Operated by: Nudge Education Ltd · Version: v08.26 · Owner: Director NEO & Head of School
NEO BY NUDGE EDUCATION
Examination Contingency Plan Nudge Education Online
| Policy Owner | Director, Nudge Education Online & Head of School |
|---|---|
| Approved | August 2026 |
| Review Date | August 2027 |
| Version | 08.26 |
| Operating Company | Nudge Education Ltd (Company Number 10192753) |
| Proprietor | Diego Melo |
| Accreditation Route | Online Education Accreditation Scheme (OEAS) — accreditation in progress |
1. Purpose and Scope
This plan sets out how NEO (Nudge Education Online) will respond to disruption affecting public examinations for its candidates, so that no learner is disadvantaged by an emergency so far as it is within the school’s control. It reflects the expectation in the JCQ General Regulations for Approved Centres that centres maintain a written examination contingency plan, and draws on the JCQ and Ofqual joint contingency planning guidance for the exam system in England.
NEO is a fully online school and does not run its own examination venue: candidates sit paper-based examinations at approved partner centres (see the NEO Examination Venues Policy). This plan therefore covers disruption affecting the candidate, disruption affecting NEO, and disruption affecting the host examination centre.
2. Activation and Governance
The plan is activated by the Exams Officer, in consultation with the Director NEO & Head of School. The Head of Centre (Proprietor) is informed of any activation. Where an incident also engages safeguarding, the Designated Safeguarding Lead leads on the safeguarding response and all safeguarding decisions defer to the DSL.
In every scenario the guiding order of priority is: (1) the safety and welfare of the candidate; (2) the integrity and security of the examination; (3) minimising disadvantage to the candidate, including through special consideration where the disruption cannot be prevented.
3. Scenarios and Responses
| Scenario | Response |
|---|---|
| Candidate unable to attend through illness or emergency | Family contacts the Exams Officer at the earliest opportunity. The Exams Officer notifies the host centre, obtains evidence (e.g. medical note), and applies for special consideration through the host centre in line with the JCQ special consideration guidance and awarding organisation deadlines. Where a paper is missed in a series with more than one component, aggregation/special consideration routes are pursued. |
| Candidate arrives late / very late | Host centre applies JCQ late-arrival rules; the Exams Officer liaises with the host centre the same day and reports the circumstances to the awarding organisation via the host centre where required. |
| Travel disruption or severe adverse weather | The family alerts the Exams Officer immediately. The Exams Officer liaises with the host centre on late starts or alternative arrangements permitted by JCQ regulations; where attendance is impossible, the special consideration route above applies. Venue allocation (nearest centre to home) minimises travel exposure by design. |
| Host centre venue unavailable (e.g. flood, fire, power failure) | The partner’s own contingency arrangements apply in the first instance (alternative room or sister centre). The Exams Officer confirms revised arrangements with the partner, informs families the same day, and escalates to the awarding organisation through the partner where the timetabled session is affected. |
| Failure of the examination centre partnership (partner ceases trading or loses approval) | The Exams Officer identifies an alternative JCQ-approved centre accepting external candidates, applies the checks in the Examination Venues Policy, and transfers entries in consultation with Pearson. Pearson is notified without delay of any issue affecting NEO’s ability to meet its requirements. |
| Question paper or materials incident at the host centre (wrong, missing or compromised papers) | The host centre manages under its JCQ obligations; the Exams Officer obtains a written account, supports any awarding organisation investigation, and pursues special consideration for affected candidates where appropriate. |
| Absence of the Exams Officer | The Director NEO & Head of School holds deputised access to entry records, the partner agreement and awarding organisation contacts, and assumes the Exams Officer’s duties for the period of absence. |
| Failure of NEO systems affecting entries or candidate data | Entries and candidate records are held in the school’s managed Google Workspace tenant with appropriate backup; the Data Protection Lead is engaged for any incident involving personal data, under the Data Protection and Information Security policy. |
| National or local emergency disrupting a whole series (e.g. public health emergency) | NEO follows the joint contingency arrangements announced by JCQ, Ofqual, the DfE and the awarding organisations for that series, including any alternative assessment arrangements, and communicates these to families and commissioners promptly. |
4. Special Consideration
Where disruption could not reasonably be prevented and a candidate has been present but disadvantaged, or absent for an acceptable reason, the Exams Officer will pursue special consideration through the host centre in accordance with the JCQ publication A guide to the special consideration process, within the published deadlines. Families are informed of the outcome as soon as it is known.
5. Communication
On activation of any scenario in this plan, the Exams Officer will:
- inform the affected learner(s) and their families directly, in plain language, with the practical next steps;
- inform the commissioner where the learner’s place is commissioned;
- inform the host centre and, where required, the awarding organisation;
- keep the Director NEO & Head of School and the Head of Centre informed throughout; and
- record the incident, decisions and outcomes in the examinations log.
6. Roles and Responsibilities
| Role | Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Head of Centre (Proprietor) | Overall accountability; informed of all activations; approves material changes to arrangements. |
| Director NEO & Head of School | Owns this plan; deputises for the Exams Officer; decides escalation with the partner and awarding organisation. |
| Exams Officer | Activates the plan; liaison with host centres, families and awarding organisations; special consideration applications; incident records. |
| Designated Safeguarding Lead | Leads on any safeguarding dimension of an incident. |
| Practitioner-Mentors | Reassure and support learners and families during disruption, in co-ordination with the Exams Officer. |
7. Related Policies and Documents
- NEO — Examination Venues Policy
- NEO — Appeals Procedure (with the Complaints Policy)
- Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy
- Data Protection and Information Security
- JCQ General Regulations for Approved Centres; JCQ Instructions for Conducting Examinations; JCQ A guide to the special consideration process (current editions); JCQ–Ofqual joint contingency planning guidance
8. Review
This plan is reviewed annually by the Director NEO & Head of School, before the start of each examination cycle, and after any activation.