Internal Quality Assurance policy

Internal Quality Assurance (IQA) is concerned with monitoring the learner journey throughout their time undertaking a qualification at EdgeWorks™.

IQA involves monitoring the training and assessment activities and the quality of work learners produce, in terms of meeting the correct grading criteria. Internal quality assurance helps to ensure that assessment and IQA activities are valid, authentic, sufficient, fair and reliable.

Internal quality assurance measures the quality, delivery, processes, procedures and learner achievements.

Statement of principles

Key concepts and principles of internal quality assurance of assessment include:

• Ensuring quality standards throughout the learner journey.
• Ensuring accuracy and consistency of assessment decisions made by assessors.
• Identifying issues and trends that develop.
• Supporting and developing assessors and tutors.
• Ensuring accountability for assessment decisions and quality standards, and that awarding body procedures and policies are maintained.
• Ensuring achievement made by learners and judged by assessors is recognised and meets the grading criteria.
• Ensuring the correct and appropriate assessment strategies are used by assessors.
• Ensuring the confidentiality of the learner and provider is maintained at all times.
• Ensuring both interim and summative sampling is occurring.

Internal quality assurance principles include; ensuring standardisation activities take place, assessment decisions embrace inclusion, equality is promoted with learners and the diversity of learners is valued by all staff. It ensures that fairness is apparent in all assessment decisions and that there are auditable records to show this.

Other principles include maintaining health and safety practices, such as risk assessments. Also ensuring all staff have access to training and CPD, that assessors and staff members are motivated and that clear communication between takes place regularly.

IQA activities

EdgeWorks™ will undertake a sampling of assessment judgements in line with the sampling plans in place for all qualifications offered.

Sampling will be 10% to 50% of learner assessments, depending on the assessor’s experience, qualifications and competency. (100% for new or newly qualified staff members).

Assessments are automatically selected for sampling based on strategy and individual sampling rates for assessors.

• Assessment status shows as under review until the pass is agreed.
• All communication is visible to IQA with learner details if they need to contact the learner directly.
• If the pass is not agreed IQA can return to the assessor. The assessor is notified of feedback and can return the assessment to the witness/learner for additional detail.
• When the assessment pass is agreed upon, the assessor is notified via email and can review the assessment with IQA comments.

Any disagreements with an IQAs finding will be reviewed by the Managing Director of EdgeWorks™, who will have the final say on any judgements.

All sampling activities will meet the requirements of the awarding organisations EdgeWorks™ are approved with.

Standardisation activities will be undertaken regularly with IQAs, Assessors, Trainers and relevant line managers present. Standardisation activities will meet the requirements of the awarding organisations EdgeWorks™ are approved with.

All meetings will have a set agenda and minutes shall be produced and disseminated to all relevant staff members.

All EdgeWorks™ staff members will receive access to regular, continuous professional development (CPD) and shall be encouraged to undertake reflective practice.

Learner feedback (Learner Voice) shall be collected through surveys accessed through EdgeWorks™ qualification platform, complaints and compliments received. Learner Voice will be regularly obtained and analysed and improvements shall be highlighted and implemented across the organisation, where required.

All documents relating to IQA activities will be held securely, in line with Data Protection and confidentiality requirements. Access will be granted to all relevant awarding organisations to any assessment documents and related materials via EdgeWorks™ qualification platform.