A1 Assessor Award

This qualification is work-orientated and is suitable for those who have current real work experience. The award will be suitable for staff that assess NVQ candidates or aspire to assess NVQ candidates. You will be:

• Assessing candidates against agreed standards of competence using a range of assessment methods
• Giving feedback to candidates on assessment decisions
• Contributing to the internal quality assurance process

It is important to note that this is not a course but rather a competence assessment for those who are already involved in an NVQ Assessment Centre. You will receive individual coaching and support to put together a portfolio of evidence to prove your competence in NVQ assessment.

How does it work

This award is mandatory for those whose work involves assessing candidates who are working towards a National Vocational Qualification at any level in a workplace setting. The workplace setting can, in some cases, be situated within an educational or training institution.

The A1 Assessor Award programme equips the learner with the skills, knowledge and qualification to assess NVQ candidates within their own occupational area.

Your assessor will carry out an initial assessment of your past experience, current skills, knowledge, understanding and look at your real work situation, job role before agreeing with you that this qualification is suitable for you. This is a blended programme consisting of in-person induction, observations, workshops and portfolio building.

The course is consists of a face-to-face induction (0.5 days) followed by 3 workshops (approx. 2 hour each) with evidence generated for assessment through guided activities. An observation of assessment practice is an essential requirement of this programme. All other assessment is conducted by the creation of a portfolio.

You will be taught through lectures, discussion, role-play and videos. You will also get tutorials, which is one to one help from a trainer.

Programme Content

The Level 3 award in assessing candidates using a range of methods is a single unit award. The unit that makes up this award is Unit A1 from the Learning and Development national occupational standards. Unit A1 is broken down into four elements, each with its own title describing the tasks to be carried out:

However, completion of the entire four units leads to the award of City & Guilds A1 Assessor award.

• A1.1 Develop plans for assessing competence with candidates
• A1.2 Judge evidence against criteria to make assessment decisions
• A1.3 Provide feedback and support to candidates on assessment decisions
• A1.4 Contribute to the internal quality assurance process

Assessment Guidelines

Trainees need to assess at least 2 candidates against a minimum of 3 elements of an NVQ. To gain this award, candidates will then be assessed by observation while giving feedback to their NVQ candidate. A1 candidates will also engage in professional discussion with their assessor. Assessment methods include product evidence placed in a portfolio, observation, questioning and professional discussion carried out by a Primary Assessor and an Independent Assessor.

About the Qualification

By the end of the programme participants will be able to:

• Identify the roles of mentor, assessor, and internal and external verifier in support of NVQ candidates.
• Apply A1 standards to the assessment of NVQ candidates.
• Provide constructive feedback to candidates.
• Complete assessment paperwork to meet the requirements of the Awarding body.
• Generate evidence that meets the requirements for A1.
• Competence is demonstrated by building a portfolio of evidence of direct work related activities. Times for tutorials are arranged between candidate and assessor.

Duration

A minimum of 10 weeks is required to complete this programme, though it is envisaged that completion will take approximately 6 months but maximum of one year.

Entry Requirements

There is no formal entry qualifications required however you need access to a minimum of two NVQ candidates to use to gain evidence of assessment using a variety of assessment methods and experience in the vocational area chosen.

Enrolment

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