Business School England
Internal Quality Assurance Policy
V1.1 2021
Scope of the Policy
This policy is provided for the school, learners and staff members who are using or delivering
courses and qualifications offered by Business School England.
Review arrangements
The school will review this policy annually in line with self-assessment arrangements. This policy will
be also be revised as and when necessary, in response to customer and learner feedback, or good
practice guidance issued by an awarding organisation or other regulatory body.
Location of the Policy
This policy is available for all staff members, third parties and learners to access.
Communication of the Policy
Every staff member involved in the management, delivery, assessment and quality assurance of
qualifications offered by the school, shall be made aware of this policy during their induction period
of employment. Learners undertaking the school qualifications shall be informed of this policy during
their induction process.
Policy Statement
Internal Quality Assurance (IQA) is concerned with monitoring the learner journey throughout their
time undertaking a qualification at the school.
IQA involves monitoring the training and assessment activities and the quality of work learners
produce, in terms of meeting the correct grading criteria. Internal quality assurance helps to ensure
that assessment and IQA activities are valid, authentic, sufficient, fair and reliable.
Internal quality assurance measures the quality, delivery, processes, procedures and learner
achievements.
Statement of Principles
Key concepts and principles of internal quality assurance of assessment include:-
• ensuring quality standards throughout the learner journey
• ensuring accuracy and consistency of assessment decisions made by assessors
• identifying issues and trends that develop
• supporting and developing assessors and tutors
• ensuring accountability for assessment decisions and quality standards, awarding body
procedures and policies are maintained
• ensuring achievement made by learners and judged by assessors is recognised and meets
the grading criteria
• ensuring the correct and appropriate assessment strategies are used by assessors
• ensuring confidently of the learner and provider are maintained at all times
• ensuring sampling both interim and summative is occurring
Internal quality assurance principles include; ensuring standardisation activities take place,
assessment decisions embrace inclusion, equality is promoted with learners and the diversity of
learners is valued by all staff. It ensures that fairness is apparent in all assessment decisions and that
there are auditable records to show this.
Other principles include maintaining health and safety practices, such as risk assessments. Also
ensuring all staff have access to training and CPD, that assessors and staff members are motivated
and that clear communication between takes place regularly.
IQA Activities
The school will undertake sampling of assessment judgements in line with the sampling plans in
place for all qualifications offered.
Sampling will be formative and summative and at a 10% to 25% of learner evidence, depending on
the assessor’s experience, qualifications and competency. (100% for new or newly qualified staff
members).
Sampling may take place formatively.
All completed qualifications will be formatively sampled.
An assessor will receive a sampling report within three days of submitting a learner portfolio for
sampling.
Any disagreements with an IQAs findings will be reviewed by the Academic Director of the school,
who will have the final say on any judgements.
Sampling plans will identify learners, assessors and the assessment criteria to be sampled. Sampling
activities will meet the requirements of the awarding organisations.
Standardisation activities will be undertaken regularly (at least every eight weeks) with IQAs,
Assessors, Trainers and relevant line managers present. Standardisation activities will meet the
requirements of the awarding organisations.
All meetings will have a set agenda and minutes shall be produced and disseminated to all relevant
staff members.
Example Standardisation Meeting Agenda:
• Actions from previous standardisation meetings
• Resources, H&S, E&D issues
• Progression and achievement of learners
• Examples of learners work to standardise
• Good practice from assessors
• Areas for improvements
• Internal quality assurance reports
• External quality assurance reports
• AO and qualification updates
Observations of staff members will be determined by a yearly cycle, with all training and assessing
staff members receiving a minimum of two observations per year. All staff members will be required
to be observed at grade two or above. Action plans and support will be in place for any staff
members identified as ‘requiring improvement’.
All observations will be documented and moderated.
All the school staff members will receive access to regular, continuous professional development
(CPD) and shall be encouraged to undertake reflective practice.
Learner feedback shall be collected through surveys, focus groups and comments, complaints and
complements cards. Learner feedback will be regularly obtained and analysed and improvements
shall be highlighted and implemented across the organisation, where required.
All documents relating to IQA activities will be held securely, in line with Data Protection and
confidentiality requirements. Access will be granted to all relevant awarding organisations to any
assessment documents and related materials.