One of Ofqual’s most senior directors is to leave the exams watchdog after just five months in the job.

Ian Stockford (pictured), executive director for general qualifications at Ofqual, will leave the exams regulator this month to start a new role as director of product management at the AQA exam board in January.  

Dr Stockford, who has worked for Ofqual since 2014 and became its executive director for general qualifications in July, has overseen the watchdog’s work on the introduction of  reformed GCSEs and A-levels.

His departure comes after Ofqual’s chief executive Glenys Stacey announced that she would be leaving the organisation in February 2016.

The news may revive concerns about whether the exams regulator has enough staff to do its job, particularly at a time of unprecedented exam reform, with A-levels and GCSEs being overhauled simultaneously.

Fears about whether Ofqual has sufficient capacity were raised in 2010 when TES reported that expertise at the watchdog was spread so thin that it had had to borrow a senior member of staff from AQA, one of the exam boards it regulates.

Dr Stockford worked for AQA for five years until 2014, most recently as head of research at its research arm, the Centre for Education Research and Practice. In his new role he will report to AQA’s director of qualifications and markets, Geoff Coombe, and will work on the content and design of its qualifications.

Ms Stacey said in a statement: “I would like to thank Ian for the important contribution he has made during his time with Ofqual. We all wish him well in his new role.”

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