SQA’s Quality Healthcheck:

SQA’s Quality Healthcheck:

Supporting Customer Excellence

Customer Support Managers helping you today:Customer Support Managers helping you today:

Frank AllanClaire FarmerBarbara IrvineSarah McRobertsVal Yaneske

Quality AssuranceQuality Assurance

FunctionTo monitor and evaluate the quality of systems supporting the provision of SQA qualificationsTo ensure consistency of standards

Customer Support Managers will help you to ensure that you continue to meet SQA’s centre approval criteria

Centre approval criteriaCentre approval criteria(1)(1)

Customer Support Managers consider:Coherent approach to quality assuranceManagement of informationArrangements for responding to external verifier reportsManagement of resources

Centre approval criteriaCentre approval criteria(2)(2)

Management of staff involved in assessment and internal verificationManagement, induction, support and guidance of candidatesAppeals procedure for internal assessmentInternal verification procedures

Criterion 1.1: Management of Internal Criterion 1.1: Management of Internal Quality AssuranceQuality Assurance

Do you have an SQA procedures manual?Do you routinely date all documents?Are the roles of assessor, internal verifier, and centre contact documented?Do you have evidence of review of procedures and roles and responsibilities in the last year?

Criterion 1.2: Management of InformationCriterion 1.2: Management of Information(1)(1)

Can you show that all candidates agree to share their personal data with SQA under the terms of the Data Protection Act (1998)Do you have current home addresses for all your candidates?

Criterion 1.2: Management of InformationCriterion 1.2: Management of Information(2)(2)

Have you informed SQA of any changes?(eg contact names, phone numbers/e-mail addresses,software types and software media)Do you have written agreements for all partnerships? (eg sharing resources/staff, school/college partnerships for NQ/Skills for Work,‘buying in’assessment or internal verification services)

Criterion 1.3: Management of ResourcesCriterion 1.3: Management of Resources(1)(1)

Can you show that all staff assessing and internally verifying SVQs are appropriately qualified:- in the subject area?- to assess/internally verify?

Can you show that they are working to the standards of the Assessor/Verifier Units?(eg CPD records)

Criterion 1.3: Management of ResourcesCriterion 1.3: Management of Resources(2)(2)

Can you show how you ensure that you continue to have appropriate resources to support delivery and assessment of SQA qualifications?Do you have up-to-date site selection checklists for all sites?Are site selection checklists signed by a representative from the site as well as your own staff?

Criterion 1.3: Management of ResourcesCriterion 1.3: Management of Resources(3)(3)

If you are assessing candidates overseas, or planning to do so, can you show that you fulfil SQA’s requirements for overseas activity?

Criterion 1.4: Management of External Criterion 1.4: Management of External Quality AssuranceQuality Assurance

Do you have a written procedure for managing external verification visits?Are responsibilities in relation to external verifier visits included in written role descriptions?Can you show that feedback in external verifier reports is acted on?

Criterion 1.5: Management of Candidates (1)Criterion 1.5: Management of Candidates (1)

Can you show that every candidate receives an appropriate induction to the qualification?Does every candidate have a completed induction checklist, which they have signed?Do candidates have a formal statement from you specifying your responsibilities to them?

Criterion 1.5: Management of Candidates (2)Criterion 1.5: Management of Candidates (2)

Can you show how you ensure that all candidates have equal access to assessment?

(eg in relation to additional support needs, different sites, unsocial hours, remediation and reassessment)

Do you have a candidate complaints/grievance procedure?

Criterion 1.6: AppealsCriterion 1.6: Appeals

Does your internal appeals procedure have an independent third stage?Can you show that all candidates know how to appeal against an assessment decision?

Criterion 3.1: Internal verification (1)Criterion 3.1: Internal verification (1)

Do you have formal checks to ensure that you are using the current Unit/award?Can you show that all proposed assessments are subject to internal verification before use?Can you show that assessment materials are safely stored, and only available to authorisedstaff?

Criterion 3.1: Internal verification (2)Criterion 3.1: Internal verification (2)

Can you show that your sampling policy is implemented?Can you show how you ensure that assessment evidence is the candidate’s own work?Do you have evidence of review of internal verification practices?

How did you do?How did you do?

Yes to all?: congratulations, fully competent!No to some?: not yet fully competentand/orUnsure about some?: insufficient evidence- Consult your Customer Support Manager for

help in developing your systems

Contact

To find out who the Customer Support Manager

is for your areacall

0845 279 1000