QUALITY HANDBOOK

Posted by UCAN / In Public Policies / Feb  07th, 2024

POLICY STATEMENT

UCAN is committed to providing a quality service to all of our customers. Our approach to quality is centred on meeting the individual needs of our students’ partner organisation and other customers, ensuring that they are satisfied with the service they receive.  is prom

We are dedicated to;

• Continually improve the quality of our products and service delivery to meet the needs of our customers.
• Continually developing the effectiveness of the systems and processes that support our delivery.
• Developing our staff to ensure they have the skills and knowledge to provide a quality service.
• Creating a culture of continuous improvement across our organisation.
• Listening to our customers and focusing on their needs.
• Complying with recognised quality standards and best practice within the industry.

This policy is underpinned by our mission of being seen as a provider of high quality services to students, employers, suppliers, competitors, agents and partners in the delivery of educational services, empowering people to create a better future for themselves.

EXTERNAL ACCREDITATION

As a Matrix accredited organisation we have already shown commitment to delivering a quality Information, Advice and Guidance service improving our performance through the management and development of our staff. We regularly monitor our position against the standards of this award to ensure we continue to meet or exceed the expected standards. We have already started to develop and implement standards that will help us achieve improved customer satisfaction which is the fundamental basis of this standard.

APPROACH TO MANAGING QUALITY

UCAN is committed to implementing a robust customer focused Continuous Improvement Framework. The Framework includes;

CASELOAD MANAGEMENT

To assess the progress of students, agree on specific actions to improve individual progress, identify improvements in delivery and key processes that impact on student success and satisfaction.

PROCESS AUDITS

Concentrating on key activities including initial assessment, planning and reviewing of learning, target setting and performance to ensure that we are identifying and meeting the needs of students and employers.         

Enhanced Initial Assessments in English, maths and ICT, with computer assessed and teacher assessed sections, provide appropriate starting points for all learners. Resources are specifically targeted for learners’ abilities. Each learning activity has clear objectives.

Assessment for Learning ensures that formative and summative assessment is used to move learners forward. LPRs review progress and set SMART targets to help learners move forward. Feedback is recorded verbally so that learners can re-listen and recap on their targets.

Assessors provide feedback on each piece of evidence and add this feedback to the tracker. Feedback is provided on achievements at each session of observed practice and next steps for development are set in collaboration with the learners.

Assessors are flexible in their approach and use a range of teaching and learning strategies that include: online distance learning, one-to-one teaching, small group teaching, classroom delivery, professional discussions, witness testimonies, appraisals, observations, and webinars.

A well-defined structure is provided for all learning activities. A complete curriculum of resources has been developed for English, maths and ICT, with clear teacher’s notes for all exercises. City and Guilds resources are available for vocational areas.

Strategies are tailored closely to the learners’ needs. Professional discussions are used to assist learners who have difficulty in writing long tasks and assignments. Observation of practice is also used to support learners with the demonstration aspect of their courses.

Learners are challenged to demonstrate their skills and knowledge at the highest levels. Functional Skills English and maths extension exercises challenge learners of all abilities. IQA and EQA feedback also encourage challenges.

OBSERVATION

Direct observation of delivery is undertaken to ensure, promote and enhance the quality of the learning experience for all students.

Rigorous teaching observations are used to manage teachers’ performances. All assessors are observed annually, delivering their subject specialism and Functional Skills.

OBSERVATION PLAN

The observation plan forms part of our UCANlearn system as follows;

1. All teaching and assessment staff will have a minimum of 1 assessment observation (by an IQA) and 1 teaching observation (by the Director of Teaching Learning and Assessment)
2. These are automatically generated 6 months after the previous report.
3. Reports are to a fixed set of questions and format for consistency and rigour. A rating is given for each aspect. Using a weighting approved by the Directors involved an overall assessment grade given for the observation or assessment.
4. Reports are fed back to the tutor/ assessor for comment and to form part of their monthly 1:1 review.
5. If a tutor or assessor scores a rating of 3 or less then the frequency of observations is increased to 3 monthly.
6. If no progress is made and there are no extenuating circumstances then this will invoke disciplinary procedures in accordance with our Employee Handbook.

As managers use these observations to inform and support assessors’ improvements this is also overseen by the SMT, the Director of Delivery and Quality Assurance and the Director of Teaching Learning and Assessment.

STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK

It is only through seeking feedback from our customers that we will know if we are meeting their needs. A range of methods are used to gain feedback which is regularly analysed to identify areas of good practice that can be shared and areas for improvement to be addressed.

All stakeholders, including learners and employers, are involved in improving teaching, learning and assessment. Assessors engage with employers during induction and are involved in Unit selection. They are regularly updated on learner progress. We are currently engaging with local education authorities within the West Yorkshire area. Engagement with senior managers in the authorities who are the direct employers. Heads and managers in the schools are given frequent feedback on learners. Employers are engaged in planning learners’ development and they are kept informed of each learner’s attendance and progress.

Employer surveys provide valuable feedback.All employers are engaged and given a model of delivery at the beginning of the course. The model of delivery shows exactly what will happen at each stage of the course and also enables gifted learners to be accelerated. In the new Standards employers are central to the assessment of the learners.

SELF-ASSESSMENT

Is a continuous process that takes place at individual, subject and organisational levels.

Lesson observation feedback identifies areas where assessors can stretch and challenge their learners.

Individual, small group and whole staff training ensures that assessors are more competent to teach all aspects of their courses. Regular Standardisation Meetings are used to share best practice.

Planning and review ensures that we reflect on our delivery, confirms that needs continue to be met and  that we respond effectively to changing demands.

Self-assessment identifies individual and organisational CPD requirements. Our strong commitment to staff CPD ensures that issues that are identified through self-assessment are addressed.

Our annual self-assessment reviews our products and services and judges how effective we are at meeting the needs of our customers. All staff and stakeholders are involved and the results inform our Development Plan.

Bi-annual conferences share best practice and encourage assessors to contribute to organisational development and quality improvement

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Governance Board will assign responsibility to the Director of Quality who will ensure that all quality assurance and continuous improvement activities take place as planned. The Director of Quality will report back to the CEO on a regular basis regarding the status and outcome of activities. Key staff will be identified and directed by the Director of Quality on their role in implementing specific aspects of the Continuous Improvement Framework and other quality assurance activities, and will be supported to ensure they can fulfil their responsibilities.

Tutors, assessors and internal verifiers will fully implement all quality standards. Awarding Body guidance, relevant codes of practice and other standards relating to formally accredited qualifications, to ensure that we meet (and exceed where possible) the requirements therein. All staff are responsible for attainment of the standards and work within the frameworks outlined in this policy and contribute to quality and continuous improvement in their everyday activities. They are also responsible for contributing to specific activities such as caseload reviews and self-assessment, and should fully participate and actively contribute to these activities when requested.

EVALUATION & REVIEW

The Director of Quality will monitor implementation of the policy on an on-going basis and take action to ensure it remains relevant and effective. The success of the policy will be measured through customer feedback, audit results (internal and external) self-assessment judgements, inspection outcomes and achievement of performance targets and other goals.

The Governance Board will review this policy on an annual basis and update it as appropriate to ensure it reflects current best practice and changes to quality standards to ensure its continued effectiveness and appropriateness to the needs of our students and employers.

UCAN is committed to ensuring that the quality assurance guidelines outlined by QCA and the Awarding Organisations in the NVQ Code of Practice, Joint Awarding Body Guidance and Regulatory arrangements for the Qualifications and Credit Framework and Internal Quality Assurance are complied with. See Internal Quality Assurance Policy

The FE and skills sector has a fundamental role in supporting learners’ future economic prosperity, and promoting social and educational inclusion.

Employers must be confident that their future employees receive good quality training and assessment.
The new Common Inspection Framework (2012) emphasises the role of assessment in supporting learning, and the effectiveness of leadership to use performance management to ensure high quality provision.
See Teaching Learning and Assessment Strategy.

POLICY REVIEW

The policy is normally reviewed annually, at a board meeting. In the meantime, we respond immediately to any changes in legislation.

THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE, WITH CONTACT DETAILS:

Julie Cavalli:  *Removed*

AUTHORISED BY:

UCAN Governance Board