we help to improve social care standards

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February 2009
we help to improve social care standards
Qualifications and Credit Framework
(QCF) Michelle Vinall Regional Development
Officer Employer Engagement Skills for Care
Eastern
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QCF

• A government initiative across England, Wales and
  Northern Ireland
• It includes all vocational qualifications in all
  sectors
• A replacement to the National Qualifications
  Framework (NQF)

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why do we need the QCF for the adult social care
sector?

• Needs of people who use services
• Ways in which services are configured
• Requirements for registration and regulation
• Development of the personalisation agenda
• Retention and recruitment

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QCF aims to be.

• Simple
• Flexible
• Less Bureaucratic
• Inclusive and responsive
• but at the moment it might not seem it!

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benefits for the learner

• More choice and flexibility
• Build up credits at their own pace
• Undertake learning in smaller bite size chunks
• Transfer credits and learning between
  qualifications to avoid repetition

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benefits for education and training providers

• Improve retention and progression rates by
  recognising smaller steps of achievement more
  frequently
• Describe achievements to employers and learners
  in a language that is easy to understand
• Greater opportunities to access funding

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benefits for employers

• Describe levels of achievement in simple terms
• Level and size of achievements of prospective
  employees easily identified
• Qualification options and pathways clear,
  helping employees and employers find the right
  training for their learning and business needs

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a simple architecture
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QCF learning time

• I credit 10 notional learning hours
• Notional learning hours includes.
• mentoring, supervision, observation, visual
  learning, classroom, work based etc
• It does not mean bums on a seat in a training
  room!

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rules of combination

• Each qualification must have a set of rules of
  combination (RoC)
• Defined by the SSC
• Specify the units in the qualification which can
  be achieved by the learner
• Include assessment requirements of particular
  units

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spikey profile

• In reality jobs are not all at one level
• Qualifications can therefore be made up of units
  at different levels of learning
• This can be used to recognise NToW
• Can also be used to extend learning and
  development and to encourage progression and CPD

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QCF principles

• Units and qualifications should have as many
  uses as possible
• Units should have broad assessment requirements
• Language and content should reflect level
  language should be standardised

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direction of travel
Competence
Knowledge
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hybrid qualifications

• Qualifications made up of knowledge units and
  competence units
• Separate assessment or combined
• Avoid duplication of learning e.g. VRQ and NVQ
• Clear career pathways

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Skills for Cares proposed principles

• Current NVQ Level 2 will be replaced by a QCF
  Level 2 Diploma
• Current NVQ Level 3 will be replaced by a QCF
  Level 3 Diploma
• QCF Awards and Certificates will be used to
  encourage Continuing Professional Development
  (CPD) and specialist areas of work
• Common Induction Standards (CIS) and Managers
  Induction Standards (MIS) to be qualifications on
  the QCF

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what a diploma may look like(replacement for
current fit for purpose qualification)
Diploma
Mandatory A Mandatory B
Optional C Optional D

Service specific and country specific units
Units to be completed by ALL learners
Role specific
Career pathways


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social care on the QCF?
L4 Diploma
MIS L4 Award??
L3 Diploma
Dementia??
L2 Diploma
CIS L2 Award??
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to be decided

• As individual or groups of qualifications are
  developed in partnership with awarding
  organisations the following will be determined
• Assessment criteria
• Assessment method
• Credit values for units and whole
  qualifications
• Unit choices including RoC
• Pathways

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QCF timetable
2006 Test and Trial Programme July 2008 Final
report to Ministers November 2008 Ministers
approve implementation August 2009 LSC will start
to turn-off funding for NQF qualifications
when QCF replacements are developed 2010 The QCF
will become the regulatory framework for all
adult vocational qualifications, Foundation
Learning tier (FLT) Apprenticeships and
Functional Skills 2013 QCF established as single
qualification system and infrastructure to
support all qualifications for all learners aged
14 and up in the national system
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skills for care QCF contacts

• Project Managers
• Zoë Dodd zoe.dodd_at_skillsforcare.org.uk
• Fazeela Hafejee
• fazeela.hafejee_at_skillsforcare.org.uk

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www.skillsforcare.org.uk Michelle.Vinall_at_skillsfo
rcare.org.uk Tel[phone]