BSC Examinations Result Enquiries and Appeals Policy

The British Safety Council endorses the right of individuals to enquire about their result and to appeal against the outcome of that enquiry. The appeals process is also available to centres and candidates who may wish to appeal against other decisions made by the British Safety Council (e.g. appealing against a malpractice decision or a decision in respect of reasonable adjustments).

Procedures are in place to ensure that result enquiries and appeals are dealt with thoroughly and fairly.

A result enquiry or an appeal can result in a grade being confirmed, raised or lowered. Where a grade is changed, the new grade will replace the original grade, whether it is higher or lower.

Result Enquiries

A result enquiry is the first step for centres or candidates that wish to enquire about or challenge a result.

The British Safety Council reserves the right not to consider result enquiries if the request is submitted more than 14 days after the result issue date.

There are four result enquiry services. Only one request for each service is permitted for each attempt at an assessment component or unit.

Result enquiry fees are published on the Result Enquiry Application Form and payment must be included with the application.

Service 1 - Clerical Re-check

A clerical re-check involves checking:

that all parts of the script have been marked;
the totalling of marks;
the recording of marks;
the application of grade boundaries;
the application, where applicable, of any special consideration.

Candidates requesting Service 1 should indicate if special consideration was requested.

A Result Enquiry Application Form must be received by British Safety Council Examinations within 14 days of the result issue date. Any certificate which has been issued relating to that component/unit must also be included. The British Safety Council will acknowledge the request within 2 working days. The outcome of the clerical re-check will be reported to the Head of Centre or candidate in writing within 5 working days. If it is found that an error has been made on the part of the British Safety Council, the fee will be refunded.

Service 2 - Access to Candidate Marks

This service provides candidates with the opportunity to receive a breakdown of their marks, i.e. the marks scored on each question and part-question. Service 2 also includes Service 1 (clerical check).

A Result Enquiry Application Form must be received by BSC Examinations within 14 days of the result issue date. The marks will be sent to the candidate within 5 working days.

Service 3 - Report on Performance

This service involves the candidate?s script being sent to an examiner and a brief report (typically two sides of A4) prepared on the candidate?s individual performance in relation to each question. Service 3 also includes Service 1 (clerical check) and Service 2 (access to marks).

AResult Enquiry Application Form must be received by BSC Examinations within 14 days of the result issue date. The written report will be sent to the candidate within 25 working days.

Service 4 - Re-mark

This service involves a re-mark of the component or unit by a senior examiner. Service 4 also includes Service 1 (clerical check), Service 2 (access to marks) and Service 3 (report on performance).

AResult Enquiry Application Form must be received by BSC Examinations within 14 days of the result issue date. Any certificate which has been issued relating to that component/unit must also be included. The BSC will acknowledge the request within 2 working days. The outcome of the re-mark will be reported to the candidate in writing, with brief feedback from the examiner, within 25 working days.

Appeals

The appeals process is available to centres or candidates who remain dissatisfied after the outcome of a result enquiry. It is also available to centres and candidates who may wish to appeal against other decisions made by the British Safety Council (e.g. appealing against a malpractice decision or a decision in respect of reasonable adjustments).

Appeals relating to assessment decisions must be submitted within 14 days of notification of the outcome of a result enquiry. The British Safety Council reserves the right not to consider appeals if the request is submitted after the published deadline.

The appeals process investigates whether procedures have been followed correctly; it is not concerned with making judgments about a candidate?s work. An appeal does not involve a re-mark, but re-marking can be ordered by the Appeals Committee if it finds that procedures have not been followed properly.

In the case of appeals against assessment decisions, the grounds for appeal must relate to whether the British Safety Council used procedures that were consistent with regulatory criteria and applied the procedures properly and fairly in arriving at judgements.

To request an appeal the Head of Centre or candidate must write to the Head of Qualifications, British Safety Council. The request should include a clear statement of the grounds on which the appeal is based together with any supporting evidence. A fee of £120 is charged and a cheque for this amount (made payable to British Safety Council) must be included with the request. The fee will be refunded if the appeal is successful.

The case will be presented to the Appeals Committee, which is chaired by an independent assessment expert from another awarding body. The independent member will not have been a member of the awarding body?s board or committees within the past seven years, or an employee or examiner of the awarding body.

The outcome of the appeal will normally be sent to the Head of Centre or candidate within 28 days. The Head of Centre/candidate will be informed if there are reasons for this period extending beyond 28 days.

If the appeal is upheld, the British Safety Council will take action to ensure any decisions are applied to other affected candidates, and take steps to protect the integrity of the qualification and the National Qualifications Framework.

Independent review

If an appeal is not resolved through the procedures detailed above, the British Safety Council will organise an independent review. The review will be undertaken by an independent person, not involved in the earlier stages of the appeals process or involved in any other British Safety Council committees. The British Safety Council would seek for the review to be completed within 28 days of the request. A fee may be requested to cover the costs of the review, which would be returned if the outcome of the previous appeal was rejected.

The independent reviewer will review all the evidence which took place at the previous stages and consider whether the British Safety Council has applied its procedures fairly, appropriately and consistently in line with its policy.

The independent reviewer?s decision is final and the candidate will be notified of the outcome