As you all prepare for a well-deserved rest over the Christmas break, we would like to share with you a final update for the year relating to the Level 5 Children, Young People and Families Manager Standard.
In doing so we would like to thank you again for your continued patience as we have worked relentlessly with the Employer group, Ofqual and the other relevant End-Point Assessment Organisations to collectively try and find a solution to enable End-Point Assessment for this standard to proceed.
Latest Update
On Tuesday 15th December, we collectively met again with the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) to discuss findings of a second pilot conducted by ourselves and the other EPAOs based on the previously-agreed flexibilities.
Whilst this pilot did not provide sufficient evidence to make the EPAOs confident that this would serve as a robust and fair assessment opportunity for all Apprentices, its output has led to further agreements with IfATE which we are now confident we can use to develop an appropriate assessment.
Next Steps
Unfortunately, at this stage, we are restricted in providing the detail as to these flexibilities, as we need to conclude final internal testing to formally agree and accept them with IfATE who will then in turn formally publish them on their website.
As we approach this stage, we will of course communicate all details pertaining to this assessment method and offer all the support we can to enable your Apprentices to finally progress through Gateway and undertake their EPA.
Please keep in mind that this method will be an interim solution as the Employer Group is commencing with a full review/rewrite of the Standard and Assessment plan. This is also true of the Level 4 Children, Young People and Families Practitioner standard.
The Chair of the Employer group has formally invited ourselves, along with the other approved EPAOs, to also join the group. This allows us to have meaningful input into the process from the start. It is expected that this process will be concluded by late 2021 but again we will keep you informed of all progress.
Once again, many thanks for your continued patience and support and we trust that 2021 will be a positive year for Apprentices on this standard.
