Internal quality review

Introduction

Why do you need to quality assure your key skills provision?

• Self-assessment encourages a 'culture of continuous improvement'
• Providers are responsible for assuring the quality of their own provision.
• Inspectors use the self-assessment report to help to plan inspection. It is also a factor in grades for quality assurance and for leadership and management.
• By carrying out self-assessment, providers can judge how well they are doing the job that they are being paid for and how to improve their work.

How can you quality assure your key skills programme?

QUALITY ASSURING KEY SKILLS: the process

Preparation
What do you need to find out?
How will you collect information?
Who will be involved in self-assessment?
What standards do you expect to reach?



Knowing your provision
Collate and analyse data and information
Relate data to performance standards



Making judgements
Identifying strengths and areas for improvement
Prioritising greatest need



Acting on judgements
Writing and prioritising targets
for improvement; planning for
the greatest impact on
the learner’s experience



Reviewing effectiveness of actions
Do you have appropriate processes and
systems for monitoring and reviewing
your development plans and
self-assessment process?

What is the best way to collect information for my quality review?

The link to the diagram below may give you some suggestions on the methods you may use when gathering your information.

To view the collecting information diagram...

Should we include key skills in lesson observations?

Lesson observations provide valuable information about how key skills is supported in the learning environment.

Lesson observers could report on:

• how far teachers use teaching methods and materials that are up-to-date, relevant for learners, and develop key skills;
• how far learners develop their key skills, gain in confidence and are able to understand the significance and relevance of the support they are receiving;
• the impact of resources, staffing and accommodation on key skills learning and achievement;
• the effectiveness of the assessment and monitoring of learners’ progress in key skills.

Are there any training implications for observers?

Extracts from observers’ reports

“The teacher set an internet search for homework. After the session, several students said that they did not know how to search in Spanish.”

“There has been a high drop-out rate in the AS level sociology class in the first term. Some students said that they had not received support with the statistics they needed for the first assignment.”

“There is no feedback on the standard of written English, even though a high proportion of students have difficulties with spelling and punctuation and cannot express their ideas clearly.”

“Although the teacher has pointed out in feedback to some students that their calculations are inaccurate, there is no strategy to support these students with number skills.”

“All students have individual learning plans in which they set targets for key skills improvement. These are regularly monitored by their tutors, who refer them to a range of sources of support.”

What is value added?

The features of a value-added system are that it:

• compares performance between two points in time, either from one Key Stage/qualification to another or from the beginning to the end of course;
• can be used to measure progress of individuals/groups of learners;
• can provide early identification of differences in performance to inform issues to be investigated and staff development needs;
• can be used to compare the performance of different staff and departments;
• can be a planning tool for performance management for students and for staff; and
• can be used to compare the relative performance of different institutions.

Why consider developing a value-added measurement that includes key skills?

• It enables comparison of key skills over time and over the college.
• It measures individual achievement.
• It can be used to show the effect of key skills on standards and achievement

How can key skills qualifications be used for value-added?

• Diagnostic assessment at the beginning of a course provides a baseline.
• Achievement in a key skills qualification provides a measure of “distance traveled”.
• Converting the level in each key skill to a number provides a simple and straightforward measure of value-added.