Access keys Search Skip navigation

Quality assurance

How will the following information impact on your job?                                         

  • You will need to read and understand the information on the  following links before reading the rest of the information on this page:
  • The changes required by the UK Vocational Qualifications Reform Programme will have an impact on providers’ current approach to Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement.
  • Changes will have an impact on existing policies, processes and quality standards e.g. Self Assessment, Framework for Excellence, Training Standard, Matrix etc.
  • Changes will impact on Ofsted inspections.
  • At present there are no qualification types on the QCF, whereas qualification types on the NQF all have their own regulatory criteria eg the NVQ Code of Practice. There may be no requirement for external assessment in the QCF unless a particular Sector Skills Council or awarding body wants it.
  • All units have assessment criteria which will need to be assessed and verified regardless of there being no qualification types. Checking the quality of assessment and verification practices is an important part of Ofsted inspection.
  • All units will be written in terms of learning outcomes and assessment criteria. They will not indicate content.  Although taught time will be part of overall learning time, different units in a qualification might be delivered by different staff.  Some common units may be taught to learners on a number of different qualifications. Adjustments may need to be made to current processes for the observation of teaching and learning.
  • Providers may well develop units and/or qualifications for internal and external clients eg employers.  This will require a quality assurance process.
  • New unit-based qualifications need  to fit into existing internal processes for curriculum review and programme development eg academic boards, review panels
  • When learners register for units there will be a need to monitor unit retention and achievement as well as well as unit success rates.  This data will need to be interpreted to inform quality improvement.
  • Equality and diversity will be an integral part of all QCF qualifications and needs to be quality assured.
 

Materials