Centre Accreditation

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Centre Accreditation

How to become a CIH accredited centre offering nationally recognised qualifications

V4.2 Published August 2014

Contents

1.The Chartered Institute of Housing Awarding Organisation...... 5

2.The benefits of CIH AO Centre accreditation...... 5

3. CIH AO Centre Accreditation...... 6

4.Guidance note on Equality and Diversity...... 7

Centre Recognition Application Part A: Centre approval...... 9

Centre Recognition Application Part B: Application to deliver a CIH Awarding Organisation qualification or single QCF unit 16

The Chartered Institute of Housing Awarding Organisation

The Chartered Institute of Housing Awarding Organisation

The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) is a nationally recognised Awarding Organisation (AO) for Vocationally Related Qualifications at Levels 2, 3 and 4 (in England, Wales and Northern Ireland) and at Level 5 in Scotland. These qualifications cover the work of those people who are employed or are active in the housing profession in the statutory, voluntary or private sectors. Every year, over 3000 learners complete CIH AO accredited qualifications

The CIH has been offering housing qualifications at all levels for many years and achieved its firstAO status in 2000 This means that CIH qualifications are nationally recognised and regulated by Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator (Ofqual) for England and Northern Ireland
Welsh Government in Wales
The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)

As such, the final part of the accreditation, the accountable person / course leader at each centre will be required to sign a binding agreement confirming that the regulatory requirements will be met at all times.

Part of the CIH mission is to promotetraining and education needs and develop qualifications that can be accessed by a range of different modes of delivery through universities, colleges, distance learning and in partnership with employers. CIH believes that qualified staff improves service delivery to residents and employers and increases their value to their organisations.

A full list of qualifications and the units within them can be found at

The benefits of CIH AO Centre accreditation

A Centre is an organisation or consortium accountable to an Awarding Organisation for the delivery and assessment leading to a qualification or units.

CIH AO Centre accreditation is designed to meet regulatory requirements and the learning and quality assurance needs of the providers of education, training and skills development. Accredited Centres include universities, colleges of further education, training providers and housing organisations.

CIH AO accreditation provides:

Nationally recognised qualifications at Levels 2, 3 and 4 on the QCF and level5 on the SCQF
Rigorous quality assurance
Help and support from the Awarding Organisation
Access to information and supporting documents from the CIH AO for the delivery, assessment and quality assurance of qualifications.

An accredited CIH AO Centre can:

Deliver CIH AO qualifications
Contact the CIH AO for support and advice
Have the help and support of a CIH AO appointed external quality assurer (EQA) who will assist you with your programmes
Use the CIH logo to market and promote courses leading to CIH AO accredited qualifications.

3. CIH AO Centre Accreditation

A prospective centre must be formally approved before it can offer a CIH AO regulated qualification.

The centre must follow the accreditation process, which includes the completion of the centre approval application form, the payment of the application fee, which is reviewed annually, and the completion of a formal centre agreement.

The fee is £570 and is non refundable if the application is unsuccessful.

Further fees include a learner registration fee (this is variable according to the qualification undertaken) and an annual Centre accreditation fee of £520.

For up to date fees and further Information see
The CIH AO may visit the Centre before completing the accreditation process. The approval process will include:-

The verification of the information supplied
A review of the internal systems and procedures at the centre
Compliance with certain regulations set by the regulators Ofqual / Welsh Government/SQA
An evaluation of the ability of the centre to provide the expertise and housing sector knowledge to deliver a CIH qualification.

To apply, complete the application form that follows. The accreditation is in two sections.

All new applicants must complete both the Part A and Part B sections and submit the whole form. If you wish to become a centre but do not have the staff available please contact CIH as we may be able to link you with potential staff.

The first section, Part A, establishes the ability to be a CIH AO Centre. A fee applies as detailed above. It is important to support the application form with relevant policies and documents.

The second section, Part B, establishes the ability to offer specific CIH AO qualifications.
It is important to support the application with:-

The relevant policies and procedures as set out on page x
Staff CVs.
Detailed documents that describe the delivery of the course.

The application will not beconsidered without this information.

4.Guidance note on Equality and Diversity

The CIH AO wishes to ensure that courses leading to qualifications are accessible to all who meet the entry criteria for them. Centres are required to ensure that there are no unnecessary barriers to access or to learning, that the course content and structure are non-discriminatory and that the special needs of the individual students are met, both in terms of learning and of assessment.

The CIH AO would expect to see specific documentation that relates to equality of opportunity.

Centres are advised to use the following checklist to evaluate their compliance.

Does the Centre comply with the requirements of the Equalities Act 2010?
Does the Centre/faculty/department have a written Equal Opportunities Policy? Is it comprehensive? Does the centre have an organisation strategy which identifies targets and a timetable for implementation?
Is there a rationale for ensuring open access within the constraints of entry requirements?
Is the curriculum content non-discriminatory and do options suit under-represented groups?
Does the centre have adequate access and facilities for all such as wheelchair access and WC facilities?
If there is split-site teaching, how are students with physical impairments catered for?
Does the centre provide teaching/learning facilities to students with sight or hearing or other impairments?
If the course involves evening sessions, is there any support / transport?
Do the centre’s pastoral care arrangements provide adequate/appropriate support?
Is the course structure discriminating in any way? E.g. are the start and finish times of the course suitable?
Does the faulty/department monitor the take up of the course and progression through the course in Equal Opportunity terms? This should include the protected characteristics of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religions and belief, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity.
What are the enrolment procedures? Are they non discriminatory?
What steps does/would the centre take to redress any imbalance in enrolment?

If the course operates an access policy, what support mechanisms are offered the students with non-standard entry requirements?
Is equal opportunities part of the culture of the course team/course proposal? I.e. is awareness of Equal opportunities issues apparent?
Is the balance of staff teaching on the course appropriate for the course in terms of disability, ethnicity, gender, experience etc.
Can the centre provide statistical data in relation to equality and diversity which enables monitoring of access for all groups of learners?

Further guidance is available in the CIH AO Equality and Diversity Policy at

Chartered Institute of Housing Awarding Organisation

Centre Recognition Application Part A: Centre approval

CIH Awarding Organisation takes centre and learner malpractice very seriously. Please read the CIH Malpractice policy on our webpage. We also expect centres to be aware of conflicts of interest such as tutors internally verifying learners work. Please read the CIH Conflict on Interest policy on our webpage.

1. Centre Name

2. Centre contact details
Address

Main Telephone enquiry numberMain Email enquiry address

Website address

3. Contact details

Please enter the name, telephone number & Email details of the Head of Centre who will be accountable for the delivery of the qualifications:

If the work address of the Head of Centre is different to the centre address please add the address below and state why this difference occurs

4.Type of Centre

Please tick the relevant box(es) below to indicate the type of organisation the centre is;

Further education school/College
Housing Association/Registered social landlords
Local authority
Company
Training provider
Charity
Other
If your centre is a registered charity or defined as other please give details below including the Charity registered number where applicable

5. Other Awarding Organisation Accreditations

Has the centre been accredited by another Awarding Organisation / Body?

Please tick the appropriate box Yes □ No □
If yes please list below

Please state whether you have been refused centre recognition or had this status withdrawn by another awarding organization/body including dates

6. Policy statements and guidance documents

An accredited centre must have effective policies, processes and guidance documents to ensure that the highest quality standards are maintained. Please review the CIH AO policy guidance documents at

Please tick the boxes below to confirm that the centre has in place the relevant arrangements / documentation relating to the policies, procedures and requirements.

The following policies and documents MUST be submitted with your application. If these are not already in place, please indicate the date by when these will be implemented.

□ Health and safety policy
□ Employer and public liability insurance

□Equal opportunities policy which demonstrates compliance with the

Equalities Act 2010

□Quality Assurance policy. Note: This will detail the overall quality assurance

process for the delivery of the qualification, from the design of your course,

to the delivery and finally the award.

□Complaints procedure and appeals procedure for learners

□Malpractice policy. Note: Centres will be expected to conform to CIH’s

Malpractice policy

□Reasonable adjustments and special considerations policy

□Internal Verification policy and process

□Learner handbook

7. Agreement and Declaration

Please tick the boxes below to demonstrate that the centre agrees to comply with the centre requirements.

Centre requirements relating to the delivery of the qualifications

I declare that the centre:

□will have a named point of contact for each qualification they provide.

□will provide the learners with accurate and up-to-date information about the awards, qualifications and policies available at the centre.

□has a documented quality management system in place that is systemically reviewed, to ensure that learners and staff needs are met.

□will ensure all appropriate persons are kept up to date with the quality policy, procedures and standards, and that responsibilities for the management of these systems are clearly and appropriately allocated.

□will ensure that all centre policies are kept up to date and reflect any legal changes which have been implemented or changes to the centre.

□will have adequate systems and resources in place, including staff, equipment, materials and software, to support the delivery of the qualification.

□will ensure that staff is competent to deliver and assess the qualification and have access to appropriate training, guidance and support. This includes appropriate qualifications and housing sector knowledge.

□will ensure that the centre fully understands the assessment specifications provided by the Awarding Organisation and that we comply with its provisions.

□will ensure that security and confidentiality of assessment materials and records including records of marking and portfolios of evidence, before during and after the assessment has taken place, and any breach in security is reported to the Awarding Organisation immediately.

□has effective communications systems in place both internally and with the Awarding Organisation and learners.

□will agree to provide the Regulatory Authorities and Awarding Organisation with access to premises, people and records and to comply with Awarding Organisation monitoring activities.

□will keep complete and accurate records, for at least six years from the end of the year to which they relate, for all CIH qualifications and make these available to the Awarding Organisation upon request.

□complies with all relevant law, regulatory criteria and codes of practice as updated and amended from time to time.

□ agrees to comply with reasonable stipulations from the Awarding Organisation regarding the use of their logo.

□will pay fees to the Awarding Organisation as required.

Centre requirements relating to learners

□unless the learner choses not to have one, will ensure that the centre obtains on behalf of the learners a ULN and hold the ULN number on the centre data base. (this may become a requirement for centres in England, Wales and Northern Ireland only).

□will ensure that resources and systems comply with legislation and will support equality of access for learners as far as possible.

□will ensure that an adequate assessment of the learners’ existing skills, knowledge and understanding is made prior to registration for a particular award and that there is an accurate record of the learners’ progress and achievements.

□has a policy for reasonable adjustments and special considerations.

□ will ensure that valid and reliable assessment of learner achievements is conducted and that details of these are made available to the CIH AO.

□will have documentary procedures for handling disputes when a learner disagrees with a decision by the centre or wishes to appeal against the centre’s own internal assessment decisions.

□will take necessary steps to ensure that work submitted for assessments is the learner’s own and the learner verifies it as their own work.

□will report to the Awarding Organisation immediately any suspected malpractice involving learners, centre staff or any other parties.

□will respond speedily and openly to all requests for an investigation into an incident and a nominated representative of the centre will personally supervise all investigations resulting from an allegation of malpractice.

□will be aware that information supplied to the Awarding Organisation could be required by the regulatory authorities .

Where appropriate please attach and/or provide details of any existing documentation to illustrate your centre’s commitment to the statements detailed above.

Please note that the Awarding Organisation reserves the right to view these materials either through the application process or via a post-approval monitoring activity.

8. Accreditation Fee

The fee for an application for centre accreditation is £570

The fee is non refundable if the application is not successful.

Do not send the fee with the application form. CIH will invoice the centre for this amount following receipt of the application form.

In addition there is an annual centre accreditation fee of £520. This will become payable one year after the accreditation.

There will also be a fee for each learner registration. This is variable depending on the qualification undertaken. For up to date fees and further details see

9. Declaration

I confirm that the centre accepts that if the centre defaults on the commitments made in this application it may lead to the removal of its recognition status.

I understand that if approved I will be required to sign a formal centre agreement.

I hereby declare that I am authorised by the above mentioned centre to supply the information given above and, at the date of signing, the information given in this questionnaire is a true and accurate record to the best of my knowledge.

Name

Signature

Position

Date

Return the form to:

CIH Awarding Organisation

Octavia House

Westwood Way

Coventry

CV4 8JP

Tel: 024 7685 1700

Email:

Chartered Institute of Housing Awarding Organisation

Centre Recognition Application Part B: Application to deliver a CIH Awarding Organisation qualification or single QCF unit

You must be a CIH AO accredited Centre, or have an application for accreditation in progress, before you submit an application for qualification approval.

You must apply to deliver at least one CIH qualification if you are making an initial application to be a CIH AO accredited Centre.

You must submit a rationale for the delivery of the qualification and evidence that you have suitably qualified staff to support the course delivery. Also include full details of how the course will be structured, taught and assessed in compliance with the published CIH AO qualification specification. Attach documents to support the application.

1. Centre details

Centre name

Qualification Level and name(s) (and pathway where appropriate) for which the Centre seeks approval. Include Ofqual reference number.

Location: Premises / sites addresses where the course will be delivered (if known)

2. Course team

Please provide details for the team /department responsible for the management of the delivery of the qualification and the individual who leads this team.

Team / department name

Name and job title of team leader

Address

Individual / team email enquiry address

Individual / team telephone / enquiry address

3. Quality assurance contact details

Please provide the named point of contact for the quality assurance of the Qualification, if different from named course leader.

Name and job title

Individual Email enquiry address

Individual telephone enquiry number

4. Staff resources

Please provide details of all the key personnel involved in the delivery or quality assurance of the qualifications, including their qualifications, experience and occupational competence relevant to the housing sector. Attach CVs.

Name / Role / Qualification Units they will teach / Occupational competence

Additional comments regarding the course team