Quality Assurance

We’ll send key information to your dedicated programme contact, who’ll be responsible for: 

• agreeing a date for reviews with the external quality assurer (EQA). We recommend arranging this early to secure your preferred date
• coordinating the review with all staff involved in delivering the qualification(s), including any satellite or sub-contracted centres
• ensuring at least one assessor and one internal quality assurer (IQA) are in place for each qualification
• ensuring staff attend mandatory training, where applicable
• collating all information and evidence required for the review
• reading and sharing quality assurance reports (also available in the Portal)
• ensuring actions identified in quality reports are completed within specified timescales
• withdrawing inactive learners promptly (failure to do so may result in actions in quality reports)
• ensuring learner marks are submitted within specified timescales, where applicable (see Our Portal User Guides for support)
• providing feedback following reviews through continuous improvement surveys, liaising with relevant colleagues to collect feedback
• keeping up to date with information on our website and sharing updates with colleagues
• communicating with us ahead of the review
• submitting required information within specified timescales.

You can view your programme contact in the Portal. If details have changed, let us know by completing the Change centre contact details details form. Keeping this information up to date ensures we can contact the right person.

You must appoint an internal quality assurer (IQA), who is responsible for:

• maintaining CPD to ensure they hold relevant qualifications and/or recent occupational experience in the subject area (see qualification specification for requirements)
• maintaining CPD to ensure they hold an internal quality assurance qualification. Where this is not held, centres must provide appropriate staff development (e.g. attendance at IQA training events)
• sampling assessments to ensure consistency across all assessors
• ensuring assessors are appropriately qualified and trained
• identifying and addressing training needs
• completing and authorising certificate claims via the Portal.

Where an IQA is also acting as an Assessor, their assessment decisions must be quality assured by a different IQA.

The IQA role may be undertaken by the same person as the Programme Contact.

You must appoint an assessor, who is responsible for:

• maintaining CPD to ensure they hold relevant qualifications and/or recent occupational experience (see qualification specification for details)
• ensuring they are competent to assess. Where no assessor qualification is held, centres must provide appropriate staff development (e.g. attendance at assessor training events)
• conducting assessments in line with qualification requirements
• ensuring learner evidence is valid and meets the required standards
• confirming learners have achieved all required learning outcomes
• providing ongoing support and feedback to learners.

Where qualifications include formal external assessments under exam conditions, you must appoint an Invigilator, who is responsible for:

• supervising the external assessment process
• completing the Invigilator’s Register (accessible via the Portal)
• ensuring assessments are conducted in line with the Regulations for the Conduct of External Assessment.

You must appoint an examinations officer, who is responsible for:

• processing learner registrations
• requesting certificates once the IQA confirms learners have completed the qualification
• distributing certificates to learners
• coordinating external assessments, including:
• liaising with the programme contact to ensure assessment materials are requested in advance
• Ensuring a suitable assessment location is available

Ensuring a sufficient number of trained invigilators are available and familiar with the Regulations for the Conduct of External Assessment.