ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES FOR VOCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
Title
Who are They?
What is Their Role
Candidates
Individuals seeking credit for their achievements and competence
Show they can perform to national standards in order to be awarded with an S/NVQ or Construction Certificate or demonstrate the specified knowledge, understanding and skills.
Take some responsibility for the quality of evidence provided to assessors.
Show regular progress toward the qualification
Provide authentic evidence
Ensure contact information is kept up-to-date and notify assessor of any changes.
Notify the assessor in advance if deadlines cannot be met.
Assessors
Employed by an approved centre to assess candidates’ evidence. They are in direct contact with candidates
Undertake candidate induction
Support the candidate through the qualification
Identify and support candidates requiring reasonable adjustments/special considerations.
Judge candidates’ evidence against the national standards.
Decide whether the candidate has demonstrated competence.
Ensure that the assessment practice meets awarding body guidance.
Attend standardisation meetings and maintain CPD
Internal Verifiers
Employed by an approved centre to ensure consistency and quality of assessment within the centre
Work with assessors to ensure the quality and consistency of assessment.
Monitor how the centres assessors carry out assessments.
Ensure that their own verification practice meets the required standards.
Make sure that the assessment and verification records and documents are fit for purpose and meet awarding body requirements.
Ensure that requests to the awarding body for certificates are based on assessments of consistent quality.
Provide support and guidance for centres assessors.
Centre Co-ordinators
May take on some of the internal verifiers functions, particularly administration
Act as contact for the awarding body and the external verifier.
Ensure that there are accurate assessment and verification records for the qualification.
Ensure there is the appropriate amount assessors or internal verifies for each award.
Request certificates from the awarding body.
Maintaining security of access to the Awarding organisations system e.g. SQA Secure Site, and to notify the AO of a suspected breach to this site.
Notify AO’s of any change of premises, change of head of centre, owner or Co-ordinator, change of name of centre or business or contact details, outcome of internal/external investigations, removal of centre and or qualifications approval by another awarding body, any change to centre’s arrangements for secure storage of examination papers and candidate evidence (where relevant).
Periodically ensure centres document retention procedures are in line with AO requirements.
Approved Centres
Organisations approved by the awarding body to assess and verify qualifications
Manage assessment and verification on a day to day basis
Have effective assessment practices and internal verification procedures
Meet awarding body requirements for delivering the qualifications
Have sufficient competent assessors and internal verifiers with enough time and authority to carry out their roles effectively.
External Verifiers
Appointed by the awarding body to monitor the work of the approved centres. They are they key link between the awarding body and centre.
Make sure that decisions on competence are consistent across centres.
Make sure that they quality of assessment and verification meets national standards.
Sample candidate assessments and monitor assessment and verification practices in centres.
Provide feedback to centres
Make regular visits to centres and assessment locations.
Expert Witness
A person whose level of specialised knowledge or skill in a particular field qualifies them to present their opinions or facts
Will posses the relevant occupational and trade knowledge.
Does not need to be a qualified assessor but is required to be a subject matter expert with an understanding of the assessment procedure of which he/she is a part
When learners are in the workplace, their line manager, or supervisor may be able to act as the expert witness.
Awarding Bodies
Organisations accredited to award vocational qualifications
Ensure the quality and consistency of assessment for qualification nationality
Provide guidance for centres
Appoint, support and develop external verifiers, allocate them to centres and monitor their work.
Approve and monitor centres against specified criteria
Collect information from centres to inform national decisions about delivering qualification
Provide information to awarding organisations
Standard Setting Bodies
Develop the national occupational standards on which S/NVQ and related vocational qualifications are based.
Work with awarding bodies to produce an assessment strategy
Provide information about, and the clarification of the national occupation standards.
SQA (Scottish Qualifications Authority)
The accrediting body for Scotland
Accredit qualifications put forward by awarding bodies f they are meet the published criteria
Ensure the quality of the overall qualifications system through work with awarding bodies
Monitor the quality and effectiveness of awarding bodies through quality audits.
QCA (The Qualifications & Curriculum Authority)
The accrediting body for England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Accredit qualifications put forward by awarding bodies if they meet the published criteria
Ensure the quality of the overall qualifications system through work with awarding bodies
Monitor the quality and effectiveness of awarding bodies through quality audits.