ROSELYN HOUSE SCHOOL/ THE RHISE SERVICE

Internal Appeals Procedure

(IAP)

2023 – 2024

Key staff involved in internal appeals procedures:

Reviewed by Kirsty Willacy

To be reviewed September 2024

Table of Contents

Key staff involved in internal appeals procedures: 1

Purpose of the procedure. 3

Part 1: Appeals relating to internal assessment decisions (centre-assessed marks) 3

Part 2: Appeals relating to centre decisions not to support a clerical re-check, a review of marking, a review of moderation. 5

or an appeal 5

Part 3: Appeals regarding centre decisions relating to access arrangements and special consideration. 7

Access arrangements and reasonable adjustments. 7

Special consideration. 7

Centre decisions relating to access arrangements, reasonable adjustments and special consideration. 8

Part 4: Appeals regarding centre decisions relating to other administrative issues. 8

Further guidance to inform and implement appeals procedures. 8

JCQ publications. 8

Ofqual publications. 9

Internal Appeals form       Appendix A. 10

Complaints and appeals log       Appendix B. 12

Purpose of the procedure

This procedure confirms Roselyn House School/ The RHISE Service’s compliance with JCQ’s General Regulations for Approved Centres (section 5.3) that the centre will: 

• have in place and available for inspection a written internal appeals procedure which must cover at least appeals regarding internal assessment decisions, post-result services and appeals, and centre decisions relating to access arrangements and special consideration

This procedure covers appeals relating to:

• internal assessment decisions (centre assessed marks)
• centre decisions not to support a clerical re-check, a review of marking, a review of moderation or an appeal
• centre decisions relating to access arrangements and special consideration 
• centre decisions relating to other administrative issues

Part 1: Appeals relating to internal assessment decisions (centre-assessed marks)

Certain GCSE, iGCSE, Entry Level Certificate, Functional Skills, Project qualifications contain components of non-examination assessment (or units of coursework) which are internally assessed (marked) by Roselyn House School/ The RHISE Service and internally standardised. The marks awarded (the internal assessment decisions) which contribute to the final grade of the qualification are then submitted by the deadline set by the awarding body for external moderation.

This procedure confirms Roselyn House School/ The RHISE Service’s compliance with JCQ’s General Regulations for Approved Centres (section 5.7) that the centre will: 

• have in place and be available for inspection purposes, a written internal appeals procedure relating to internal assessment decisions and to ensure that details of this procedure are communicated, made widely available and accessible to all candidates
• submit centre-assessed marks and despatch moderation samples, if required by the awarding body, by the published date
• before submitting marks to the awarding body inform candidates of their centre-assessed marks and allow a candidate to request a review of the centre’s marking

Roselyn House School/ The RHISE Service is committed to ensuring that, whenever its staff mark candidates’ work, this is done fairly, consistently and in accordance with the awarding body’s specification and subject-specific associated documents.

Roselyn House School/ The RHISE Service aims to ensure that all relevant centre staff follow a Non-examination Assessment Policy. This policy details all procedures relating to non-examination assessments.

Candidates’ work will be marked by staff who have appropriate knowledge, understanding and skill.  Roselyn House School/ The RHISE Service is committed to ensuring that work produced by candidates is authenticated in line with the requirements of the awarding body.  Where more than one subject teacher/tutor is involved in marking candidates’ work, internal moderation and standardisation will ensure consistency of marking.

On being informed of their centre-assessed marks, if a candidate believes that the above procedures were not followed in relation to the marking of their work, or that the assessor has not properly applied the mark scheme, then the candidate may make use of this appeals procedure to consider whether to request a review of the centre’s marking. Roselyn House School/ The RHISE Service will:

1. ensure that candidates are informed of their centre-assessed marks so that they may request a review of the centre’s marking before marks are submitted to the awarding body

2. inform candidates that they will need to explain on what grounds they wish to request a review of an internally assessed mark as a review will only focus on the quality of their work in meeting the published assessment criteria

3. inform candidates that they may request copies of materials (generally as a minimum, a copy of the marked assessment material (work) and the mark scheme or assessment criteria plus additional materials which may vary from subject to subject) to assist them in considering whether to request a review of the centre’s marking of the assessment

4. having received a request for copies of materials, promptly make them available to the candidate (or for some marked assessment materials, such as art work and recordings, inform the candidate that the originals will be shared under supervised conditions) within 2 working days (or as soon as possible if supervision is required)

5. inform candidates they will not be allowed access to original assessment material unless supervised

6. provide candidates with sufficient time (usually 5 working days) in order to allow them to review copies of materials and reach a decision, informing candidates that if their decision is to request a review, they will need to explain what they believe the issue to be

7. provide a clear deadline for candidates to submit a request for a review of the centre’s marking (April 30^th for Summer Series.) Requests will not be accepted after this deadline. Requests must be made in writing within 5 working days of receiving copies of the requested materials by completing an Internal Appeals Form (Appendix A)

8. allow sufficient time for the review to be carried out (ideally within 3 working days), to make any necessary changes to marks and to inform the candidate of the outcome, all before the awarding body’s deadline for the submission of marks; Roselyn House School/ The RHISE Service will endeavor to carry out the review before the external deadline for submitting marks to the examination board

9. ensure that the review of marking is conducted by an assessor who has appropriate competence, has had no previous involvement in the assessment of that candidate for the component in question and has no personal interest in the outcome of the review

10. instruct the reviewer to ensure that the candidate’s mark is consistent with the standard set by the centre

11. make the Head of Centre aware of any appeal

12. inform the candidate in writing of the outcome of the review of the centre’s marking

Candidates’ marks are not automatically protected; therefore, following the review, they can be lowered, confirmed or raised. The outcome of the review is final, there is no further right of appeal.

The outcome of the review of the centre’s marking will be made known to the Head of Centre, who will have the final decision if there is any disagreement on the mark to be submitted to the awarding body.  A written record of the review will be kept and made available to the awarding body upon request.

Please note that the moderation process carried out by the awarding bodies may result in a mark change, either upwards or downwards, even after an internal review. The internal review process is in place to ensure consistency of marking within the centre, whereas moderation by the awarding body ensures that centre marking is in line with national standards. The mark submitted to the awarding body is subject to change and should therefore be considered provisional.

Part 2: Appeals relating to centre decisions not to support a clerical re-check, a review of marking, a review of moderation

or an appeal

This procedure confirms Roselyn House School/ The RHISE Service’s compliance with JCQ’s General Regulations for Approved Centres (section 5.13).

Candidates will be made aware of the arrangements for post-results services prior to the issue of results. Candidates are also informed of the periods during which senior members of centre staff will be available/accessible immediately after the publication of results so that results may be discussed, and decisions made on the submission of reviews of marking.

If the centre or a candidate (or their parent/carer) has a concern and believes a result may not be accurate, post results services may be considered. 

The JCQ post-results services currently available are detailed below.

Reviews of Results (RoRs):

• Service 1 (Clerical re-check)

This is the only service that can be requested for objective tests (multiple choice tests)

• Service 2 (Review of marking)
• Priority Service 2 (Review of marking) 

This service is only available for externally assessed components of GCE specifications (an individual awarding body may also offer this priority service for other qualifications)

• Service 3 (Review of moderation) 

This service is not available to an individual candidate

Access to Scripts (ATS):

• Copies of scripts to support reviews of marking 
• Copies of scripts to support teaching and learning

After the release of results, candidates may ask for the return of written exam papers (ATS). Centre staff may also request scripts for investigation or for teaching purposes, for which the consents of candidates must be obtained.

When the centre supports a concern that a particular result may not be accurate, the centre will look at the marks awarded for each component part of the qualification alongside any mark schemes, relevant result reports, grade boundary information etc. when made available by the awarding body to determine if the centre supports any concerns. 

For written components that contributed to the final result, the centre will:

• where a place at university or college is at risk, consider supporting a request for a Priority Service 2 review of marking 
• in all other instances, consider accessing the script by:
  • (where the service is made available by the awarding body) requesting a priority copy of the candidate’s script to support a review of marking by the awarding body deadline or 
  • (where the option is made available by the awarding body) viewing the candidate’s marked script online to consider if requesting a review of marking is appropriate
• collect informed written consent/permission from the candidate to access their script and/or to request the RoR service before the request is submitted
• on access to the script, consider if it is felt that the agreed mark scheme has been applied correctly in the original marking and if any error is identified support a request for the appropriate RoR service (clerical re-check or review of marking) 
• Where relevant, advise an affected candidate to inform any third party (such as a university or college) that a review of marking has been submitted to an awarding body

Written candidate consent (informed consent via candidate email is acceptable) is required in all cases before a request for a RoR service 1 or 2 (including priority service 2) is submitted to the awarding body. Consent is required to confirm the candidate understands that the final subject grade and/or mark awarded following a clerical re-check or a review of marking, and any subsequent appeal, may be lower than, higher than, or the same as the result which was originally awarded. Candidate consent must only be collected after the publication of results.

The cost of post-results services may be paid by the candidates/parents/carers. 

For any moderated components that contributed to the final result, the centre will:

• confirm that a review of moderation cannot be undertaken on the work of an individual candidate or the work of candidates not in the original sample submitted for moderation
• consult the moderator’s report/feedback to identify any issues raised
• determine if the centre’s internally assessed marks have been accepted without change by the awarding body – if this is the case, a RoR service 3 (Review of moderation) will not be available
• determine if there are any grounds to submit a request for a review of moderation for the work of all candidates in the original sample

Following the RoR outcome, an external appeals process is available if the Head of Centre remains dissatisfied with the outcome and believes there are grounds for appeal. The JCQ publications Post-Results Services and JCQ Appeals Booklet (a guide to the awarding bodies’ appeals processes) will be consulted to determine the acceptable grounds for a preliminary appeal.

Where the Head of Centre is satisfied after receiving the RoR outcome, but the candidate (or their parent/carer) believes there are grounds for a preliminary appeal to the awarding body, a further internal appeal may be made to the Head of Centre. The candidate/parent/carer must set out clearly the grounds on which they wish to appeal as detailed in the JCQ Appeals Booklet and submit this to the School.

Following this, the Head of Centre’s decision as to whether to proceed with a preliminary appeal will be based upon the acceptable grounds as detailed in the JCQ Appeals Booklet.  Candidates or parents/carers are not permitted to make direct representations to an awarding body.

The internal appeals form should be completed and submitted to the centre within 10 calendar days of the notification of the outcome of the RoR. Subject to the Head of Centre’s decision, this will allow the centre to process the preliminary appeal and submit to the awarding body within the required 30 calendar days of the awarding body issuing the outcome of the review of results process. 

Awarding body fees which may be charged for the preliminary appeal may be paid to the centre by the appellant before the preliminary appeal is submitted to the awarding body. If the appeal is upheld by the awarding body, this fee will be refunded by the awarding body and repaid to the appellant if applicable, by the centre.

Part 3: Appeals regarding centre decisions relating to access arrangements and special consideration 

This procedure confirms Roselyn House School/ The RHISE Service’s compliance with JCQ’s General Regulations for Approved Centres (section 5.3) to

• have in place and available for inspection a written internal appeals procedure which must cover at least appeals regarding centre decisions relating to access arrangements and special consideration Roselyn House School/ The RHISE Service will:
• comply with the principles and regulations governing access arrangements and special consideration as set out in the JCQ publications Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments and A guide to the special consideration process 
• ensure that all staff who manage and implement access arrangements and special consideration are aware of the requirements and are appropriately supported and resourced 

Access arrangements and reasonable adjustments

In accordance with the regulations, Roselyn House School/ The RHISE Service:

• recognises its duty to explore and provide access to suitable courses, through the access arrangements process; submit applications for reasonable adjustments and make reasonable adjustments to the service the centre provides to disabled candidates
• complies with its responsibilities in identifying, determining and implementing appropriate access arrangements and reasonable adjustments 

Failure to comply with the regulations have the potential to constitute malpractice which may impact on a candidate’s result(s). 

Examples of failure to comply include:

• putting in place access arrangements/adjustments that are not approved 
• failing to consider putting in place access arrangements (which may be a failure to comply with the duty to make reasonable adjustments) 
• permitting access arrangements/adjustments within the centre which are not supported by appropriate evidence 
• charging a fee for providing reasonable adjustments to disabled candidates 

Special consideration

Where Roselyn House School/ The RHISE Service can provide signed evidence to support an application, it will apply for special consideration at the time of the assessment for a candidate who has temporarily experienced illness, injury or some other event outside of their control when the issue or event has had, or is reasonably likely to have had, a material effect on the candidate’s ability to take an assessment or demonstrate their normal level of attainment in an assessment. 

Centre decisions relating to access arrangements, reasonable adjustments and special consideration 

This may include Roselyn House School/ The RHISE Service’s decision not to make/apply for a specific reasonable adjustment or to apply for special consideration, in circumstances where a candidate does not meet the criteria for, or there is no evidence/insufficient evidence to support the implementation of an access arrangement/reasonable adjustment or the application of special consideration.

If a candidate who is the subject of the relevant decision (or the candidate’s parent/carer) disagrees with the decision made and reasonably believes that the centre has not complied with its responsibilities or followed due procedures, a written request setting out the grounds for appeal should be submitted within 10 working days of being informed about a decision.

To determine the outcome of the appeal, the Head of Centre will consult the respective JCQ publication to confirm the centre has complied with the principles and regulations governing access arrangements and/or special consideration and followed due procedures.

The appellant will be informed of the outcome of the appeal as soon as possible (aiming for within 5 working days) from the appeal being received and logged by the centre.

If the appeal is upheld, Roselyn House School/ The RHISE Service will proceed to implement the necessary arrangements/submit the necessary application.

Part 4: Appeals regarding centre decisions relating to other administrative issues

Circumstances may arise that cause Roselyn House School/ The RHISE Service to make decisions on administrative issues that may affect a candidate’s examinations/assessments. 

If a candidate who is the subject of the relevant decision (or the candidate’s parent/carer) disagrees with the decision made and reasonably believes that the centre has not complied with the regulations or followed due process, a written request setting out the grounds for appeal should be submitted.

The appellant will be informed of the outcome of the appeal within 10 working days of the appeal being received and logged by the centre.

Further guidance to inform and implement appeals procedures

JCQ publications

• General Regulations for Approved Centres  https://www.jcq.org.uk/exams-office/general-regulations  
• Post-Results Services  https://www.jcq.org.uk/exams-office/post-results-services  
• JCQ Appeals Booklet (A guide to the awarding bodies’ appeals processes) https://www.jcq.org.uk/exams-office/appeals  
• Notice to Centres – Informing candidates of their centre-assessed marks  https://www.jcq.org.uk/exams-office/non-examination-assessments  
• Suspected Malpractice: Policies and Procedures  https://www.jcq.org.uk/exams-office/malpractice/  
• Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments https://www.jcq.org.uk/exams-office/access-arrangements-and-special-consideration/regulations-andguidance/  
• A guide to the special consideration process https://www.jcq.org.uk/exams-office/access-arrangements-and-special-consideration/regulations-andguidance/  

Ofqual publications

• GCSE (9 to 1) qualification-level conditions and requirements https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gcse-9-to-1-qualification-level-conditions
• GCE qualification-level conditions and requirements  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gce-qualification-level-conditions-and-requirements

JCQ Appeals Summer 2024

• https://www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Appeals_Booklet_2024-FAQs.pdf

Internal Appeals form                    Appendix A 

Appeal against an internal assessment decision and/ or request for a review of results 

Appeal against the centre’s decision not to support a clerical re-check, a review of results, a review of moderation or an appeal 

This form must be signed, dated and returned to the exam’s officer (kirsty@roselynhouseschool.co.uk) to the timescale indicated in the relevant appeals procedure. 

Complaints and appeals log                            Appendix B 

On receipt, all complaints/ appeals are assigned a reference number and logged. Outcome and outcome date is also recorded. 

The outcome of any reviews of the centre’s marking will be made known to the head of centre. 

A written record of the review will be kept and logged as an appeal, so information can be easily made available to an awarding body upon request. The awarding body will be informed if the centre does not accept the outcome of the review- this will be noted on this log.