Application for Recognition or Expansion of Recognition

Transcription

1 Application for Recognition or Expansion of Recognition Notes for applicants All Applicants Should Read This Section This form is for applicants who are: o applying to become a recognised awarding organisation or o recognised as an awarding organisation and seeking to expand their recognition to include other descriptions of qualifications. The benefits of becoming recognised A recognised awarding organisation will be able to offer and award regulated qualifications which will be published on the Register of Regulated Qualifications. The benefits of becoming a recognised awarding organisation include providing: Assurance to users of your qualifications (learners, schools, colleges etc) that your qualifications are delivered by an organisation whose integrity, governance, resources and competence have been independently checked; Assurance to all users of your qualifications that your qualifications are monitored and meet robust requirements, including that they are of the standard and level they purport to be; Assurance to purchasers, employers, higher education, funders and government that your qualifications meet robust requirements (the Government will not generally agree public funding for qualifications which are not regulated), and in some cases, specialised requirements that reflect specific employer needs; The listing of your qualifications on Ofqual's on-line register of qualifications - a key information source for those looking for information about qualifications; Opportunities for your qualifications to be referenced through national frameworks to the European Qualifications Framework providing progression and transfer opportunities for learners; Enhanced standing of your qualifications in competitive markets overseas.

2 How we assess applications Before applicants can be recognised to carry out a regulated activity, the regulator must be satisfied that they meet the Criteria for Recognition 1. Applicants should review this document carefully to ensure that they meet the Criteria for Recognition and understand how the Criteria for Recognition and the General Conditions of Recognition 2 will apply in the context of the descriptions of qualifications that they are seeking to award. All applicants are required to complete all sections of the recognition application form. This is because whether an applicant is applying to become recognised or to expand its recognition, the same Criteria for recognition apply. The Criteria for Recognition set out the broad tests to be applied in order to identify when an applicant is, and is not, suitable for recognition or suitable to have its recognition expanded. Each application submitted will be considered on its own merits. Ofqual will assess whether or not the application meets each of the recognition criteria using a two-fold test. This test will evaluate whether the prospective awarding organisation or recognised awarding organisation seeking to expand its recognition to offer other descriptions of qualifications a) meets each of the Criteria for Recognition and b) is capable of complying with the General Conditions of Recognition in the context of the descriptions of qualifications it is seeking to be recognised to award. Where a recognised awarding organisation is seeking to expand its recognition, it is only necessary to highlight in the application form how it meets the criteria for the additional qualifications or descriptions or qualifications it is seeking to award

3 Ofqual regulates qualifications in England and vocational qualifications in Northern Ireland and works collaboratively with fellow regulators: the Department of Education and Skills (DfES) in Wales and the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA), which regulates non-vocational qualifications in Northern Ireland. The regulators wish to avoid unnecessary administrative burdens on applicants and want to promote a consistency of approach. Therefore please indicate in the following table who you want to be recognised by: Please tick appropriate box(es)* Ofqual CCEA DfES *Your application will be shared with the other regulators that you have told us that you wish to be recognised by. How to prepare to apply for recognition Undertaking a robust evaluation ahead of applying for recognition or expansion of recognition is important. It helps applicants to evaluate their progress/readiness against the criteria for recognition for the particular descriptions of qualification before submitting an application form. This evaluation template must be submitted to Ofqual alongside the application. The evaluation template can be downloaded from our website 3. The governing body of the applicant or recognised awarding organisation will play an important role in assuring the regulator that the organisation is meeting regulatory requirements. It must also assure itself that in its opinion the information that is in its application form satisfies the Criteria for Recognition before submitting to the regulator. It is vital that applicants supply us with all relevant information. An applicant must be open and honest with us. The success of an application will be affected if we find that 3

4 the applicant has deliberately withheld information or provided false or incomplete facts. Applicants must provide us with any other information that they think we should be aware of. If there is a doubt about anything, it should be disclosed. If the information that an applicant provides is inaccurate or incomplete, this will delay the application and is likely to result in rejection of the application. The Recognition Process We will first check the application for completeness; if it is incomplete the application will be rejected. Once the application has passed this first check we will evaluate it in line with the published process on our website 4. It will normally take around 45 working days to reach and report our decision. Where an applicant is seeking recognition from CCEA and/or DfES in addition to Ofqual, each regulator will make their own decision. Whilst the decision will be separate, the same evidence will be used. Withdrawing an application Applicants may withdraw an application at any time before the application is approved or rejected by writing to us. A written notification should be signed by the chair of the governing body and proposed responsible officer. Documents and any other supporting material should be in Word, Excel, PowerPoint or PDF format only and attached to an with the application form when returned to us. 4

5 Section One Contact Details Applicant details Name of organisation Legal Name (if any) Acronym (if any) Organisation address Main website address Proposed Responsible Officer First name Surname address Telephone number Registered office details (if a corporate entity) Address line one Address line two City or town Postcode County or state Country Telephone number

6 Trading office details (if different) Address line one Address line two City or town Postcode County or state Country Telephone number Other details Type of legal entity i.e. company, charity Company number Charity number (if applicable) Institute number i.e. School or FE college number (if applicable)

7 Section Two Qualifications or Descriptions of Qualifications Under the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009, we can only recognise an applicant for the qualifications or descriptions of qualifications for which it wishes to be recognised. Please indicate the specific qualifications or qualification descriptions that you are applying to be recognised for. A list of qualification descriptions is available on our website 5. An applicant or recognised awarding organisation must ensure that each qualification which it makes available, or proposes to make available, has a title which it will use consistently in its advertising and in its communications with users of qualifications. Qualification descriptions Please list the qualifications or qualification descriptions that you want to be recognised to offer. For each description of qualification you must provide the necessary level of evidence to show that you have the resources and ability to develop, deliver and award the qualification. Failure to do this could result in the application being rejected. 5

8 Section Three Criteria for Recognition A Identity, Constitution and Governance Identity A.1 The Applicant is a clearly identifiable person (whether an individual or a body). You must as a minimum provide the following: For a corporate entity: A registered number (for example a Companies house number) and registered office address, including the country and date of incorporation. For individuals: A certified copy of a valid passport and evidence establishing a current residential address For unincorporated associations or partnerships (other than limited liability partnerships) o A certified copy of a valid passport for each officer or partner, and evidence establishing the current residential address of each officer or partner Or for Higher Education or Further Education institutions An institute number.

9 Applicant s Response In your response, tell us how you meet criteria A.1, pr oviding relevant evidence to support your statement. A.1 Supporting Documents List documents by title ensuring that they are labelled and cros s referenced to the appropriate section of the application form.

10 Constitution A.2 The Applicant (a) is ordinarily resident in a member state of the European Union or the European Free Trade Association, or (b) is legally established, or has a substantial presence, in a member state of the European Union or the European Free Trade Association. You must as a minimum provide the following: Evidence establishing that the applicant operates from premises within the European Union (EU) or European Free Trade Association (EFTA). A main contact address and landline telephone number within the EU/EFTA. A valid EU/EFTA company . The current status of the applicant. For example registered charity, limited company, society established by royal charter.

11 Applicant s Response In your response, tell us how you meet criteria A.2, pr oviding relevant evidence to support your statement. A.2 Supporting Documents List documents by title ensuring that they are labelled and cros s referenced to the appropriate section of the application form.

12 A.3 Unless the Applicant is an individual (a) (b) it is properly constituted in accordance with law, and it holds all r egistrations, authorisations, or approvals required to be held by a person of its type. You must as a minimum provide the following: (Unless the applicant is an individual) a copy of its Articles of Association, governing charter, partnership agreement, membership rules, or any equivalent constitutional document. Evidence of registration with all appropriate authorities within the EU/EFTA.

13 Applicant s Response In your response, tell us how you will meet criteria A.3, providing relevant evidence to support your statement. A.3 Supporting Documents List documents by title ensuring that they are labelled and cros s referenced to the appropriate section of the application form.

14 Governance A.4 The Applicant is organised and governed in such a way that will provide appropriate support for its activities as a recognised awarding organisation. You must as a minimum provide the following: An organisation structure chart or description depicting either key staff or divisions who/which oversee the key awarding organisation functions. A document setting out the reporting structure through to the highest level.

15 Applicant s Response In your response, tell us how you will meet criteria A.4, providing relevant evidence to support your statement. A.4 Supporting Documents List documents by title ensuring that they are labelled and cros s referenced to the appropriate section of the application form.

16 A.5 The Applicant has in place appropriate arrangements to secure that it will be able to (a) (b) identify and monitor any Conflict of Interest which exists in relation to it, and manage any Conflict of Interest which relates to it, to ensure that the Conflict of Interest does not give rise to prejudice to Learners or potential Learners or adversely affect (i) (ii) (iii) the ability of the Applicant to undertake the development, delivery or award of qualifications in accordance with its Conditions of Recognition, the standards of qualifications which the Applicant may make available as a recognised awarding organisation, or public confidence in qualifications.

17 Applicant s Response In your response, tell us how you will meet criteria A.5, providing relevant evidence to support your statement. A.5 Supporting Documents List documents by title ensuring that they are labelled and cros s referenced to the appropriate section of the application form.

18 A.6 Where the Applicant is not an individual, it has in place appropriate arrangements to ensure that its Governing Body will have continuing oversight of, and be directly accountable for (a) (b) the performance of its activities as a recognised awarding organisation, and its compliance with its Conditions of Recognition.

19 Applicant s Response In your response, tell us how you will meet criteria A.6, providing relevant evidence to support your statement. A.6 Supporting Documents List documents by title ensuring that they are labelled and cros s referenced to the appropriate section of the application form.

20 B Integrity Integrity of the Applicant B.1 The Applicant must be a suitable person to be recognised for the award of the relevant qualifications, having regard in particular to (a) (b) (c) (d) any criminal convictions held by it, any finding by a court or any professional, regulatory, or government body that it has been in breach of any provision of Competition Law, Equalities Law, or Data Protection Law, any finding by a court or any professional, regulatory, or government body that it has been in breach of a provision of any legislation or any regulatory obligation to which it is subject, and any instance of insolvency or corporate financial restructuring to which it is or has been subject. You must provide Ofqual with information about any issue which may affect your suitability to be recognised. You must as a minimum provide: Information about anything relevant to the above paragraphs (a) to (d).

21 Applicant s Response In your response, tell us how you will meet criteria B.1, providing relevant evidence to support your statement. B.1 Supporting Documents List documents by title ensuring that they are labelled and cros s referenced to the appropriate section of the application form.

22 Integrity of Senior Officers B.2 Each of the Senior Officers of the Applicant must be a suitable person to be engaged in that role in an awarding organisation that is recognised for the award of the relevant qualifications, having regard in particular to (a) any criminal convictions held by him or her, (b) any finding by a court or any professional, regulatory, or government body that he or she has breached a provision of any legislation or any regulatory obligation to which he or she is subject, (c) any instance of bankruptcy or any individual financial arrangements to which he or she is or has been subject, (d) any occasion on which he or she has been disqualified from holding the directorship of a company or from public office, and (e) any finding of malpractice or maladministration, in relation to a qualification (whether a regulated qualification or a qualification which is not regulated), to which he or she is or has been subject. You must as a minimum provide the following: A signed declaration from the Chair of the Governing Body and proposed Responsible Officer that all named senior officers have, to the best of their knowledge, information and belief, fully and honestly disclosed any relevant information and are not aware of anything that may affect their suitability. Please see example template below. Name Any professional titles held Any findings

23 Applicant s Response In your response, tell us how you will meet criteria B.2, providing relevant evidence to support your statement. B.2 Supporting Documents List documents by title ensuring that they are labelled and cros s referenced to the appropriate section of the application form.

24 C Resources and Financing C.1 The Applicant has, or has appropriate arrangements in place to ensure that it will have (a) the systems, processes and resources, and (b) the financial resources and facilities, to enable it to undertake, in accordance with its Conditions of Recognition, the development, delivery and award of any qualification which it may make available as a recognise awarding organisation. You must as a minimum provide the following: A business plan that provides detailed information on the resources that will be made available to develop, deliver and award the qualifications that you want to be recognised to offer. This should include your plans for marketing, operations, management and finance. The plan should provide financial projections for the awarding organisation business and forecasts covering a range of scenarios to support confidence in on-going financial viability and business continuity. A copy of the terms of reference of committees or groups responsible for market research, identification of demands, stakeholder liaison. A copy of an information technology strategy relating to the IT that will support the applicant s current and future demand for its services.

25 Applicant s Response In your response, tell us how you will meet criteria C.1, providing relevant evidence to support your statement. C.1 Supporting Documents List documents by title ensuring that they are labelled and cros s referenced to the appropriate section of the application form.

26 D Competence D.1 The Applicant s understanding of, commitment to, and approach to the development, delivery and award of qualifications is sufficient, having regard to the need to ensure that (a) (b) (c) it will be able to undertake, in accordance with its Conditions of Recognition, the development, delivery and award of any qualification which it may make available as a recognised awarding organisation, any such qualification must, as far as possible, be Valid, Reliable, Comparable, Manageable and Minimise Bias, and any such qualification must be compatible with the requirements of Equalities Law. You must as a minimum provide the following: A completed evaluation template.

27 Applicant s Response In your response, tell us how you will meet criteria D.1, providing relevant evidence to support your statement. D.1 Supporting Documents List documents by title ensuring that they are labelled and cros s referenced to the appropriate section of the application form.

28 Section Four FOI/ Data Protection/ Confidentiality/Intellectual Property 1. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (FOI) 1.1 Ofqual is subject to the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 ("FOIA") and the Environmental Information Regulations and we may be required to disclose information provided by you to us as part of your application for recognition. 1.2 In line with FOIA, we shall be responsible for determining in our absolute discretion whether any information is exempt from disclosure in accordance with the provisions of the FOIA or the Environmental Information Regulations. 1.3 In the ordinary course of business, we will notify you prior to disclosing information which directly relates to you under the FOIA and permit you a reasonable period of time to make representations in respect of such disclosures. Notwithstanding the foregoing you acknowledge that we may, acting in accordance with the Section 45 Code of Practice on the discharge of public authorities' functions under Part 1 of FOIA and guidance issued by the Information Commissioner be obliged under the FOIA or the Environmental Information Regulations to disclose information: without consulting you; or following consultation with you and having taken your views into account. 1.4 You acknowledge that any material you send or supply to Ofqual will be considered non-confidential unless indicated, or, as outlined further below. 2. DATA PROTECTION 2.1 The information collected by Ofqual as part of the recognition process is likely to include personal data and in some cases sensitive personal data as defined by the Data Protection Act 1998 ( DPA ). 2.2 All information received as part of your application for recognition will be processed by Ofqual, the Department for Education and Skills in Wales ( DfES ) and the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment, Northern Ireland

29 ( CCEA ) (and their respective successors) for the purposes of the recognition process and if required, subsequent regulatory monitoring by these bodies to ensure continued compliance with the recognition conditions. By submitting an application for recognition, you consent to such processing by Ofqual, DfES, CCEA and their respective successors and you warrant that any personal data provided by you is accurate and that in providing it to us you have complied with your obligations under the DPA so as to enable us to use the personal data as set out below. 2.3 We will only use this information for: determining your application for recognition; determining any future applications for recognition in relation to which that information is relevant; and monitoring any future compliance with the conditions of recognition in relation to which that information is relevant. We will not disclose any sensitive personal data supplied to us as part of the recognition process to a third party without the permission of the data subject, except in the following circumstances, where the following third parties may access and use the information: The police, fraud prevention agencies or other law enforcement agencies (to investigate or prevent crime, including fraud); The courts (in connection with court proceedings); Other qualifications regulators in the United Kingdom, (where it is necessary for those regulators to have information in the course of carrying out their regulatory functions); and Another third party to whom Ofqual is required by law to disclose the information. 3. CONFIDENTIALITY 3.1 Subject to paragraphs 2 and 3.2, by submitting your application for recognition, you acknowledge that any material you provide to us will be considered nonconfidential and we have the right to use, copy, distribute and disclose to third parties, including other awarding organisations as listed on the Register of Regulated Awarding Organisations and Qualifications (as amended from time to time), any such

30 material for any purpose. We also have the right to disclose your identity to any third party who is claiming that any material provided by you constitutes a violation of their intellectual property rights, or their right to privacy. You can indicate that you reasonably believe information to be commercially sensitive by marking the information as 'sensitive information' at the time of submission to Ofqual. By giving this indication, this alerts us to the potential sensitivity of this information and we will consult you prior to any disclosure of this information, including in response to a request under FOIA or the Environmental Information Regulations and will, to the extent permitted by law, give you a reasonable amount of time to make representations in respect of such disclosure. Such representations shall be taken into account prior to such disclosure. If it is apparent to us, acting reasonably, that the information could not be considered sensitive then we are entitled to disclose this information in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 3.1. Pending, interim and failed applications for awarding organisation shall be deemed to be confidential information and, subject to paragraphs 1 and 3.4, we shall not disclose this information to third parties. Subject to paragraph 2 and notwithstanding paragraphs 3.1 and 3.2 you acknowledge that we shall be entitled to disclose your confidential information to any Crown Body, government agency, regulatory or public authority or contracting authority (as defined in Regulation 3 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006) ("Authorities") or otherwise as required to fulfil our statutory remit (as more particularly described in the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009). All Authorities receiving any confidential information shall be entitled to further disclose such confidential information to other Authorities on the basis that such confidential information is confidential and is not to be disclosed to any third party. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY You warrant that the material you have submitted does not breach a third party's copyright or other intellectual property rights; the DPA; or any other law, contractual or other duty to which you are subject.

31 Section Five Declaration The information in this form is accurate and complete: Chair of Governing Body Signature Full name Date Proposed Responsible Officer Signature Full name Date

32 Section Six Returning the form Please return the completed applic ation form and supporting documents to the following address Documents and any other supporting mate rial should be in Word, Excel, PowerPoint or PDF format onl y and attached to an w ith the application form when returned to Ofqual. Section Seven Application checklist To help us process your application please check that: The declaration is signed and dated. All documents are lab elled, cross referenced to the app ropriate page(s) of your document and to the application form and attached to the . All documents and any other supp orting material is in W ord, Excel, PowerPoint or PDF format only and is attached to an with the application form when returned. You have submitted your evaluation template. If the submitted application is deemed incomplete, it will be returned as a rejection.