To Help Complete Your NVQ Health & Social Care Level 3

Frequently Asked Questions about NVQ's

Even if you are already familiar with the concept of NVQ's, please read this guide, as it contains details of the latest information about NVQ's. In addition you will receive support and help from your NVQ assessor.

What are NVQ's?

An NVQ is a National Vocational Qualification. It is a work-based qualification designed to measure competence in a professional role.
An NVQ is different from a traditional taught course as it requires you to show what you currently do and how you have the underpinning knowledge required to do your job, as opposed to teaching and testing you on new knowledge.
To prove your competence, you as a candidate are required to collect evidence from your workplace in line with the National Occupational Standards (NOS) of the NVQ.

What qualifications are equivalent to an NVQ?
Due to the fact that NVQ's are work-based qualifications, it is often difficult to give an exact academic equivalent. However as a guide:

Level 3 NVQ - BTEC National Certificate or Diploma
Level 4 NVQ - BTEC Higher National Certificate or Diploma
Level 5 NVQ - First degree or professional qualification

Why should I do an NVQ?

By completing an NVQ it shows your current and potential future employers that you are competent in your role and demonstrates an interest in continuous professional development, improving your employability.

Who decides my starting level?

It is usual that your current work situation/current employment will determine what NVQ level you first aim for.

Different levels of NVQ's
Level Candidates must show their competence:

Level 1- in a range of activities that are largely routine and predictable.
Level 2 - in a broader range of work activities that are less routine and predictable. Their job role will need to have some independence and responsibility and may require them to work as part of a team.
Level 3 - by applying their knowledge and skills while carrying out a broad range of varied work activities, most of which are complex and non-routine. Their job role will have considerable independence or responsibility, and often require them to manage others.
Level 4 - through complex work activities which that require technical knowledge. Their job role requires substantial personal independence and often requires them to take responsibility for the work of others and for allocating resources
Level 5 - when carrying out activities in a wide range of situations, which are often unpredictable. Substantial responsibility and independence is involved in the job role, which requires deciding on the allocation of resources and the work of others. It requires the use of complex skills such as analysis, design and evaluation.

Do I have to attend a college or night school?

No. NVQ's are an assessment of your current competence in your workplace. An assessor will visit you in your workplace as a result of your daily job role.
Organising and cross referencing your evidence and compiling your portfolio will also need to be done. You may be required to complete this at home if you do not have enough time during your working hours.

Are there any examinations?

No. Your assessor will assess your competence over a period of time in your workplace.

Will it stop me from doing my job?

No. In fact, the NVQ should complement your job by demonstrating your current level of competence.

How much time will it take?

You can work at your own pace. The time it takes for you to complete your NVQ may be affected by your workload, your commitment, your employer's commitment and how easy it is for you to access the evidence you are required to meet.
As a guide:
Level 3 NVQ: 9-18 months depending on the average number of units you are required to submit.
Level 4 NVQ: 12-24 months depending on the average number of units you are required to submit.

Can I fail an NVQ?

No. If you have not provided enough or the correct evidence, your assessor will guide you to find the additional or different evidence in order to support your claim to competence.

How often will I see my assessor?

This will be arranged personally with you and your employer. It is usual for your assessor to either visit or contact you every four weeks.

What if I change my employer?

You will need to contact the NVQ Centre Manager and discuss your situation. It is a good practice to do this prior to leaving the company as they may be funding your training. It is also important that you discuss this with your new/current employer as well.

What qualifications will my assessor have?

All of the assessors have to be 'occupationally competent'. This means that their professional experience must match the NVQ's that they are intending to assess. This ensures you receive training from those who are competent to deliver it.
In addition to this assessors must also hold or be working towards gaining the qualification known as the A1 Assessor Award. This award shows that they are professionally qualified to assess candidates in a field in which they have occupational competence. You may hear assessors refer to a qualification known as D32/ D33 - this qualification is also recognised and valid and is a forerunner of the A1 Assessor Award.

How much will it cost?

This will depend on the level of NVQ and whether your employer holds a contract with an NVQ centre to deliver the NVQ. You will need to discuss this with your employer.

Is there an age limit for completing an NVQ?

No. Our programme's are accessible to all. Age is no barrier!

Who awards my certificate?

There are many awarding bodies for your NVQ qualification e.g. City and Guild's, Ed excel & EDI Plc.
The certification is done through your assessment centre (e.g. college, employer or training provider).

Who is involved in NVQ's?

A number of people are involvement in NVQ assessment. Their roles have been designed to guarantee fair, accurate and consistent assessment.

Who are they? What is their role?
Centres

Are responsible for the quality of the qualification. They must work within the awarding body policies and guidelines.
Appoint assessors and internal verifiers. Centres have a responsibility to ensure competence of assessors, enabling trust to be placed in their decisions, without the need to insist on paper evidence to support every assessment decision.
Review, once a year, the operation of the course and candidates’ performance

Employers

Employers in this context may represent the actual employer of an employee who is being assessed or may be a provider of work experience opportunities to candidates who are based in a centre. Employees can be permanent or temporary, paid or voluntary.
Play a key role in the delivery of NVQ's.
Employers will work with centres to define the training need for an individual, negotiating or defining as needed levels, options and pathways. The agreed programme will depend upon the nature of the business, the business needs as well as the needs of the individual.
Work with assessors to support candidates by providing training and experience opportunities during their NVQ.
Provide assessment evidence through such mechanisms as expert witness statements or observations.

Candidates

The people who want to achieve the NVQ, e.g. an employee or a voluntary worker.
Need to show they can perform to national standards in order to be awarded an NVQ or unit(s).

Assessors

The people who assess the candidates and decide if they have met the required standard, e.g. supervisors.
Judge candidates’ evidence of performance, knowledge and understanding against the national standards and decide whether candidates have demonstrated competence.
Work alongside candidates to guide and give advice as to most efficient and effective ways to collect evidence and demonstrate competence.

Internal verifiers

Individuals appointed by the centre who ensure that assessors apply the standards consistently, e.g. supervisors, line managers, assessors.
Advise and support assessors and maintain the quality of assessment in a centre.
Sample assessments systematically to confirm the quality and consistency of assessment decisions.
Ensure that the assessors maintain accurate records of assessments.
Check assessor judgments.

Expert Witness

An occupationally competent person with the expertise in specific units of the NVQ who can give a professional opinion as to the competence of a candidate.
Their professional role must involve evaluating the everyday practice of staff.
Contribute to the evidence of competent performance in the workplace, especially where there are no occupationally competent assessors for specific optional units.

External verifiers

Individuals appointed by the awarding body e.g. City and Guilds to ensure that standards are being applied uniformly and consistently across all centres offering the NVQ.
Check the quality and consistency of assessments so you can be sure the same standards are applied everywhere.
Make regular visits to centres to ensure they continue to meet the approval criteria.

How do I start my NVQ?

The process of gaining an NVQ is flexible and depends on your needs.
At the beginning of the process, your assessor will review your existing competence in relation to the standards and identify the most suitable level.
The level you start at will depend on your current job role together with your past experience, qualifications, skills and any relevant prior learning. It may also depend on your employers in terms of which skills are needed to support their business needs.
Getting this part right is important for all of the parts of the NVQ as it is possible that you may do some units at different levels.

How will I achieve my NVQ?
To achieve an NVQ, or a unit of an NVQ, you must:

Demonstrate you meet the requirements of the performance criteria by collecting appropriate evidence as specified by the evidence requirements. This evidence is assessed against the national standards by a qualified assessor, who will be allocated to you by your centre. This maybe someone who knows you, such as a manager or supervisor.

How are NVQ's assessed?

Assessment is based on what you can do and involves you (the candidate), your assessor, an internal verifier and an external verifier — see Who is involved in NVQ's?
You will be asked to prove you are competent by providing evidence that shows you: can perform all the specified tasks consistently to the required standard
understand why you are doing things (knowledge and understanding)
can apply the required skills in different ways (range).
Assessment is flexible and you can be awarded a certificate for each unit you successfully achieve, even if you do not complete the full NVQ.
There is no set period of time in which you need to complete a unit or NVQ (other than the life of the qualification). However, you and your assessor should still set target dates for completing each unit.
Be realistic though, as there are many factors such as your previous experience, demands within your workplace and an availability of resources that will affect how quickly you are able to achieve the qualification.

What is evidence?

To claim competence for an NVQ unit you need to gather evidence which shows you have met the standards. It is important that your evidence is easily found so that it can be checked against the standards, by both your assessor and the awarding body.
Evidence can take many forms including:
the Accreditation of Prior Achievement (APA) - where qualifications previously gained can count towards an NVQ unit or where evidence relates to past experience or achievements, this may also be known as Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL)
observation of current practice by your assessor - where evidence is generated from a job or voluntary role
expert witness statements - might be your line manager, a colleague or a customer. You need to work with your assessor to make sure that the witness statements are acceptable · work products - such as work you have undertaken yourself that show a level of understanding or skill. This work may have been done as part of a job or, where permissible, it may have come from a simulation that is as close to a real working environment (RWE) as possible.

It is important that your evidence is:

valid - it relates to the NVQ standard you are trying to achieve and claim authentic - the evidence, or an identified part of it (e.g. a report), was produced by you
current - usually not more than two years old, but your assessor will advise on this sufficient - covers all the areas of competence that are needed.
You should check carefully that your evidence covers all of the above - if you are in any doubt about whether to use a piece of evidence, you should ask your assessor for guidance.
Your evidence may be collected through a range of sources, such as employment, voluntary work, training programme's and interests/activities that you perform outside your work.
It can also be produced in various formats, e.g. your own reports, testimonies from colleagues,
supervisors or members of the public, projects, models, audio tapes, photographs, videos.

What is a portfolio?

A portfolio is, like a logbook a way of recording evidence of your achievements. It is a collection of different items of evidence which shows that you have the required skills, knowledge and understanding to support your claim to a qualification. A portfolio can be either electronic or paper based.

What can be used as evidence?

Evidence could include such things as Word documents and spreadsheets as well as witness statements, observation records, etc. Much of your evidence may be electronic and although print outs may well be appropriate, they are not essential if your assessor can, and is willing to, access the files electronically. Check with your assessor.

There are a number of ways to get evidence:

Observation

Observing you at work is a common method used in assessing the NVQ. It can be organised in a variety of ways: continuously working alongside the assessor or witness
arranging to work alongside the assessor at specific times
the assessor planning to visit when particular activities are planned arranging with the assessor for particular activities to take place before a visit.
You will be able to add to observation other types of evidence, e.g. personal statements, records of question and answers or witness testimonies. It is also possible to use tape recordings, video or other technologies to record performance.

Work products

Products that you have produced during the course of your work can be assessed.
Product evidence will also be used a great deal. The exact nature of this evidence will depend on what you do.
Examples of product evidence include letters, memos, lists, spreadsheets, presentations and reports. Certificates showing achievement are also considered to be product evidence. Copies of this type of evidence are not required for the portfolio as long as their location is clearly indicated in the tracking documents.
Work products must be wholly or partially the result of work you have undertaken. To ensure authenticity, the products may need to be countersigned by a person in a position of responsibility who is able to vouch that the products are all your unaided work.

Simulated work products

Throughout the NVQ, the emphasis is on you being able to carry out real work activities so assessment will normally be carried out in the workplace itself. The NVQ standards will indicate any units where simulation may be used.
On some occasions, it might not be appropriate for you to be assessed while in the workplace.
Examples might be: where the NVQ requires you to carry out emergency or contingency procedures, for safety or confidentiality reasons and/or where your job role does not cover all aspects of the qualification. In such instances, and if you have no other means of generating evidence, simulation might be appropriate.
Simulation is any structured exercise involving a specific task that reproduces real-life situations. If simulation is used, care must be taken to ensure that the conditions in which you are being assessed mirror the work environment, i.e. it is a realistic working environment

Questioning

You will have to prove that you have the required knowledge and understanding for each unit.
You will often demonstrate it through the production of evidence, though in some cases this will not be possible.
Questioning is the ideal way of proving whether or not you have the necessary knowledge and understanding.
Questions may be asked in many forms such as short-answer questions, through projects, multiple-choice tests, case studies, or assignments.
There is likely to be more emphasis on questioning to prove knowledge in areas where evidence is generated through practical working activities, and where there may be no product evidence.
Sometimes, your assessor will want to discuss with you the work you have done and record it, on a question and answer form. This is called professional discussion.

Testimony — personal and witness

The assessor will not be able to observe everything you do. On such occasions, statements (testimonies) from other people who have seen you working can be useful sources of evidence for the NVQ as they can describe each activity in detail.
Generally, testimonies are used to support other evidence produced.

Assignments and projects

Assignments and projects are also useful ways to collect evidence. However, you should ensure you are not being asked for a competence that is not required by the standards.
Accreditation of prior learning (APL) and past achievement (APA). In assessing you for an NVQ, evidence relating to your past performance and achievements can be used as well as that relating to current performance. Talk with your assessor.

Assessment guidance

To help you, assessment guidance is provided for every unit to help you understand how much evidence will be needed with examples of the type of work needed.
Ask your assessor where this is stored. It will normally be part of your portfolio or part of the materials provided by the centre.

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