FAB 2021: Highlights and insights from the annual conference and awards

RM attended and sponsored the flagship annual conference and awards organised by the Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB) which took place from 11-12^th November.

Members of the team who attended on behalf of RM, which included James Windle – Regional Sales Lead for UK & Ireland, Adam Barrigan – Business Development Manager for UK and Ireland, Andrew Inganni – Pre-Sales Consultant, and Matt Wingfield – Chief Executive of the e-Assessment Association, have reflected on their main take-aways from the two days.

Emerging from the pandemic

The theme of the event, ‘delivering for the learner and society in challenging times’, provided the opportunity to look back on the last 18 months and reflect on the role that technology enabled assessment played in helping Awarding Organisations and End-Point Assessment Organisations to continue to deliver qualifications during the pandemic.

With several references to the use of remote assessment, remote invigilation/proctoring, and open-book exams, there was positive discussion around what the future might look like for the industry. Dr Jo Saxton, Chief regulator of Ofqual, indicated in her keynote speech that Ofqual will be including guidance on remote assessments and remote invigilation in the revised regulatory frameworks. This is a positive signal from Ofqual and could encourage more Awarding Organisations and End-Point Assessment Organisations to make use of this technology moving forwards.

Delivering lifelong assessment opportunities and personalised learning

A presentation from the British Computer Society (BCS) highlighted the importance of focusing on delivering assessment opportunities for learners as an integral part of their life-long learning journey.

Perhaps formative assessment, or assessment for learning, could have an important role to play in this sitting alongside summative assessment to inform and improve the student’s ongoing learning.

During their presentation, the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IFATE), came out in favour of building qualifications into apprenticeship standards as an integral element of these, and that globally, apprenticeships that contain a qualification show better success rates than those that do not. This could potentially provide a boost to apprenticeship delivery that makes greater use of e-assessment technologies in the future.

IFATE also called for greater emphasis on delivering personalised learning and differentiated assessments for apprenticeship standards. Again, could this support more widespread use of e-assessment technologies?

Recognising achievement

As well as attending the conference, RM was proud to sponsor the End-Point Assessment Organisation (EPAO) of the Year category at the FAB 2021 Awards.

This award showcases the contribution that Awarding Organisations make to education and skills in the UK. The winner, City and Guilds, was presented their award on behalf of RM by Richard Little, Propositions Director.

Congratulations to all the deserving winners!

If you want to find out how RM can support your organisation, get in touch through our contact form and tell us more about your digital assessment needs.