Contracting Timelines
Every year Pearson engages thousands of Associates to undertake the marking and moderation of its qualifications. This is a huge operation that takes months of planning to realise.
Here you will find a breakdown of some of the stages in the contracting process, an interactive table which can be used to see information at a component/paper/unit level. Please be aware that the data we are providing will be updated regularly as these dates are subject to change.
We are also providing you access to a brand-new Expression of Interest form; this form will be a one-stop shop to let us know your available for a contract or to let us know you have extra capacity if you are already contracted.
Part of our planning includes using multiple data sources to forecast the number of Associates needed to mark or moderate on each component/paper/unit.
Based on the forecasting we will start contracting for components/papers/units in batches, this allows us to manage the huge workload involved and be reactive to change. Subjects are initially planned in batches, allowing us to share timelines with you. Please note that on occasion a subject may move from one batch to another resulting in changes to the contracting timeline.
When issuing contracts, we prioritise Associates who have marked previously with us and achieved a high performance grade, but as part of our succession planning, we also aim to ensure that a percentage of contracts are issued to new Associates who haven’t marked previously. We tend to have more Associates appointed than are needed overall; this does mean that not everyone will be offered a contract.
When the deadline for entries has passed, we review our forecasts against the actual entries submitted by centres and recalculate how many Associates will be needed for each component/paper/unit.
By the final contracting date we aim to have issued at least 95% of all contracts. Depending on the reforecast, we may need additional or fewer Associates, and will amend our contracting needs to match the demand.
This can mean additional contracts are issued for certain papers or, in some cases, contracts which have previously been issued will be withdrawn. When we need to withdraw contracts, we aim to only remove contracts from Associates who have other contracts. Where this is not possible, contracts will be withdrawn from Associates based on prior performance grades, working from lowest to highest.
Assessment Associates Contracting Timelines
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Expression of Interest
This Expression of Interest form can be completed by Associates who are interested in marking or moderating a paper, or by Associates wishing to pledge more work in addition to their exisiting contract.
This form will be updated at regular intervals to add and remove different series. You are free to complete this form at your leisure should you wish to inform us of your availability. We will follow normal contracting processes, where we issue contracts based on grade history and demand, but this form will be used to inform our fulfilment of any additional contracting needs.
Please note, completing this form does not guarantee any contracts will be offered.
FAQs
There are many moving parts to ensure contracting runs smoothly and sometimes, to ensure we can contract the correct number of Associates needed, we may need to move a subject area into a different batch or review the batch completely.
For example, a reforecast might show a larger number of entries than initially forecasted and our contracting team will require extra time to send out these additional contracts.
We issue all types of contracts depending on the demand for each paper, sometimes this means that we are unable to offer a similar contract to a previous series due to a change in the demand for a paper, this includes our Team Leader contracts.
We will, were possible, offer contracts to Associates at the same level where they have achieved a high grade but unfortunately this is not always possible. If there is demand, we will attempt to offer a contract at the next available level.
Unfortunately, this is not something we will be able to confirm until all contracting on a paper has been completed at which time you will know if you have been offered a contract. This is because of the information above about how contracts are issued automatically based on demand and previous grading. We are unable to confirm if a contract will be offered prior to it happening. Only Associates who are offered a contract will be contacted by Pearson.
Please use the interactive table to see when we expect to offer contracts.
You can add yourself to the Expression of Interest form above. This will put you on the short list if there is an additional need for Associates on a paper.
Completing the Expression of Interest form does not guarantee a contract will be offered.