🏆 The Crucial Role of an Internal Quality Assurer (IQA)

An Internal Quality Assurer (IQA), previously known as  Internal Verifier (IV), holds a critical position in educational and vocational training organisations. Their primary function is to safeguard the fairness, consistency, and reliability of the assessment process within a centre or institution. Essentially, the IQA acts as the quality control for qualifications and assessments, ensuring that all practices adhere to both the organisation’s internal standards and the external regulations set by awarding bodies.

🛠️ What the Role Involves

The IQA role is hands-on and involves a mix of monitoring, support, administration, and development activities.

Key responsibilities include:

Standardisation and Consistency:

• Developing and managing an internal quality assurance plan.
• Conducting sampling of assessment records and decisions across different assessors and learners to ensure decisions are consistent and meet the required standard.
• Organising and leading standardisation meetings to ensure all assessors interpret and apply the occupational standards and grading criteria in the same way.

Assessor Support and Development:

• Observing assessor practice, including real-time assessment sessions, and providing constructive feedback, advice, and support to help them improve.
• Identifying development needs for assessors and trainers and facilitating appropriate training or mentorship.
• Ensuring that all assessors are appropriately qualified and maintain their occupational competence.
• Compliance and Administration:
• Ensuring all assessment procedures comply with the rules and regulations of the awarding organisation (e.g., NCFE, City & Guilds).
• Maintaining a clear audit trail of all quality assurance activities and documentation, ready for external inspections (External Quality Assurance – EQA).
• Working with operational teams to contribute to the smooth running of assessment services.
• Adhering to and promoting policies on equality, diversity, and safeguarding.

Continuous Improvement:

• Meeting with learners to gather feedback on the assessment process.
• Identifying and facilitating best practices throughout the organisation to enhance the quality of assessment and training delivery.

To become a qualified and effective IQA, specific qualifications and prior experience are highly desirable:

Core Qualifications (Level 4 IQA Suite)

The nationally-recognised qualifications are at Level 4 and are typically offered as a suite, with the required award depending on the scope of your role:

Prior Experience

While not always a strict entry requirement for the theory unit, to complete the practical IQA awards and to be effective in the role, you should ideally have:

• Assessor Experience: It’s a significant advantage to have practical experience as a qualified assessor (e.g., holding the Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement – CAVA or equivalent, like the old A1/D32/D33 awards). This ensures you have a deep understanding of the assessment process you are quality assuring
• Occupational Competence: You must have knowledge of the subject area or occupational standards relating to the qualifications being verified.
• Industry Experience: Relevant industry experience is crucial to understand the context of the training and assessment being delivered.

Key Skills and Attributes

Beyond formal qualifications, a successful IQA possesses strong interpersonal and analytical skills:

• Communication Skills: Exceptional ability to provide clear, constructive, and supportive feedback to assessors and communicate regulatory requirements effectively.
• Attention to Detail: An uncompromising approach to quality, ensuring documentation is accurate and standards are applied consistently.
• Impartiality and Integrity: The ability to make sound, independent judgements free from bias.
• Leadership and Support: Confidence in directing and supporting a team of assessors towards compliance and collective goals.