The End-Point Assessment for the Children, Young People and Families Manager apprenticeship will include a Situational Judgement Test and a Competence Interview.

Please Note: Following a review of the Assessment Plan involving the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, Ofqual and the Trailblazer Group, a series of temporary dispensations have been approved in January 2021. These can be found by clicking here.

What they do

Within the Children, Young People and Families Manager apprenticeship, apprentices will ensure direction, alignment and commitment within their practice, team(s), organisation and across partnerships to help children, young people and families aspire to do their best and achieve sustainable change. They will build teams, manage resources and lead new approaches to working practices that deliver improved outcomes and put the child, young person or family at the centre of practice.

They may work either as a manager in children’s residential care or as a manager in the community in a range of settings in local authorities, within health organisations, educational and early years settings or children’s centres, as well as a wide range of private voluntary and community organisations. They could be solely responsible for the management of a team or service or be part of a management team. To deliver effectively on a wide range of outcomes they will work on a multi-agency basis with professionals from a wide range of backgrounds, as well as team leaders and managers from their own organisation.

With a focus on excellence in practice and improved performance, employers will encourage Children, Young People and Family Manager apprentices to gain the skills, knowledge, attitudes and behaviours that will enable them to actively support each child, young person, young adult and family to achieve their potential. They will inform and improve practice by acting on research and new developments into how the needs of children, young people and families are best met. They will model the behaviours that encourage reflective practice, professional confidence and humility. They will challenge and support practitioners and ensure their practice is safe.

Within the Children, Young People and Families Manager apprenticeship standard there are two pathways which apprentices can choose:

Pathway 1: Manager in Children’s Residential Care

The Families Manager will play a leading role in developing the ethos of the home and will create a sense of purpose and clarity for the long-term care and support of children and young people in residential care.

Pathway 2: Children, Young People and Families Manager within the Community

The Families Manager will work to develop an environment that promotes partnership working within a specific working context (e.g. early years, youth, youth justice, family work, special educational needs and disability etc) and builds consensus and support for improving outcomes together.

They will lead and support practice development in the care and support of children, young people and their families and carers, within contemporary society.

End-Point Assessment Components for the Children, Young People and Families Manager Apprenticeship

• Situational Judgement Test
• Competence Interview

Situational Judgement Test

This test will assess the Apprentice’s competence against the knowledge criteria assigned to this assessment component within the standard.  The test will be a written test consisting of nine situations and will last two hours. Each situation will be based on one of the themes as found in the Assessment Plan, with questions relating to knowledge statements which sit within each theme. The Apprentice must achieve a minimum of 50% of the Pass criteria to Pass overall in addition to meeting the Pass criteria in all key questions. The test will be marked by the End-Point Assessor and will form 50% of the final grade. This assessment will be graded Pass/Fail.

Competence Interview (with accompanying Portfolio)

Apprentices will submit the Portfolio at least three weeks before the Competence Interview is due to be held. The Portfolio will be reviewed by the End-Point Assessor and will be the subject of the Competence Interview. The Competence Interview is a structured 55-65 minute discussion between the Apprentice and the End-Point Assessor, focusing on the work covered in the Portfolio. It will look at both the work the Apprentice has undertaken, the strengths demonstrated and will consider any gaps or weaknesses in their Knowledge, Skills or Behaviours.

More Information

If you would like to learn more about the Children, Young People and Families Manager apprenticeship standard, check out our factsheets page, or alternatively you can find more information via the Institute for Apprenticeships website.