Meeting:FAB AAO Group

Meeting:FAB AAO Group

Date:6 July 2016

Time:11.00am – 12.30pm

Location:Northumberland Avenue

1. Welcome. The meeting was chaired by Terry Fennel from FDQ and FAB Director.

The meeting provided opportunity for discussion following the FAB/TAF apprenticeship meeting which had contributions from Ofqual, SFA, BIS and FISSS.

1. The general feeling of those present was that the cost of delivery of the end point assessment is a substantial concern and those involved are doing so for the benefit of the sector not to make a profit.

There was a mixed view on the relationships between AOs and SSCs, with some reporting SSCs trying to block the AO.

Janet Ryland from SFA confirmed that trailblazer groups are entitled to add additional requirements, but if an AO has been approved as an end point assessment organisation finds that they are being blocked by trailblazer groups then the AO should notify the SFA and provide evidence.

Members were advised to highlight confidentially and anonymously any issues that are detrimental to their market to FAB to raise on their behalf.

Those present reported difficulty where trailblazer groups select option 1, which is the employer route and there are issues around credibility, validity and reliability. There are also issues of comparability of grading of apprenticeships.

Assessments are reviewed every three years and so this provides AOs with an opportunity if there are concerns for the first trailblazers.

Ofqual suggested that assessment strategies can be helpful to bridge from the standards to the end point assessment. They noted that this would add cost to the system so the balance needs to be right. Ofqual would be happy to hear what AOs think about this. Some AOs are already providing assessment strategies and Ofqual advised that others may want to do so.

There is an 8-10 week turnaround for applications to the Register.

The Sainsbury review is due out next week and this will impact on apprenticeships.

Actions:

■FAB will continue to work with the various agencies and asked members to provide examples of good and bad practice to use at both policy level and more operationally.

■FAB will keep members up to date with any developments arising from the Sainsbury review which is due out next week.

1. Next Meeting – to be confirmed.