Here at Training Qualifications UK, we like to make sure you’re kept aware of all the most important goings-on in the world of End-Point Assessment. With that in mind, this week we provide information about the level 2 Hair Professional standard, Healthcare Assistant Practitioner, Learning and Development and Functional Skills updates.
Functional Skills Extension
The current temporary flexibility that suspends the funding rule requiring level 2 Apprentices to study towards and take a functional skills assessment at level 2 has been extended until 31st July 2021. This extension recognises the continued disruption to the apprenticeship programme due to coronavirus (COVID-19).
A level 2 Apprentice will still require a level 1 in English and maths to complete their apprenticeship. For further information, please click here.
Guidance on Functional Skills Update
Our level 2 and level 3+ Guidance on Functional Skills Evidence documents have been updated. These updates relate to the changing of NARIC to UK ENIC and occur underneath the Overseas Qualification subheading. The documents can be accessed here (for level 2) and here (for level 3+).
Hair Professional
We have recently provided an update on the current discretion for the Hair Professional End-Point Assessment.
The new discretion is in place purely to act as a safety net for where there is an exceptional circumstance that would prevent an Apprentice being able to undertake their EPA and therefore complete their Apprenticeship and is not an optional alternative. The update can be seen here.
We are continuing to work closely with the other EPAOs as well as our own subject experts and product development team to create the supporting assessment materials and operationalise this additional discretion. We ask for your patience and understanding as we undertake this process.
We will provide a further update once this process is complete and it will be at this stage when we will be able to accept any eligible and approved Apprentices for this approach.
Learning and Development
The Institute for Apprentices and Technical Education (IfATE) has published updates related to the Level 3 and Level 5 Learning and Development Apprenticeship EPA plans. Two of these are Covid flexibilities and so have been approved as an interim measure, while the third is more substantial and is a permanent change to the Level 3 Learning and Development Practitioner standard online.
Please click here to read our post which lays out full details of these updates.
Level 5 Healthcare Assistant Practitioner
The Level 5 Healthcare Assistant Practitioner Apprenticeship standard is currently being reviewed. The Trailblazer group are really keen to hear from a range of different stakeholders to help inform revisions that may be made to both the standard and then the assessment plan. To facilitate this feedback, they have launched a survey to allow comments to be captured.
In case you have not already had sight of this, please access the survey here. The survey closes 12pm on 31st Match 2021
If you have any further questions in relation to this update, please feel free to contact us at epa@tquk.org.
