50 Quality Improvement and Quality Assurance Approaches

Sharron started delivering education and training programmes on a part time basis in 1987, before progressing into a full-time career in further education in 2000. She has gained practical work-based skills and a wide and varied understanding of schools’ provision, further and higher education, apprenticeships and full cost courses.  Starting her career as a teacher in a land-based specialist college, she progressed to course management before taking responsibility for several departments within a large further education college. Sharron further developed her knowledge and skills within the sector when her role changed to Head of Services to Business. She is now the Assistant Principal of Quality at the White Rose Beauty Colleges, which is recognised as the UKs largest beauty therapy training provider.? Sharron is passionate about raising standards in education and is committed to supporting quality improvement at all levels and stages. As well as her work in further education and as a Standards Verifier for Pearson, she has also worked with secondary schools as a governor to support quality improvement.  Sharron holds an Honour′s Degree in Education and Training, has a Certificate in Education, is a Member of the Society for Education and Training, and holds QTLS status. Sharron can be contacted via: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mansellsharron/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/sharronmansell LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharronmansell Email: sharronmansell@outlook.com Ann has been teaching, assessing and quality assuring in the further education and skills sector since 1983. She is a director of her own company Ann Gravells Ltd, an educational consultancy based in East Yorkshire. She specialises in teaching, training, assessment and quality assurance. Ann holds a Masters in Educational Management, a PGCE, a Degree in Education, and a Medal of Excellence for teaching. She is a Fellow of the Society for Education and Training, and holds QTLS status. Ann has been writing textbooks since 2006 which are mainly based on her own experiences as a teacher and the subsequent education of trainee teachers. She aims to write in plain English to help anyone with their role. She creates resources for teachers and learners such as PowerPoints and handouts for the assessment, quality assurance, and teacher training qualifications.  Ann has worked for several awarding organisations producing qualification guidance, policies and procedures, and carrying out the external quality assurance of teaching, assessment and quality assurance qualifications. She is a consultant to The University of Cambridge’s Institute of Continuing Education, Ofqual, and the awarding organisation Training Qualifications UK (TQUK). Ann Gravells’ textbooks The teaching, assessment and quality assurance qualification titles change over time. Ann has written books in the past which reflect these titles and has updated them when they have changed. However, the content of the qualifications and the job roles which teachers, assessors and quality assurers carry out remain very much the same. Ann has now written three generic books aimed at covering all the teaching, assessment and quality assurance qualifications as well as the relevant job roles. It doesn’t matter what the qualification title might be called now or in the future or which awarding organisation offers it, these three books should meet the required content of them all. Principles and Practices of Assessment (2015) Principles and Practices of Quality Assurance (2016) Principles and Practices of Teaching and Training (2017) Ann’s first book Delivering Adult Learning was written in 2006 and was aimed at anyone taking the qualification of the same title. This book is no longer in print, but forged the beginning of her writing career and her aim of helping trainee teachers with their role. Ann is the author of the following text books, many of which are now in new editions (listed here in alphabetical order). Achieving your Assessment and Quality Assurance Units (TAQA) (2014) Delivering Employability Skills in the Lifelong Learning Sector (2010) Passing Assessments for the Award in Education and Training (2013) Passing PTLLS Assessments (2012) Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (2012) The Award in Education and Training (2014) What is Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector? (2012) She is co-author of: Equality and Diversity in the Lifelong Learning Sector (2012) Passing CTLLS Assessments (2010) Planning and Enabling Learning in the Lifelong Learning Sector (2010) The Best Vocational Trainer’s Guide (2015) The Certificate in Education and Training (2014) Passing Assessments for the Certificate in Education and Training (2014) She has edited: Study Skills for PTLLS (2012) Achieving QTLS Status (2018) 50 Teaching and Learning Approaches (2019) 50 Assessment Approaches (2020) 50 Quality Improvement and Quality Assurance Approaches (2021)

1.Agreeing action plans
2.Allocating responsibilities to team members
3.Checking for plagiarism, fraud and malpractice
4.Coaching and mentoring others
5.Communicating with a team
6.Completing awarding organisation reports
7.Completing continuing professional development activities
8.Completing quality assurance records
9.Creating a bank of assessment questions and exemplar answers
10.Creating and updating policies and procedures
11.Creating job descriptions or role/person specifications
12.Dealing with appeals, complaints and disputes
13.Designing and updating quality documents and templates
14.Designing questionnaires and surveys
15.Devising a quality assurance rationale
16.Devising a quality assurance strategy
17.Following regulations and requirements
18.Inducting new staff
19.Interpreting the content of qualifications, programmes and standards
20.Interviewing prospective staff
21.Keeping and maintaining records
22.Making decisions when sampling evidence
23.Managing a team
24.Managing risks and contingency planning
25.Managing team meetings
26.Managing unsatisfactory performance
27.Observing staff and using learning walks
28.Planning and tracking internal quality assurance activities
29.Planning and tracking quality improvement activities
30.Planning strategic aims and continuous quality improvement
31.Preparing for an external inspection
32.Preparing for an external quality assurance remote sample
33.Preparing for an external quality assurance visit
34.Producing resources
35.Providing feedback
36.Questioning others
37.Reviewing and updating assessment activities
38.Reviewing and updating internal quality assurance activities
39.Sampling learners’ work
40.Shadowing staff
41.Standardising practice
42.Undertaking evaluation activities
43.Undertaking joint work scrutiny
44.Undertaking peer observations
45.Updating staff
46.Using a SWOT analysis
47.Using role play
48.Using web conferences, online meetings and webinars
49.Using work plans
50.Writing self-assessment reports