Regulations common to all vocational qualifications

Monday, 08 March 2010 15:32

Content of Entry level qualifications

Entry level qualifications must:

a) be designed to facilitate learning in practical situations that motivate candidates and that are relevant to adult life;

b) enable attainment to be reported at one or more of the sub-levels: Entry 1, Entry 2 or Entry 3, where Entry 3 is the highest outcome;

c) align Entry 1, Entry 2 and/or Entry 3 with the standards specified by the regulatory authorities;

d) be consistent with statutory requirements as follows:

i) for national curriculum subjects, with the relevant statutory programmes of study for the subjects;

ii) for religious education and religious studies, with the statutory requirements appropriate to the age of the candidates;

e) provide a basis of progression to other relevant qualifications:

f) for literacy, numeracy and information technology, to corresponding key skills, GCSEs and other relevant qualifications;

g) for national curriculum subjects, religious education and religious studies, to corresponding GCSEs and other relevant qualifications;

h) for other areas of learning, to relevant qualifications at and beyond level 1 of the National Qualifications Framework.

Assessment in Entry level qualifications

Assessment arrangements for Entry level qualifications must:

a) ensure that the methods proposed for each of the sub-levels, Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3, enable candidates to demonstrate their achievement, which may require a range of assessment methods;

b) involve practical and/or oral and/or written work as appropriate to the area of learning;

c) be capable of use in a range of settings;

d) require the candidates to generate evidence of working independently, allowing for reasonable adjustments as set out in criteria 14-20;

e) include tasks that are externally set or validated, externally marked or moderated, and conducted under supervised and specified conditions;

f) require that such tasks contribute at least:

i) 50 per cent to the overall award in the case of national curriculum subjects, literacy, numeracy and information technology;

ii) 40 per cent to the overall award in other cases;

g) require that any end-of-unit or terminal assessment, whether externally or internally set, is conducted under supervised and specified conditions;

h) specify arrangements for re-tests

Back To Top

Reporting of Entry level qualifications

Attainment must be reported at one or more of Entry 1, Entry 2 or Entry 3, where Entry 3 is the highest outcome.

Content of adult literacy and numeracy qualifications

For adult literacy and numeracy qualifications, the subject matter must meet the requirements of the relevant national standards in adult literacy or adult numeracy at the appropriate levels.

Assessment in adult literacy and numeracy qualifications

For adult literacy and numeracy qualifications, the assessment model is specified by the regulatory authorities.

At Entry level, the assessment model must comply with the additional specific criteria for Entry level qualifications.

At levels 1 and 2, the method of assessment is by means of the external tests developed for adult literacy/key skills communication and adult numeracy/key skills application of number, unless otherwise agreed by the regulatory authorities.

Reporting of adult literacy and numeracy qualifications

For adult literacy and numeracy, there must be arrangements to report:

a) at Entry level for literacy, separate levels of achievement for speaking and listening, for reading, and for writing, so as to form a profile;

b) at Entry level for numeracy, the overall sub-level achieved (Entry 1, Entry 2, or Entry 3);

c) at levels 1 and 2, feedback to unsuccessful candidates on performance related to the national standards.

Content of ESOL Skills for Life qualifications, Entry level, levels 1 and 2

Qualifications at Entry level and at levels 1 and 2 that meet the requirements of the national standards for adult literacy and demonstrate a clear relationship to the adult ESOL core curriculum, must be titled ESOL Skills for Life.

Adult literacy and numeracy qualifications in Northern Ireland are called ‘essential skills’.

Content of key skills qualifications

Qualifications that use the following terms in their titles must be based on the specifications developed by the regulatory authorities: ‘key skills’, ‘key skills qualifications’, ‘application of number’, ‘communication’, ‘information technology’, ‘improving own learning and performance’, ‘problem solving’, or ‘working with others’.

Assessment in key skills qualifications

Qualifications in key skills must use the assessment model specified by the regulatory authorities.

If the assessment method includes tests, awarding bodies must use the agreed national tests and allow candidates to take the tests as many times as they want. If the tests do not have pre-set pass marks, the awarding bodies must agree the pass marks at meetings that include all of the awarding bodies involved in the relevant assessment series.

Awarding bodies must:

a) participate in cross-awarding body moderation activities for internal assessment;

b) carry out random checks, after the final date of completion, for centres where nearly completed portfolios were included in the moderation process.

Back To Top

Content of NVQs

NVQs must consist of the relevant units taken from the National Occupational Standards developed by the appropriate Sector Skills Council or sector body and approved by the UK Coordinating Group on behalf of the National Occupational Standards Board.

The structure of an NVQ must be made up of relevant units of National Occupational Standards which have been mapped to the relevant key skills. There must be an indication of whether discrete key skills units will form part of the qualification.

Assessment in NVQs

Assessment in NVQs must implement the assessment strategies specified by the appropriate Sector Skills Council or sector body and approved by the regulatory authorities.

The specified assessment strategies must enable the qualification to attest to competence in the workplace by incorporating the following requirements:

a) application of the specified skills, knowledge and understanding to the

b) standards required in the workplace;

c) specification of the type and amount of evidence to be collected for

d) assessment purposes;

e) identification of any aspects of the National Occupational Standards that

f) must be assessed through performance in the workplace;

g) clarification of the extent to which simulated working conditions may be

h) used in assessment, and of any required characteristics of the simulations,

i) including definitions of what might constitute realistic working

j) environments;

k) specification of the occupational expertise of assessors, internal verifiers

l) and external verifiers.

Awarding bodies must maintain a register of all their external verifiers and provide such information to the regulatory authorities on request.

For assessment in Welsh, awarding bodies must take account of the guidance material produced by Awdurdod Cymwysterau, Cwricwlwm ac Asesu Cymru/the Qualifications, Curriculum and Assessment Authority for Wales (ACCAC).

Reporting of NVQs

An awarding body must put in place arrangements for reporting that allow for the recognition of NVQ units awarded by other awarding bodies, where the units form part of the NVQs.

Content of qualifications at level 4 and above

Qualifications must promote the development or enhancement of general higher level skills and abilities. Individual qualifications must identify how relevant skills and abilities are developed alongside sector/occupationally specific skills and understanding, and how these skills and abilities are reflected in the assessment of the unit or qualification.

All qualifications must include a significant mandatory component, which will normally take the form of a core of units at the same level as that of the whole qualification, which apply to all awards with the same title. The extent of the mandatory proportion of the qualification will vary, but will normally be at least 40 per cent.

Assessment in qualifications at level 4 and above

The assessment scheme for a full qualification must identify how candidates can integrate knowledge, skills and, where appropriate, competence across units. Assessment should encourage candidates to apply and reflect on their studies, both within and across units and produce evidence to demonstrate ability across a range of units.

Back To Top

Last Updated on Thursday, 18 March 2010 14:50 Tags: Ofqual, education, examination regulation, qualifications, assessments