Internal Quality Assurance Policy

Scope of the Policy
  • This policy is provided for learners and staff members who are using or delivering courses and qualifications offered by Care Academy.


Policy Statement
  • Internal Quality Assurance (IQA) is concerned with monitoring the learner journey throughout their time undertaking a qualification at Care Academy.
  • 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 confidently 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 between takes place regularly.


IQA Activities
  • Care Academy will undertake sampling of assessment judgements in line with the sampling plans in place for all qualifications offered.
  • Sampling will be formative and summative and dependant on the instructions in 4.3-4.6.

Band Description % IQA
1
Red
 Novice assessor/assessor working towards qualification/significant action points identified during recent samples 100%
2
Yellow
 Newly qualified assessor/minor action points identified during recent samples 50%
3
Amber
 Assessors showing minor actions during recent IQA samples 30%
4
Green
 Assessors working within the requirements proving consistency in assessment decisions over a period of time 10%
Band 1 – Red
  • This assessor is newly qualified or new to the organisation. It may also be necessary to move an assessor to this banding where a qualification has been re written. i.e. the standards have changed or the assessor has become involved in delivery of a qualification which is new to them. Where an assessor is qualified and deemed red/band 1 the IQA must ensure that a development plan is put into place. This assessor may move from red to yellow when the following criteria have been satisfied.
  • The assessor qualification has been achieved.
  • The IQA has sampled 5 portfolios and there have not been any remedial actions.
  • The development plan for the transition from red to yellow has been achieved.


Band 2 – Yellow
  • This is an assessor who is newly qualified. Or has had been working at amber and recent samples have shown minor actions. They may also have moved from red due to recent successful sampling. The assessor may move from yellow to amber when the following criteria have been achieved. All assessors deemed as yellow should have a development plan in place to move them from yellow to amber.
  • The IQA has sampled 5 portfolios and there have not been any remedial actions.
  • The development plan for the transition from yellow to amber has been achieved.


Band 3 – Amber
  • This assessor is experienced or has had been working at green and recent samples have shown minor actions. They may also have moved from yellow due to recent successful sampling. All assessors deemed as yellow should have a development plan in place to move them from amber to green. The assessor may move from amber to green when the following criteria have been achieved.
  • The IQA has sampled 5 portfolios and there have not been any remedial actions.
  • The development plan for the transition from yellow to amber has been achieved.


Band 4 – Green
  • This assessor is qualified and recent sampling has not shown any significant action points. Moving between bands Assessors may move between bands, movement upwards can only take place one band at a time. Assessors may also move downwards movement down the scale may be one band or straight to band 1 – red. It is essential that the IQA team keeps records of the banding and document all movements and reasons for these movements. Each individual IQA must ensure that the assessors in their team are risk banded and a rational for the current banding is recorded.


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;
  • Qualification updates.             


Sampling and Standardisation
  • Sampling may take place formatively.
  • All completed qualifications will be formatively 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 LV Home Care, 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 Care Academy are approved with.
  • Standardisation activities will be undertaken regularly (at least every twelve weeks) with IQAs, assessors, trainers and relevant line managers present. Standardisation activities will meet the requirements of the awarding organisations Educating UK are approved with.
  • All meetings will have a set agenda and minutes shall be produced and disseminated to all relevant staff members.


Observations
  • 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. All staff members will be required to be observed at grade two or above. Action plans and support will be in place for any staff members identified as ‘requiring improvement’.
  • All observations will be documented and moderated.
  • All Care Academy 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 complements 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 (Jersey) law 2018 and confidentiality requirements. Access will be granted to all relevant awarding organisations to any assessment documents and related materials.