chiefs have been squaring up to the Government over what they have called an ‘insulting’ offer of a £1,000 bonus and 4.5 per cent rise.
In return, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said teachers will lose the bonus and guarantee of the pay rise if they reject the offer when voting closes on Sunday.
The JCQ has not made any provision for strikes in its guidance and said ‘staff shortages’ that affect how well a pupil does or how they prepare for an exam would not mean extra marks.
GCSEs and A-Levels are little more than a month away but pupils left high and dry by teacher strikes are unlikely to receive special compensation or extra marks from exam boards (File image)
Members of the National Education Union (NEU) striked in London as they marched to a rally in Trafalgar Square to protest on March 15
Arabella Skinner (pictured), of parents’ group UsForThem said it was ‘wrong that once again children are suffering due to adults’ actions’
Arabella Skinner, of parents’ group UsForThem, told The Telegraph: ‘Exam students whose secondary school experience has been marred by the stop-start education of the pandemic years, have now had their preparation this term disrupted and still face the unsettling prospect of not knowing how their exams will be impacted.
‘It is wrong that once again children are suffering due to adults’ actions and the least the JCQ can do is to recognise how this could impact their exam preparation.’
National Education Union (NEU) co-leader Mary Bousted said teachers don’t want to strike on exam days but refused to rule it out if its members agree to reject the deal.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today: ‘Our executive committee looked carefully at the offer and decided it was really insulting and that the union had to offer advice to members, who will either take that advice or ignore us.’
Asked whether strikes could disrupt exams, she said: ‘We really hope that that doesn’t take place.
‘What we hope is that, if the members do reject the offer, we want to go back to the Government and say ‘You have to do better’, reopen negotiations, and let’s see if we can get an offer that members will find respectable.’
Asked again about whether strikes will disrupt exams, Ms Bousted said: ‘We will plan more strike dates. We don’t want to disrupt exams and we will try to ensure that we do reopen negotiations.’
National Education Union (NEU) co-leader Mary Bousted (pictured) said teachers don’t want to strike on exam days but refused to rule it out if its members agree to reject the deal
When asked whether teachers would miss out on a £1,000 one-off payment this year if they reject the offer, Ms Keegan (pictured outside Downing Street on Tuesday) said: ‘This is an offer which is specifically to avoid strikes and avoid disruption to children’
Pressed on the issue a third time, she said: ‘We have conference next week, and conference will decide the plan of action, but no teacher wants to disrupt exam dates at all, so it’s up to the Government.’
NEU top brass said it would try to arrange ‘local agreements’ with school heads to protect Year 11 and 13 pupils’ exam preparation.
Earlier this week, a source inside the Department for Education (DfE) said the NEU was effectively ‘leaving £1,000 on the table’ in an offer that was ‘really fair’.
It is understood the government is preparing for a fresh wave of strike action ahead of the crucial exam period in the event the deal is rejected.
A source said: ‘This is a really fair and reasonable offer.
‘They’ve said they’re going to push their members but reject it. That’s really disappointing.
‘They’re leaving a grand on the table and then some for next year.
‘If they do announce fresh strike action, obviously, we will be preparing as best we can in advance.’
When asked if this is the end of the negotiations on pay, the Education Secretary said: ‘Yes. I think we have gone as far as we can.
Teachers union chiefs have been squaring up to the Government over what they have called an ‘insulting’ offer of a £1,000 bonus and 4.5 per cent rise
The JCQ has not made any provision for strikes in its guidance and said ‘staff shortages’ that affect how well a pupil does or how they prepare for an exam would not mean extra marks. Pictured: A teacher’s placard during protests on March 15
Previous walkouts were slammed by campaigners and MPs for putting pupils under more stress after years of chaos caused by lockdowns and the pandemic
‘We have been as fair and reasonable as we can and we would urge teachers to accept the offer because it’s a fair and reasonable offer, it’s additional money and it’s also going to be more than inflation is anticipated to be next year.’
When asked whether teachers would miss out on a £1,000 one-off payment this year if they reject the offer, Ms Keegan added: ‘This is an offer which is specifically to avoid strikes and avoid disruption to children.
‘If this is not accepted, then what we will do is go to the independent pay review body. Then they’ll obviously look at things like retention and recruitment, inflation, and they’ll come back with a recommendation.
READ MORE: Schools face MORE closures from strikes as largest teaching union urges members to reject fresh pay offer – just weeks before millions sit their GCSE exams
‘So that will be the normal process which we go through every year.’
Other unions said they would ask members for feedback before deciding what to do next.
The offer came just weeks after GCSE pupils were forced to study alone while their teachers abandon them for rallies at Whitehall during a day of strikes.
Dubbed ‘Walkout Wednesday’, up to 500,000 disgruntled union members, including teachers, left their posts in the ongoing dispute over pay, jobs, pensions, conditions and cuts.
It caused misery for GCSE and A-level pupils who were among those worse affected by the strikes, despite assurances from union boss Dr Mary Bousted that they would not be ‘harmed’ by the walkout.
The walkouts were slammed by campaigners and MPs for putting pupils under more stress after years of chaos caused by lockdowns and the pandemic.
A JCQ spokesperson said: ‘As in any year, schools and colleges have contingency plans in place to ensure the effective delivery of exams and assessments during periods of significant disruption.’
A spokesperson for Ofqual, the exam watchdog, said: ‘Special consideration applies to incidents that happen immediately before or during an exam that have an effect on a student’s ability to take that exam, or on how they perform.
‘For example, where a student suffers a bereavement in the lead-up to an exam, or where an exam itself is disrupted by a fire alarm.
‘Schools should have contingency arrangements for a range of potential circumstances and the Department for Education guidance recommends schools should prioritise the running of exams and assessments on any strike days.’
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