Summary
- Gateway Meeting Record Update
- Verve EPA Support Material Organisation
- Support Video Series
- Functional Skills Guidance Update
- Clarification on resource revisions vs version changes
- Healthcare Assistant Practitioner – Resource Revision
- Associate Project Manager – Resource Revision
Gateway Meeting Record Update
Following Training Provider feedback, we would like to announce that we have revised our Gateway Meeting Record for all Apprenticeship Standards. The updated form contains further detail within the Training Provider declaration that the on-programme Assessor must sign against, verifying that the Apprentice is ready for EPA. This additional detail does not impact Training Providers’ current responsibilities at Gateway, only to add clarification to the current disclaimer.
The new forms can be downloaded from Verve EPA under the Standard specific support materials. It is recommended that you distribute the new Gateway Meeting Forms to all necessary parties as soon as possible to avoid difficulties in the new year.
Verve EPA Support Material Organisation
As part of our continued efforts to provide our resources in a structured manner, we are excited to announce the implementation of ‘Categories’ within the Support Materials section of Verve EPA. This allows the organisation of generic materials that sit outside of the Apprenticeship Standard-specific folders into groups. An example of a Category is ‘Gateway and Functional Skills support materials’. When clicking on the ‘Support Materials’ tab on the navigation bar to the left of the Verve EPA home screen, you will see each category in a drop-down list.
Generic Support Materials can be accessed by selecting the ‘View’ option on the drop-down list.
Support Video Series
As part of our exciting new video series, we would like to highlight that three new videos are available under the Supporting Videos section on Verve EPA.
- Portfolio of Evidence Support – Within this video, we provide additional detail and support around the submission of portfolios for End-Point Assessment
- Avoiding Gateway Rejections – This video is designed to support Gateway submissions and avoiding having Apprentices rejected at Gateway.
- Download and Analyse Apprentice Grade Data – This guidance video walks through the process of downloading Apprentice grade profile data from Verve EPA with some additional support in the types of analysis you can provide on this data.
We are working tirelessly on a large bank of support videos which will be uploaded over the upcoming months. Check back in for more updates!
Functional Skills Guidance Update
Following the updated Apprenticeship Funding rules for Providers published here, we have updated our Functional Skills Guidance documents accordingly. Please download the most up-to-date versions from Verve EPA which can be found under the Gateway and Functional Skills Support category. These changes relate to the extension of the Functional Skills COVID-19 flexibilities up until 31st December 2021 which impacts the flowchart within the support materials.
Clarification on Revisions/Version Changes
As part of our continuous review cycle, we perform a review on our package of resources for each standard, analysing the current content of each resource and considering where further support, clarification or guidance can be provided. Where changes are identified, either through this review cycle or through internal/external feedback, we will conduct either a revision or a version change. Our definitions for these terms can be seen below.
Revision – A minor change whereby additional clarification and/or guidance has been provided. Formatting and quality of life changes in operational elements may have also been improved.
Version Change – A significant change to content including adjusted requirements for Apprentices within the End-Point Assessment. Depending on the impact of the Version Change, a ‘lead in period’ may be introduced whereby any changes introduced within this version change will be applied upon a certain date, which will be made clear within the resources and any communications regarding the update.
For both a revision or version change, a summary of change document will be produced and made available for download, allowing you to quickly identify the changes within the resource to consider any impact it may have on the Apprentice’s preparation for End-Point Assessment
It is highly encouraged that you regularly update the resources you keep offline by re-downloading the appropriate resources from Verve EPA. This ensures that all parties are utilising the most up-to-date resources, containing all available guidance for End-Point Assessment.
Healthcare Assistant Practitioner – Resource Revisions
We have performed a review of the assessment materials related to the Healthcare Assistant Practitioner standard and we are pleased to announce that an update to all support materials is now available on Verve EPA for this standard.
This revision is accompanied by a Summary of Change which outlines all the changes that have been implemented. These alterations include additional support and guidance for the Apprentice and do not alter the process of assessment or requirements of the Apprentice.
Associate Project Manager – Resource Revisions
We have performed a review of the assessment materials related to the Associate Project Manager standard and we are pleased to announce that an update to all support materials is now available on Verve EPA for this standard.
This revision is accompanied by a Summary of Change which outlines all the changes that have been implemented. These alterations include additional support and guidance for the Apprentice and do not alter the process of assessment or requirements of the Apprentice.
