The Regulations and Requirements Relevant to the Assessment in Own Area of Practice

Pearson

• Pearson is the awarding organisation for the NVQ, FE, and HE civil engineering and construction qualifications that I am assessing. Pearson is a learning company with a presence in nearly 200 countries. Their purpose is to help people achieve their potential through learning. This is done by providing high-quality, digital content and learning experiences, as well as assessments and qualifications that help people build their skills and grow with the world around them (Pearson, 2021).

• The BTEC Nationals is a level 3 vocational qualification that is widely recognised for admission to higher education. They provide specialist, work-related learning across a range of sectors, including construction and civil engineering. I teach the level 3 construction part of the qualifications that are designed to equip students with the specialist knowledge, practical skills, and understanding they need to progress along with their chosen learning and career paths in the construction and civil engineering industries (Pearson 2021).

• BTEC Higher Nationals are internationally recognised higher education qualifications at levels 4 and 5 that are equivalent to the first and second years of a university degree, providing progression to both university and employment. They are an ideal choice for students seeking an affordable and relevant route to a degree or employment (Pearson 2021). I teach the level 4 and 5 construction, civil engineering, surveying, and building services parts of the qualifications that are designed to equip students with the specialist knowledge, practical skills, and understanding needed to excel in the construction, civil engineering, and building services industries.

• I assess the Pearson Edexcel Level 4 NVQ Diploma in Construction Site Supervision (Construction) qualification. National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) are work-based qualifications that give learners the opportunity to develop and demonstrate their competence in the area of work or job role to which the qualification relates.

Qualifications Wales

• Qualifications Wales regulates qualifications, other than degrees, in Wales. They were established in August 2015 through the Qualifications Wales Act and assumed duties and powers in September 2015. They are an independent statutory body, funded by the Welsh Government (Qualifications Wales, 2021).

• They regulate qualifications that are developed and delivered by the awarding bodies that they recognise. Pearson is one of the recognised awarding bodies, and they must comply with the rules set by them.

• They monitor the compliance of awarding bodies, review existing qualifications, oversee the design of new requirements, and support the qualification system. Through this work, they ensure that learners, practitioners, and the public in Wales can be confident that qualifications and the qualification system meet their needs. They report to the National Assembly for Wales every year on how they have fulfilled their functions and how they plan to carry them out in the future (Qualifications Wales, 2021).

Estyn

• Estyn is the education and training inspectorate for Wales, whose vision is to improve the quality of education and training and outcomes for all learners in Wales. Their mission is to support education and training providers in developing a self-improving and learning culture through advice, inspection, and capacity building (Estyn, 2021). They were established under the Education Act of 1992. They are independent of the Welsh Parliament but funded by the Welsh Government. They advise and guide the Welsh Government, through the thematic reports, on the quality and standards of education and training.

Internal Policies and Procedures

Appeal against assessment decision procedure

A learner has the right to appeal against the decision of an assessment. In XXXX College, this is done via an open system. The procedure is as follows (XXXX, 2018):

Stage 1: The learner must give reasons to the assessor for his/her disagreement with the assessment decision. The assessor then provides a clear response after re-evaluating the work, completing the Learner Appeal Form, and amending the learner’s assessment record, if applicable. If the learner agrees with the response, then the process does not need to advance to Stage 2. If not, then the appeal must proceed to Stage 2.

Stage 2: Within five days of the appeal being raised, the assessor must then forward the original assessment record, evidence of the learner’s work, and the completed Learner Appeal Form to the nominated Internal Quality Assurer (IQA). The IQA will then evaluate the learner’s work and associated record, the assessor’s reason for the decision, and the learner's opinion. The IQA must complete the IQA Response Form and provide the learner with the reconsidered assessment decision within 10 working days of receiving the appeal. If the learner agrees with the response, then the process does not need to advance to Stage 3. If not, then the appeal must proceed to Stage 3.

Stage 3: The IQA will forward the Learner Appeal Form, Assessment Record Sheets, evidence of the learner’s work and associated records, and the IQA Response Form to the Dean of Quality Improvement at, XXXX. The Dean of Quality Improvement must convene, within 10 working days of Stage 2, a panel comprising the Dean of Quality Improvement, the Internal Quality Assurer, the Learner, the Tutor/Assessor, and a friend or colleague of the Learner.

The appeals panel must reach a decision and inform the learner of the result in writing within 5 working days. This should be recorded using the Outcome of Appeal Panel form. There are two possible outcomes for the appeals panel:

1. The panel has the authority to override the assessment decision made by the assessor or tutor in the learner’s favour.

2. If the appeals panel disagrees with the learner’s reason(s) for the appeal and the appeal is not upheld, the appeal will progress to the next stage, Stage 4, and be reviewed by the Awarding Organisation.

Records of all appeals are to be logged and made available as appropriate to the Dean of Quality Improvement, the Head of the Department, the Examination Officer, and the Awarding Organisation.

Stage 4: Where the learner disagrees with the decision(s) made by the appeals panel, she or he can appeal to the Awarding Organisation. This should be done in writing to the Dean of Quality Improvement, who will forward the appeal within two days of receipt. If the learner decides to appeal to the Awarding Organisation, they will be contacted in line with their respective appeal procedures. Any decisions made by the Awarding Organisation are final and cannot be pursued any further.

Industry standards

• The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/2677/contents/made) is the law that requires employers to control substances that are hazardous to health. Regulation 6 of the legislation requires the employer to carry out an assessment of the risk posed by hazardous substances encountered at work or on a construction site. Examples of these substances include dust, solvents, mist, cement, sealants, etc. Consideration should be given to the hazardous properties of the substance, level, type and duration of exposure, activities to be carried out, control measures, health surveillance, etc. All these considerations can be shown by producing a COSHH risk assessment document.

Reference/Bibliography

Barton, J. (2015) Writing your assignments – tips and wrinkles. Available at: https://www.britishschoolofcoaching.com/writing-your-assignments-tips-and-wrinkles/ (Accessed: 03 November 2021)

Davies, A. and Stiling, L. (2021) TAQA – training assessment and quality assurance [PowerPoint presentation]. 22 October.

Estyn (2021) About us. Available at: https://www.estyn.gov.wales/about-us/what-we-inspect (Accessed: 06 November 2021).

Gravells, A. (2014) Achieving your assessment & quality assurance units (TAQA). 2nd edn. London: Learning Matters SAGE.

Kime, S. (2017) Four pillars of assessment validity. Available at: https://evidencebased.education/pillars-assessment-purpose-validity/ (Accessed: 03 November 2021)

Pearson (2021) Our company. Available at: https://plc.pearson.com/company (Accessed: 06 November 2021)

Qualification Wales (2021) About us. Available at:https://www.qualificationswales.org/english/about-us/ (Accessed: 06 November 2021)