Modern slavery statement

This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes our slavery and human trafficking statement for AQA Education financial year ending 31 March 2022.

2022 Annual Disclosure

At AQA Education ('AQA') we are committed to ensuring there is transparency in our own business and in our approach to tackling modern slavery throughout our supply chains. We acknowledge responsibility to the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and will encourage transparency within the organisation and with suppliers of goods and services to the organisation. This statement details the measures we have in place in recognising and preventing human trafficking and slavery across the business.

AQA is run as an independent company limited by guarantee and it is a registered charity, with all surpluses invested in educational development. Our work is overseen by a Board of Trustees. We are the largest provider in England of academic qualifications taught in schools and colleges. For the sourcing of products, we have relationships with external businesses as well as suppliers of services which make up the supply chains within AQA.

Policies on modern slavery

AQA’s Modern Slavery Policy requires us to act ethically and with integrity in all our business relationships and to implement effective systems and controls to ensure that our supply chains are free from modern slavery.

AQA will not qualify, engage, support or deal with any business knowingly involved in slavery or human trafficking.

Structure and supply chains

AQA procures goods and services from a range of suppliers, 94.4% of which are based in the United Kingdom. The total proportion of expenditure of our goods and services is highlighted (by supply chain category) in the pie chart below.

All supply chain categories are managed through our Supplier and Contract Management system. The system allows AQA to pre-qualify all suppliers as part of an on-boarding process, issue tenders to approved suppliers and award contracts. All contracts require suppliers and their subcontractors to abide by all applicable laws, statutes and regulations, including the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Due diligence processes

AQA’s on-boarding approval process vets suppliers against a range of minimum requirements including pre-qualification controls in regard to modern slavery and human trafficking.

Key strategic and critical suppliers are monitored on a continuous basis for commercial, financial and supply chain risk, including compliance with legal, regulatory and policy requirements such as the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Risk assessment

As AQA’s supply chain consists largely of high value-added goods and services, the risk at a company level is deemed to be low. However, suppliers are assessed on an individual basis for the likelihood of them or their supply chain being at risk of non-compliance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015. Contracts with these suppliers are negotiated to ensure that we have a governance framework in place to monitor supplier contract performance and compliance with AQA’s Policies and Standards .

Our on-going supplier performance process is directly linked to this risk assessment and managed in our Supplier Management System. The objectives are:

• to identify and assess potential risk areas for an individual supplier in our supply chains
• to mitigate the risk of slavery and human trafficking occurring in our supply chains through our on boarding process of new suppliers
• to ensure contract compliance by active performance management of high risk suppliers.

Measuring effectiveness

At AQA we continuously monitor the performance of our critical and significant suppliers, including those deemed to be at a high risk of exposure to modern slavery and human trafficking.

We are committed to continuous improvement by capturing data to measure the effectiveness of our processes and report on the risk of slavery or human trafficking in our supply chain. This means that we monitor modern slavery and other risks within our supply chain and review the effectiveness of this process.

Training for staff

AQA is committed to ensuring a high level of understanding across the organisation of the risk of modern slavery, providing awareness training on the risks within our business and supply chain. The training has been delivered through our internal intranet to all of our staff, and is incorporated into the induction process for new employees.

Approval

This statement covers the period from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 and has been approved by the AQA Executive Team in November 2020.

The Director of Finance and Corporate Services is responsible for implementing this policy statement and its objectives and for providing adequate resources.

Signed:

Nick Stevens
Director of Finance & Corporate Services

Date: 23 November 2022