IQA Policy & Strategy
| Version Number | 7 |
| Issue Date (Last Review Date) | 04/04/2023 |
| Review Date | 31/03/2024 |
| Author | Dawn Hughes (Quality & Compliance Manager) |
| Approved by | Andy Cheshire (MD) |
Policy Statement
CQM Training & Consultancy Ltd (CQM T&C) has a robust approach towards quality assurance. Our aim is to continuously check, review and revise our processes and to ensure that we always provide the highest standards in delivery and assessment. CQM T&C is an approved centre for several Awarding Organisations (AO) and is on the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers (RoATP). As such, we are regularly monitored against a variety of processes and quality frameworks.
Overview
Internal Quality Assurance (IQA) forms one part of the Company’s quality assurance process
and focuses on our responsibilities as a centre to ensure:
• Appropriate design of programme to meet all qualification or unit specifications and rules of combination, as well as meeting the criteria of the apprenticeship standard
• Effective delivery that meets learner expectations and agreed learner journey
• The accuracy and consistency of assessment decisions between Development Coaches
• Development Coaches are consistent in their interpretation of qualification or apprenticeship standard
• Maintenance of records to provide an audit trail and enable certification and any external verification
• Monitoring, review and evaluation for continuous improvement
Assessors and Internal Quality Assurers
Development Coaches are selected for their relevant occupational competence. They must hold the Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement (CAVA) or A1 or D32/33 or be working towards CAVA. They must be current practitioners and be able to demonstrate a clear understanding of the role of ‘assessor’. Where a new Development Coach is recruited, they are provided with a clear action plan for achieving the level 3 units within a maximum of 18 months. The Development Coach will be sampled accordingly in line with the sampling strategy (see sampling strategy). During this time, they are coached and supported by an Internal Quality Assurer (IQA). The IQA will give sufficient support and have relevant technical/occupational familiarity for the area of verification and be fully conversant with the units. The IQA will hold the Training, Assessment, Quality, Assurance (TAQA) or V1 or D34.
Standardisation Meetings
IIt is the responsibility of the Lead IQA to hold standardisation meetings. These will be held quarterly. Items for discussion will include (but not limited to) the following:
• IQA actions
• Standardisation / best practice
• Actions from EQA visits
• Feedback from inspections or self-assessment reports
• Changes in policies, paperwork or processes
• Development sessions
Key actions will be recorded, resolved and retained for future review, as required. Actions will
also inform the Quality Improvement Plan (QIP).
IQA Strategy
In all cases the assessment strategy for the qualification must be consulted for specific
requirements. It is good practice to utilise the ‘CAMERA’ model:
| Factors | Sampling must cover/consider |
| Candidates/Learners | Ethnicity, age, gender, whether candidates are employed full or part time and any special arrangements |
| Assessors | Experience (new assessors are higher risk), feedback from EQA visits, qualifications, workload, occupational experience |
| Methods of Assessment | Questioning, observation, testimony, RPL, use of simulation, product evidence, assignments, projects and tests |
| Evidence Types | Written confirmation that evidence is valid, authentic, current, sufficient plus a focus on any special requirements and identified problem units |
| Records | All documentation relating to assessments and assessment feedback to learners |
| Assessment Locations | Different assessment locations |
In all cases the Sampling Strategy will reflect the risk analysis of the qualification/standard, Development Coach and learners. The IQA verification process will sample across all activity and cohorts. Sampling will include the type of activity undertaken, evidence, knowledge and feedback. This will be an integral part of the IQA role and form part of the standardisation process. As in the table above, the choice of focus could depend upon many factors including identified issues in assessment of the unit, feedback from EQA and concerns about standardisation.
Sampling Strategy
Each Development Coach will be risk rated by the appropriate IQA, against each qualification/standard that they deliver in order to identify the sampling rate to be applied to their cohorts.
Risk Rating
| Risk Rating | Staff member is | Sampling Rate |
| Red | New to CQM/Standard/Qualification | 100% of cohort learners sampled across all units |
| Amber | In need of support (has had IQA actions raised previously) | 50% of cohort learners sampled across all units |
| Green | Experienced (12 months or more on area to be sampled) | 10% of cohort learners across appropriate sample of units |
In addition, for candidates who are being part claimed, a minimum of 10% of the units being claimed for that candidate will be desk sampled, irrespective of the sampling rules above.
Trainee Assessors
Where a Development Coach is undertaking their assessor qualification and they are assessing formal qualifications, all assessment decisions will be countersigned by a qualified assessor in addition to application of the sampling strategy above.
Systems
All IQA decisions will be captured on Aptem or the Learner Journey (for paperbased portfolios) as the IQA activity takes place. The summary feedback from the systems will be discussed at each standardisation meeting.