FAQs listed in alphabetical order
Absence through Illness What happens if a student is ill and cannot attend the assessment?
A candidate who is ill and cannot take the assessment may apply for a half-fee credit for re-entry within six months, enclosing a medical certificate. The application must be made to ESB within 30 days of the original assessment date, with a medical certificate giving the candidate name, reference number and the date the assessment was scheduled. ESB will issue a half-fee credit slip for an assessment at the same level in the same subject, which can be used for an assessment within 6 months of the original date on payment of half the current entry fee. If a re-entry credit is used towards entry for a higher level assessment, the difference in fee is also payable i.e. the full fee of the higher-level examination minus half the fee of the lower level examination.Non-medical reasons for half-fee re-entry credits are not normally acceptable, although ESB will be sympathetic to bona fide cases where appropriate evidence is provided.
Acceptable ID What forms of candidate ID are needed for ESB assessments?
For adult candidates at publicly funded centres we require candidates to have had two forms of ID checked by their college, then to show photo ID to the assessor when they take their exam. Acceptable ID is: Passport (or IND photocards if passport is with the Home Office); UK photo driving licence;UKArmed Forces photo ID card. The second item should be an official document or letter with the candidate’s name and address as registered with the centre. For non-publicly funded centres the same ID is required but there are additional requirements - see ESOL pages or ask us for details.
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Accreditation Recognition What accreditation/recognition do ESB assessments have?
ESB receives recognition for most of its examinations, including ESOL, Adult Learners, Graded Exams etc, by Ofqual, the Regulator for England, similarly by the Regulator for Wales, and in other countries by the appropriate regulatory body.
Changes to Bookings Can I make changes to my booking?
We pride ourselves on being as flexible as possible, and recognise that there will always be the need to make alterations even after names and details have been passed to ESB. Please contact the office for advice if this is the case for you. Prior to the exam date we will make every effort to accommodate change, although significant changes that involve reassignment of assessors may not be possible and an administration fee will probably be levied. Please note however that assessors have no authority to make changes and cannot enter candidates 'on the day', or change the level at which they have been entered. This also applies to candidates who were absent on a previous occasion through sickness. Once candidate registration numbers have been assigned, the audit trail is then in the system and cannot change.
Choice of Material I haven't taught ESB before. I don't know what my students should choose as topics or books?
There is a list of suggested topics and suitable 'own choice' options with each grade of the Schools syllabus. For other syllabuses, the training course or particular interest of the student is the best guide. If unsure, do email the relevant syllabus address for advice.
Cue Cards Are candidates allowed to use cue cards?
Juniors should really avoid cue cards, using their props or a visual board with enlarged photos etc instead. We find that in Entry level grades candidates struggle to handle items such as props, or to include posters/other items pinned up, if they have to handle cards as well.
At higher grades neat and unobtrusive use of any prompts, including cards if used, is included in the Pass criteria. Thus the use of cue cards and / or PowerPoint as a cue is perfectly acceptable at Senior Schools or similar level, although we would recommend avoiding cue cards if possible at Senior Introductory grade because the talk there is so short (PowerPoint just for pictures or diagrams may be used for Senior Introductory). You will of course appreciate that we are looking for 'correct' use - as reminders and prompts, rather than speakers being heavily dependent on them or even reading from them. Sometimes there may be apparently conflicting feedback from assessors because some students gaze diligently at their notes with nerves. You may know, but the assessor would not, that they have hardly anything written on them! Any cue cards should only have brief headings at any level. Please ask for further advice if necessary.
Enquiries and Appeals I have an enquiry about my result. What should I do?
The first thing is to contact us in the office. We hope to be able to answer most enquiries directly, to your satisfaction. If not, we will ask you to put your enquiry in writing or an email. We will then investigate and give you a detailed answer. In the rare event that you are still dissatisfied after receiving our enquiry investigation response, a full Appeals procedure is available. There is a fee payable for an Appeal, without which we will be unable to process it.
E-Readers and electronic books One of my students wants to do her reading from an e-Reader - is this acceptable?
The main issue is over the examiner easily and speedily being able to make the selection of passage to read. For exams such as Senior Introductory or Schools Grade 8, where students make their own choice, there is no reason why they should not read from an e-book reader such as Kindle or Sony E-Reader. It can be difficult for an examiner to flick through however, to make the choice and to get a sense of the book, and in that case we would recommend using a traditional book, to avoid unnecessary delays to the session.
Fees How do I find out how much an assessment costs?
Just download the Fees List. It contains details of our individual fees in the UK and all other charges.
Funding Codes Can you tell me where to find the funding codes for my ESB assessments?
We cannot provide the specific codes, because it depends on age and context of your learners. All our accredited exams have approval for 14-19 use, and where appropriate we have agreement for funding for post-19 students with SFA, e.g. with OLASS, or in many cases, for the Unemployed. Ring us - we will try to advise.
Grading Queries Can you explain some of the different wording on reports?
‘(Endorsed)’: there are two circumstances where ‘(Endorsed)’ may be used. Where we must indicate on a certificate that a student has undertaken the assessment through the medium of a signer or using specialist support equipment, this may be done, for example ‘Endorsed: Hearing Impaired, Signer used for translation’. It is also used to indicate smaller bands within the Pass bands, since we recognise that smaller bands than those permitted for certification may be more value to candidates and teachers. Thus the Pass band may be endorsed ‘Good Pass’ for results in the upper 10% of marks for that band, and Merit may similarly be endorsed Merit +.
PowerPoint Is the use of PowerPoint allowed for assessments as a visual aid?
The use of PowerPoint is absolutely fine for Level 1 exams and above, although we recommend that at junior school levels and other Entry levels the talks are too short to warrant its general use. Tutors will of course be giving students advice over its best use, so that they do not read talks from it, or face the screen to limit their communication with the audience. Obviously, you will need to take the positioning of the screen into consideration for the room set-up too, and we find that students who have their presentation on a pen drive manage to accomplish a speedy changeover between candidates.
Results Can I have my results on the day because it is the end of term?
Results are never possible on the day. Final results and reports will come with the certificates in 4-6 weeks to give us time to moderate and check them, although you will receive provisional results and reports within 5 working days.
Reasonable Adjustments I have been sent a Reasonable Adjustments Form. What is it for?
In our non-specialist exams we need a written undertaking from the teacher over a candidate's need for adjustment to the way that we assess e.g. for dyslexia, or hearing impairment, along with information on what adjustment is being requested. This must be returned to the ESB office at registration on the Reasonable Adjustments Form. Examiners cannot give extra time or allow candidates to choose their own reading passages without this. (Download the Reasonable Adjustments Form - see right). For candidates with specific learning or behavioural difficulties please see our Entry Level Foundation syllabuses.
Teaching Qualifications What teaching qualifications do I need to prepare for ESB Examinations?
It is not necessary for you to hold a specific teaching qualification in order to enter candidates for ESB examinations. However, you may wish to consider taking the ESB Teaching Certificate or Diploma if you hold another teaching qualification, to enhance your cv as CPD. Contact us for further advice.
Travel and Tourism timings etc
I am currently preparing my students for the above examination and need guidance on section 2. The syllabus states that the time for presentation is 4 minutes. As there is also part a and part b, does this mean that the transfer (a) is 2 minutes, and the delivery of graphic aid (b) is also 2 minutes.
The 4 minutes refers to the whole of this Section 2 task, which may include some discussion with the examiner and the rest of the group, about either what has been said in the transfer commentary, or what is in the graphic aid. It is probably best to work on a commentary lasting about three and a quarter minutes, then there is time for a question or two (plus more from the overall time of 20 minutes if it seems necessary to the examiner).
The graphic aid is actually there to help with the delivery of the commentary – it should not be ‘done’ separately. It takes the place of notes or cue-cards which might otherwise be needed for the depth of content required for the commentary at this level, but which could not be read travelling on a coach. It reminds candidates to include all the different unconnected items they need, detailed information that might be asked about after the commentary in real life - it is easy to leave something out if they just rely on memory. They might need to remember to include for instance a weather forecast for the week, piste maps for skiing or of the layout of the complex, vouchers for child care etc., all of which will also demonstrate what source material they have consulted.
UCAS Tariff Points Can I get UCAS Tariff points for my ESB Graded Examinations Advanced Schools assessment?
Yes, ESB Advanced Exams (Grade 6 Senior Proficiency, Grade 8 ASCE or ACLA) are all listed on the UCAS Tariff Tables with the same values as other graded Speech and Drama exams. The higher the grade achieved, the more points - a Distinction is worth more UCAS points than a Pass. See the post GCSE page under the Schools pages or the Speech and Drama table at
http://www.ucas.com/students/ucas_tariff/tarifftables/#speech )