Statutory regulations
Last updated on: 11/03/2008
The statutory regulation of external qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland 2004 includes:
- principles and approaches to statutory regulation
- criteria for recognising awarding bodies
- common criteria for accrediting qualifications to the National Qualifications Framework
- additional criteria for different types of qualifications, including GCSEs, GCEs and NVQs.
External qualifications are subject to statutory regulation because the public, including learners and employers, has a legitimate interest in the continuing availability of high-quality qualifications that are fit for purpose, command public confidence and are understood both by those who take them and those who use them.
The public also needs to be assured that consistent standards are being properly maintained across awarding bodies over time, that the awarding body offering a qualification is competent, and that if something goes wrong there is a right of appeal.
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