Level 3 Qualifications in Diabetic Retinopathy Screening

Candidate Reading Information

Contents

  • History of the award
  • City & Guilds
  • Awarding Centre, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  • Awarding Centre Policies
  • The Qualifications in Diabetic Retinopathy Screening
  • Assessment Process
  • Submission Completed Units
  • Internal Verification Process/Quality Assurance
  • Roles & Responsibilities

History of the award

The development of the original Level 3 Certificate in Diabetic Retinopathy Screening was a response to the National Service Framework for Diabetes.A target date was set (and is now passed), after which all eligible people aged 12 or more with diabetes must be offered systematic annual screening for the early detection and, if required, treatment of diabetic retinopathy. To meet these targets and safeguard patients a competent work force is required.

Theoriginal Certificate qualification was designed as an accreditation of the minimum level of competence required by all personnel involved in the identification of sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy in the English National Screening Programme.This formed one of the Service Objectives and Quality Assurance Standards for the English national programme and it was intended that the qualification would also encourage recruitment and retention of staff. Similarly, the qualification is used as a standard of accreditation for staff working in the national retinopathy screening programmes in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The qualification is a vocationally related qualification (VRQ), which was developed by a multidisciplinary Expert Reference Group (ERG) originally set up by the now dissolved NationalHealthServiceUniversityand subsequently taken over by City Guilds. The ERG, comprising subject experts and educationalists, has developed a detailed syllabus and assessment standards, so that all providers of training are working towards a nationally accredited qualification. Each element of the qualification has been developed to assess learning outcomes which map to National Occupational Standards.

Following recent roll-out of the new Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) and resultant essential changes to the scope and remit of City & Guilds qualifications, the opportunity was taken to revise the existing Certificate and to release a modified suite of qualifications which now more accurately meet the current and future needs and aspirations of the national screening programmes. The revisions have supported the development of two new Diploma qualifications in addition to three new Certificate qualifications (all remain as Level 3 awards) which are active as of 1 September 2009.

Further information is available on the English National Screening Programme for Diabetic Retinopathy website at on the Skills for Health website.

City & Guilds

City & Guilds are the awarding body for this qualification. Award number 7360.Candidates are registered and certificated through them. There are other Awarding Bodies such as BTEC, Edexcel.

The qualification has been approved by the Independent Qualifications and Examinations Regulator (Ofqual) and is on the Qualifications and Credit Framework. Their role is to monitor and approve all qualifications, ensuring they are fair to all candidates and fit for the purpose intended.

City & Guilds monitor the delivery of the award to ensure its quality is being maintained, otherwise the value and credibility of the qualification will be lost.

As the qualification is recognised across the 4 Nations candidates will be able to move within the UK, taking their qualification with them.

Awarding Centre, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

A singleAwarding Centre for this qualification has been set up at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The Awarding Centre has been a City Guilds Centre since 1995, offering a range of qualifications.

To be eligible to offer a City Guilds qualification a centre must be able to demonstrate that it can ensure the standardisation and quality of the qualification being offered. City Guilds expect to see policies and procedures relating to Equal Opportunities, Quality Assurance and Confidentiality, among others.

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has met these requirements and therefore City & Guilds have given this centre the status to manage this programme. This is the only City & Guilds centre in Englandwhere you can register for this qualification and on completion certificates are issued through them. This centre also manages candidates in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Welsh candidates have their own centre.

Once candidates have achieved the qualification they will be placed on a National Register (when available).This will enable an accurate record of the workforce to be kept. As the qualifications are national qualifications candidates will be able to move within the UK, taking their qualification with them.

Office details for the DRS Qualifications

DRS Qualifications Office

5th Floor, Victoria Warehouse

The Docks

Gloucester

GL1 2EL

Tel: 08454222199

E mail

Awarding Centre Policies

Full copies of policies can be obtained from the Awarding Centre.

Health and safety

The requirement to follow safe working practices is an integral part of all City & Guilds qualifications. The candidate, the screening programme and the assessor should ensure that all relevant health and safety requirements are in place before candidates start practical assessments.

Appeals

Awarding Centres must have their own auditable appeals procedure. If a candidate is not satisfied with the assessor’s judgment of his/her competence during the assessment process, or if a candidate feels that the opportunity for assessment is being denied, they should contact the Awarding Centre.

Procedures for Appeals & Disputes for the Qualifications in Diabetic Retinopathy Screening

Assessing & Completing Units

If a dispute/appeal occurs involving a candidate and / or assessor / Internal Verifier (IV) a DRSQualifications Co-ordinator will arbitrate and conclude to the satisfaction of all parties.

If a satisfactory conclusion is not reached, the DRSQualifications Co-ordinator will seek further advice from the Education and Research Development Manager, the QAC Quality Assurance Co-ordinator or the External Verifier, as appropriate. A decision will be made after liaising with the appropriate Screening Programme Manager.

Completion of the Online Exam

If a dispute/appeal occurs involving a candidate and the completion of an online exam the following procedure should be followed:

  • The candidate should discuss the result with their Assessor.
  • If they are in agreement that the exam mark should be reviewed, they should contact the DRSQualifications Co-ordinator providing their reasons for requesting a review of the results.
  • The DRS Co-ordinator will refer the appeal to the appropriate expert for that unit who will review the exam and provide a written report to the Candidate, the Assessor and the Awarding Centre.

Forms for making a ‘Dispute/Appeal’ are provided in the candidate’s portfolio or can be obtained from the Awarding Centre.

The form should be sent to Clare Waite, Quality Assurance Co-ordinator, DRS Qualifications Office, 5th Floor, Victoria Warehouse, The Docks, Gloucester, GL1 2EL. Please allow 7 working daysfor a written response / further guidance from the Awarding Centre.

Equal Opportunities

The regulatory authorities require City & Guilds to monitor centres to ensure that equal opportunity policies are being followed. It is therefore a requirement of centre approval that centres have an equal opportunities policy.

Special Needs

This statement is in addition to the Centre policy on Equal Opportunities and the National Awarding Bodies policies regarding special needs.

Assessors/Mentors/Internal Verifiers should:

  • Identify those candidates needing support;
  • Establish individual needs to ensure that syllabus/assessment requirements are met;
  • Show a positive approach in providing a range of flexible and responsive assessment strategies and variation in methods of assessment;
  • Vary assessment arrangements and structure where standards permit for candidates with disabilities and/or learning difficulties, the nature of these will depend on the qualification being undertaken, the area of work and the assessment strategy employed.

Special needs areas could be defined as:

  • Physical impairment/handicap;
  • Visual impairment;
  • Hearing impairment;
  • Learning difficulties;
  • Medical condition;
  • Under confident/apprehensive candidates

Aids to assessment strategies could be; extra time; interpreter; audio visual aids; mechanical/electronic aids.

Individual cases and candidates will be considered on their merits/needs and assessment arrangements/structure will be varied to meet those needs where practicable.

Further advice can be from the Awarding Centre / DRS Team.

Confidentiality

The importance of maintaining confidentiality is paramount. Candidates are reminded that the portfolio must not contain any material by which a patient can be identified. Portfolios containing such material will not be considered for the qualification.

Records and Confidentiality Policy Statement

This policy refers to all records generated for recording progress for the Qualifications in Diabetic Retinopathy Screening.

These records may include:-

  • Candidate personal details;
  • Candidates’ Portfolios of Evidence;
  • Comments/Reports by:

- Assessors;

- Internal Verifiers;

- DRS Co-ordinators;

- External Verifier.

All such records will be regarded as confidential. Any evidence containing patient information, staff or financial details and anything else regarded as confidential should only be included in a Candidates portfolio if it has been made anonymous.

The Candidate will be responsible for the secure keeping of their Portfolios. These records will only be asked for when really necessary.

When in the possession of the Internal Verifier or Assessors these records will be treated as confidential and held in a secure environment. Disclosure of contents will only be accessible to authorised Assessors, Internal Verifiers, DRS Co-ordinators and the External Verifiers.

Storing of Candidates’ records will be by paper manual files and computerised database system developed by City & Guilds, which complies with all Data Protection legislation.

Quality Assurance Structure

To maintain the quality and standard of the qualification, effective quality assurance is required.

The DRS Team will demonstrate quality assurance by:

  • Recruiting Assessors with relevant occupational experience
  • Recruiting members of the Internal Verification panel with relevant occupational qualifications and competence
  • Monitoring assessment activities:
  • Discussing policy updates/amendments/ new ideas/ awarding body updates etc;
  • Undertaking standardisation exercises as appropriate;
  • Providing Assessors with feedback from IV Meetings.
  • Providing Internal Verifiers with the relevant venue and overseeing the process
  • Maintaining Monitoring/Quality System:
  • Central filing system/database holding information on all candidates, assessors, internal verifiers and invigilators;
  • Recording progress of candidates;
  • Recording units internally verified with sampling process.
  • Hosting External Verifier (EV) Visits:
  • Attendance by EV with Action Plan if appropriate.

Clare Waite the Quality Assurance Co-ordinator (QAC)for the awarding centre is based at:

DRS Qualifications Office

5th Floor, Victoria Warehouse

The Docks

Gloucester

GL1 2EL

Telephone08454222199

Fax:08454 22 3853

Qualifications in Diabetic Retinopathy Screening

Title of Qualification / Mandatory Units / Credits / Component module
Level 3 Certificate in Diabetic Retinopathy Screening (Imaging) / 1, 2, 3,4,5,6 / 35 / 901
Level 3 Certificate in Diabetic Retinopathy Screening (Grading) / 1,2,3,7,8 / 31 / 902
Level 3 Certificate in Diabetic Retinopathy Screening (Administration) / 1,2,9 / 21 / 903
Level 3 Diploma in Diabetic Retinopathy Screening / 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 / 44 / 904
Level 3 Diploma in Diabetic Retinopathy Screening / 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 / 48 / 905

Candidates will need to achieve allmandatory units within the Qualification applied for. The candidate will be advised to take the qualification that reflects their job role, they may also take additional units as required. Certificates of unit credit will be issued to candidates who are successful in one or more units but who do not wish to complete a full qualification. This award is an in-service, work-based qualification. The duration of the accreditation process will be determined, to some extent, by the number of clinics in which the learner can work to gain the learning outcomes. It is anticipated that the qualification will take no longer than 2 years to achieve for a new-entrant worker and a shorter period for an existing, experienced worker.

Unit Structure

All units in this qualification are structured into the same format this includes:

  • Rationale
  • Learning Outcomes
  • Guided Learning Hours
  • Links to the National Occupational Standards
  • Links to the Knowledge & Skills Framework
  • Links to Keys Skills

Guided learning Hours

This learning time should include all the learning activities which the learner is expected to undertake in order to achieve the learning outcomes. This does not include one to one sessions. It does include:

  • Formal learning (classes seminars, tutorials
  • Practical work
  • Information retrieval in libraries
  • Expected private study and revision
  • Work based activities leading to assessment
  • All forms of assessment

Assessment Process

The assessment process is the process by which each unit will completed consists of the following stages:

  • Planning
  • Collecting Evidence
  • Judgement of Evidence and feedback
  • Evaluation / Review of Progress Plan

This is a continuous circle, which should be completed for every unit of the award.

Planning

Proper planning will help to ensure that target completion dates are met and that adequate timing is allowed. The candidate has the initial responsibility for the planning, but it is good practice for the assessor and mentor (if allocated) to be involved in the planning process.

When planning units candidates should consider:

  • the length of time needed to complete
  • learning resources needed to complete the evidence
  • realistic target completion dates for the evidence gathering tasks.

Collecting evidence

Evidence should be presented in a portfolio, with all evidence signed and dated by the candidate and assessor using the appropriate recording forms.

This proves the validity and currency of the work. The emphasis is on the candidate learning by doing, and on building knowledge and skills in the work sector. There is no requirement to reference or source work, candidates should not use direct quotes, instead should paraphrase to show understanding. The use of appendices is not permitted.

Evidence will include:

  • Written Short Questions
  • Practical demonstration of skills:

This is an observation of the candidate made by the assessor in which the candidate will demonstrate practical skills. These include preparing patients and equipment for screening, measuring visual acuity, instillation of eye drops, imaging the eye and navigating through software.

  • Case studies
  • Scenario-based questions
  • Invigilated Online tests:

These include feature identification, grading tests and diagram labelling for Units 3, 7, & 8, the pass mark is 70% for each exam. The time limits for the online exams are set at 2 hours for units 7 & 8 and 2 ½ hours for unit 3. Candidates should complete all other parts of the unit before applying to sit the online exam.

A Practice test can be accessed on DRS website Candidates are advised to go through the practice test to familiarise themselves with the format prior to sitting the actual tests.

Procedure for On-line tests

A candidate should have completed all other parts of the unit and had these passed by their assessor before applying to sit the online test.

When a candidate is ready to take the online exam, they should:

1)Identify someone to act as an invigilator for the exam.

2)The Invigilator must:

  • be a responsible person known to the candidate in a professional capacity;
  • Not be a candidate for the Qualifications in Diabetic Retinopathy Screening;
  • Not be acting as an assessor for the Qualifications in Diabetic Retinopathy Screening;
  • Notwish to undertake a Qualification in Diabetic Retinopathy Screening in the future;
  • Mustbe available to sit with candidate for the duration of the online exam.

3. When an Invigilator is identified the following information should be sent to

the DRS team:

  • the units to be undertaken;
  • 2 dates and times when both the Invigilator and the candidate are available for the test;
  • the names and email addresses of the candidate and the Invigilator.

4. The DRS team will then contact the candidate and invigilator and send details of user names, passwords, and instructions on how to access the online test system.

5. Online exams should not be taken at home. Theymustbe taken under exam conditions, with the correct computer screens to ensure the images can be seen clearly when relevant.

6. The national grading criteriaMAY NOTbe taken into the exam

Once the unit has been planned and evidence collected it should passed to the assessor for marking.

Judgement of Evidence and feedback

Detailed marking guidance for assessors will be available from the DRS Team

The process for grading of work by assessors is as follows:

Pass- when all assignment tasks are achieved and have met the Learning

Outcomes.

Refer- when some tasks in the assignment need to be reworked. The work

should be returned to the candidate with constructive feedback

included, i.e. advice on how to complete the work, if necessary with

directions to towards where further learning could be obtained.

Fail- when after the second submission there are still a significant number of

tasks that have not been completed to the required standard.

Evaluation / review of progress plan

Candidates may need to review the plan more than once and collect further evidence before each unit is complete.

Presentation of EvidencePortfolioBuilding