Assessor Toolkit

The assessor toolkit has been designed to support you with your role. By following the steps below, you will be equipped with all the information and guidance you need to fullfill your role with confidence.

1 Process & Procedure

  • Assessment

    This document outlines the process of assessing work against national criteria in a fair and robust manner to ensure that the requirements of the awarding organisation are met. It should be read in conjunction with tutor handbook. Please also refer to the awarding organisations’ handbooks (sometimes referred to as Centre Manuals), particularly the guidance on assessment strategy.

    An assessment strategy for each cohort of learners should be decided upon by the assessor/verifier team prior to the commencement of the course which will give the candidates the best opportunity to demonstrate their competence and knowledge in that particular subject area.

    Assessors also need to make themselves aware of Learn Harrow’s polices and guidance on:

    • Appeals
    • Access to Assessment
    • Health and Safety
    • Safeguarding
    • Data protection
    • RPL and Exemptions

    Learn Harrow are committed to ensuring that the same high standards are applied to all assessments and moderation activities. This document outlines the policy and procedures by which this will be achieved in relation to assessing.

    Download links

  • Appeals

    This document is aimed at all candidates registered with Learn Harrow accredited programmes. This procedure includes:

    • Attendance, submission of work and misconduct
    • Candidate performance
    • Appeals relating to assessment & complaints procedure 
    • Disciplinary procedures
    • Behaviour code

    This document sets out the regulations that candidates are expected to adhere to in return for being admitted to the registered Assessment Centre and being provided with assessment services and facilities. It also sets out the procedure which will be followed where there is a breach of the regulations. A breach of the regulations may lead to disciplinary action being taken against a candidate and repeated breaches or a single very serious breach may result in a candidate being excluded from the assessment programme. These Regulations apply to all candidates of the Assessment Centre. 

    The document also sets out the duties of the Assessment Centre to its candidates and the procedures that will be followed in the event of a candidate not agreeing with either the results of an assessment or the method of the assessment.

    Please read the full statement below

    Download links

  • Registration, Examination and Certification

    This Procedure applies to all certificated adult skills provision delivered with Learn Harrow.  The purpose of this Procedure is to ensure that the Learn Harrow service: 

    • registers individual learners to the correct course within agreed timescales
    • claims valid learner certificates within agreed timescales;  
    • constructs a secure, accurate and accessible audit trail to ensure that individual learner registration and certification can be tracked to the certificate issued for each learner.

    In order to achieve these aims, the Learn Harrow service will:

    • register each learner in accordance with awarding body and funding organisation requirements• provide a mechanism for administration and curriculum teams to check the accuracy of learner registrations
    • make each learner aware of their registration status
    • inform an awarding body of withdrawals, transfers or changes to learner details
    • ensure that certificate claims are timely, accurate and based solely on internally verified assessment records
    • audit certificate claims made to an awarding body
    • audit certificates received from an awarding body to ensure accuracy and completeness
    • keep all records safely and securely for the required auditable period post-certification

    Download links

  • Accreditation Quality

    Learn Harrow is committed to ensuring that the same high standards are applied to all assessments and moderation activities. This document outlines the policy and procedures by which this will be achieved in relation to IQA (verification) activities.

    Download links

2 Support Learners

  • Access to Assessment

    Supporting learners can take many forms. At Learn Harrow, we engage many learners with complex barriers to learning, who we support by ensuring that we understand their needs through the initial assessment process. Eliminate as many barriers as possible and anticipate what support is needed through the registration, examination and certification cycle.

    We have a creche to support parents of under 5s, we deliver lessons that are culturally sensitive and free of bias and we ensure that our curriculum planning is suitable for the people we target.

    Access arrangements allow learners to show what they know, and can do, without changing the demands of the assessment.  We aim to ensure that all learners who have additional reasonable requirements are not substantially disadvantaged by the difficulties they may have in relation to:

    • Communication and interaction
    • Cognition and learning
    • Social, emotional and mental health
    • Sensory and/or physical needs
    • Specific learning difficulty e.g. dyslexia

    For example we can arrange additional time, or the use of coloured overlays on question papers, scribes and readers or the presence of a support worker where anxiety is an issue.  Access arrangements are discussed and agreed before an assessment and allow a learner with special educational needs, disabilities or temporary injuries to access the assessment. 

    Download links

  • Making Reasonable Adjustments

    As part of the ongoing support for disabled learners, Learn Harrow will assess and negotiate reasonable adjustments with our awarding bodies for all qualifications. 

    If you have assessed a learner who have a statement or a diagnosis, the process is straight forward. However you may need some help to understand how you can meet the needs of individuals

    Our Obligation to making reasonable adjustments. Harrow Council is committed to improving access and support and has ongoing work to improve access to buildings, increase the availability of adaptive technologies and widen the additional support available.

    So what can you do?

    • remove barrier(s); or
    • alter it so that it no longer has that effect; or
    • provide a reasonable means of avoiding the barrier; or
    • provide a reasonable alternative method of making the service available to disabled people.

    Remember that a barrier may not be a physical barrier. Always consider whether the way a course is taught, and any activities may represent a barrier!

    If you think that one of your learners would benefit from using adaptive equipment, first you must:

    • Speak to the learner and ask him/her what support would be helpful. Make sure that you have prepared for this conversation and keep an open mind.
    • Assess, based on the learner's preference and your knowledge of the available equipment and the course, what equipment will support the learner best.
    • Let the learner trial the equipment and make any adjustments to the type or method as quickly as possible.
    • Make sure the learner is happy with equipment and do not force equipment onto the learner, as some disabled learners may not need any specialised equipment.
    • When identifying disabled learners it is important to realise that some impairments may be significant, but not obvious, if you don't know the learner well. 

    • If you are not sure always contact the Service Manager

    Download links

  • Childcare

    Childcare while learning is available at the Kenton Learning Centre. Our childcare provider is Little Hens Mobile Creche Ofsted Registration ref EY478S31 

    Download links

  • Hardship funding for learning

    Application for Waiver of Fees and Support for Materials

    This application is for learners who are unable to pay the course fees or purchase any materials required for a course. They will need to supply evidence and also to sign a declaration that they are committed to completing the course and any course assignments (if required).

    To be awarded this fee removal, they must be eligible to attend courses in the first place. This means that they must be over the age of 19 on the 1 August 2022 and live in a London borough as well as being eligible under the bullet points listed in the downlodable document 

    They must apply two weeks or more before the course starts and we will contact them within 1 week with our decision.

    Download links

3 Safe Learning

  • Heath & Safety (Safe Learning) Policy

    Harrow Council recognises its statutory and moral responsibilities with regard to Health & Safety. In discharging these it will carry out assessments to identify any hazards that may arise and eliminate or manage any risks they could present to achieve a high standard of health and safety in its undertakings. In particular, the Council will arrange for the provision and maintenance of:

    • A safe place to work with safe access and suitable welfare facilities
    • A healthy working environment including provision for the control of substance hazardous to health
    • Safe systems of work
    • Information, instruction and training to enable direct employees to avoid hazards and contribute positively to their own safety and welfare at work
    • Liaison with other employers for the exchange of user information, instruction and training of staff to ensure, as far as is reasonably practical, that their employees’ health and safety is safeguarded.
    • Such emergency arrangements as are necessary to protect employees and others against risk of imminent danger

    The download link contains the full policy as well as any forms you may need

    Download links

  • Safeguarding and Prevent Statement

    Learn Harrow is fully committed to safe learning for all learners and staff and to ensure that the needs of learners and staff are at the centre of everything we do. Learn has a duty of care towards its learners and a need to recognise that they have a fundamental right to be protected from harm.  

    We recognise that extremism and exposure to extremist materials and influences is a national priority and so should be addressed as a safeguarding concern. We also recognise that if we fail to challenge extremist views we are failing to protect our learners and fail in our obligation to promote a safe, equal and diverse society.

    The service will emphasise the importance of prevention in all its actions.

    The download link below contains the full policy and contain details you may need.

    Download links

  • Online Learning Policy

    Online safety should be a focus in all areas of the curriculum and staff should reinforce online safety messages across the curriculum. The online safety curriculum should be broad, relevant and provide progression, with opportunities for creative activities and will be provided in the following ways: 

    • Key online safety messages should be reinforced as part of a planned content/activities
    • Learners should be taught in all lessons to be critically aware of the materials/content they access on-line and be guided to validate the accuracy of information.
    • Learners should be taught to acknowledge the source of information used and to respect copyright when using material accessed on the internet

    Learners should be supported in building resilience to radicalisation by providing a safe environment for debating controversial issues and helping them to understand how they can influence and participate in decision-making.

    The download link below contains the full statement as well as forms you may need

    Download links

4 Policies & Handbooks