There are several types of quality assurance engagements that could take place for an approved centre. However, our aim is to make sure that these engagements have as little impact on the normal operation of your centre as possible. For centres who deliver internally assessed qualifications, an engagement will be scheduled each time a claim for certificates is made so that assessment decisions and internal quality assurance activity can be reviewed.

The number of engagements is based on the quantity of learners and the level of risk applied to the centre. Normal quality assurance engagements have no cost implications upon your centre, however, in instances of overseas delivery or where additional support is required, costs will be discussed with a centre directly. 

EQS stands for ‘external quality support’ and is Highfield’s term for external verifiers.  

Our EQS department arranges and carries out quality assurance engagements on behalf of the awarding organisation.  
 
This may include: 

• sampling learner work and assessment decisions
• observing assessments and attending standardisation meetings
• monitoring internal quality assurance activities within the centre
• confirming centre compliance with their own policies and processes as well as those issued by Highfield

The EQS department is here to support Highfield centres. We offer guidance to help you maintain compliance and, when necessary, will set action points for a centre to address.

EQS can only sample evidence from learners that have been registered with Highfield. Unless an ‘interim sample’ is taking place, all the units the learners have undertaken must be submitted to Highfield in a ‘Notification of Completion’ or ‘NOC’. For more information on how to submit a NOC on Highfield Central, please speak with your customer support officer or centre manager.

This is where the learner hasn’t completed their qualification and sampling activity is requested. The EQS will review assessment decisions and any evidence that has been completed so far.

There are a variety of reasons why our EQS team may choose to complete interim sampling, but our aim is to support centres prior to certification being issued. Interim sampling may be chosen as part of our sampling strategy for any centre, including centres that hold direct claim status (DCS) or centre managed assessment (CMA).

IQA stands for ‘internal quality assurance’. The IQA officer confirms that the tutor or assessor has delivered the qualification correctly. This includes confirming that evidence within a learner’s portfolio and an audit trail is present to demonstrate the learner has suitably met the assessment criteria of the qualification. This process must be carried out by somebody who is competent in the process of quality assurance.

The qualifications they need to hold will depend on the qualification assessment strategy they are internally quality assuring and will be outlined in our Qualification Specification. In some cases, the IQA officers will need to have internal verifier qualifications, in other cases they just need to be a second tutor who was not involved with the tutoring of the course. An IQA is normally responsible for establishing a quality assurance strategy, which determines the risk rating of their individual assessors and plans for internal quality assurance activity to take place based upon this.  

For more information on internal quality assurance strategy and IQA sampling plans, please refer to the additional support documentation that is located within our download area or speak with your customer support officer or centre manager. 

Some of our qualifications are assessed by a portfolio of evidence, which means the work can be approached in whatever way is the most suitable for the learner, the assessor and the activity being assessed. In some cases, written work is appropriate, however, there may be times when observations or oral questioning is more fitting.

Each item of evidence must be appropriately mapped to the learning outcomes and the assessment criteria within the units of the qualification. A portfolio of evidence is only complete once every learning outcome and assessment criteria of the learner’s chosen units have been met. All the units are outlined at the end of the relevant Qualification Specification document, available for centres and learners to download and use directly from our website. It is advisable for each assessor to use an Evidence Tracking Sheet at the start of each learner’s portfolio of evidence.

To help centres, we have created evidence tracking sheets that assessors can use to tick off the assessment criteria covered by a piece of evidence. It is also useful to be able to see immediately what has been done and what there is left to complete. These tracking sheets are available within the download area. To make learners’ portfolios easier to internally or externally quality assure, it is important to track and label each item of evidence clearly and reference this on the tracking sheet at the front of the document. More information on evidence tracking is available in FAQ 13.

DCS or CMA allow a centre to receive certification for a completed internally assessed qualification once their own IQA has taken place. Prior to the award of DCS/CMA, a centre would request certificates for their learners and a member of our EQS team would review a sample of the portfolios that have been completed by learners at the centre, either remotely or at the centre’s premises. Our EQS officer would recommend certification upon completion of a successful review of these portfolios.  

Each status is normally awarded to a centre once several compliant reviews have been completed. The two names (DCS and CMA) are used within Highfield to denote processes relating to certain qualifications or assessment types, but ultimately affect your centre in the same way as follows: 

• after the award, a centre may receive certification for their learners without an EQS engagement taking place first. It is important to note that EQS engagements will still be scheduled for your centre once you have achieved DCS or CMA status and as such we expect all centres to keep learner portfolios until each engagement has taken place. 
• maintaining the status will rely upon your centre continuing to maintain the same standards for delivery, assessment and internal quality assurance and being able to evidence this during review. In addition, DCS and CMA status will only be maintained if the centre continues to claim for certification within a 12-month period. 

These statuses are awarded to centres who have shown that they have satisfactory IQA and administration procedures in place across samples of learner work. The main criteria that our EQS officers and quality assurance auditors look for from our centres are as follows: 

• That the centre has robust administrative procedures in place and can register and claim certificates for learners correctly. This includes timely registration of learners and correct rules of combination/units being selected. 
• The portfolio of evidence shows appropriate assessment methods have been chosen and that the learner has met the criteria and any specific requirements set out within the specification and associated assessment strategies. The portfolio shows evidence that is valid, authentic, reliable, current and sufficient ‘VARCS’. The evidence supplied is easy to follow and locate within the portfolio of work, for example, a tracking sheet and appropriate naming conventions are used within the work and on any folders sent electronically. 
• That staff involved in the delivery, assessment and internal quality assurance of the qualification are appropriately qualified, competent and knowledgeable in keeping with the criteria set out within the Qualification Specification. These staff can also show that they take part in continual professional development (CPD) activities. 
• That internal quality assurance at the centre is appropriate. A sampling strategy and a sampling plan has been created by the centre and is followed to ensure that the assessors are supported and assessment decisions are safe and standardised across the team. 
• Evidence that standardisation activity is in place within the centre and that this has taken place for the specific qualification within the last 12 months. (Standardisation activity should show that delivery, assessment and/or IQA activity for the qualification or units within the qualification have been discussed to ensure a standardised approach and typically takes the form of meeting minutes showing the date, attendees and the content). 
• Assessors support learners appropriately through the qualification by providing positive and developmental feedback throughout the duration of the qualification. 
• IQA reports are available and show robust IQA practice with positive and developmental feedback to the assessor. Any actions set by the IQA are completed. 

Other specific criteria may apply to individual qualifications, but you will be notified of these upon approval for the qualification and upon contact by our EQS team. Our EQS co-ordinators will send your centre an email asking for learner work to be made available either for remote or face-to-face review and will send a reminder of the information we need from you to perform a review leading to the award of DCS or CMA.  

Please note that DCS and CMA status will only be maintained by centres that continue to meet the award criteria. Ongoing sampling will take place to verify this and centres will be required to keep and provide assessment paperwork for ongoing sampling. Sampling activities can include a combination of observation, remote and face-to-face sampling activity and also sampling activities for learners who have not yet been certificated. Where centres have not claimed any learners within a 12-month period, DCS or CMA may be removed from the centre. Our EQS team will keep your centre informed of any changes to your DCS or CMA status and the sampling activities scheduled for your centre. 

A sampling strategy is a document that the centre creates that sets out the frequency of sampling for the qualifications that they intend to deliver. The sampling strategy is normally determined by a risk rating of tutor/assessors and qualifications where the higher the risk, the more frequent the sampling takes place.

The risk assigned to the tutor/assessor may determine that every portfolio or course paperwork is sampled or it may determine that an observation of their performance is appropriate to establish whether the risk rating can be reduced.

Further information on sampling strategies is contained within support documentation that is located in the download area where Tutor, Assessor and IQA (TAI) Packs have been created to support your delivery, assessment and internal quality assurance of a qualification.

A sampling plan follows on from the sampling strategy and is a document that can either be specific to a tutor/assessor, a qualification or a mix of both. The sampling plan sets out the qualification, the tutor/assessor, their risk rating and the learners/courses that they are covering. It also identifies which courses or components/units within a qualification will be sampled by the IQA and by what method. 

A sampling strategy and sampling plan may determine that a learner, course or unit has not been sampled. If a piece of evidence is requested by the EQS team for review and due to the sampling strategy and plan, the IQA has not sampled the work and produced an IQA report, please send in the sampling strategy and plan to evidence this. 

Assessment methods are ways in which evidence can be collected from a learner and assessed to confirm that the learner has the appropriate skills and knowledge to pass a qualification. Assessment methods are sometimes specified within a qualification or assessment strategy, so please carefully read the Qualification Specification and any associated assessment strategy and support documentation that Highfield provides. 

Where knowledge evidence is required, appropriate assessment methods would be methods that require the learner to speak of or write of what they know. So, questions, assignments, discussions and so on. 

Where performance, skills or competence evidence is required, some qualifications require observations to take place of the learner completing a task. However, some qualifications allow for other assessment methods that may be more appropriate to the nature of the qualification, such as witness testimony, simulation, role play or reflective accounts where the learner speaks or writes about what they did in a situation that actually took place. 

Here are some common assessment methods: 

• observation – this is the most natural way to collect evidence of a learner’s competence. The assessor should state clearly what they have seen the learner do and map this against the relevant assessment criteria. Where an assessor is observing a group of learners, the observation they put into the learner’s portfolio must be individual to the learner, for example, how did that particular learner act, speak, work or perform?  

Please note, there may be circumstances within a qualification where observation is not appropriate.

Please always consider confidentiality, dignity and privacy when considering observation as an option. 

• expert/witness testimony – this is where another person states what the learner has done. As with observation, this must be individual to the learner and must be specific in how it meets the assessment criteria. It is important that the witness used is in a position to understand what needs to be assessed, what would meet the criteria sufficiently and is briefed on the level of detail they should provide to the assessor. It is good practice to give examples of how the criteria have been met by writing exactly what the learner did to meet the criteria, rather than simply stating that the criteria have been met. 

A witness testimony should not be used to claim a learner’s knowledge. This would need to be captured through other methods as follows: 

• questioning – this can be written or verbal. The learner should answer the question and ensure that the verb has been met. Verbs such as describe, evaluate and analyse would require written sentences rather than the verb ‘list’. 
• discussion – this should be planned with the learner, so they are aware of what is to be discussed. This should be more like a conversation than a question-and-answer session. If led correctly, the discussion could also link into competence evidence where the learner may discuss things they have done, situations they have experienced and the actions they have taken. The discussion could be recorded and supplied as evidence as this adds to authentication of the portfolio. Where discussions are recorded, assessors should timestamp where criteria have been met.  

Standardisation is activity that verifies that delivery, assessment and internal quality assurance practices within a centre are consistent. This ensures that learners have equal access and opportunity to achieve and that one assessor is not expecting learners to meet a higher standard than another assessor for the same qualification. 

Standardisation should be documented. Typically, standardisation evidence would take the form of meeting minutes between tutors, assessors and quality assurers to discuss a qualification, the content, a specific unit and understand what the qualification is asking for and suitable assessment methods.  

Suggested content for standardisation could include: 

• begin with recording the date and attendees. 
• record any actions that were set from previous meetings and then minute the outcomes. 
• discuss any external or internal quality assurance comments. Has good practice been identified? Have developmental actions or advice and guidance been set? If so, what actions need to be set to meet requirements or improve practice? 
• discuss any regulatory or sector updates. 
• discuss your learners – who is on programme, are they on target to achieve? Can they be supported further? 
• use sampling activity and examples of learner work to discuss delivery/assessment activity. Have any trends been identified? Are all assessors expecting learners to meet a consistent standard? 
• note any actions and the next meeting date. 

However, standardisation can take other forms. It can, in some instances, be shown by IQA practice where an IQA can show that they have ensured all assessors meet the same standard or understand the same principle within a qualification. It could be shown through communications within a centre that show all personnel have understood and implemented a new way of working. 

Ultimately, Highfield will be looking to ensure that all of the personnel undertake standardisation activity for a specific qualification at least once every 12 months. This evidence will need to be submitted with the learner work a centre sends for sampling. 

The size and make up of a qualification can factor into the answer to this question. Some of our Highfield qualifications are internally assessed short courses where assessment paperwork has been designed for centres to use to show learners have met criteria. In this instance, using the paperwork supplied by Highfield will support you in delivery, assessment and IQA. 

However, with larger portfolios of evidence we would typically expect to see the following: 

• Individual Learner Plan (ILP) – an Individual Learner Plan is a document that an assessor starts at the beginning of the qualification or ‘learner journey’. It documents initial discussions concerning the learner’s prior achievements, goals, current role and how the assessor can support them through the qualification.  

The assessor will then use this information to provide a timeframe for the learner on start and finish times for the qualification and map out assessment milestones, such as when a unit or certain assessment criteria would be met or when an observation should take place. 

• Evidence Matrix/Evidence Tracking Sheet – this is a document that sets out the units that the learner is undertaking and normally specifies the learning outcomes and individual assessment criteria. It is normally set out as a grid so that an assessor can review evidence from a learner, decide if it meets criteria and then reference this with a number or letter format within the portfolio, which is then identified in the Evidence Matrix.  

Essentially, the Evidence Matrix is like a table of contents which shows the assessor that evidence has been met and through what methods. It also shows the IQA and EQS where the evidence is for sampling purposes. 

Examples of evidence matrices are provided within Assessment Packs, which you can locate within the download area of the members’ area. 

• Assessor feedback – with internally assessed qualifications, it is important that learners are supported throughout the duration of their learner journey. Formative and summative assessor feedback should be detailed within the portfolio of evidence. 
• Formative – this would be feedback that the assessor gives to support the learner during their qualification. It could be provided verbally during meetings, written on the learner’s work and should always be supportive and developmental.  
• Summative – this feedback is provided by the assessor at the end of the qualification and is a final piece of feedback to the learner on what they have achieved. It also provides a final rationale from the assessor to their IQA on why they are now claiming the learner has completed. 
• SPaG – you may see some reference to this within EQS reports or from assessment or IQA staff. This means Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar. It is important that an assessor ensures that learners are supported throughout their qualification in producing evidence that meets criteria and that they also support learners by identifying any areas for improvement in their written English. 

The first two letters in the acronym VARCS stands for: 

• Valid: Is it relevant to learning outcomes and assessment criteria? It is important to show how the evidence is relevant. For example, a photograph can be useful, however, it would need to be annotated to explain what the photograph is meant to show and who the photograph shows if relating to a learner. To be ‘valid’, an assessor must select and use a suitable method of assessment in relation to the skills and/or knowledge being assessed. 
• Authentic: Is it the learner’s own work? It is good practice to have a statement from the learner confirming the work presented is their own. Having worked with a learner throughout their qualification, an assessor would understand how the learner writes and the language they use. They can use this knowledge to ensure that the work presented is the learner’s own.  

Where learners use direct quotes from a website or book, this is fine but should be clearly identified as a quote by using quotation marks and an explanation as to where the quote came from. It does not have to be a recognised referencing system, such as Harvard but does need to state which book or website. It is good practice for the learner to discuss what they have read in their own words.  

Ideally there should be a signature from the learner, however, with electronic work and remote teaching we are aware that this may be difficult. Where this is the case, the following examples could be used: 

• the evidence could have been sent through a secure email so a copy of the learner’s email to the assessor could be used to authenticate 
• an e-portfolio system should have individual learner log in which authenticates 
• a learner declaration that the learner produces confirming that the contents of the portfolio are all their own 
• a recording (either video or audio) of the learner confirming the work is their own or undertaking some assessment or reflective discussion can be used to authenticate 

The final three letters of VARCS stands for: 

• Reliable: Assessors must achieve a consistent approach to the way they make judgements about learner evidence. Any information on amplification or content provided with Qualification Specifications or assessment strategies must be applied consistently by assessors. Standardisation activity and IQA activities will support assessors in making consistent judgements to ensure learners are judged fairly. 
• Current: Does it meet current legislation or processes? How long ago was the evidence created and can it be considered still up to date? In general, unless legislation or regulations have changed, 12 months is acceptable. If the evidence presented is over 12 months, then support this with information relating to the learner’s CPD. This also means that centres must make timely claims for learner’s certificates. 
• Sufficient: Is there enough content in either knowledge or through performance to meet learning outcomes? Does it meet command verbs, for example, describe, explain or list? Does it meet the requirements or amplification as required, for example, if three examples are needed, are there three examples? If workplace evidence is asked for, does the evidence come from the learner at work?

CPD stands for Continuing/Continual Professional Development (CPD). CPD is a term that is used to describe ongoing learning activities that professionals can participate in and which enhance their skills and knowledge.  

CPD is normally achieved through a combination of activities as follows: 

• training/CPD events 
• conferences 
• e-learning programmes/online webinars 
• standardisations/best practice sharing 
• publications and updates from regulatory bodies

The above are merely examples of how a professional may develop their skills and abilities in their specific area of expertise further and keep them up to date to aid training, delivery, assessment and IQA practice. 

A CPD record should be updated as and when an activity takes place. CPD is intended as proactive exercise to allow an individual to take ownership of their own development.

Highfield Qualifications will typically request evidence of CPD for your tutor, assessor or IQA team members annually. However, this may be increased due to the requirements set out by the regulators or sector skills councils who mandate the specific requirements for qualifications. 

CPD evidence is normally tracked within a word or excel document and forms a type of grid, which gives the following information: 

• the date the CPD activity took place 
• the nature of the CPD activity/specific area 
• the reason or purpose for the CPD activity 
• learning outcomes 
• how the learning is applied in role 
• the number of hours the activity took 

The detail within this document should represent an ongoing record of the activities that have taken place to support in the development of skills and knowledge in specific areas. Some regulatory bodies or sector skills councils set out specific hours of CPD activity for tutors, assessors and IQA’s involved in the learner journey for the qualification. While Highfield EQS will ask for CPD at least annually, we do expect individuals to be aware of any specific requirements and ensure that these are met. 

Recognition of prior learning (RPL) is a method of assessment that allows an assessor to consider the knowledge, skills and understanding that a learner has gained prior to undertaking their qualification. This RPL could be in a formal or informal setting and should be mapped directly into the assessment criteria for the qualification. The assessor may then allow the learner to complete a unit within a qualification without the need to assess them further.  

Where this applies, the centre must ensure that personnel who are competent and qualified to support the decision are involved in the decision-making process and that all evidence is sent to Highfield’s EQS department to review prior to use. 

Please note that RPL would not typically be used to award a full qualification and would normally be considered for individual units within it. 

All evidence used towards completion of assessments under Highfield Qualifications must meet the requirements of VARCS (please see FAQ 14 above). This means that prior learning may need to be supported by further assessment to ensure compliance against the requirements of the qualification. Our EQS team will expect to see where RPL has been used and where it has been mapped in full against the requirements of the qualification. 

Alternatively, evidence of a learner's prior achievements, knowledge, skills and understanding may be considered by an assessor to reduce the time spent in study. In these instances, all the assessment criteria would be evidenced and assessed throughout the duration of the qualification, but the learner would agree with the assessor that less time is needed to complete. In these instances, Highfield EQS would not need to provide prior approval but would expect to see evidence of this discussion and planning within the learner record. 

There may be occasions where a learner has undertaken a qualification that has a unit or units that map directly into the new qualification the learner is undertaking. This would be classed as an exemption rather than RPL. However, we ask all assessors to be mindful of the date the unit was achieved and the content as follows: 

• where specific pathways may have been followed, these should be in keeping with the new qualification. Where they are not, further assessment will be required. 
• where a full unit has been undertaken over 12 months prior to the learner's registration on the new qualification, further questioning or evidence of CPD should be added to support currency. 

Where an exemption is being used towards an externally set and marked qualification, your centre will need to submit evidence of this with the examination paperwork to achieve the overall pass result for your learner. 

For the examples specified within this FAQ, Highfield will require all evidence to be retained within the learner's portfolio of evidence and/or workbooks and submitted to Highfield EQS upon request.  

Please note, some qualifications do not allow for RPL or the reduction of learning time. These requirements will be set out within the Qualification Specification and/or any supporting documentation for the qualification.  

We also provide our Recognition of Prior Learning Policy on our public facing website. Simply visit us online at www.highfieldqualifications.com and select ‘about’ and then ‘downloads’. 

In accordance with the Centre Agreement, we ask that all centres retain learner details, assessment and quality assurance decisions for a period of three years. There are some specific requirements set out by regulatory bodies and sector skills councils, which must also be considered and some funding providers may require your centre to operate extended retention periods, so please familiarise yourselves with these. 

For internally assessed qualifications, all learner work must be retained until a successful EQS review has been undertaken. Once a successful review has taken place, you may return the learner’s work back to the learner but must ensure all other records of the learner, the assessment and IQA decisions are retained in accordance with the Centre Agreement. 

It is important to note that this evidence can be stored in paper-based or electronic formats. The evidence should always be legible and easy to locate/reference in whichever format you choose. For electronic work, please consider clear naming conventions so the contents of files are easy to establish. 

A centre will register their learners individually or in cohorts onto qualifications using Highfield Central. The notification of completion is submitted by designated centre personnel and allows the centre to confirm that their learner or cohort of learners has completed the qualification and are ready for certification. 

Highfield’s EQS team will respond to your centre's submission of a NOC within two working days where DCS or CMA has not been applied to the qualification claimed. The team will email your centre to request the learners’ work and specify any other information they require from you to schedule a review with an EQS. Therefore, it is especially important that all learners that you have completed the assessment and quality assurance process for, are registered correctly and claimed for on Highfield Central as this begins the review process. 

Please do not post learner work into the Highfield EQS team to request a review. The NOC process must be followed, as we will contact you on receipt of the NOC to confirm which paperwork we would like to see for quality assurance purposes, and provide you with options for sharing the information. 

Following receipt of the paperwork that has been requested, the EQS team will endeavour to book in a review within 10 working days. 

If you need any assistance with Highfield Central, including purchasing registrations or registering learners, please contact your customer support officer or centre manager directly. 

When the learner work has been reviewed by a member of our team, they will complete a report called the Engagement Visit Report or ‘EVR’. The EVR will hold the details of the review and the outcomes. The Highfield EQS team have developed an EVR that gives you a summary of the review on the first page of the report for your reference. 

It’s important that you do review the outcomes of each review so that you can see decisions affecting certification, DCS or CMA and any actions of advice and guidance set during the review. Please note that any actions set are timebound and must be completed within the deadline. Where this is not possible, we encourage you to contact your customer support officer to discuss this in more detail. 

An email will be sent to your centre contacts to confirm the report is available. All reports completed from 31 May 2023 will appear in a specially designed area for centres so you will have an ongoing record of reviews conducted. This facility can be found within your members’ area and by clicking on ‘Reports’ in the left-hand menu, followed by ‘EQS Engagement Reports’. 

Please note that EVRs sent prior to 31 May 2023 will have been sent via email to your centre contacts directly. 

All awarding organisations who are regulated by Ofqual, Qualifications Wales or CCEA Regulation are required to meet condition H within the General Conditions of Recognition regulatory document. Condition H sets out what it expects each awarding organisation to do in respect of quality assuring ‘centre-marked’ assessments. 

Highfield Qualifications are also regulated by SQA Accreditation and so we have created a quality assurance strategy that governs our approach to quality assuring centres, and this incorporates our CASS strategy. This is an internal document and so not available to centres, but we will be happy to assist if you have any questions relating to ‘centre-marked’ or ‘internally assessed’ qualifications and you cannot find your answer in these FAQs or need further guidance. 

If you have any further questions, please contact the customer support team on 01302 363277.