V3 November 2022
Thomas Tallis School – BTEC Programmes
Appeals & Complaints Policy
The aims of this policy are:
In order to do this, Thomas Tallis will:
How learners are made aware of appeals procedures
Recording and monitoring of appeals
Links
Roles and responsibilities
Note that the Assessor and LIV can be the same person, in which case the LIV would use the BTEC QN in place of the LIV above in the roles and responsibilities
Internal and External Appeals Procedure and guidance
All learners have the right to appeal the grade they have been awarded for an assignment. The following procedure should be followed for internally assessed assignments.
Once an assignment has been returned to a learner, they have a right to appeal the grade if they feel it is incorrect. They must make this appeal within 5 working days of receiving this grade.
If the learner wishes to appeal the grade they should appeal to the assessor who assessed the assignment, this should be made in writing so that the initial appeal document can be retained with the outcome of the appeal. Only that assessor should take notes of the appeal and instigate the appeal procedure. All details should be recorded clearly with details of the initial appeal, action taken and a copy of the written appeal decision.
The assessor should investigate the appeal, taking note of the students’ statement of case and re-mark the assignment if necessary and without previous reservation regarding the appeal or the student. The assessor should then respond to the appeal within 5 working days of the appeal being made. Appeal decisions and the response should be made in writing in order that the facts and communication are recorded in case of further appeals. Written statements will also aid quality improvements in the future. The appeal paperwork should be passed to the Lead Internal Verifier and where appropriate the Curriculum Leader and stored in the Course File for a minimum of 18 months after conclusion of the appeal.
If the learner is unhappy about the response of their appeal, they should contact the Internal Verifier (or Quality Nominee where the assessor is the Internal Verifier, who may nominate a different member of the BTEC programme area to investigate the stage 2 appeal) and state the appeal to them. The Internal Verifier will investigate the appeal and record their decision clearly in writing with the rest of the appeal paperwork. The decision of the appeal will be communicated in writing to the learner within 5 working days of the appeal being made. A copy should be sent to/retained by the Quality Nominee and Assessor who will store the appeal. This will be used for training and monitoring within the programme/centre.
External Appeals
If the learner is still unhappy with the decision of the appeal they should contact the school’s Exams Officer for advice on appealing to the Awarding Body. This should be done as soon as possible and within 5 working days of the appeal decision from the Internal Verifier.
Thomas Tallis School – BTEC Programmes
Appeals & Complaints Policy
The aims of this policy are:
- To enable the learner to enquire, question or appeal against an assessment decision
- To attempt to reach agreement between the learner and the Assessor at the earliest opportunity
- To standardise and record any appeal to ensure openness and fairness
- To facilitate a learner’s ultimate right of appeal to the Awarding Body
- To protect the interests of all learners and the integrity of the qualification.
In order to do this, Thomas Tallis will:
- Inform the learner at induction, of the Appeals Policy and procedure
- Learners are informed about the policy and procedure at induction and can access this through the learner handbook
- Record, track and validate any appeal
- Appeals are recorded, tracked and validated by the Assessor as appropriate, which provides the LIV a copy of any completed appeals (if the LIV is the assessor then this should be shared with the QN)
- Appeal documentation is retained by the Lead Internal Verifier and shares these with the Quality Nominee
- Forward the appeal to the Awarding Body when a learner considers that a decision continues to disadvantage her/him after the internal appeals process has been exhausted
- This is in line with BTEC Enquiries and appeals about Pearson vocational qualifications
- Learners should be provided with the external appeals procedure where relevant (e.g. exhausting internal appeals) or if they request this
- Keep appeals records for inspection by the Awarding Body for a minimum of 18 months
- This is retained by the LIV and the QN for at least 18 months
- Have a staged appeals procedure
- This is detailed below in the procedure where there is a first stage appeal to the assessor then a further appeal to the LIV (or QN where the LIV is the assessor)
- Take appropriate action to protect the interests of other learners and the integrity of the qualification, when the outcome of an appeal questions the validity of other results
- This could be to review assessment decisions of other learners for that particular piece of work, or other units as appropriate in order to protect the integrity of the qualification
- Monitor appeals to inform quality improvement
- This is completed by the LIV and QN who liaise to ensure that any appeals are used as part of the continuous improvement of the quality assurance process
How learners are made aware of appeals procedures
- Learners are made aware of the appeals procedures (internal and external detailed below) during the learner induction which informs them about the appeals procedure
- Learners are reminded through the learner handbook where they can be directed to if they raise any queries about the assessment decision
- Learners are made aware during the induction and ongoing through the Learner Handbook of the stages of learner appeals procedure (both internal and external stages), detailed below and linked to the external procedure published by Pearson
Recording and monitoring of appeals
- Each programme area is responsible for recording each stage of the appeals procedure and informing the QN of appeals
- The QN will monitoring appeals and inform the DHT, Curriculum & Standards and/or the Headteacher where appeals are a cause for concern which could lead to other pieces of work/units requiring to be reviewed, or instantly where an external appeal has been made
- The appeals will be monitored so that this can be used to improve quality within the centre and provide advice and guidance to other BTEC staff
Links
- BTEC qualification specifications provide guidance on assessment for each BTEC qualification
- Enquiries and appeals about Pearson vocational qualifications and End Point Assessment Policy (This is Pearson’s policy on learner appeals. Please note, this does not apply until internal centre processes have been exhausted)
Roles and responsibilities
- Assessor – take notes of any first stage appeals and instigate the appeal procedure, reporting on the appeal and passing details to the LIV
- Lead Internal Verifier – retains paperwork of appeals (Stage 1) and uses appeals for training and guidance in the future
- Quality Nominee – oversees appeals procedure and ensures that the policy is in place and effective; provides advice and guidance relating to the procedure; retains copies of appeals for 18 months after the conclusion of appeals
Note that the Assessor and LIV can be the same person, in which case the LIV would use the BTEC QN in place of the LIV above in the roles and responsibilities
Internal and External Appeals Procedure and guidance
All learners have the right to appeal the grade they have been awarded for an assignment. The following procedure should be followed for internally assessed assignments.
Once an assignment has been returned to a learner, they have a right to appeal the grade if they feel it is incorrect. They must make this appeal within 5 working days of receiving this grade.
If the learner wishes to appeal the grade they should appeal to the assessor who assessed the assignment, this should be made in writing so that the initial appeal document can be retained with the outcome of the appeal. Only that assessor should take notes of the appeal and instigate the appeal procedure. All details should be recorded clearly with details of the initial appeal, action taken and a copy of the written appeal decision.
The assessor should investigate the appeal, taking note of the students’ statement of case and re-mark the assignment if necessary and without previous reservation regarding the appeal or the student. The assessor should then respond to the appeal within 5 working days of the appeal being made. Appeal decisions and the response should be made in writing in order that the facts and communication are recorded in case of further appeals. Written statements will also aid quality improvements in the future. The appeal paperwork should be passed to the Lead Internal Verifier and where appropriate the Curriculum Leader and stored in the Course File for a minimum of 18 months after conclusion of the appeal.
If the learner is unhappy about the response of their appeal, they should contact the Internal Verifier (or Quality Nominee where the assessor is the Internal Verifier, who may nominate a different member of the BTEC programme area to investigate the stage 2 appeal) and state the appeal to them. The Internal Verifier will investigate the appeal and record their decision clearly in writing with the rest of the appeal paperwork. The decision of the appeal will be communicated in writing to the learner within 5 working days of the appeal being made. A copy should be sent to/retained by the Quality Nominee and Assessor who will store the appeal. This will be used for training and monitoring within the programme/centre.
External Appeals
If the learner is still unhappy with the decision of the appeal they should contact the school’s Exams Officer for advice on appealing to the Awarding Body. This should be done as soon as possible and within 5 working days of the appeal decision from the Internal Verifier.