Policy Statement

Internal Quality Assurance (IQA) is concerned with monitoring the learner’s journey throughout their time undertaking a qualification at Dark Olive CIC.

IQA involves monitoring the training and assessment activities and the quality of work learners produce, in terms of meeting the correct grading criteria. Internal quality assurance helps to ensure that assessment and IQA activities are valid, authentic, sufficient, fair and reliable.

Internal Quality Assurance measures the quality, delivery, processes, procedures and learner achievements.

Statement of Principles

Key concepts and principles of Internal Quality Assurance of assessment include:-

• ensuring quality standards throughout the learner journey
• ensuring accuracy and consistency of assessment decisions made by assessors
• identifying issues and trends that develop
• supporting and developing assessors and tutors
• ensuring accountability for assessment decisions and quality standards, awarding body procedures and policies are maintained
• ensuring achievement made by learners and judged by assessors is recognised and meets the grading criteria
• ensuring the correct and appropriate assessment strategies are used by assessors
• ensuring confidentiality of the learner and provider are maintained at all times
• ensuring sampling both interim and summative is occurring

Internal quality assurance principles include; ensuring standardisation activities take place, assessment decisions embrace inclusion, equality is promoted with learners and the diversity of learners is valued by all staff.

It ensures that fairness is apparent in all assessment decisions and that there are auditable records to show this.

Other principles include maintaining health and safety practices, such as risk assessments.

Also ensuring all staff have access to training and CPD, that assessors and staff members are motivated and that clear communication takes place regularly.

IQA Activities

Dark Olive CIC will ensure that learner work, which has not been certificated, is made available to the awarding organisation and the regulators on request. Related assessment and internal quality assurance (IQA) records will also be made available.

Dark Olive CIC will retain the following for a minimum of three years following certification:

• Candidate registration and certification details
• Assessment records, including name of the assessor and location, date and outcome of assessment e.g. formative and summative achievements, assessment tracking records, assessment results
• Internal quality assurance records e.g. pre-course IQA, observation reports, IQA schedules, complaints correspondence
• Representative samples of learner work, including those where there are irregularities or reasonable adjustment, special considerations or appeals.

Dark Olive CIC will undertake sampling of assessment judgements in line with the sampling plans in place for all qualifications offered. All retained samples will include all of the assessed evidence, supporting assessment documentation and IQA records.

Dark Olive CIC will keep a minimum of one representative sample of learner work [full unit(s)/qualification(s) for each qualification and each academic year] for a period of three years to facilitate the monitoring of standards over time.

The sample(s) may be a copy rather than the original, and the learner’s written agreement for its retention must be obtained.

Irrespective of the nature of the learner’s work, Dark Olive CIC will keep sufficient evidence (documentary, photographic, audio or video recordings as appropriate) and IQA records.

Dark Olive CIC will make available samples of assessed learner work selected by the external quality assurer or requested separately by the awarding organisation.

Dark Olive CIC will anonymise samples of assessed learner work and accompanying IQA documentation before they are submitted to the awarding organisation.

Sampling will be formative and summative and at a 10% to 25% of learner evidence, depending on the assessor’s experience, qualifications and competency. (100% for new or newly qualified staff members).

Sampling may take place formatively.

All completed qualifications will be summatively sampled.

An assessor will receive a sampling report within three days of submitting a learner portfolio for sampling.

Any disagreements with an IQAs findings will be reviewed by the Director of Dark Olive CIC, who will have the final say on any judgements.

Sampling plans will identify learners, assessors and the assessment criteria to be sampled. Sampling activities will meet the requirements of the awarding organisations Dark Olive CIC are approved with.

Standardisation activities will be undertaken regularly (at least every eight weeks) with IQAs, Assessors, Trainers and relevant line managers present. Standardisation activities will meet the requirements of the awarding organisations Dark Olive CIC are approved with.

All meetings will have a set agenda and minutes shall be produced and disseminated to all relevant staff members.

Example Standardisation Meeting Agenda:

• Actions from previous standardisation meetings
• Resources, H&S, E&D issues
• Progression and achievement of learners
• Examples of learners work to standardise
• Good practice from assessors
• Areas for improvements
• Internal quality assurance reports
• External quality assurance reports

AO and Qualification Updates

Observations of staff members will be determined by a yearly cycle, with all training and assessing staff members receiving a minimum of two observations per year.

Action plans and support will be in place for any staff members identified as ‘requiring improvement’.

All observations will be documented and moderated.

All Dark Olive CIC staff members will receive access to regular, continuous professional development (CPD) and shall be encouraged to undertake reflective practice.

Learner feedback shall be collected through surveys, focus groups and comments, complaints and compliments cards. Learner feedback will be regularly obtained and analysed and improvements shall be highlighted and implemented across the organisation, where required.

All documents relating to IQA activities will be held securely, in line with Data Protection and confidentiality requirements. Access will be granted to all relevant awarding organisations to any assessment documents and related materials.