ILM Guide to the External Quality Assurance Policy for Centre and Providers. V April 2013

Transcription

1 ILM Guide to the External Quality Assurance Policy for Centre and Providers

2 Contents Document Change History 3 Scope 4 Activity Planning with your External Verifier 9 External Verifier Sampling 6 The Centre Activity Report (CAR) 8 The Customer Review Form (CRF) 11 The ILM Assessment (ILMA) Service 14 e-volve testing 15 The road to Direct Claim Status (DSC) and risk rating 16 Cancelled visits 20 Additional support 21 Primary and Specialist EV s 21 Request for extensions to Candidate registration periods 22 Dormant Centres 23 Satellite Centres 23 Other Assessment requests 24 Continuous Improvement 25 2 of 26

3 Document Change History As part of an ILM branding review the appearance of this policy was amended in March 2016, along with any job title which were incorrect. The content of this policy shall be subject to a three year review cycle or as necessary as outlined under continuous improvement. Changes to specific sections of the document made in April 2013 are listed below: Scope Page No Change 5 Noted there may be a charge for additional monitoring activities 3 of 26

4 Scope ILM is the UK s leading provider of leadership, management and coaching qualifications, and a City & Guilds Group Business. ILM offers a specialist suite of qualifications ranging from Level 2 to Level 7, which are awarded by The City and Guilds of London Institute. ILM also specialises in assessment, learning content, and the accreditation of high quality training in the fields of leadership, management and coaching. This Guide is written in line with the Ofqual General Conditions of Recognition published in November Whilst reference to Ofqual is made the equivalent principles of accreditation apply for the SQA Regulatory principles as well as the Welsh Governments General Conditions of Recognition. ILM have been mindful to ensure that all the Conditions are met. Below is a brief summary of how this Guide works well with the Conditions. In terms of Moderation it is useful to define this for the purposes of this document. The Ofqual definition is `The process through which the marking of assessments by Centres is monitored to make sure it meets required standards and through which adjustments to results are made, where required, to ensure that results are based on the required standard. This includes verification. Our Guide includes information which relates to the following Conditions:- H1 Marking the assessment. The External Verifiers will ensure that the assessment criteria are understood by Assessors and accurately applied and that they are applied consistently by Assessors, regardless of the identity of the Assessor, Learner or Centre. H2 Moderation where an assessment is marked by a Centre. The Quality Managers and External Verifiers will ensure that the assessment remains fit for purpose, and that the criteria against which Learners; performance is differentiated are being applied accurately and consistently by Assessors in different Centres, regardless of the identity of the Assessors, Learner or Centre. H5 Results for a qualification must be based on sufficient evidence. The External Verifiers will ensure that the result of each assessment taken by a Learner in relation to a qualification reflects the level of attainment demonstrated by that Learner in the assessment. As part of this check the External Verifiers will also take into account all admissible evidence generated by a Learner as part of that assessment. H6 Issuing Results. The External Verifiers will work with the Operations Team at ILM to ensure that results are issued in a timely and accurate manner and that they can be clearly and readily understood. The External Verifiers will also ensure that the results accurately and completely reflect the marking of assessments (including the outcome of any Moderation and other quality assurance process). The aim of this guide is to provide general guidance to best practice when working with your External Verifier. External Verifiers are appointed to monitor the work of centres/providers. External Verifiers are the key link between ILM and the centre/provider. 4 of 26

5 The role of the External Verifier (EV) is to: sample assessment decisions to ensure that they are appropriate, consistent, and monitored across and within centres/providers ensure that their centres/providers have in place systems and processes that are robust, consistently applied and lead to good practice in recordkeeping, support, advise, assessment and verification of learner and staff activities provide a robust audit trail of external verification related activities to both ILM and the customer (centre/provider) confirm the centre support status (CSS) and qualification quality rating (QQR) as per the quality assurance arrangements External Verifier key tasks For each customer (centre/provider): to determine an annual plan of verification activity that shows the journey to Direct claims status this is normally done via the annual customer review to undertake appropriate sampling of assessments. Remote sampling is encouraged to evaluate the quality of provision, including feedback from learners. to advise their customers when they will be unavailable and agree alternative arrangements if required to complete an electronic report for all interventions and to submit promptly via the Quality Management Systems. Reports must be submitted to the Quality Manager within 10 days of the intervention It is anticipated that each EV will, with each centre, prior to DCS being granted, undertake 1 Customer Review visit per year plus 2 additional monitoring activities. These may be an on site or remote activities however the default is remote. Sampling can also be undertaken at the Customer Review visit. Once DCS is granted this will become 1 Customer Review visit per year plus 1 additional activity. (Details on the forms and planning for these are found in the detail that follows.) If additional monitoring is required this should be agreed with your local Quality Manager. The rationale for the extra monitoring will be discussed and it will be agreed if there will be a charge to the centre. The fee will be published in the Guide to Fees. This policy supersedes and replaces the ILM Guide to External Quality Assurance Policy for Centres and Providers Policy Version of 26

6 Activity planning with you External Verifier Prior to any activity being undertaken, dates for the activity must have been agreed by the EV with the Quality and the Compliance Manager. 30 days prior to the EV activity an e mail will be sent to the centre along with form CA1 requesting information be forwarded to the EV. This information should be forwarded to the EV within 10 working days. Centres are encouraged to provide the information on form CA2 which you can download via Walled Garden from the on line forms tabs. You, as the Centre, complete the CA2 form and upload it onto Walled Garden, where it can be retrieved by the EV On receipt of the Centre tracking form (CA2), the EV completes their plan of EV activity (PA1) and uploads this onto Walled Garden for you, as the Centre within 5 days. If a centre fails to provide the requested information following a reminder from the EV, a sanction will be applied. The activity should take place on the pre agreed date. 6 of 26

7 External Verifier sampling When undertaking an activity with a centre the EV must advise the centre in advance about their sample plan indicating centre information, candidates and work that they wish to sample in form PA1. It is not sufficient for an EV to sample that which is made available by a centre. An EV will of course work with you as a centre to ensure that that work both in progress and completed, staff and candidates are made available for the intervention. In relation to qualification assessment an EV must sample the following within a one year period (unless agreed with the Quality and Compliance Manager to extend this to two years due to the centres support status and QQR): all active qualifications currently active with candidates work from all active members of the assessment and verification team all assessment methodologies employed including observation Each sample is reported upon in the onsite/remote reports. Sample size will vary, according to the context of the centre, and will be based upon such things as: Candidate numbers the qualifications being delivered the operational assessors and IVs at the centre Assessment methodologies being employed Centre Support status and QQR for the qualifications being sampled The sample will as a minimum include: meeting the IV sampling across the assessor base and speaking to at least one candidate during an period of a year (or 2 years if the requirement for the annual Customer Review has been reduced in agreement with the Quality and Compliance Manager) verifying at least one assessment method in use at the centre any Special assessment requirements should be sampled the selection should include some work that has been subject to IQA and some that has NOT been subject to IQA ensuring the authenticity statement to ensure full compliance with Ofqual requirements 7 of 26

8 The Centre Activity Report (CAR) This form will be used for both on site and remote activities and any other additional interventions with the centre: On Site Monitoring This is a planned EV visit which will be recorded on the CAR Form. It will include activity checks and sampling of learners assessed work. Remote Monitoring Remote monitoring is desk based verification /sampling of learners assessed work and should also be planned. Additional On Site monitoring This is undertaken where remote monitoring has highlighted areas of concern and the centre needs additional support or checking and has been agreed by the Quality a n d C o m p l i a n c e Manager. It might also be initiated if concern has been raised through other means e.g. media, regulators, City & Guilds Awards or any other agencies. The visit is recorded using the normal CAR report. Additional on site monitoring can also be requested by the centre and will be chargeable at the current rate published in the Guide to Fees. The EV completes the CAR form and uploads on Walled Garden EV portal where it is sent to the QM to review and accept. Once the report has been accepted it will be available for you to view, as the centre, in the Quality area in Walled Garden. The Completed CAR form The CAR form should be completed fully at all times. Any tariffs allocated should be fully supported by the comments within the report. Action/improvement points should relate very specifically to comments within the report and should not stand alone. Any comments should be factual and offer a justification. Reports should not contain individual views of EVs and should always relate to ILM requirements. 8 of 26

9 Action points V Improvement points Action points Action points are set to ensure that centre operations meet the standard required by ILM which was agreed at the point of approval. They are therefore not optional, but a requirement for centres to undertake to maintain their approval status. External Verifiers are expected to: set action points that are SMART ( consider revising for example is not acceptable). As such they should be o Specific o Measurable o Achievable o Realistic o Timed agree action points set actual dates for the completion of each action point ('ASAP' and 'before next on site monitoring' are not acceptable). contact the centre if the deadline has passed and the action point(s) has not been met. confirm to the Quality and Compliance Manager that the action points have been met (or not The CAR has an area specifically for EVs to review action and development points and close them. EVs are responsible for checking previous action points and carrying forward if not completed. EVs have responsibility for this signing off action points to be met. Normally, the dates coincide with the next on site or remote monitoring activity but occasionally an external verifier may set a completion date that falls between activities, and request to see information well in advance of the next activity. In exceptional circumstances the external verifier can extend action point deadlines, but a record must be provided showing the rationale for the extension. The Quality and Compliance Manager must be informed of any extensions to action points that are granted. The Quality and Compliance Manager will intervene if the EV has taken all reasonable steps to support the centre in closing the action points. Under these circumstances, the Quality Manager will write to the senior manager at the centre to alert them to the fact that action points are still outstanding. The ILM has the right to escalate the relevant QQR(s) if action points are not met, and failure to close an action point on time is likely to affect the centre s risk profile for the next period. Improvement points Improvement points are identified at remote or on site monitoring activities where an area of operation is acceptable within the QA expectations for maintaining approval, but where some enhancement might be made to an aspect of centre processes or practice. They are entered into the relevant reports identified as improvement points 9 of 26

10 (I), and are agreed with the centre as optional, being suggestions in the spirit of good practice enhancement. Once entered however, future activities should comment on the extent to which the centre has decided to implement the point, or if not, close the point with a statement that explains any decisions made by the centre. 10 of 26

11 The Customer Review Form (CRF) What is the Customer Review Form (CRF)? The CRF is a review of the continued implementation of ILM requirements and takes place once a year on the anniversary of the centre s approval (within 4 weeks either side of the approval date). This will replace what we currently know as the Annual Centre Review (ACR). An will be forwarded to you as the Centre with the date of the planned visit and asks you as the centre to complete your section of the CRF form, located in the quality section of your Walled Garden account. You complete the CRF centre section and upload it onto the Walled Garden where it can be retrieved by the EV. The EV retrieves the form and uses the form to prepare for the review visit. The visit is then undertaken. The purpose of the visit is to have a useful and meaningful dialogue with the centre/provider. The basis for the discussion are the responses to the 15 Benchmark Questions. (For providers there are 12 questions as the form indicates 3 Qs are not applicable to Providers). This is recorded in the summary notes section. The EV records meaningful and auditable facts and dialogue in their section of the report. Their comments will form the basis of the Action Plan and as such should track through the report. As a part of the CRF visit the EV must meet with or contact candidates. The number of candidates contacted or met must be sufficient to allow the external verifier to have confidence in the systems and levels of support provided by that centre. The report is completed during the visit at the centre. If sampling is completed during the CRF visit, the EV will also have to complete a CAR Form to record the sampling activity, as the CRF does not contain candidate assessment sampling. How does it affect the Centre Support Status? Because it is a review of the centre, the outcome will be to allocate you a centre support status. The annual external verification plan is an overview of the planned EV activity for that centre and the timescale for that plan is determined by the CSS. The Centre Support Status (CSS) is a descriptor that indicates the EV activity pattern in terms of verification. It is determined by qualification quality ratings, evidence from verifier reports, date of centre approval, significant changes in staffing (increases/decreases). There are three descriptors: Low centre support status Medium centre support status High centre support status 11 of 26

12 When is the Centre Support Status decided? The Centre Support Status (CSS) is determined at the Annual Customer Review (ACR) and does not change throughout the year, unless something significant occurs within the centre. The Centre Support Status will be recommended by the External Verifier and confirmed by the Quality and Compliance Manager. Each new centre will default to CSS: Moderate, at approval and this will be reviewed following each ACR visit. The CSS can only be changed as a result of the Annual Centre Review or by a quality manager on an exceptional basis. What do the CSS descriptors mean? Low centre support status Low centre support status: These centres will have an Annual Customer Review, with appropriate External verifier monitoring to look at specific qualifications with all this activity typically over an month period. There is no requirement for the EV to sample every cohort or group. Centres with a low centre support status are likely to be those with qualification ratings of None/ 01 (i.e. direct claim status) with some 02 for new qualification add ons. Medium centre support status The cycle of support will be planned over a one year period. These centres will have an Annual Customer Review and an annual programme of external verifier monitoring covering every qualification where there are registrations. Centres with a moderate centre support status would mainly have Qualification Quality Ratings of 02, with some None /01. Existing centres will normally have three activities a year, i.e. the Annual Customer Review and two external verifier activities. Normally, new centres would fall into this centre support status, with the first external verifier intervention happening within 6 months of approval, to provide support and guidance. High centre support status The cycle of support would be planned over a maximum one year period. In addition to the Annual Customer Review, the external verifier monitoring would be planned more frequently and certainly within a 4 month period of the status being allocated. Centres are also likely to be required to attend ILM centre support or network events as part of the support package offered (free of charge). Centres with an enhanced centre support status would mainly have qualification quality ratings of 03a or 03b and some 02 ratings, dependent on the circumstances. They will almost certainly have action planning and where appropriate, emergency support and monitoring will be agreed with the Quality and Compliance Manager. Additional support for all centres In addition to the EV interventions referred to above, it is anticipated that EVs will provide and telephone support to all active centres. Additionally, centres will have access to a wide range of additional support mechanisms including: attendance at ILM centre support days 12 of 26

13 attendance at ILM Member events additional QM/ BM support additional monitoring by EV chargeable if requested by the centre In house training event(s) chargeable. A consultancy service is available from ILM on any aspect on our qualifications including delivery, IQA, staff development and assessment. This will be charged at the current rate as published in the Fees List. How does it affect the Qualification Quality Rating? The CRF does not directly affect the QQR. However the QQR -Tariff may change as a result of the CRF if sampling activity has been undertaken on the same day. (The QQR can be changed at any time during the12 month period as a result of further external verifier monitoring. The decision to amend any ratings would be that of the EV and be confirmed by the Quality and Compliance Manager. 13 of 26

14 The ILM Assessment (ILMA) Service The ILMA service provides centres with whole-qualification assessment for ILM s most popular Vocationally Related Qualifications. As part of this service ILMA offers comprehensive quality-assured support by marking all units in a qualification, providing full feedback on learner performance. Once each assignment is marked by a member of the ILMA team it is then passed to a Lead Assessor for quality assuring and finalising. The results are entered on Walled Garden for the centres by a member of the ILMA Team. This service saves the centre time and there is also no need for the External Verifier to sample these assessments. The centre receives a copy of the mark sheet for each learner assignment. If a learner has not passed ILM provide a feedback form which indicates the assessment criteria where the submission was below the required standard. There is a step-by-step guide for ILM Centres which can be found on the ILM website. For new centres this is a great, cost-effective first step and also a huge benefit when adding on new qualifications at your centre. If you would like to use ILMA or have any further questions please the Customer Service Team at customer@i-l-m.com to get started. There is a full list of ILMA Products at 14 of 26

15 e-volve testing ILM have taken the decision to have at least 1 EV per region/nation who will work with the centres that are using the e-volve testing for the ILM Level 2 Certificate in the Principles of Team Leading qualification. The assessment for this qualification is exclusively via online testing whereby each unit is assessed in the form of a 45 minute e-volve multiple choice test. The results are automatically generated once the overnight upload has taken place. If however, the learners have undertaken this test as part of the Dual/Apprenticeship Package the EV would need to sample as they usually would the Level 2 NVQ in Team Leading qualification units as this makes up part of the Dual/Apprenticeship packages. Once both the above activities have been undertaken the EV can release results. As an additional activity for any centre who are running the e-volve tests ILM EV s would look to build in to their activity planners an exam audit activity where they would complete the CAR report sections 1, 2, 4, 6 & 7 which monitors the use of examinations at centres. 15 of 26

16 The road to Direct Claim Status (DCS) and risk rating Direct claims status allows you as a centre to send your results to ILM for processing without waiting for the EV to release / sign them off. This will depend on the centre's qualification quality rating. There are seven QQRs: None - No EV signature required: Direct Claims Status - no action plan 01 - No EV signature required: Direct Claims Status - with action plan 02 - EV signature required 3a - Suspend registrations 3b - Suspend certification 4 - withdraw programme approval 5 - withdraw centre approval It should be noted that that whilst the EV can recommend the tariff up to 3b, the Head of Quality is required to sign off any recommendations for suspension and would also apply a sanction 4 (withdrawal of programme) and a sanction 5 (withdrawal of ILM approval) This should be allocated for each qualification after each intervention / sampling with the centre. For new centres or new qualifications added to a centres approval, the rating is usually 02. Once your EV is confident that the programme is operating successfully and the centre is carrying out their assessments to the right standard, this will need to be indicated on the CAR form and the rating will be changed to direct claims status (01 or 00). This can happen at any point and is dependent upon the EV s judgement. Their judgement should be based upon risk within the centre and is not dependent upon length of time the centre has offered the qualification nor how many candidates have been processed. Here are some possible risk factors that may be considered: how stable is the assessor / IQA resource within the centre? how variable is the unit offer within the qualification? what is the throughput at the centre? (If the through put is small then this can reduce the risk) what experience of relevant assessments does the staff in the centre have? 16 of 26

17 We have suggested a sample percentage below however these are for guidance and should be used a part of the holistic picture based upon risk within the centre. Direct claims status is awarded on an individual qualification basis, so a centre might have direct claims status for one qualification but not another. Quality rating Certificate status Centre's suggested sample EV suggested sample 00 Direct claims 10% 5% 01 Direct claims, with an improvement/action plan 15% 10% 02 EV sign-off 20% 15% 3a/3b EV sign-off 30% 20% When can QQR Tariff of sanctions be changed? The rating may change at any point as a result of further EV activity or monitoring or the the annual customer review. The decision to amend any ratings would be that of the EV and be confirmed by the Quality and Compliance Manager. QQR - Tariff Appeals Procedure The centre has the opportunity to raise a query via phone or within 2 working days with the Quality and Compliance Manager, should there be an issue relating to the Qualification Quality Rating. The Quality and Compliance Manager will review the evidence and rationale supporting the External Verifier recommended quality rating and discuss with the centre within a further 5 working days. If no agreement is achieved the query may be escalated to an appeal and an independent representative will be identified via the Head of Quality to review the QQR appeal. This process forms part of the overall ILM appeals process. What do the Qualification Quality Ratings Tariff mean? None: No tariff, as no action plan - Direct Claims Status (no EV sign off for schedule of results) No EV signature is required when applying for certification. Centres/providers allocated DCS for a qualification level can self-certificate and apply for learner certificates on the successful completion of the programmes before the EVhas sampled the programme assessments. However, the centre is required to retain the learner evidence for a minimum of 6 months or until the EV has completed their sample to ensure that the EV can verify the assessments if they form part of their sampling strategy. The EV can select their sample on an on-going basis and communicate this to the centre to enable them to release work that is bulky to store. Should the EV find any issues with this sample the centre will be expected to obtain any released work to enable the EV to extend 17 of 26

18 their sample. This does not impact on the requirement for the centre records to be retained for a 4 year rolling period. Under this rating there will be no action points outstanding for the centre to complete. Therefore, it is anticipated that ILM will be in a position to allocate DCS only to the centres that have strong/robust IQA processes in place. For the rating of None, the suggested sample is be 10% for Internal Quality Assurance and 5% for External Verification. 01: Direct Claims Status with action plan Direct Claim Status (no EV signature) Centres allocated DCS for a qualification suite can self-certificate and apply for learner certificates on the successful completion of the programmes before the verifier has sampled the programme assessments. However, the centre is required to retain the learner evidence for a minimum of 6 months or until the EV has completed their sample to ensure that the EV can verify the assessments if they form part of their sampling strategy. This does not impact on the requirement for the centre records to be retained for a 4 year rolling period. There may be one or more action points outstanding for the centre to complete. For the rating of 01, the suggested sample is 15% for Internal Quality Assurance and 10% for External Verification. Changing the QQR from None/01 to 02 will be one of the most important changes for Centres and External Verifiers because of the loss of direct claim status. However the change has to be confirmed by the Quality and Compliance Manager before the Management System will implement the change. Reasons for removing Direct Claims Status Some key reasons for recommending a shift in QQR from None or 01 to 02 are outlined below: Assessors/ tutors have insufficient time, resources or authority to perform their role decisions of unqualified assessors have not been countersigned by qualified assessor (S/NVQ) assessment decisions are not consistent insufficient qualified internal verifiers/ internal quality assurance support decisions of unqualified internal verifiers have not been countersigned by qualified internal verifier (S/NVQ) records are insufficient to allow audit of assessment previously agreed corrective measures (action plan) relating to QQR 01 are not implemented. 02: EV signature required Centres allocated 02 for a qualification level will require verification and the release of results by the EV before certification. For the rating of 02, the suggested sample is 20% for Internal Quality Assurance and 15% for External Verification. 18 of 26

19 3a: Suspend registrations This is a very serious action for an EV to recommend and they cannot take it on their own authority. It is usually recommended after a centre has not implemented previously agreed action points or where there has been a sudden and negative sea change in the operation of a centre. The Head of Quality is required to sign off any recommendations for suspension. This code is used where a threat to learners exists. The Head of Quality will decide future action (both centrally and locally) after consultation with the EV and Quality and Compliance Manager. The minimum EV sample size is 20% of candidate s assessed work across all candidates to be certificated. The internal quality assurance sample is a minimum of 30% across all candidates. In most cases of suspension a detailed action plan is jointly agreed with the centre so that improvements are effected and the suspension can be withdrawn 3b: Suspend certifications This is a very serious action for an EV to recommend and they cannot take it on their own authority. It is usually recommended after a centre has not implemented previously agreed action points or where there has been a sudden and negative sea change in the operation of a centre The Territory Quality Manager is required to sign off suspensions for all regions. This code is appropriate where there is a risk of invalid certification. The Head of Quality will decide future action (both centrally and locally) after consultation with the EV and Quality and Compliance Manager. The minimum EV sample size is 20% of candidates assessed work across all candidates to be certificated. The internal quality assurance sample is a minimum of 30% across all candidates. Centres with QQR 3a / 3b will have the appropriate level of external verification and EV visits as agreed by the Territory Quality Manager and the Quality and Compliance Manager. Non-compliance could result in withdrawal of centre approval for specific qualifications and notification to Regulatory Authorities, Sanction L4. Further continued non-compliance could result in withdrawal of centre approval for all ILM qualifications and notification to Regulatory Authorities Sanction L5. Centres that fall into these non-compliance issues would pose a serious risk to the integrity of qualifications being offered and would require an emergency support level. Such emergency support may be chargeable by ILM. 19 of 26

20 Cancelled Visits Both the EV and the centre should make every effort to ensure an activity takes place on the agreed date. If the EV is unable to keep to the date for whatever reason they must inform the centre contact at the centre as soon as possible and an alternative date should be arranged at the earliest opportunity. The EV must advise their Quality and Compliance Manager that the activity has been cancelled and advise as to the reason and the new date. If a centre cancels an agreed activity at the last moment without a valid reason then ILM reserve the right to charge the centre for that, as published in the Fees List. If this situation occurs the EV should contact their Quality and Compliance Manager. 20 of 26

21 Additional Support EVs should ensure centres are aware of the following sources of additional support. Depending on the QQR/ CSS in some cases they will be mandatory. ILM Centre events ILM Member events ILM Assessment service (ILMA) Local Quality and Business Development Manager ILM Web-site Named Customer Service Co-ordinator The first point of contact should always be Customer Service who can be contacted at Primary and Specialist EVs Where specialist EVs may be allocated to a centre, then a primary EV will be identified. It is expected that the Primary EV will undertake the CRF visit and routine/sampling activities, while the Specialist EVs will undertake appropriate remote monitoring / sampling of specific units or qualifications. 21 of 26

22 Request for Extensions to Candidate Registration Periods Extension requests for Awards and Certificates would not normally be approved, given that learners have three years to complete, but there might be more flexibility around Diplomas, depending on the reason provided for the request. We may have to refer extension requests to the regulators, so it is important that we follow due process with regards to consideration of requests and record keeping. If you contact your EV with an extension request, the request should be forwarded to the Quality and Compliance Manager. Please ensure that you provide your EV with full details of the learner, including registration number, date, qualification, and the reasons for the request. The reasons will need to be compelling running out of time will no longer be sufficient reason to grant an extension request. The Quality and Compliance Manager will then escalate the request to the Territory Quality and Compliance Manager for final approval. Dormant Centres 22 of 26

23 Where a centre is inactive and has no plans for any registrations the Quality and Compliance Manager will agree with the centre to withdraw the EV and give the centre dormant status. Centres who plan to become active again should inform the Quality and Compliance Manager. If only a short time has elapsed, 6 months, an EV will be reallocated. If the dormant time is 2 years, the centre may require benchmarking to ensure it still meets ILM approved centre criteria, for which a fee will be charged. Satellite Centres There will be an overall Centre Support Status and Qualification Quality Rating (per qualification suite at each level) which will apply to the main centre and any satellite sites linked to the main centre number. This is to encourage the main centre to ensure that all sites operate to the required quality assurance standards. 23 of 26

24 Other Assessment Requests Flexible assessment requests Where a centre requests to use an assessment other than one produced by ILM the request should be passed to the relevant Quality and Compliance Manager who considers each assessment and if the alternative is agreed will complete a pro forma to send to the EV, the centre and then stored centrally by the Assessment Hub for ILM. Reasonable adjustments These should be discussed with your EV who will in turn discuss with their Quality and Compliance Manager who will then make a decision as to the acceptability of the proposal or escalate this if required. Mapping Where a centre wishes to map a specific programme against ILM units/qualifications this should be referred to the Quality and Compliance Manager. The Quality and Compliance Manager will then decide if this is a chargeable activity to be undertaken by a dedicated ILM team of to agree any mapping that the centre may have undertaken. 24 of 26

25 Continuous Improvement The ILM Quality and Regulatory Group monitor this policy and any associated feedback and ensure that the ILM Standard is maintained to ensure our qualifications and programmes are accessible to all whilst maintaining quality in implementation. This policy shall be the subject of a three year review cycle or as necessary. 25 of 26

26 Copyright ILM is a City & Guilds Group business. This content in this document is copyright The City and Guilds of London Institute [2016]. The content in this document, may not be copied, reproduced or distributed without the prior written consent of The City and Guilds of London Institute, except that: 1. candidates studying for an ILM or City & Guilds qualification may photocopy this document free of charge, for the purposes of personal study, when working towards an ILM or City & Guilds qualification 2. approved City & Guilds and/or ILM centres and providers may include a PDF version of this document on their internal intranets, provided that centre staff may only make copies of the document for the purpose of teaching candidates working towards an ILM branded or City & Guilds qualification The Standard Copying Conditions also apply and can be found on The City and Guilds of London Institute website ILM 1 Giltspur Street London EC1A 9DD T +44 (0) customer@i-l-m.com 26 of 26