FAQs - Platforms (XAMS and Portal)

If you are working towards and Open Awards qualification and think you are ready for an assessment, you must speak to your provider. They will be able to make arrangements for assessment, including scheduling any controlled assessments (exams) with Open Awards. You cannot schedule an assessment directly through Open Awards.

If you are completing an assessment with an Open Awards invigilator, you will have been sent a link to join.  This link will not be active until 15 minutes before the assessment is due to take place. Please wait until 15 minutes before the assessment is due to start before trying to join.

If you are still experiencing issues, please contact customer services at customerservices@openawards.org.uk or call us on 0151 494 2072.

A resit can only be booked once a ‘fail’ result has been confirmed and released to the provider. The standard scheduling rules for the specific assessment and/ or qualification will apply.

A provider must make sure appropriate further learning is put in place before booking the resit.

The rules for modifying an assessment schedule will depend on the assessment and/ or qualification.

Online assessments, at any level, being invigilated by the provider can be modified up to two (2) hours before the start time.

Online assessments being invigilated by Open Award (including qualification assessments and apprenticeship assessments) can be amended up to 10 working days before the planned date/ time. If it is under 10 working days the assessment would need to be cancelled and rebooked and a resit fee will be applied.

If you are struggling to access the XAMS Assessment Platform, please contact customer services at customerservices@openawards.org.uk or call us on 0151 494 2072.

To access the XAMS Assessment Platform, you must be set up as an Assessment Administrator with Open Awards and be approved for the relevant qualification/ assessment. You will be sent login details and will then be able to login here. If you are struggling to access the XAMS Assessment Platform, please contact customer services at customerservices@openawards.org.uk or call us on 0151 494 2072.

The XAMS Assessment Platform is an on-screen assessment platform used by Open Awards for external assessments. This includes:

• Functional Skills (Entry level 3, Level 1 and Level 2)
• Apprenticeship Assessment Knowledge tests
• Essential Digital Skills (Entry level 3 and Level 1)
• Multiple-choice Tests (short qualifications)

XAMS is Open Awards’ online platform used to book, manage, and undertake controlled assessments. You will see it referred to as the XAMS Assessment Platform.

Learners are only allowed access to a non-scientific calculator within Section B of the mathematics assessment. Therefore, they will not have access to a calculator with a power function. Where learners need to work with or display calculations associated with numbers to a power, they should enter the repeated multiplication of the same number either as characters in the working pane, or on the on-screen calculator.

Learners should be taught to use the forward slash (’/’) when using the platform to separate the numerator and dominator when entering fractions.  Both within the workings pane and the answer pane the forward slash (’/’) will remain a character  so learners can work with and display fractions. However, if learners need to divide the numerator by the denominator the calculator division symbol on the on-screen calculator will pull through to the workings pane and act as a mathematical operator.