19 Feb 2025
In this article, we consider how senior leaders within centres can meet JCQ regulations which require a head of centre/senior leadership team to have a contingency plan in place to mitigate the impact of a series of events, in particular, the unavailability of their centre during an exam series.
Section 15.3 of JCQ’s Instructions for conducting examinations document states:
‘All centres must have a written examination contingency plan which covers all aspects of examination administration. This will allow members of the senior leadership team to act immediately in the event of an emergency or where the head of centre, examinations officer or SENCo is absent at a critical stage of the examination cycle. The examination contingency plan should reinforce procedures in the event of the centre being unavailable for examinations owing to an unforeseen emergency.
All relevant centre staff must be familiar with the examination contingency plan. Consideration should be given as to how these arrangements will be communicated to candidates, parents and staff should disruption to examinations occur.’
Section 3.17 of JCQ’s General Regulations for Approved Centres document provides further guidance relating to the unavailability of a centre for examinations owing to an unforeseen emergency. This requires a centre’s contingency plan to:
‘…identify an alternative site if examinations cannot be conducted at the registered address. Larger centres may require more than one potential alternative site or different sites for different Year Groups.
The following guidance will provide a framework for senior leaders to build and shape a plan/policy in light of their local circumstances:
When devising an exam contingency plan, senior leaders should also consult Ofqual’s Exam system contingency plan which requires a centre to review contingency plans well in advance of each exam or assessment series and to consider how, if the contingency plan is invoked, a centre will comply with the awarding organisation’s requirements. The plan also requires centres to speak to the relevant awarding organisations as soon as possible if they are expecting any disruption that might affect the sitting of exams and assessments.
Senior leaders should also note once an alternative site has been identified, an agreement in principle should be obtained over the use of the alternative site. Although this agreement may confirm use of the alternative site subject to availability and cost, JCQ will require, at the very least, evidence to confirm a connection between the centre and the alternative site. This agreement should clearly identify the alternative site by name and be retained on file for JCQ centre inspection purposes.
The Exams Office March article considers the actions which a centre may take to overcome the absence of an exams officer at a critical stage of the exam cycle, however, in this article we consider the factors which a head of centre/senior leadership team must take into account when deciding upon an alternative site for examinations – and results day(s) – owing to an unforeseen emergency.
Factors to consider
The nomination of an alternative site will be very much influenced by local factors. Some centres will have easy access to a nearby alternative site, whilst for others it will be more challenging to meet this JCQ requirement.
When sourcing an alternative site, due to the size of their cohorts, some senior leaders must be prepared to arrange more than one site as a contingency measure. In such cases, centres may find it difficult to source one single alternative site within their vicinity for whole cohorts of Year 11 and Year 13 candidates, not to mention any Year 12 candidates taking VTQ units or AS examinations.
It is acceptable for contingency measures to include multiple named alternative premises such as several local primary schools. The decision to utilise multiple sites will depend on the size of the cohorts and the maximum space available at potential sites. Below are a range of options which centres may consider when deciding upon an alternative site.
Local sites
Other schools/colleges
The first port of call for many centres will be to consider the possibility of utilising the facilities at a local school(s)/college(s) as they are more likely to have the accommodation and resources/equipment - such as tables, chairs, clocks, exam posters, etc. – to stage examinations.
However, it may be that this school/college will also be staging examinations for their candidates at the same time, and therefore the venue may not be available or the accommodation which is available may not be sufficient to seat all candidates. This will need to be considered when arranging examinations during the same session/day for both sets of candidates as one group of candidates will need to be under centre supervision until they are able to sit their examination.
Centres within your academy chain/trust
If your centre is part of an academy chain or multi-academy trust (MAT), an obvious consideration for an alternative site is another local centre within your group.
However, in this situation, several issues will need to be considered, including the location of the centre and the distance candidates (and invigilators) would need to travel to this as an alternative site. If the ‘home’ centre has their own candidates taking examinations, this will need to be taken into account when accommodating an additional cohort of candidates.
Primary schools
Many centres will have a primary school(s) within their locality. It is also likely that during an exam series a primary school will have space such as an assembly hall available for use.
However, the size of the accommodation – which will be designed to cater for smaller cohorts - may restrict the number of candidates who can sit an examination and, therefore, it may be that a local primary school may only be suitable for examinations which involve a smaller number of candidates and not examinations which involve the whole cohort, such as GCSE English and maths.
If a local primary school is the only option as an alternative site, then more than one primary school may be needed to stage examinations which involve the whole cohort.
Other options
When considering a site(s), senior leaders should also ensure that the conditions as set out in section 11.4 of JCQ’s Instructions for conducting examinations are met:
Any room in which an examination is held must provide candidates with appropriate conditions for taking the examination. The centre must pay attention to conditions such as heating, lighting, ventilation and noise, whether internal or external, intermittent or continuous.
Therefore, the following type of accommodation may be considered as an alternative site as long as the conditions are appropriate for candidates to sit their examinations:
- A marquee on the centre’s grounds or a local site which can accommodate such a structure. The marquee must be robust, and not impacted by bad weather and the temperature is optimal. The noise environment must also be considered.
- Training rooms on an industrial estate/space
- Conference centre/sports venue with conference rooms/space
- Village/church hall
Size of cohort
The number of candidates is a key factor in determining the requirements for an alternative site.
Where smaller cohorts need to be accommodated, centres may have a greater number of options available as an alternative site. As highlighted above, smaller cohorts may be accommodated in sites such as primary schools or training rooms on industrial estates whilst larger cohorts will require more substantial premises such as schools, colleges or conference centres/spaces.
The NAEO advises that senior leaders should meet with their exams officer and identify which examinations are taking place on each exam session/day and the number of candidates who will need to be accommodated on each of these sessions/days. Such an exercise will reveal those days when a smaller alternative site may suffice.
Therefore, senior leaders may have to consider more than one alternative site to address the contingency requirements on each exam session/day.
Access arrangements
A further consideration when planning contingency measures is to consider any smaller environment which may be required for candidates granted access arrangements.
Senior leaders should meet with their exams officer/SENCo to identify any alternative rooming arrangements which may be required. This may require several additional rooms for one-to-one facilitation, or rooms where a small group of candidates with similar needs can be accommodated.
These requirements will need to be considered when assessing the suitability of an alternative site.
Exam room equipment
Depending on the type of premises utilised as an alternative site, there may be a need to transport a range of exams-related equipment.
In addition to exam room posters, clocks, boards to detail examination information, there may be a need to move exam desks and chairs to the alternative site. Consideration will also need to be given to the secure movement or acquisition of question papers, modified papers, examination stationery, etc.
If a centre is unavailable and secure electronic materials need to be accessed and printed, the relevant awarding body/bodies must be contacted for advice and guidance.
As highlighted below, time may need to be built in to organise/transport this equipment to the alternative site and, therefore, there may be an unavoidable delay until examinations can be staged at the alternative site. If there is a such a delay, the relevant awarding body/bodies should be contacted as a matter of urgency.
Informing candidates, parents/carers and centre staff
If the use of an alternative site is required owing to an unforeseen emergency, candidates, parents/carers and relevant centre staff (e.g. invigilators) will need to be informed as a priority. They will need to know the details of the location and any other relevant arrangements that have been put in place as soon as practically possible. The method(s) of communication will need to be confirmed with candidates, parents/carers and relevant centre staff.
Time delay
The transfer to an alternative site will also need to consider the time it will take to organise a range of factors to ensure that examinations can be taken in compliance with JCQ regulations (see above – Exam room equipment). Senior leaders will need to assess the time it will take to arrange the relevant logistics and inform candidates and centre staff.
If there is a delay in transferring to an alternative site, advice should be sought from the relevant awarding body. The centre could then explain their circumstances and explore options with the awarding body - one of which could be, if all other avenues have been exhausted and candidates meet the published criteria, special consideration.
Conclusion
There is no simple and/or standard solution when considering an alternative site if your centre is unavailable for examinations.
Below are seven steps, as recommended by the NAEO, which a centre should take when considering an alternative site:
Step 1
It is the responsibility of the head of centre/senior leadership team to decide upon the strategy – and the implementation of this strategy - for acquiring an alternative site(s).
Step 2
A meeting should take place between the senior leader, exams officer and SENCo to ascertain when examinations are taking place, cohort size on each session/day, and rooming requirements (including any alternative rooming arrangements required for candidates granted access arrangements).
Site staff should also be involved in this meeting if exam furniture will need to be transported to the alternative site.
The exams officer will also need to be consulted over the required arrangements for securely transporting confidential examination materials.
Step 3
The relevant senior leader should decide if one large site, or several smaller sites, will be sought as a contingency measure. Another option is to acquire particular sites for specific days, for example, a local primary school during sessions/days when smaller cohorts are sitting examinations, and a local conference centre when a larger (or the whole) cohort is taking an examination (e.g. Maths, English, etc.).
Step 4
The relevant senior leader should visit potential sites to assess suitability and confirm the process if the centre’s contingency plan ever has to be invoked and the alternative site is used.
Step 5
The senior leader devises the contingency plan which confirms the centre actions to mitigate the impact of the disruption where the centre may not be able to open as normal for scheduled examinations. As the focus must be on the options that enable candidates to take their exams, this will include the name(s) of the premises which will be used as the alternative site and details such as the time it will take for the site to be arranged to serve as fully functioning examination accommodation. The contingency plan should also highlight the actions which will be taken if there is a 24/48 hour delay whilst the site is set up to accommodate examinations (on their scheduled date and session) in line with JCQ regulations.
Step 6
The senior leader, exams officer and SENCo meet to confirm the process for informing candidates, parents/carers and centre staff of the use of and location of the alternative site if the contingency plan needs to be invoked.
It is recommended, as part of the pre-examination briefing/assembly, it is highlighted to candidates how they will be informed if any changes to the exam timetable or to the location of their exams need to be made due to an unforeseen emergency during the examination period.
Step 7
The senior leadership team, in conjunction with relevant centre staff (e.g. exams officer, SENCo, site staff etc.) review the alternative site arrangements on an annual basis.
Useful resources
The Exams Office Contingency Plan template: https://www.theexamsoffice.org/exam-policy-templates/ or https://www.theexamsoffice.org/policy-generator-tool/
JCQ Joint Contingency Plan: https://www.jcq.org.uk/exams-office/other-documents/
JCQ Preparing for disruption to examinations: https://www.jcq.org.uk/exams-office/general-regulations/
Ofqual Exam system contingency plan: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/exam-system-contingency-plan-england-wales-and-northern-ireland
The contents of this article were correct at the time of publication (End of February 2025)