Programme Guide...Tel: 0161 975 7777, Fax: 0161 975 7575, Email: [email protected] Web: DPG Support...

DPG plc. Programme Guide

Copyright Development Processes Group plc

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Programme

Guide

Human Resource Practitioner



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Contents Page

Welcome and Programme Overview

Welcome to your Programme 3 DPG & Facilitator Contact Details 4 CIPD Membership Benefits 5 CIPD Code of Professional Conduct 6 CIPD Contact Details 7 Programme Overview 8 Your HRP Programme in Outline 12 Programme Duration & DPG Attendance Policy 13 Programme Resources 15

Referencing your Work Why Reference? 16 How do I Reference? 16 Sources in References/Bibliography 17

Study Skills Making the best use of your Time 19 The importance of being Organised 20 How to Study 20 What to Study 21 Sharing your Learning 22

Assessment and Certification Assessment Overview 23 Extensions 24 Late Submissions 25 Quality Assurance Process 25 Receiving your CIPD Certificate 26

DPG Policies Attendance Policy 27 Flexible Working Attendance Policy 28 Equal Opportunities Policy 29 Access to Fair Assessment Policy 30

Supporting Individual Needs Policy 31 Internal Verification Policy 35 External Verification Policy 36 Appeals and Complaints Procedure 37 Plagiarism Policy 39



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Welcome to your Programme!

Hello, I’d like to personally welcome you to your CIPD Certificate in Human Resource Practice programme with DPG. I’m sure you will find the next 9 months a highly enjoyable and rewarding experience. The programme is innovative, forward looking and promises to provide a fantastic learning opportunity for you. The power of Human Resources is exceptional. Over the course of the programme you will develop the knowledge, understanding and skills to make a real impact. The programme will enable you to add real value and will play a key role in developing you into a next generation Human Resource practitioner. This is your programme guide. It is your first point of reference for anything to do with the programme, if you can’t find what you are looking for in here please contact your Facilitator or the CIPD Project Manager Jane Stanley, their contact details are on the next page. Throughout your programme you will be asked for feedback from your Facilitator and the DPG team, this helps us to ensure everything is running smoothly for you. The feedback that you provide is key to the continuous development of our programmes. The programme may prove challenging for you at times, however, the effort you put in over the next 9 months will certainly be worth it. I wish you the very best of luck and look forward to sending you your certificate in due course. Gail Power CIPD Operations Team Manager DPG plc.



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Contact Sheet

DPG Head Office

Development Processes Group plc, The Ellesmere, 93 Walkden Road, Manchester, M28 7BQ Tel: 0161 975 7777, Fax: 0161 975 7575, Email: [email protected],

Web: www.dpgplc.co.uk

DPG Support Team Phone Number E-mail Address

Gail Power

(CIPD Operations Team Manager) 0161 975 7777 [email protected]

Jane Stanley

(CIPD Project Manager) 0161 975 7777 [email protected]

Deborah Booth


Vicky Fletcher


Clare Clay

(Accounts & Finance Officer) 0161 975 7777 [email protected]

Facilitator Team Phone Number E-mail Address

Derek Robertson 07977 143233 [email protected]

Helen Bailey 07765 930673 [email protected]

Sue West 07773 773392 [email protected]

Fiona Chatham 07738 962223 [email protected]

Phil Willcox 07977 569398 [email protected]

Lisa Price 07810 870243 [email protected]

Helen Jeffery 07717 834562 [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.dpgplc.co.uk/















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Chartered Institute of Personnel and

Development (CIPD)

As a participant on any CIPD accredited programme you must become a member of the CIPD. The CIPD is Europe’s largest human resource and development professional body. Globally recognised the CIPD now has over 135,000 members. Tasked with supporting those who are responsible for the people management and development of others the CIPD’s objective is to drive sustained performance within organisations; building both future fit leaders and organisations.

CIPD Membership Benefits: Full details of membership benefits can be found at http://www.cipd.co.uk/Membership/benefits There are many benefits to becoming and remaining a member of the CIPD e.g.

Discounts

Professional indemnity insurance

Save 10% on books, training courses, conferences

Exclusive discounts on business/leisure products and services

Access to professional resources: www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources

Books, publications and toolkits

Company profiles

Fact Sheets

Pod Casts

Library catalogue service

Member-only website resources

Online journals and magazines

People Management magazine

Survey, reports and research

Training tools

http://www.cipd.co.uk/Membership/benefits

http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources



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Career development

CIPD’s HR profession Map

Access to HR jobs

CIPD qualifications

CPD tools

Professional recognition

Keep up to date

Email alerts/newsletters

Employment Law resources

People Management

Networking opportunities

CIPD branches

Communities

Conferences/exhibitions

Special interest forums

CIPD Code of Professional Conduct:

All members of the CIPD are expected to commit themselves to the CIPD’s code of professional conduct. This code sets out the standards of professional conduct that members are required to adhere to.

The code of professional conduct can be downloaded from the CIPD’s website at: http://www.cipd.co.uk/about/code-of-conduct-review/profco.htm

http://www.cipd.co.uk/about/code-of-conduct-review/profco.htm



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CIPD Contact Details:

CIPD, 151 The Broadway, London, SW18 1JQ

Phone 020 8612 6200, Fax 020 8612 6201, Web: http://www.cipd.co.uk

For Membership renewals 0208 612 6242

For enquiries about membership and studying CIPD qualifications

0208 612 6208

For CIPD conference events, short training courses, consultancy and publishing

0208 612 6202

For Library enquiries (this service is for members only) 0208 612 6210

For Website support 0208 612 6211

http://www.cipd.co.uk/



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Programme Overview

The Programme Our programme provides the opportunity for you to develop the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to be a next generation Human Resource practitioner. Developed with the latest thinking in mind and based upon modern facilitation techniques you will improve your practice and apply your learning back in your workplace from here on in.

How to be Successful To pass the CIPD Certificate in Human Resource Practice you must

Attend all workshop events

Participate in the DPG on line learning community Work through the DPG participant packs and core textbook Complete all assessments to demonstrate your knowledge, skills and

understanding

Complete a record/plan of your continuous professional development

Upon successful completion of the programme you are awarded the Foundation Level Certificate in Human Resource Practice.

CIPD’s new Associate Membership Gaining your CIPD qualification and upgrading your CIPD membership are now two separate processes. To gain the CIPD’s new Associate membership grade you need to demonstrate how you meet the knowledge, activities and behaviours required by an Associate member. These are referred to as the “Associate Member Criteria” – you can review these on the CIPD’s website under the ‘Membership’ section. The upgrade process is owned and managed by CIPD and is accessed via their website; on the membership pages. Whilst you are on your programme you can take a look at the upgrade application forms on the CIPD website. You will find that some of the activities you undertake as part of your programme generate great examples of how you make an impact in the workplace, and can be used as evidence for upgrading. After you have successfully completed your qualification, you can apply to the CIPD to upgrade your membership to the new Associate membership grade.



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Your first membership application is free if you apply within the first year of completing your qualification. If successful you will be upgraded to the new Associate membership grade. CIPD assess your evidence and provide you with a feedback report which either confirms the upgrade or outlines the actions you need to take to achieve it. For full details regarding CIPD membership and the upgrade process please visit: http:/www.cipd.co.uk/membership/

Our Approach We designed our programme to improve your performance and success. Innovative design, comprehensive materials and unparalleled support form a highly enjoyable and interactive experience. The programme’s design means you can be flexible about when and where you study, so you can fit much of your study and learning around other important parts of your life. The 9 workshops are spread over 9 days, and cover the content of the programme e.g.

Unit: Understanding organisations and the role of human resources Key learning outcomes:

Understand the purpose of an organisation and its operating environment

Understand the structure, culture and functions of an organisation Understand how HR activities support an organisation

Unit: Developing yourself as an effective human

resources practitioner Key learning outcomes:

Understand the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to be an effective HR practitioner

Know how to deliver timely and effective HR services to meet users’ needs

Be able to reflect on own practice and development needs and maintain a plan for professional development

http://www.cipd.co.uk/membership/



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Unit: Recording, analysing and using human resources information Key learning outcomes:

Understand what data needs to be collected to support HR practice

Know how HR data should be recorded, managed and stored Be able to analyse HR information and present findings to inform

decision-making

Unit: Supporting change in organisations Key learning outcomes:

Understand why organisations need to change and how change affects organisations

Understand the key factors involved in the change process and different approaches to managing change

Understand the impact of change on employees and the role of HR

Unit: Developing coaching skills for the workplace Key learning outcomes:

Understand the nature and purpose of coaching Know how to use a coaching style to improve performance in the

workplace

Be able to identify ways in which coaching can be implemented in an organisation

Unit: Resourcing talent Key learning outcomes:

Be able to explain the factors that affect an organisation’s talent

planning, recruitment and selection policy

Be able to identify appropriate recruitment and selection methods

Be able to contribute to the recruitment and selection interviewing

process for a job role

Understand the importance of effective induction



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Unit: Supporting good practice in performance and reward management Key learning outcomes:

Be able to explain the link between organisational success,

performance management and motivation

Be able to explain the relationship between performance management

and reward

Be able to contribute to effective performance and reward

management in the workplace

Be able to conduct and reflect upon a performance review



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Your HRP Programme in Outline

Date Workshop Open Learning Assessment CIPD Unit Pre-programme

Welcome Pack Introduction Activities including Learning Contract

Month 1 Welcome+. Introduction to your Programme (plus, the HR Role and Developing Yourself)

Developing yourself as an Effective HR Practitioner

HR Map Report CPD Plan and Record


Month 2 Supporting Change Supporting Change within Organisations

Newsletter Article Supporting Change within Organisations

Month 3 Coaching for Performance

Coaching for Performance

Skills’ Demonstration Report

Developing Coaching Skills for the Workplace

Month 4 Success Factors Behind Resourcing Talent

Success Factors Behind Resourcing Talent

Talent Planning Article

Resourcing Talent

Month 5 Resourcing Talent: Preparing for Success

Resourcing Talent: Preparing for Success

Skills Demonstration

Resourcing Talent Recording, Analysing & Using HR Information

Recording and Analysing HR Information

Analysis of Absence Data and Report

Month 6 Resourcing Talent: Skills Demonstrations

Resourcing Talent: Selection Interviewing

Skills Demonstration

Resourcing Talent

Month 7 Essentials of Performance Management

Essentials of Performance Management

Briefing Note Supporting Good Practice in Performance and Reward Management

Month 8 Reward and Managing Different Performance Levels

Reward and Managing Different Performance Levels

Briefing Note Supporting Good Practice in Performance and Reward Management

Month 9 The Performance

Review Meeting and Celebrate your Success

Reward and Managing

Different Performance Levels

Skills

Demonstration

Supporting Good

Practice in Performance and Reward Management Understanding Organisations and the Role of HR

Understanding Organisations and the Role of HR

Briefing Note

Month 9 plus one week

None CPD Record Reflection on Skills’ Development




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Programme Duration and DPG

Attendance Policy

The programme is nine months in duration. During the nine months you will attend a series of nine workshop events. These events will be facilitated by a CIPD approved DPG facilitator. Your facilitator will provide you with their contact details at the Welcome+ workshop and explain how they will support you throughout the course of your programme. As detailed in your welcome pack all workshop events are 1 day, therefore each month you are required to attend an 8 hour workshop.

DPG Attendance Policy Participants must attend all workshop events; complete all of your participant packs, assessments and pre-workshop activities to meet the CIPD’s attendance and study time criteria. The Attendance Policy has been developed as part of DPG’s commitment to providing a supportive learning environment which enables all participants to achieve their full potential. DPG recognises the investment that participants and their sponsors make when a participant enrols on a programme and believes that as a responsible CIPD provider it has a duty to monitor attendance and to act on non-attendance, so that participants can be fully supported to successfully complete their programme. Attendance is a key component in participant achievement. Participants who actively engage in their learning are more likely to enjoy a rewarding experience in which their knowledge, skills and abilities are developed, and successfully complete their programme. All workshop events run from 9:00am to 5:00pm. It is expected that participants arrive on time for workshop events and remain for the duration of the event. Participants are responsible for

Attending all workshop events Notifying the CIPD Project Manager of any workshop events they are

unable to attend and making alternative arrangements to attend the event in question



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Facilitators are responsible for

Reminding all participants of the importance of attendance and that it is a requirement to successfully complete the programme

Notifying the CIPD Project Manager of any non-attendance Non-attendance and withdrawal from programme of study Non-attendance will result in the withdrawal of participants from their programme unless there are personal mitigating circumstances that need to be taken into account. In this instance participants will be requested to provide written evidence of such circumstances to the CIPD Project Manager for review. Participants will be notified in writing of the outcome of such a review.

Should there be any difficulty in attending scheduled workshop events participants must notify the CIPD Project Manager to make arrangements to attend one of our other UK wide workshop events. See our DPG Flexible Workshop Attendance Policy later in this guide for further information.



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Programme Resources

At Welcome+ you will receive a number of materials which will help support you during your studies for the Certificate in Human Resource Practice.

These materials include:

A set of CIPD approved learning materials unique to DPG called Participant Packs

A core reference book to support your learning Access to our Certificate Level Case Study organisation's website - Gill

Davis Productions (GDP)

Access to the DPG on line learning community



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Referencing Your Work

Why Reference? You need to reference other people’s work, opinions and research to identify in your writing that you have consulted other published sources. If you don’t reference your work, you are claiming all of the material is your own. There are many different ways of referencing; for the purpose of our programme we will be using the Harvard referencing system.

What Don’t I Need to Reference? General Knowledge – For example, David Cameron is Prime Minister

and America is a larger country than the UK. Your Own Ideas – Any findings or insights from your own research

that are definitely your own.

How do I Reference my Work? When you reference materials and sources in your text you should include the surname of the author or editor, the date of publication and, when necessary, a page reference number to be separated from the rest of the information by a comma. For example: Currie (2006) reviews the research around human resource planning and suggests... Alternatively, if you want to discuss an author’s theory and don’t believe their name is best set in your sentence, you can place a reference to them at the end of a sentence such as (Currie 2006). If you want to directly quote from the source material, you should use quotation marks around the text. You should also reference the writer’s name, year of publication and page number where the text appears. For example: “It is not easy to set out a recipe to ensure that learning always does work to add value to the individual and the organisation” (Hackett, 2003, p.13). Multiple works - same author When an author has published more than one source in the same year, you distinguish them by adding a lowercase letter after the year: (Currie, 2006a) (Currie, 2006b)



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Two authors same work In the study by Brown and Green (2003)... Three or more authors Jones et al. (1998)... – et al. means ‘and others’ More than one author shown in text Brown (1960) and Smith (1999) have shown... Two authors, same work not directly cited in the text (Brown & Green, 2003) More than one author not directly cited in the text (Borris, 1992; Mullins, 2006) No author Control and compliance is described by Anon (2001); or (Anon, 2001) No date Smith (n.d.) with respect that...; or (Smith, n.d.) Several works, different author, different years Block (1992; 1993) or (Block, 1992; 1993) Second-hand references (Brown 1996, cited in Dermot 2001) & by Brown (1996, cited in Dermot 2001) as...

Sources in References/Bibliography In your references/bibliography section of any written reports you need to include the full reference to any source material you have used. For example Author, A. (Year) Title of book. Edition (only include this if not the first edition). Place of publication: Publisher. Below you will find a few examples of how to present certain source materials such as books, journals and online material. Books One author Currie, D. (2006) Introduction to Human Resource Management. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.



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Two authors Bee, F. and Bee, R. (2003) Learning Needs Analysis and Evaluation. 2nd ed. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Three or more authors Aubrey, K. et al., (2006) HR Planning. Hampshire: Palgrave Chapter in a book Samson, C (1970) Problems of Information Studies in History. In S. Stone, ed. Humanities information research. Sheffield: CRUS, 1980, p. 44-68. Journal Articles Dee, K. and Hatton, A. (2006) How to Face Training Evaluation Head-on. People Management. Vol 12, No 6, pp. 40-41. Online Resources Thomson, I. (2008) Evaluating Training and Learning [Internet]. London: CIPD Available at: http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/lrnanddev/evaluation/evatrain.htm [accessed 10th August 2008]. DPG Participant packs DPG (2011) Supporting Change within Organisations, Manchester: Development Processes Group. Workshop Training Robertson, D. (2011) Supporting Change Workshop, Edinburgh: Development Processes Group, 3rd April.

http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/lrnanddev/evaluation/evatrain.htm



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Study Skills As a certificate level qualification this programme requires you to demonstrate a number of skills e.g.

Research/study skills

Critical thinking/analysis This section helps you to start to develop your study skills. The programme itself provides lots of opportunities for you to develop and exercise these skills further. Critical thinking/analysis involves clarifying goals, examining assumptions, identifying hidden values or bias, evaluating evidence, carrying out actions, and assessing conclusions. Throughout the programme you’ll be encouraged to develop this skill.

Making the best use of your time As soon as you start the programme you’ll realise that you need to plan in time to complete additional learning and assessments outside of the workshops. Effective time management and study skills are essential for you to make the most of your learning and successfully complete your programme:

Time management helps you identify the hours you’ll need to fit into your schedule for studying. It helps you avoid wasting time by being better organised. It’ll also save you time through planning.

Effective study skills are about how and what you study. These ensure that you optimise your learning and therefore your progress in whatever time you have available.

Study Skills Matrix Throughout your programme you need to monitor the efficiency and effectiveness of your studying. Start now, take time out to plan your activities, set objectives and review progress. You’ll inevitably try and benchmark yourself against others, but don’t be too hard on yourself – remember their learning style or starting point may be quite different from yours. Efficient and effective study is the key as highlighted in the following matrix:



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The importance of being organised Organising your studying from day one is the key to effective and efficient study skills. Organisation tips

Take time to plan how you’re going to file and reference information - remember you may want to refer later to material studied for an earlier subject, so you need to make sure you can find it easily

Get into the habit of summarising or highlighting key points in materials so that you can review them quickly

During workshops or when working through your participant packs make notes to help you with assessments

Make a list of your favourite websites so that you can speed up your Internet searches. Or store them in your favourites on your browser.

How to study The key to effectiveness is focusing on how to study. This can be a key barrier if it’s been a few years since your last studied. Be aware of your own learning style, what works and what doesn’t and recognise that we all have different learning styles. You may be familiar with the work of Honey and Mumford (1982) on learning styles. They categorised four types of learner, as outlined below. Activists If you’re an activist, you’re a doer. You want to try things for yourself and enjoy practical sessions in the workshops. Try and look for opportunities to

Effective Ineffective

Efficient

Focused on the right learning in the right way, and doing it in the time available.

Using time in an organised way, but failing to make progress as a result of inappropriate materials or method of study.

Inefficient

Learning the right material but wasting time, so progress is slow.

In real trouble: wasting time and failing to make progress. As a result, learning becomes very frustrating.



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test out your learning in the workplace. Use your participant packs to make your study more practical. You may find it harder to understand the underpinning theory and its implications. Activists can fall into the trap of seeing the task in terms of finishing the subject, so they rush through the material. Therefore take time to review and reflect. Pragmatists If you’re a pragmatist you’re interested in knowing whether things work in practice. Case studies, facilitator’s experiences and other learners’ comments will be of most interest to you. Your participant packs and workshop discussions will be good sources for your learning. Take every opportunity to talk to other participants on your programme and in work. You’ll need to take care not to dismiss academic theory. It provides the essential foundations to your work as a practitioner, so consider it with a view to seeing how it can add value. Reflectors If you are a reflector you don’t like to be rushed, the pressures of an intensive programme can leave you reeling. You need time to stop and think about things – so making time for review is critical to your study plan. You enjoy feedback sessions, so make the most of any discussions and opinions shared in workshops. You might also get a lot out of online discussions and debates. You’ll have to make more of an effort than others to turn theory into practice. Make sure you manage your progress so that reflection doesn’t slow you down. Theorists You like to discover the theory and concepts from analysis. You’re good at integrating information from different sources, so you’ll relish using facilitator notes, websites and textbooks to help you build up the bigger picture. You’ll need to make more of an effort when it comes to looking at different views and approaches.

What to study You might think that deciding what to spend your time studying would be straightforward, but it’s very easy to weight your study towards the topics you find particularly easy or interesting. You need to allow more time for topics you’re less comfortable with, giving you the opportunity to build your confidence.



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Sharing your Learning

Learning needn’t be done in isolation. You will be part of a programme group so use the group for support. Help each other and enjoy the social aspects of study e.g.

Use your DPG on line learning community discussion group so that you can share information quickly and easily. Share with your group colleagues information about interesting media programmes and articles

Share research and reading by splitting up subjects and asking for summaries and highlights of key points

Circulate web-links and case examples to ensure you’re all aware of the hottest topics

Review and provide feedback on assessments or participant packs

Visit other participants’ workplaces to broaden your sector knowledge and understanding.



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AAsssseessssmmeenntt aanndd CCeerrttiiffiiccaattiioonn

Assessment Overview: Assessing your Work Each unit in your programme has a minimum of two assessments on which your facilitator gives you feedback and assesses your work formally against the CIPD’s assessment criteria, as either ‘Meets CIPD standard’ or ‘Doesn’t yet meet CIPD standard’. The assessment activity questions are included in your participant pack. These are either – “Show you know”- knowledge based activities or “Show you can” – skills based activities. We designed the programme to give you different ways to show your knowledge, skills and understanding against the CIPD’s qualification criteria. Every assessment gives you the activity question, advice on what to do and a structure for your response content. Look carefully at each assessment activity as it lets you know the; method of response, depth of response required and an indication of the amount of work required in your response.

Word Counts The assessment will specify the word count required, you need to keep to within the word count plus/minus 10%. These follow CIPD’s specifications so it is important for you to make sure that your response meets these.

Submitting Assessments During the workshops your facilitator will highlight the forthcoming assessments. The submission dates are fixed and we cannot extend them, without proof of mitigating circumstances. Before the submission date we can only give you guidance. Submitting drafts is not permitted, as the CIPD guidelines stipulate:

A facilitator may review with the candidate the initial outline and subsequently one of the sections of an assessment before formal submission of the document. Once the completed work has been handed in, it must be formally assessed. Formative assessment of the completed written assignment is not permitted.

Your facilitator will acknowledge receipt of your submission within 72 hours. When they do so they will also confirm when you’ll receive your feedback, this is usually within 3 weeks of the final submission date. Please keep a copy of all work you submit for assessment as DPG do not accept liability for any work not received or lost in transit. DPG support for your assessments spans the dates outlined in your programme timeline, which you will be given on your welcome+ workshop.



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Dedicated support from your DPG facilitator ceases on the timeline completion date. If you gain agreement for extensions due to mitigating circumstances, you will incur an additional fee of £17 per CIPD unit for the unit's assessment(s). This fee is payable at the time your revised assessment deadlines are agreed and confirmed.

Assessment DPG plc is an approved CIPD centre and applies CIPD criteria when assessing your work. Your facilitator looks at your response against this criterion to decide if you have provided a sufficient and valid response. They then make their decision as to whether your work meets the CIPD criteria or not. They record their decision on the feedback template. This decision is not a formal decision until it has been ratified by internal and external quality assurance.

Meets CIPD Standard/Doesn’t yet Meet CIPD

Standard Your facilitator assesses your work and gives you developmental feedback. If your assessment doesn’t meet CIPD standards you get additional advice on what to do next.

You then have 28 days to resubmit the assessment to your facilitator

You are allowed a maximum of 2 submissions. If the second submission is also referred you will be withdrawn from your programme.

Feedback Once your work has been assessed we give you written feedback. The feedback is electronic on the DPG feedback template within your Participant Packs, and you and your facilitator both keep a copy. Feedback is constructive and developmental and highlights to you areas of good practice and recommends areas where you can improve on moving forward.

Extensions In considering the granting of an extension your facilitator and the CIPD

Director takes into consideration the circumstances surrounding your case.

In particular the following are taken into account: a) Are the circumstances such that it is not reasonable for you to meet the deadline or attend at the allotted time and b) Could the circumstances have been foreseen by or avoided by you and c) Have you acted promptly in applying for an extension and



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d) What is the strength of your supporting evidence, and e) Is it fair and practical given the circumstances of the case to grant an extension or to allow you to re-take the assessment at another time.

All extension requests must be submitted in writing to your

facilitator.

Late Submissions There are fixed penalties for submitting an assessment late, this is to ensure that we exercise fairness of assessment and that nobody gains an advantage by having extra time. If you submit any piece of assessment late and have not been granted an extension you may be WITHDRAWN from the programme. Your case will be referred to the CIPD Director who will notify you of the outcome in writing.

Quality Assurance Process

DPG have to ensure that we adopt the CIPD’s quality assurance procedures when awarding this qualification. This quality assurance process consists of internal and external verification of DPG’s marking and assessment processes.

Internal verification is completed by DPG on a regular basis. Each CIPD Unit within this qualification is verified to ensure consistency, fairness and compliance with CIPD requirements. The internal verifier looks at a sample of assessments; this sample is taken across all DPG programmes, venues and facilitators. In sampling the verifier looks at the decision given along with your activity to see if they agree or disagree with the decision made. If they disagree they indicate why and what additional evidence is required before the “Meets the CIPD standard“ decision can be confirmed. If this occurs your facilitator will contact you and agree with you what you need to do.

In addition to our own internal verification process the CIPD appoint an External Verifier for our entire Certificate programmes. Once internal verification has taken place, the External Verifier also samples the assessed work and checks that the assessment outcomes are fair and consistent. Again in this they look at the decision given along with your activity to see if they agree or disagree with the decision made. If they disagree they indicate why and what additional evidence is required before the “Meets the CIPD Standard “decision can be confirmed. If this occurs your facilitator will contact you and agree with you what you need to do.

The External Verifier has a wider remit too; they also review all aspects of DPG’s qualification delivery process to make sure that it meets the CIPD’s award specifications.



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If you feel unhappy with any of your assessments, or the assessment process, you have the right to appeal. The appeals procedure can be found at the end of this document.

Receiving your CIPD Certificate

On completion of your programme final quality checks are completed by DPG and CIPD. This takes place after you have attended your workshops and successfully completed your participant packs and assessment activities.

Once these quality checks have been completed we apply to CIPD for your Certificate. There is generally a 6-8 week lead time from receipt of DPG’s paperwork and the generation of your Certificate by CIPD. CIPD then return your Certificate to DPG. We then email you immediately to confirm your address and let you know that your Certificate is on its way.



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DPG Policies

DPG Attendance Policy Participants must attend all workshop events; complete all of your participant packs, assessments and pre-workshop event activities to meet the CIPD’s attendance and study time criteria. The Attendance Policy has been developed as part of DPG’s commitment to providing a supportive learning environment which enables all participants to achieve their full potential. DPG recognises the investment that participants and their sponsors make when a participant enrols on a programme and believes that as a responsible CIPD provider it has a duty to monitor attendance and to act on non-attendance, so that participants can be fully supported to successfully complete their programme. Attendance is a key component in participant achievement. Participants who actively engage in their learning are more likely to enjoy a rewarding experience in which their knowledge, skills and abilities are developed, and successfully complete their programme. All workshop events run from 9:00am to 5:00pm. It is expected that participants arrive on time for workshop events and remain for the duration of the event. Participants are responsible for

Attending all workshop events Notifying the CIPD Project Manager of any workshop events they are

unable to attend and making alternative arrangements to attend the event in question

Facilitators are responsible for

Reminding all participants of the importance of attendance and that it is a requirement to successfully complete the programme

Notifying the CIPD Project Manager of any non-attendance Non-attendance and withdrawal from programme of study Non-attendance will result in the withdrawal of participants from their programme unless there are personal mitigating circumstances that need to be taken into account. In this instance participants will be requested to provide written evidence of such circumstances to the CIPD Project Manager for review. Participants will be notified in writing of the outcome of such a review.



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DPG Flexible Workshop Attendance Policy

Should there be any difficulty in attending scheduled workshop events participants must notify the CIPD Project Manager to make arrangements to attend one of our other UK wide workshop events. This CIPD’s award policy requires you to attend 100% of the programme’s workshops. We recognise that at times, it may be difficult to attend a planned workshop event in your programme. If this occurs we will look to offer you alternative dates/locations and you can change to a different workshop event without charge. All we ask is you request the move at least 7 days before your scheduled workshop date. If you need to move workshops within 7 days of your scheduled workshop event date you can still do so. However we do make a small admin charge of £25. This is to cover our costs for cancelling your place with your original venue at short notice. You will be asked to pay the £25 fee by debit or credit card at the time of workshop change. Requests to change workshops need to be made to Jane Stanley CIPD Project Manager – [email protected]. 0161-975-7777




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Equal Opportunities Policy

Development Processes Group plc is committed to eliminating discrimination and promoting good relations and equal opportunities. The Company, in the provision of goods and services and employment of staff will seek to involve and assist people from all groups in the communities within which we work. The Company will abide by the Equality Act 2010, Sex Discriminations Acts 1975 and 1986, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, Race Relations Act 1976 and implement the provision of the CRE Codes of Practice. In order to achieve this aim we have adopted an Equal Opportunities Policy, with the intention that: 1. Any person or group seeking services, employment or contracts with the Company will be treated exactly the same as any other person or group, whatever their race, colour, ethnic or national origin, and whatever their religion, creed, gender, sexual orientation, disability, appearance, age or marital status. 2. We will act positively to recruit staff and learners at all levels from under represented or minority groups. Where necessary, we will provide training to help achieve this aim (section 9). 3. We will collect information and monitor records of those seeking work from the Company. We will ensure that the results, where necessary lead to a change in policy and procedures. 4. In hiring associated consultants, contractors and other agencies to work on behalf of the Company, we will be mindful of our commitment of equality of opportunity. 5. All forms of harassment, against or by an associated consultant, employee or contractor will be dealt with promptly, firmly and sensitively. 6. No action will be taken without first consulting the person being harassed. We will support and protect the victim. Where the perpetrator is known and is an associated consultant, employee or contractor, the Company will take appropriate action against the perpetrator. Where the perpetrator is not an associated consultant, employee or contractor and / or is known, we will take every reasonable practical step to ascertain who was involved in harassing the victim and will take appropriate action.



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Access to Fair Assessment Policy

The access to fair assessment policy aims to ensure that all assessments are

Respectful of equality and diversity issues Transparent and fit for purpose Valid Reliable Using appropriate language

DPG is committed to ensuring that the above is translated into practice by ensuring that Facilitators/Assessors

Are competent in understanding and assessing CIPD assessments Record the outcomes of all assessments on CIPD or CIPD approved

templates Provide feedback to learners mapped against achievement of the

learning outcomes External Verifiers/Internal Verifiers

Confirm assessors meet CIPD requirements for the role Verify the appropriateness of the assessment strategy Verify the appropriateness of individual assessments against the

learning outcomes for all units Can ask for additional activity to be completed Ensure that records of facilitators are clear and up to date Ensure that all learner feedback is clear, constructive developmental

and inline with the requisite assessment criteria Ensure that all assessment decisions are fair and valid Provide written feedback to DPG on all aspects of the assessment

process Ensure that any quality assurance recommendations are implemented

and reviewed Provide advice and support to develop assessors Monitor ongoing compliance to CIPD requirements

Participants Are made aware of DPG’s assessment appeals procedure Are clear on the assessment strategy and its component parts Are made aware of all deadlines associated with the programme

together with the deadlines for all individual pieces of assessment Receive feedback within reasonable timeframes that relates to the

assessment of the learning outcomes for the unit(s)



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Supporting Individual Needs Policy

DPG recognise that reasonable adjustments or special considerations to our programmes and assessments may be required, where

a permanent disability or specific learning need occurs

a temporary disability, medical condition or learning need occurs

a participant is indisposed at the time of the assessment.

In the above circumstances we will make reasonable adjustments and special consideration arrangements so participants can receive recognition of their achievement. These arrangements are neither concessions to make assessment easier, nor advantages to give participants a head start. Any arrangements made will still ensure that the assessments are, valid, reliable and fair. Reasonable Adjustments Where a participant requests an adjustment to an assessment due to any of the above needs, DPG will take action to help to reduce the effect of the disability or difficulty that places them at a substantial disadvantage in the assessment situation. Any reasonable adjustments will not affect the reliability and validity of the assessment outcomes. Adjustments will include:

changing standard assessment arrangements (for example, allowing a candidate extra time to complete an assessment activity)

adapting assessment materials (for example, providing materials in larger fonts)

re-organisation of the assessment situation.

The nature of the reasonable adjustment will be determined according to the assessment needs of the individual participant. Agreement of the adjustment will depend on 'what is reasonable' in terms of:

maintenance of the integrity of what needs to be assessed

individual circumstances cost implications practicality effectiveness health and safety.

Reasonable adjustments must be requested at registration then approved or set in place before the assessment activity takes place. The work produced by



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the participant should be marked in the same way as the work of other assessed participants. DPG will:

Communicate the centre's own Access to Assessment Policy to all staff, facilitators and participants

Create an atmosphere in which participants are comfortable to disclose access-related needs

Anticipate and make adequate provision for possible adjustments that future participants might need

Provide access awareness training for staff involved in the recruitment, advice and guidance of potential participants

Select appropriate qualifications/standards for participants, depending on their particular circumstances

Identify as early as possible (before registration) any difficulties the participants may have in accessing assessment

Explain to the participants the assessment requirements of the qualification

Make it clear at the outset if it appears that the participant will not be able to meet all of the requirements and explain the restriction on achievement as a result - (for example, if a participant is unable to demonstrate specific skills they may be unable to gain achievement of the qualification)

Select an appropriate adjustment to make assessment accessible (without lowering the standard) and involve the participant in making these decisions

In any cases of doubt, contact the CIPD for advice on suitable and appropriate adjustments

Follow CIPD procedures for requesting and implementing adjustments for access

Apply to the CIPD for reasonable adjustment on behalf of a participant, where this is necessary

Keep records for audit purposes of reasonable adjustments made

Design assessment activities in such a way that they are accessible to participants

Ensure buildings used for assessment are accessible as far as is practical

Ensure health and safety is not compromised – conduct risk assessments.



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Special Considerations Special consideration can be applied after an assessment if there was a reason the participant may have been disadvantaged during the assessment. Each request for special consideration will be unique to the participant or assessment and will depend on the circumstances at the time of the assessment and will reflect the difficulty faced by the participant. Special consideration may result in a small adjustment to the overall result. The size of the adjustment will depend on the circumstances during the assessment but will always be a minor adjustment. Special consideration may be given to participants who have a temporary illness, injury or indisposition, or who suffer adverse circumstances at the time of the assessment. Again, the decision depends on the answer to the question 'what is reasonable' in terms of:

not giving the person unfair advantage

reflecting the person’s achievement in the assessment and not their potential ability.

It might include giving the participant the opportunity to repeat the assessment at a later date. It should be noted that where an assessment requires the participant to demonstrate practical competence or where criteria have to be met fully it may not be possible to apply special consideration. In some circumstances it may be more appropriate to offer the candidate an opportunity to take the assessment at a later opportunity. Special consideration should not give the candidate unfair advantage. The candidate’s results must reflect his/her achievement in the assessment and not their potential ability. Eligibility Criteria for Special Consideration A participant who is fully prepared and present for a scheduled assessment may be eligible for special consideration if:

performance in an assessment is affected by circumstances beyond the control of the participant e.g. recent personal illness, accident, bereavement, serious disturbance during the assessment, domestic crisis

alternative assessment arrangements which were agreed in advance of the assessment proved inappropriate or inadequate



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part of an assessment has been missed due to circumstances beyond the control of the participant.

Participants Cannot Make a Request for Special Consideration if:

it is solely on the grounds of disability or learning difficulty. In these circumstances they must declare their needs prior to the assessment period and all necessary arrangements must have been implemented

any part of the assessment is missed due to personal arrangements including holiday or unauthorised absence

preparation for a component is affected by difficulties during the course e.g. disturbances through building work, lack of proper facilities, changes in or shortages of staff, or industrial disputes.

there is an absence of supporting evidence in the form of a medical certificate supplied by the participant where consideration is requested for a medical condition.



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Internal Verification Policy

DPG is committed to meeting CIPD requirements and providing an exceptional learning experience to all participants. As a reflection of our commitment to quality assurance DPG has an Internal Verification (IV) process in place to ensure consistency and fairness of assessment. DPG’s Internal Verification Strategy is reviewed annually and where appropriate is updated following CIPD External Verification visits. DPG’s Internal Verifier is responsible for

Ensuring that the CIPD’s Professional Standards are met Regularly sampling assessment decisions made by DPG facilitators in

order to monitor and ensure consistency in the interpretation and application of CIPD standards within the DPG centre

Providing critical and developmental feedback reports to DPG to ensure consistency and fairness of assessment is maintained and promoted

Providing feedback to DPG on the effectiveness of assessment Ensuring that action points agreed are implemented Maintaining up-to-date records of internal verification and sampling

activity and ensuring that these are available for the purposes of external verification

Facilitating assessment development sessions for DPG facilitators The Internal Verifier (IV) is kept fully up to date with all CIPD developments at DPG. The IV is provided with web-based access to a document that highlights all of the groups of participants (cohorts) that are undertaking the programme. This document contains all of the Candidate Achievement Records (CARs) for the said cohorts. The IV will select a sample of assessments that they will review across all units, groups and facilitators. They do this to compare decisions made across differing assessors, methods and participants to ensure that DPG assessors are consistent and fair. Feedback reports are then provided to DPG which are acted upon and made accessible to the facilitator team and the CIPD External Verifier (EV). The role of the IV is not to second mark assessments. The IV is tasked with ensuring that assessments decisions being made are fair, consistent and in line with the CIPD’s expectations. They do however ratify decisions and can ask for additional evidence if they do not feel assessment criteria have been met in the work seen.



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External Verification Policy The CIPD appoint an External Verifier (EV) who is responsible for quality assuring the entire DPG centre and all DPG CIPD Programmes. The External Verifiers role is to review all aspects of DPG’s qualification delivery process to make sure that it meets CIPD award specifications. The External Verifier is responsible for:

Checking that internal quality assurance systems meets CIPD requirements

Confirming assessors and verifiers meet CIPD requirements Sampling assessments to ensure they are valid, reliable, safe, fair and

approved by CIPD Sample assessment decisions to ensure they are based on valid,

authentic, sufficient, current evidence

Sign off Achievement Records for award of certificates Provide support and advice to help DPG improve internal quality

assurance The role of the EV is not to mark assessments. The EV is tasked with ensuring that assessments decisions being made are fair, consistent and in line with the CIPD’s expectations. They do however ratify decisions and can ask for additional evidence if they do not feel assessment criteria have been met in the work seen.



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Appeals and Complaints Procedure

We have a clear and consistent policy – to fairly and honestly assess all the evidence that you provide in support of your claims for competency. Your assessor will give you constructive feedback after each assessment, so you know what you are doing well and where you can make improvements. If you disagree with any results of an assessment you have the right to appeal using this procedure. At any stage you are entitled to be accompanied and/or represented by someone of your choice. Stage 1 Your first step is to raise your concerns and discuss the matter with your Facilitator. If your work has been marked by one of DPG’s markers instead of your Facilitator please contact the DPG Project Manager who will liaise with the marker on your behalf. Stage 2 If a satisfactory agreement cannot be made at this point, write to us with details of the assessment and what you want to happen as a result of your appeal. Send it so that we receive it within 72 hours of your Stage 1 discussions to:

Gail Power, CIPD Operations Manager, DPG plc

The Ellesmere, 93 Walkden Road, Worsley, Manchester M28 7BQ

As long as we receive it within the time limit the Operations Manager will investigate your appeal and write to you and the facilitator or assessor with their findings, within 7 working days. It should take no more than 15 working days to complete Stage 2. Stage 3 Appeal to CIPD about DPG decisions This is only possible when we have exhausted the DPG appeals procedure and you are still not satisfied.

1. Send your appeal in writing to the Certificate Programmes Quality Assurance Team, CIPD, 151 The Broadway, London, SW19 4UX within 30 days of the internal appeal decision.



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2. The CIPD will check the registration details and the centre’s appeal details.

3. The Certificate Programmes Quality Assurance Team will appoint an

appropriate member of CIPD staff to adjudicate the appeal, and keep you informed.

4. The CIPD will let you know the outcome of the appeal within 30 days,

along with details of any remedial action if the appeal is upheld.



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Plagiarism Policy

DPG plc is committed to the detection of plagiarism and to taking appropriate measures when it is detected. The responsibility for judging whether plagiarism has taken place remains with DPG facilitators, assessors and ultimately the DPG Senior Management team. By studying CIPD qualifications with DPG participants agree to the submission of their work to the CIPD Project Manager for investigation if plagiarism is suspected. Plagiarism as defined by CIPD: Plagiarism occurs whenever participants present the results of another person, whatever the medium (text, written or electronic, computer programmes, data sets, visual images whether still or moving) as their own. All quotations from published or unpublished works of other persons including other candidates must be fully acknowledged and referenced accordingly. During the course of a CIPD programme there may be instances when participants need to work collaboratively e.g. during research/design stages. This is perfectly acceptable however participants must be reminded of the need to attribute this accordingly. Plagiarism investigations will involve: 1. Comparison with other works, published or unpublished 2. Comparison with works previously submitted by participants for purposes of assessment. Responsibilities It is the responsibility of all participants to ensure that work submitted for assessment is their own work. All DPG assessments should be accompanied by a signed cover sheet declaring that the participants work is their own. Plagiarism Policy Participants must:

Ensure that work submitted for assessment is their own Ensure that the words and arguments of others are appropriately cited

and referenced using an accepted referencing system e.g. Harvard referencing system

Not copy materials from other participants, past or present, from written sources, from the Internet, or from any other source. Work submitted by participants must be their own unless it is specifically indicated within the text through appropriate referencing.



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Action on detection of plagiarism: Evidence of plagiarism should be carefully gathered and submitted to the DPG CIPD Operations Manager for investigation. Issues relating to plagiarism by an individual participant or participants are confidential matters and will be treated as such. Following investigation and assuming that there is clear evidence that plagiarism has taken place one of the following courses of action will be taken: 1. Unintentional Plagiarism: If the plagiarism is considered to be minor and did not constitute intentional cheating then guidance and support will be provided to address any underlying issues. This might include revision of appropriate referencing practice. The participant must be informed of the unacceptability of plagiarism and the need to abide by accepted practice. If the plagiarism would have altered the result obtained by the participant if undetected then the assessment must be retaken. This will count as a second attempt. If the problem arises from a failure on the part of the participant to reference properly, or to understand the requirements of the assessment, then this issue must also be addressed before the assessment is retaken. 2. Genuine Plagiarism: If it is deemed that this is an instance of genuine plagiarism then disciplinary action will be taken in line with the CIPD’s policy on cheating and plagiarism. Plagiarism is construed by CIPD as professional misconduct. The following action will be taken: 2.1 Cases will be referred to the DPG Senior Management for independent review. Following this review the participant will be informed of the outcomes which may include disqualification from the programme/qualification and further referral of the case to the CIPD. 2.2 If the case is referred to the CIPD the participant will be notified and appropriate action will be taken following CIPD’s recommendations. This may have implications on your CIPD membership status.



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Certificate in Human Resource Practice

DPG Plc.

The Ellesmere 93 Walkden Road

Manchester M28 7BQ

Tel: 0161 975 7777 www.dpgplc.co.uk Twitter: @DPGplc

Facebook: www.facebook.com/dpgplc DPG Community:

http://community.dpgplc.co.uk

http://www.dpgplc.co.uk/

https://twitter.com/DPGplc

http://www.facebook.com/dpgplc

http://community.dpgplc.co.uk/

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Programme Guide...Tel: 0161 975 7777, Fax: 0161 975 7575, Email: [email protected] Web: DPG Support...

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