External Quality Assurance

Transcription

1 External Quality Assurance Retail, hospitality and travel apprenticeships 1

2 External Quality Assurance (EQA) There is an employer-led process to externally quality assure the endpoint assessment of retail, hospitality and travel apprenticeships EQA for these industries is overseen by employer boards: o o o Retail Apprenticeship Board Hospitality Apprenticeship Board Travel Apprenticeship Board People 1st manage the process and is accountable to the boards People 1st will maintain open communications and regular reporting with the Institute for Apprenticeships on behalf of the boards 2

3 External Quality Assurance External Quality Assurance arrangements are in the apprenticeship assessment plans which can be found at: nticeship-standards (Links also available from 3

4 Who needs to know about EQA Assessment organisations Must demonstrate that they are operating in accordance with the apprenticeship assessment plan Retail, hospitality and travel employers Should be confident that every effort is being made to ensure that apprenticeships achieve quality outcomes Why does EQA matter? Training providers Must prepare apprentices during their training period so that they are ready for end-point assessment. An awareness of how end-point assessment is quality assured will give them confidence in the system. Institute for Apprenticeships and the Education and Skills Funding Agency Must know that apprenticeships in the sector are achieving quality outcomes and therefore delivering a return on investment of public funding into workbased training and assessment 4

5 EQA checks compliance of apprenticeship assessment organisations (AAOs) As stated in the assessment plans, EQA checks four defined areas to ensure the compliance of apprenticeship assessment organisations (AAOs): 1. Consistency of assessment tools Design of the assessment materials Consistent application and internal quality assurance of assessment materials during end point assessments 2. Competence of assessment staff Occupational competence of assessment and internal verification staff That assessment and internal quality assurance staff have been trained on end-point assessment (EPA) for the standard That continuous professional development of both occupational and assessment competence is occurring to the prescribed standard 5

6 Cont 3. Internal quality assurance That internal quality assurance procedures as set out in the assessment plan have been implemented 4. Reporting and management of information Timely and accurate registration of the apprentice and notification of results Accuracy of internal data against registrations in the People 1st system Full, accurate and legible records 6

7 It s important that the EQA process also checks: The employer is satisfied with the outcome of the apprenticeship through end-point assessment The apprentice has had a positive end-point assessment experience If that s not the case then we need to do something about it! 7

8 What AAOs need to know Data and information sharing via the EQA portal Preparing for and taking part in EQA activity People 1st reporting to the industry apprenticeship boards and Institute for Apprenticeships The objective of EQA is to ensure that employers and apprentices get the best result from end-point assessment. In conducting EQA we do not see this as a tick-box exercise. We want to find out what s working well and what can be improved so that the business benefits of retail, hospitality and travel apprenticeships can be maximised and apprentices can achieve a standard that will establish and progress their career. People 1st will help the process by ensuring that the information and guidance on the EQA process is available to AAOs and if there s something else that s needed then please let us know. 8

9 Data and information sharing via the Data EQA and portal information sharing via the EQA portal AAO inputs to the EQA portal AAO informs People 1st that it is on the RoAAO by registering on the portal and receives a unique login code AAO notifies People 1st when additional approvals are granted for standards on the RoAAO AAO provides essential data, relating to ALL apprentices for whom they are conducting endpoint assessment AAO access from the EQA portal AAO accesses EQA links, information, guidance, policy and procedures AAO can purchased credits to pay for EQA this costs 40 per apprentice that is registered for endpoint assessment 9

10 BETA testing April June 2017 Register and access info from July

11 Registering on the system 11

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15 Data and information sharing via the EQA portal Data Hosted on an external server compliant with data storage and protection requirements Register via People 1st website Key contact and limited additional user access, with privilege levels defined Standards linked to AAO record when approved on RoAAO Requirements contained within technical specification for manual and automated data transfer AAOs encouraged to give People 1st an estimate of when apprentice(s) are expected to enter the end-point assessment window two months in advance AAO notifies People 1st immediately when apprentices enter the end-point assessment window System Common approaches to assessments for each standard for which the AAO is approved EQA step by step process Technical specifications for data transfer FAQ and feedback Guidance, policy and procedures: Complaints Appeals Reasonable adjustments EQA for subcontracting AAOs Reporting Employer / apprentice feedback Access 15

16 Preparing for and taking part in EQA activity Preparing for EQA activity Taking part in EQA activity Scheduling and sampling: Range of standards included Apprentices in end-point assessment window Apprentices who have completed end-point assessment since last EQA activity Grades awarded (including fails) Assigned assessors Preparatory information supplied to AAO Employer and apprentice survey conducted to identify how positive the EPA experience was EQA visit conducted Provisional rating provided (this could be subject to change) 16

17 Visits are expected to be full day, but may need to be longer or spread over separate days, depending on the range of standards and volume of apprentices. EQA activity will be grouped according to related apprenticeship standards for maximum efficiency. Preparing for and taking part in EQA activity An AAOs sample size will vary depending on whether: It operates a number of remote centres It operates multiple teams of assessors It subcontracts to other organisations Its risk rating from previous EQA activity The baseline sample for the first external quality assurance visit will be 10%, or 10 apprentices, whichever is higher. At the end of each EQA visit the assessment organisation s performance will be graded (e.g. excellent, adequate, requires improvement) and future EQA activity levels/activities will be planned accordingly. Frequency, sampling and size AAOs receiving excellent EQA results can expect future samples to be less than 10% and assessment organisations receiving poor EQA results can expect increased frequency of activity and size of EQA sample. 17

18 1. Consistency of assessment tools Design of the assessment materials Consistent application and internal quality assurance of assessment materials during end point assessments Evidence Preparing for and taking part in EQA activity Examples of assessment tools and completed assessments Marking schemes for each type of assessments Individual marking for a selection of EPAs for any assessments completed by apprentices in the sample Quality assurance records pertaining to assessments Security of assessment materials before and after completion Evidence of employer and stakeholder consultation during design and testing 18

19 Preparing for and taking part in EQA activity 2. Competence of assessment staff Occupational competence of assessment and internal verification staff That assessment and internal quality assurance staff have been trained on end point assessment for the standard That continuous professional development of both occupational and assessment competence is occurring to the prescribed standard Meet with sample members of the management, assessment and internal quality assurance team individual discussions Group meeting with sample of EPA staff Review of sample of CVs for assessment and internal quality assurance staff Evidence of internal and external training programmes delivered and record of attendees including feedback, monitoring and review of staff competence Records of vocational / occupational up-dating undertaken in past 12 months Review combined vocational / occupational / assessment expertise across the AAO in contrast to EPA activity Evidence 19

20 3. Internal quality assurance That internal quality assurance procedures as set out in the assessment plan have been implemented Preparing for and taking part in EQA activity Clear evidence of recruitment and development of assessment and verification staff Formal process for establishing apprentices readiness for end-point assessment and planning of assessments Robust sampling process with risk rating system Evidence of proactive quality assurance and improvement measures Thorough and complete records of assessment and quality assurance activity Appropriate use of complaints, appeals and reasonable adjustments policies Feedback from stakeholders on level of service and satisfaction of apprentices and employers Evidence 20

21 Preparing for and taking part in EQA activity 4. Reporting and management of information Timely and accurate registration of the apprentice and notification of results Accuracy of internal data against registrations in the People 1st system Full, accurate and legible records Systems and procedures in place and how this is communicated to internal staff Apprentice registration Records demonstrate clear lines of separation from other apprenticeship activity and management responsibility Record of readiness for end-point assessment are maintained Apprenticeship data is up to date and accurate (including for example at what stage in the end-point assessment window apprentices are, grading decisions for each component of the EPA, assessor and verifier reporting recorded) Communications with employers / providers Record of appeals, adjustment and complaints, and action taken Evidence Appeals, adjustments and complaints policies 21

22 Internal review and standardisation Reporting to the board and publication of results Urgent EQA results scheduled for priority review by People 1st where necessary Regular review and standardisation to review activity across AAOs Report issued to AAO within 15 working days after the visit including final risk rating grade AAO given 15 working days to provide any feedback, as necessary, after which the final version of the report will be published in private mode, including grade (access via AAO passcode) Subsequent external quality assurance activity will be appropriate to the grading and visit outcomes High priority matters referred directly to the board and communicated to IfA Quarterly report produced, listing risk rating against each AAO Quarterly reports published online for public view approval by board Quarterly report submitted to IfA (process subject to agreement) People 1st reporting to the industry apprenticeship boards and Institute for Apprenticeships 22

23 For further guidance on apprenticeships and the levy