How are Diplomas assessed?
Assessment is based on what you can do and involves you (the candidate), your assessor, an internal verifier and an external verifier
You will be asked to prove you are competent by providing evidence that shows you:
- Can perform all the specified tasks consistently to the required level.
- Understand why you are doing things (knowledge and understanding).
- Can apply the required skills in different ways (range).
Assessment is flexible and you can be awarded a certificate for each unit you achieve, even if you do not complete the full Diploma. There is no set period of time in which you need to complete a unit or Diploma (other than the lifetime of the qualification).
You and your assessor should set target dates for completing each unit. Be realistic though, as there are many things such as your previous experience, demands in your workplace and access to resources that might affect how quickly you are able to achieve the qualification.
How long does it take?
Guided learning hours are the hours you spend learning with your training provider or on your own. Each level has set guided learning hours.
What is evidence?
To claim competence for a Diploma unit you need to gather evidence which shows you have met the standards. It is important that your evidence can be checked against the standards, by both your assessor and the awarding body.
Evidence can take many forms including:
The Accreditation of Prior Experience and Learning (APEL) and the Accreditation of Prior Achievement (APA) takes qualifications and experience you already have towards a Diploma unit. Observation of current practice by your assessor - where evidence is generated from a job or voluntary role and where your assessor may ask you questions about aspects of what you have done.
Witness statements provided by a colleague or a customer. You need to work with your assessor to make sure that your witness statements are acceptable.
Expert witness statements — these would normally be provided by someone working at or above the level of the Diploma you are undertaking, for example, a line or senior manager.
Work products that show a level of understanding or skill. You may have carried out this work as part of a job or, where permissible, it may have come from a simulation that is as close to a realistic working environment (RWE) as possible.
There are more details and possibilities for evidence later on in this guidance.
It is important that your evidence is:
- Valid — it relates to the Diploma standard you are trying to achieve and claim.
- Authentic — the evidence, or an identified part of it (for example, a report), was produced by you.
- Consistent — achieved on more than one occasion.
- Current — usually not more than two years old, but your assessor will advise on this.
- Sufficient — covers all the areas of competence needed, as described in each unit.
You should check carefully that your evidence covers all of the above - if you are in any doubt about whether to use a piece of evidence, you should ask your assessor for guidance.
You can collect your evidence through a range of sources, such as your job, voluntary work, training and interests/activities outside your work. You can produce your evidence in various formats, e.g. reports, work products, testimonies from colleagues, supervisors or members of the public, projects, models, audio tapes, photographs, videos.
When you begin your Diploma, you and your assessor should identify all units and elements where you can use integration of assessment.
Demonstrating knowledge, understanding and skills.
In order to meet the standards, you will also need to prove your knowledge and understanding. Each unit gives a list summarising the knowledge, understanding and skills you must possess. Evidence of how you have achieved and applied this could be included as one or all of the following:
- Descriptions of why a particular approach was used.
- Personal reports about the learning process.
- Reflective reports which include how a theory or principle was applied.
- Assessment interviews.
- Assessment tests.
- Responses to questioning.
All your varying types of evidence should be included in your portfolio/logbook or cross-referenced to where they are kept in your workplace or electronically.
How will my assessor check I have the knowledge and understanding listed in the standards?
For some units, it will be clear to your assessor that you have the knowledge and understanding needed from how you carry out your work. There will be other occasions when your assessor will be unsure if you know why you must follow a certain process, for example, it is important to give information to clients in certain situations.
In these situations, your assessor might assess your knowledge and understanding by asking you some questions. These questions can be given verbally or in writing. Sometimes it may be more convenient for the assessor to ask you to carry out an additional activity.
What if I have previous experience or knowledge and understanding from work and other qualifications?
If you have previous work experience, skills, knowledge and understanding which you feel is relevant to your Diploma, you should tell your assessor about it. Your assessor might ask you for more proof, such as letters from previous employers/training providers, details of any courses or units you have completed and your certificates.
The process of matching your previous experience and learning is referred to as the Accreditation of Prior Experience and Learning (APEL). The purpose of this process is to try and give you some credit towards your Edexcel Diploma for things you can already do at the level of the Diploma. This means that your assessor should not have to assess you for these things all over again.
The success of this process depends on you telling your assessor what previous qualifications, work experience or knowledge you have and how you think it is relevant to your Diploma. The more information you can supply to support your claims, the easier it should be to show your assessor that you are competent.
When can simulation be used?
Assessment will normally be carried out in your workplace, there may be times, however, when it might not be appropriate for you to be assessed while you are working. For example where your Diploma requires you to carry out emergency or contingency procedures, for safety or confidentiality reasons or if your job role does not cover all of the qualification. When you have no other means of generating evidence, simulation might be appropriate.
Simulation is any structured exercise involving a specific task which reproduces real life situations in conditions which mirror your work environment or the environment needed ie a realistic working environment (RWE).
Simulations are normally undertaken in a minority of cases, where the candidate is unable to complete the standards because of the lack of opportunity within that work role practice, and where the National Occupational Standards permit simulation ie: Where there is a high risk of harm to you or others, or where events such as medical emergencies or health and safety issues occur.
Where there is risk of harm to you or service user in a real situation, for example, dealing with aggressive or abusive situations or using specified equipment.
You and your assessor should check the standards carefully to find out the SSCs/SSBs view of what constitutes a realistic working environment. Normally SSCs/SSBs will say which units and elements are suitable for this approach.
What is integration of assessment?
It is not necessary for you to have each evidence component assessed separately — doing so could result in assessment that takes too long and that makes it harder for you to achieve and your assessor to make judgements.
There will be times when you will be able to use one piece of evidence to prove your competence across several different elements, outcomes, performance criteria or units. You may find that evidence is relevant for different units — this is called integration of assessment.
When you begin your Diploma, you and your assessor will spend time looking at the standards, planning how much time you are both able to devote to the qualification and drawing up an action plan.
At this stage you should, with your assessor, identify any activities that relate to more than one unit or outcome and arrange for the best way to collect a single piece of evidence that satisfactorily covers all the evidence components.
If you are going to integrate assessments, make sure that your evidence is cross referenced to the relevant units. Details of how to cross-reference your evidence can be found in How to compile your portfolio.
Look at the assessment guidance that is provided for each unit to help you make sure that you produce enough evidence. Remember — it is the quality of the evidence that is important — not the quantity.
Some Diplomas need a ‘co-ordinating assessor’. You should check with your centre to see whether you have a co-ordinating assessor who could help you to integrate assessments.