Qualification Policies

Safety Training Awards – Approved Training Centre

This webpage contains the relevant policies and procedures that are required by the Awarding Body to ensure continuous adherence to the relevant regulations and requirements.

We commit to reviewing these policies on an annual basis as a minimum, or at the time of any implied incident or change in best practice guidance.

• The document is relevant to staff and learners.
• The document is prepared by the Centre Contact.

Teignbridge Leisure | Updated October 2021

Internal Quality Assurance Policy

Our Internal Quality Assurance process will be applied in the day to day operations of the centre by all personnel to ensure that learners receive accurate, valid grades with high quality, developmental feedback, and that assessors and tutors have regular opportunities to engage in peer assessment and good practice sharing.

All Internal Quality Assurers (IQAs) are expected to be appropriately as defined by the Awarding Body.  The IQA must also be occupationally competent to meet the requirements of the assessment strategy for the relevant qualification.   All IQA’s will be approved by the Awarding Body to enable them to work on the Approved Training Centre (ATC).

The course IQA will ensure all the requirements for the Awarding Body and learners are met.

Internal Quality Assurance Aim

This document outlines the process for ensuring that all programmes are quality assured and additional moderation is carried out by the Lead IQA, as required. It also ensures that good practice is shared between assessors and developmental areas are highlighted at the earliest opportunity. The process can be applied to both practical and written assessments. The model aims to:

1. Standardise grading judgments.
2. Maximise the developmental feedback to the learner.
3. Provide developmental feedback to assessors and tutors.

The size of the sample to be quality assured will vary, dependent on the number of times the programme has been delivered and the quantity of learners to be assessed. Consideration will also be given to the individual assessor when the sampling percentage is determined by the Awarding Body.  

Internal Quality Assurance Process

The Lead IQA will produce a matrix with details of all programmes, assessments and allocated Assessors and IQA’s. The Lead IQA will be required to allocate quality assurance responsibilities to appropriately competent IQA’s.  Each IQA will need to plan their sampling using a sampling plan which covers:

• Assessors
• Learners
• Units
• Assessment methods
• Types of evidence
• Assessment records
• Assessment locations

Standardisation and Continuous Professional Development (CPD)

Regular standardisation meetings will be held, chaired by the Lead IQA.  The meetings will be an opportunity to share good practice and highlight areas for development; however, neither IQAs nor Assessors should wait until the monthly meeting if they have identified a significant area for development.  Such issues should be directed to the Lead IQA as a matter of urgency.  The Lead IQA must document all of these instances and store the evidence is the standardisation folder.

CPD is the responsibility of the individual Assessor; each Assessor must, in conjunction with the relevant assessment strategy make sure that they have completed all necessary CPD activities.  These must be recorded these in an auditable CPD record and records held within the administration department.  The Lead IQA has the opportunity to remove assessors from assessment where CPD activities have been or are inadequate.

Additional Guidance

For External Quality Assurance purposes, all IQA documents and records must be retained for three years.

Where staffing constraints dictate that a member of staff is required to assess and quality assure on the same programme, they must only quality assure assessments which have been conducted by another Assessor.

The Lead IQA will be responsible for maintaining a database of all IQA and Assessor activity.

Health and Safety Policy

As an ATC, we commit to operating within current legislative and best practice requirements.

• Responsibilities for health and safety within the centre;

The responsibility for the health and safety arrangements within the centre will be governed by the organisational practices, processes and procedures applied to the whole organisation and overseen by the organisations Health and Safety Manager. 

Locally, arrangements within Leisure will be managed by the Leisure Manager, who shall liaise with the ATC Centre Contact for activities specific to the ATC.

• Suitable training and instruction;

The Leisure Manager will instigate any suitable training required to meet health and safety requirements that will include; induction, training, activities at the centre, and emergency action plans, in liaison with the Centre Contact.

• Reporting and recording of concerns, accidents and near misses;

All such matters will follow the organisational reporting requirements.

• Process for identification of hazards and assessing risks, and risk reduction;

The Leisure Manager leads an annual review or risk assessments specific to the workplace and associated activities working with the organisation’s Health and Safety Management Team.

• Maintenance of premises and equipment;

The organisation’s Property Team work closely with the Leisure Management team to manage the safe and effective us of our facilities and associated equipment.  The Centre Contact shall work with the Leisure Manager on such matters.

Conflict of Interest Policy

The purpose of the policy, is to confirm our commitment to protect the integrity of the Approved Training Centre and by proxy the assessment decisions.  We will protect centre staff by minimising the possible conflicts of interest.

The scope of the policy, ensure the policy applies to centre staff, Tutors, Assessors, IQA’s and to protect the learners and Awarding Body so the interests and integrity for all involved are respectfully managed.

The definition of conflict of interest; a situation in which a person is in a position to derive personal benefit from actions or decisions made in their official capacity.

It is not possible to provide a definitive list of examples of conflicts of interest that could compromise the integrity of the Safety Training Awards assessments and qualifications. However, the following situations could lead to perceived or actual conflicts of interest:

• Personal relationships with family members or friends linked to the Awarding Body and/or centre personnel and/or learners that could influence decision making and qualification outcomes
• Business or commercial interests linked to the Awarding Body and/or a ATC that may affect professional judgement
• Mutually beneficial arrangements with ATC and the Awarding Body personnel which may compromise an individual’s ability to make reliable and professional judgements
• Where favourable arrangements have been negotiated, for example supplying information to certain individuals and/or groups who are preparing for or carrying out an assessment
• A person connected with the Awarding Body or ATC who are engaging in some capacity or have a material financial interest in a business or enterprise that compete with the Awarding Body
• An ATC has an interest in any activity which has the potential to lead it to act contrary to its interests in the development, delivery and award of qualifications in accordance with the conditions of the centre
• A situation that may create the appearance of a conflict or present a conflict of interest in connection with a person who has influence over the activities or finances of the Awarding Body

Please note this list is not exhaustive.

The existence of such interests, as those above does not necessarily imply conflict, but is likely to give an appearance of conflict and as such should be declared to the Awarding Body.

Wherever possible all conflicts of interest must be removed by the ATC.  Where this is not possible then this should be managed appropriately to minimise the risk to learner performance.  Any such risks will be reported to the Awarding Body and advice sought to reduce the risk and eliminate any adverse effect on the learner’s performance.

The Lead IQA will manage any such process, then inform and liaise with Awarding Body for transparency.

Complaints Policy

All individuals can access the information about our complaint’s procedures through our website or can request a copy by contacting us via leisureadmin@teignbridge.gov.uk

We are committed to providing an equal opportunity for all, where possible to communicate with us.  If you have attended a course and are dissatisfied with the service, you must firstly try to resolve this matter with us.

• How learners and customers can complain, which should include informal and formal routes.

Informal process

We understand that most individuals who are not satisfied with a service would like it addressed and dealt with as soon as possible, therefore an informal process would be far more appropriate.

An informal process will be more efficient resolving complaints quickly by mediating between who is responsible for the dissatisfaction and the complainant. The complaint may be resolved immediately following this process, so we encourage our members and learners to contact us directly for an informal discussion if they have a complaint that needs to be resolved to achieve the desirable outcome.

Formal process

Please refer to the organisation complaints procedure, found on our website

Once we have received a complaint an acknowledgement will be sent within 5 working days. The complaint will be reviewed in line with our policies and procedures and an investigation will be conducted where necessary.  To ensure a fair and thorough process is followed the duration of the investigation will depend on the nature and severity of the complaint we receive at this stage, or the complexity of the response required. We do aim to provide this as soon as the outcome is available or within a maximum of 20 days.

• What details are required from learners and customers including any evidence to support their complaint

A complaint can be raised by an individual, a group or a third party who is acting on behalf of someone else. If a third party is submitting a complaint on behalf of someone else, they will need written permission from the complainant along with the written complaint attached, this should then be presented to us for acceptance.

• A confidentiality and whistle-blowing clause that is in line with the relevant whistle-blowing legislation and guidance

Raising concerns about wrongdoing can be one of the most difficult and challenging things to do in a training environment.  You are encouraged to come forward with legitimate concerns without fear of being blamed or suffering any disadvantage for doing so.

If you see or find out about something you think is wrong at the Approved Training Centre you should report it. You should go first to your Tutor or any other senior person. 

Complaints that count as whistle blowing

You’re protected by law if you report any of the following:

• a criminal offence, for example fraud
• someone’s health and safety is in danger
• risk or actual damage to the environment
• a miscarriage of justice
• the company is breaking the law, for example does not have the right insurance
• you believe someone is covering up wrongdoing

Complaints that do not count as whistle blowing

Personal grievances (for example bullying, harassment, discrimination) are not covered by whistle blowing law, unless your particular case is in the public interest.

It is in all of our interest to conclude any such matters promptly and to the satisfaction of all parties.  Therefore, any concerns raised will be taken seriously and dealt with accordingly.

Sometimes a person making an allegation of malpractice or maladministration may wish to remain anonymous, although it is always preferable to reveal your identity and provide us with contact details. However, if you are concerned about possible adverse consequences that may occur should your identity be revealed to another party then please inform us that you do not wish for us to divulge your identity and we will work to ensure your details are not disclosed.

We will always aim to keep a whistleblower’s identify confidential where asked to do so although we cannot guarantee this, and we may need to disclose your identity should the complaint lead to issues that need to be taken forward by other parties. For example:

• The police, fraud prevention agencies or other law enforcement agencies (to investigate or prevent crime, including fraud)
• The courts (in connection with any court proceedings)
• Other third parties such as the relevant regulatory authority (e.g. Ofqual in England).

The investigator(s) assigned to review the allegation will not reveal the whistleblower’s identity unless the whistleblower agrees or it is absolutely necessary for the purposes of the investigation (as noted above). The investigator(s) will advise the whistleblower if it becomes necessary to reveal their identity against their wishes.

A whistleblower should also recognise that he or she may be identifiable by others due to the nature or circumstances of the disclosure (e.g. the party which the allegation is made against may manage to identify possible sources of disclosure without such details being disclosed to them).

Once a concern has been raised we have a duty to pursue the matter. It will not be possible to prevent the matter being investigated by subsequently withdrawing their concern as we are obliged by the regulators to follow-up and investigate allegations of malpractice or maladministration.

In all cases, we will keep you updated as to how we have progressed the allegation (e.g. we have undertaken an investigation) and the whistle-blower will have the opportunity to raise any concerns about the way the investigation is being conducted with the investigator(s). However, we won’t disclose details of all of the investigation activities and it may not be appropriate for us to disclose full details of the outcomes of the investigation due to confidentiality or legal reasons (e.g. disclose full details on the action that may be taken against the parties concerned). While we cannot guarantee that we will disclose all matters in the way that you might wish, we will strive to handle the matter fairly and properly.

•  The process for upholding complaints and potential remedies

Where complaints are reviewed and subsequently upheld, each matter shall be dealt with on a case-by-case basis to ensure that an appropriate and satisfactory conclusion can be achieved.

• If the outcome is unsatisfactory for the learner or customer, what they can do in relation to escalating the matter to a senior member of staff.

Should the outcome not meet your expectation, the matter will be passed to a senior member of staff who shall review the case in detail and look to resolve matters.

Should the case still not be resolved to your satisfaction, we will shall liaise with you and the Awarding Body to conclude the matter.

Appeals Policy

All learners are assessed against agreed and published awards criteria.  Assessment decisions are made by Assessors who are trained, and who have a recognised Assessor Award.

Grounds for Appeal

An appeal may be made if:

• The assessment was not conducted in accordance with the ATC’s regulations
• Medical or other extenuating circumstances arose during the assessment process which affected the learner’s performance
• There was inappropriate or irregular behaviour on the part of the Assessor

Appeals Procedure

Informal stage

• The learner should firstly discuss the reason for the appeal with the Assessor or Internal Quality Assurer (if possible) on the day of the assessment
• If this does not resolve the appeal the learner should submit a written explanation to the IQA within 5 days from the date of the assessment – include any supporting evidence
• The IQA will investigate the appeal and respond in writing within 7 working days

Formal stages

Stage 2

• If the learner feels that the outcome is unsatisfactory they submit a written explanation to the IQA
• We would then contacting our External Quality Assurer (EQA) appointed through the Awarding Body
• If the EQA was not present or is unable to resolve the appeal issue, the learner will be directed to the third stage of the appeals process
• We would aim to conclude this stage within 10 working days

Stage 3

• The learner will be referred to the Awarding Body’s appeals policy, which can be found here

Equality and Diversity Policy

We will deliver our qualifications through a fair and accessible process, which does not include any unnecessary barriers to entry.  We will collect information on diversity, requests for reasonable adjustments or special consideration and access arrangements. 

Purpose

We are committed to ensuring equal opportunities for all, ensuring that the qualifications we offer are inclusive and accessible to learners.

All who represent Teignbridge Leisure are responsible for implementation of this policy.  We believe that everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect regardless of their age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, ethnicity, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.  We will not tolerate unfair treatment or unlawful discrimination, whether intentional or unintentional, direct, or indirect.

Policy

We are committed to The Equality Act 2010 by taking positive action to:

• Comply with current legislative requirements and monitor that this is adhered to
• Deliver qualifications, support services and training which take into consideration the needs of all learners and do not unnecessarily discriminate against any individual or group
• Promote fair access to qualifications, minimising any barriers to access or assessment by implementing reasonable adjustments and special considerations policies
• Ensure that learning opportunities and fair assessment is open to all who will benefit without compromising the integrity of qualifications

We shall implement this policy through:

• Ensuring staff and learners have access to this information to assist them in planning, putting in to practice and monitoring their rights and responsibilities under this policy
• Providing support and relevant training / updates for all staff, members and learners and revising any policy or practice that could disadvantage individuals or groups
• Provision of regular CPD / updates for staff and learners
• Ensuring all staff and learners know how to offer feedback and register complaints
• Effective complaints procedures which will be used to resolve complaints of discrimination with a full and prompt consideration under this policy.

Where complaints relating to issues of inequality cannot be resolved by the centre, learners must be made aware of their right to appeal through Safety Training Awards’ Appeals Policy.

Safeguarding Policy

We recognise their responsibility in identifying and responding to concerns regarding the safeguarding and protection of children and young people, and vulnerable adults. Our Safeguarding Policy is written in line with statutory guidance including:

• Keeping Children Safe in Education (2015)
• Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018)
• Prevent Strategy (2011)

Our key aim is to ‘Create an environment that is safe and secure for learners to disclose their issues to centre staff.’

• Prevention through centre support offered to all learners and the creation and maintenance of an organisational-level ethos

All staff are required to complete training in safeguarding as part of their mandatory induction.  Thereafter, a planned review / update training for staff on identifying safeguarding issues will be implemented to ensure knowledge and best-practice principles can be maintained.

• Protection by following agreed procedures, ensuring staff are subjected to background checks prior to recruitment and they are trained and supported to respond appropriately and sensitively to concerns

All staff are required to complete a satisfactory DBS clearance check before commencement of employment.

Staff will be inducted on safeguarding incidents, including how to recognise and report such issues.

• Support for learners and centre staff who may have been abused.

A Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO) who will be the key point of call for all reported allegations. The DSO will be responsible for investigating the raised concern through a set procedure. The DSO will also need to refer cases of suspected abuse or allegations to the local social services department in accordance with Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) procedures, and work with other agencies in line with Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018).

The DSO will liaise with the organisations Safeguarding Manager for any such incidents, in accordance with the organisations safeguarding policy and procedures.

Reasonable Adjustment and Special Considerations

We will adhere to the Awarding Body’s policy, found here and copied below.

Purpose

This policy is aimed at our centres and learners who are undertaking or have completed a Safety Training Awards qualification. We are committed to complying with all current and relevant regulation and legislation to the development and delivery of our qualifications. Our aim is to facilitate open access for all learners who are eligible for reasonable adjustments or special considerations in assessments, whilst ensuring the assessment of understanding, knowledge, skills and competence is not compromised in any way for all of the protected characteristics within the Equality Act 2010. Please refer to our Equal Opportunities Policy for more information.

This policy will also be used by our staff to ensure they are dealing with all reasonable adjustments and special considerations requests in a fair and consistent manner.

This policy outlines the following:

• Arrangements for making reasonable adjustments and special considerations in relation to the delivery and assessment of our qualifications
• How learners qualify for reasonable adjustments and special considerations
• Reasonable adjustments we will accept and requests that are required prior to them being applied
• What special considerations can be granted for learners.

Definition of a Reasonable Adjustment

A reasonable adjustment relates to any actions that help to reduce the effect of a disability or difficulty, which may place the learner at a disadvantage during the delivery of a qualification or an assessment situation. They are applied to an assessment process for a qualification to enable a learner with a disability or difficulty to demonstrate his or her knowledge, skills and understanding of the levels of attainment required in the qualification specification.

When a reasonable adjustment has been applied, the work produced by the learner will be marked to the same standards and assessment requirements as the work assessed of the other learners.

Definition of a Special Consideration

Special consideration is a post-assessment adjustment to the marks of a learner’s assessment paper or rearrangement of an assessment time and/or date.

A special consideration can be granted after an assessment has taken place if a learner may have been disadvantaged.

Policy

As an ATC, we expect your operations to adhere to relevant requirements and legislation to promote fair access to assessment for all learners. You should have policies and procedures in place which reflect the principles included within this document.

Assessment should be a fair test of learners’ knowledge, skills and ability. The standard format of assessment may not be suitable for all learners, our aim is that our assessments and qualifications do not prevent any learners from attaining them.

At Safety Training Awards, we recognise that reasonable adjustments or special considerations may be required at the time of assessment where the following applies:

• Learners have a permanent disability or specific learning needs
• Learners have a temporary disability, learning needs or medical condition
• Learners are not available at the time of assessment

Reasonable adjustments and special consideration arrangements are available to ensure all learners receive recognition of their achievement providing there is evidence that the equity, validity and reliability of the assessments can be assured. These arrangements should not be used to make assessments easier for learners or give learners a head start and should not disadvantage other learners.

All requests for reasonable adjustments and special considerations will be reviewed on an individual basis and all the information received will be considered.

Principles of Granting Reasonable Adjustments

Safety Training Awards will support our centres making these reasonable adjustments by ensuring that the following applies:

• Reasonable adjustments granted provide learners with the opportunity to demonstrate their attainment
• The reasonable adjustment compensates for any disadvantage imposed by the disability or difficulty but do not disadvantage others
• Certificates issued do not mislead anyone regarding the learner’s attainment
• The assessments were rigorous and fair
• The assessment activity is valid and is measurable against the assessment criteria
• Assessment results are reliable.

Reasonable adjustments that may be requested are as follows:

Modified enlarged manuals or assessment papers

For learners with a visual impairment where enlarged text would allow them access to fair delivery and assessment (pre-assessment notice is required).

Assessment extension time

Extra time is not permitted in practical skills performance. An allowance of 25% extra time is permissible for assessment papers if the learner has learning difficulties, supported by an assessment report evidencing the need for the adjustment.

Use of a reader

For learners with a visual impairment whose reading skills have been tested and defined as below average or where English is a learners second language. The reader is a responsible adult who reads the questions to the learner but must not be the course tutor, assessor, relative, friend or peer to the learner. The reader must only read the question paper instructions and the questions, they must not explain or clarify. They may if requested repeat instructions, read back what has been written or give the spelling of a word on the paper.

Use of a scribe

For learners who have learning difficulties and are unable to write legibly. The scribe is a responsible adult who writes down the learners dictated answers to the questions, they must not be the course tutor, assessor, relative, friend or peer to the learner. The use of computer software that produces a hard copy of the learners dictated speech is permissible.

Use of a sign interpreter

For learners who communicate by using sign language. The interpreter is a responsible adult who is proficient in the use of sign language, they must not be the course tutor, assessor, relative, friend or peer to the learner. The interpreter must only sign the question paper instructions and the questions, they must not explain or clarify. They may if requested repeat instructions, learners are only permitted to sign their answers in coursework and exams where the answers required involve single words.

Centres may reject requests in situations as follows:

• Reasonable adjustments must not invalidate the assessment requirements set out in the qualification specification
• The content and delivery of the chosen course of study would prevent the learner from fulfilling a major section of the course affecting the assessment requirements
• Must not give the learner an unfair advantage compared to other learners for whom a reasonable adjustment has not been granted.

Procedure to Request a Reasonable Adjustment

Centre co-ordinators, Tutors and Assessors must endeavour to identify learner needs as soon as possible to request the appropriate adjustments are reviewed by Safety Training Awards, once approved these can be implemented.

The process for requesting access arrangements and the evidence required may vary dependent upon the qualification specification, the learner’s circumstances and any other factors that need to be taken in to consideration.

Reasonable adjustments may cover all of the course content and not just the assessment. We ask that a request is submitted to Safety Training Awards prior to the course starting, if the adjustment is to an assessment paper a minimum of 14 days’ notice is required. All arrangements for adjustments must be approved by Safety Training Awards before being implemented.

The Safety Training Awards reasonable adjustments and special considerations form is available to complete and submit via the ATC’s Synergy account. 

All requests for reasonable adjustments and special considerations will be reviewed on an individual basis and all the information received will be considered.

Safety Training Awards will not approve any adjustments that may compromise the assessment criteria and that may disadvantage other learners.

Centre co-ordinators, Tutors and Assessors may assist learners in choosing an appropriate course of study, making them aware of the qualification specification requirements. Learners may still decide to undertake/complete a qualification knowing they are unable to fulfil the assessment requirements, in this situation a certificate of attendance may be issued.

Failure to comply with this policy may constitute malpractice and the resulting disqualification of the learner.

Principles of Granting Special Considerations

Learners must have attended the course for the appropriate amount of guided learning hours and have been fully prepared by the tutor to take the assessment. If their performance in the assessment or in the production of coursework is affected by adverse circumstances beyond their control, a special consideration may be granted for a learner if they have temporarily experienced any of the following:

• Illness or injury
• An event out of the learners control which has or is likely to have an impact on the learner’s ability to take an assessment or demonstrate their levels of attainment during the assessment.

Any special considerations granted must:

• Treat all learners fairly
• Require the learner to fully meet the assessment requirements
• Maintain the relevance, reliability and comparability of the assessment.

They must not invalidate the assessment requirements set out in the qualification specification.

Special considerations should not give the learner an unfair advantage, neither should it mislead an employer/training provider regarding the learner’s achievements for certification. The learner’s results must reflect the achievement in assessment and not their potential ability.

If a special consideration is granted this may result in a post-assessment adjustment to the marks of the learner. The adjustment will depend on the circumstances and reflect the difficulty faced by the learner.

Note to centres: It may not be possible to grant a special consideration where an assessment requires the learner to demonstrate practical competence or when assessment criteria must be fully met, or in a case the qualifications confer a license to practice. 

Procedure to Request a Special Consideration

Following an assessment, a centre co-ordinator, Tutor or Assessor may wish to submit a reasonable adjustment and special consideration form, in recognition of the difficulty a learner has encountered. The Safety Training Awards reasonable adjustments and special considerations form is available to complete and submit via the ATC’s Synergy account. This should be submitted with all the paperwork at the end of the course within 7 working days of the assessment conclusion.

Please indicate on the form the exact nature of the adverse condition(s) that you consider make the learner eligible for a special consideration, supply copies of any appropriate evidence to support your request and securely upload to the Synergy account prior to submitting the form to Safety Training Awards. Please note that there will be occasions when learners are too unwell or distressed to complete an assessment and occasionally learners do under perform.

All requests for special considerations will be reviewed on an individual basis and all the evidence received will be considered.

If the request for a special consideration is successful, the learner’s performance will be reviewed based on the evidence that was submitted. A successful request of a special consideration will not necessarily change a learner’s result.

Safety Training Awards will not approve any special considerations that may compromise the assessment criteria and that may disadvantage other learners.

Failure to comply with this policy may constitute malpractice and the resulting disqualification of the learner.

Centre Responsibility

It is important that all centre personnel involved in the management, assessment and quality assurance of all Safety Training Awards qualifications, are fully aware of the contents within this policy and ensure their learners are made aware of the policy when undertaking or completing any of our qualifications.

When an EQA visits a centre, they may ask personnel and learners some questions to identify if they are aware of the policies contents and purpose.

Arrangements Not Covered Within This Policy

If any circumstances arise relating to internal or external assessment not covered within this policy you should contact our compliance manager at Safety Training Awards to discuss prior to the assessment taking place.

Appeals

If you wish to appeal against our decision to decline a request for a reasonable adjustment or special consideration please refer to our Enquiries and Appeals Policy, this is available on our websitee or you can request a copy by contacting us.

Monitoring and Review

This policy and its procedures will be reviewed regularly for improvements as part of our quality assurance requirements. This will ensure it is fit for purpose, reflects the services we deliver to our approved training centres and we provide services which are relevant to the requirements of individual needs.

Malpractice and Maladministration Policy

Irrespective of the underlying cause or the people involved, all allegations of malpractice or maladministration in relation to qualifications and assessment need to be investigated in order to protect the integrity of the qualifications and to be fair to all ATC’s and learners.

Malpractice can be defined as ‘any attempt to gain unfair advantage in a qualification for oneself or for another.’

Examples of malpractice include:

• A learner copying another learner’s work
• A learner bringing into an assessment room aids (e.g. notes, mobile phone) that could be used to help answer the examination questions
• A learner using others’ ideas and words in an assignment without clearly acknowledging the source of the information (plagiarism)
• A tutor giving a learner unfair assistance with an assessment
• An invigilator revealing the questions in an examination to learners before the time of the examination.

To define maladministration and your understanding of what constitutes such practices, this could be considered as ‘any activity or practice which results in non-compliance with Safety Training Awards’ regulations and requirements constitutes maladministration.’

Examples of maladministration include:

• An ATC failing to return all examination materials after an examination
• An ATC failing to issue learners with appropriate notices and warnings in an examination
• An ATC not ensuring the assessment venue conforms to requirements
• Errors or omissions in information supplied to Safety Training Awards

In accordance with the Awarding Body’s policy in such matter, found here, the following process shall apply;

Process for Making an Allegation of Malpractice or Maladministration

Anybody who identifies or is made aware of suspected or actual cases of malpractice or maladministration at any time must immediately notify Safety Training Awards. In doing so they should put this in writing/email and enclose appropriate supporting evidence (centres can submit details of potential/actual cases of malpractice via the malpractice form which is available on the ATC’s Synergy account) and other parties such as learners, parents or whistle-blowers may contact us directly.

All allegations must include (where possible):

• ATC name, address and ATC number
• Learner’s name and STA reference number
• ATC/Safety Training Awards personnel’s details (name, job role) if they are involved in the case
• Details of the STA course/qualification affected, or nature of the service affected
• Nature of the suspected or actual malpractice or maladministration and associated dates
• Details and outcome of any initial investigation carried out by the ATC or anybody else involved in the case, including any mitigating circumstances.

In addition, we ask that the person making the allegation declares any personal interest they may have in the matter to us at the outset.

If the ATC has conducted an initial investigation prior to formally notifying us, they should ensure that staff involved in the initial investigation are competent and have no personal interest in the outcome of the investigation. We would expect that such investigations would normally involve the centre co-ordinator (if there is an investigation into allegations of malpractice and/or maladministration or irregularities against the centre co-ordinator or the management of the ATC then such investigations should be carried out by the chair of the governing body of the ATC or his/her nominee). However, it is important to note that in all instances the centre must immediately notify us if they suspect malpractice or maladministration has occurred as we have a responsibility to the regulatory authorities to ensure that all investigations are carried out rigorously and effectively.

As an ATC, we will report any suspicious activities to the Awarding Body’s Head of Compliance and Assurance.

Teignbridge Leisure | Updated October 2021

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