Ground Rules
1] The course does not just involve completing assignments. The assessment criteria is made up of learning outcomes! You need to participate in course activities which will enable you to be supported and also meet Guided learning Hours which can only be met by interacting with course staff.

You are expected to complete at least one learning log per week. You will also be expected to gain some hours by participating on web conferences and interacting on the online forums. The online forums also act like a virtual classroom where you are expected to interact with your peers and gain support from the course staff. You are also encouraged to attend face to face workshops which normally take place in Stoke On Trent and London every month. London sessions only take place subject to demand and learner numbers.

Your interaction cannot just be at the end of the course, it has to be consistent over a period of time to demonstrate learning has taken place. You will need to provide evidence of your online journal and forum entries when you submit your Portfolio of Evidence. You will not be signed off even if you complete all the assignments without meeting guided learning hours and providing evidence that is deemed reliable, sufficient, authentic and current?

We support fast track as long as you are able to work at a reasonable pace without compromising the quality of the course. Rushing for the sake of rushing will not enable you to complete quicker.

2] You are expected to login and access this site at least twice a week. It is your responsibility to read new information published under “Events” and “Notice Board”. You are also responsible for responding to any emails and notices sent from the system. Your assessor will be withdrawn after 8 weeks of no contact. You may be withdrawn from the course after 15 weeks of no contact. A reinstatement fee applies if we agree to continue with your assessments after a period of no contact.

3] You should use the initial ticket opened for you when you were given your login details for this site to submit your work and establish contact with your assessor. Please do not open any further tickets as they might not be seen by your assessor and could result in delays getting back to you. You should only open new tickets when contacting our admin, submitting specialist forms or booking on course events such as web conferences.

4] As already highlighted above course work should be submitted through the Contact Centre. Candidates should not email assessors directly as this will interfere with the audit trail of your evidence. Quality Assurers and admin staff rely on the information that is on the Contact Centre. The Contact Centre can only accommodate 20MB at a time. Audio files should be submitted in MP3 or wav format. Please submit any video evidence on a memory stick.

5] You are required to complete an Assignment Planner using the following template before you attempt any of the assignments. The planner should list the points you wish to include in your assignment and should not be more than two A4 pages? You will need to use the assignment template when completing assignments. Please do not change the document extension from (.doc). You will need to submit your Assignment Planners and Assignments through “Communication and Assessment Centre”.

Where there is a word count you can submit your work with a range plus or minus 200 words? Please ensure you state the number of words you have used at the end of the assignment! References are not counted.

Assignment drafts are not appropriate for this level of study. Any work submitted as a draft will be assessed as a final submission. You should not submit more than two assignments within a calendar month without the approval of your assessor? If you do, there might be severe delays with your feedback.

The expected turn around for feedback per assignment is 14 working days. The 14 working days are counted from the first course dedicated day, Monday.

All feedback will always be factual and based on the standards set for the course. You will need to ensure that your work is at level 4 standard or above!

You will be expected to use the first person ‘l’ to take ownership and responsibility when your competency is being assessed? Using the third person such as ‘we’ might not be sufficient to demonstrate how this affects you? For example if someone would write ‘We British give a lot of money to third world countries?’ Although you would have associated yourself with your generous country men and women it does not mean you personally give anything?

You are encouraged to use reflective writing and be analytical rather than descriptive in order to demonstrate understanding. Examples from your practice should always be given. You will be expected to demonstrate use of a variety of sources and should always make links to theory, evidence based practice, regulations and legislation when ever possible to reflect the level of study?

Achievement at level 4 reflects the ability to identify and use theoretical and technical understanding, methods and skills to address problems that are well defined but complex and non-routine. It includes taking responsibility for overall courses of action as well as exercising autonomy and judgment within fairly broad parameters. It also reflects understanding of different perspectives or approaches within an area of study or work. .

Level 4 is considered to be equivalent to the first year of an undergraduate degree while Level 3 is equivalent to A levels. Level 5 is considered to be equivalent to the second year of an undergraduate degree. The presentation of your portfolio should show the appropriate level and be supported by references. You are required to use Harvard Referencing and be analytical. There is an expectation that you will make links to underpinning knowledge, theory and research. Please do not include any graphs or images within the body of the assignment? You can include these as part of your bibliography after the references.

Your learning logs, CPD records and reflective journals have to be detailed as it is your chance to step away from the questions and express what you have learned. The evidence from them carries more weight; as it is your declaration of how course themes blends with your practice. This is your opportunity to demonstrate how course key themes will be part of your practice.

Your portfolio will need to be internally moderated at least twice. The first time is usually a few weeks after enrolment and the second time is when you submit your portfolio of evidence on completion.