Learning and Skills Assessor Apprenticeship

The Learning and Skills Assessor apprenticeship is designed specifically for primary schools, and suitable for a range of job roles.

For example, schools may choose to upskill one or more teachers, HLTAs, TAs or LSAs to provide valuable support for the SENCO. Or you could opt to develop new expertise for the SENCO themselves. You know your setting and your colleagues best, so select your apprentice based on what you think will work well for you and the needs of your students.

Although it is an open access qualification, meaning that no prior qualifications are required, an apprentice would typically be expected to have already achieved GCSE Maths and English, Grade C or above or 4/5. Some elements of this apprenticeship do require a reasonably high level of ability for English and Maths but rest-assured that you will be supported by your tutor to ensure this knowledge is understood and embedded.

The apprenticeship is only available to primary schools in England who have access to the Apprenticeship Levy. The levy can then be used to cover the cost of the apprenticeship training and assessment. The way in which the levy applies depends on the type of school and the overall employer. For more information, please contact the Sporting Futures Training team on 01438 791068 or admin@sportingfutures.co.uk.

Are there any other requirements?

Apprentices will require:

• Support from a Mentor – this can be the SENCO or another senior leader in the school. Experience or knowledge of educational testing is helpful, but not essential. 
• Access to psychometric tests (1 of attainment and 1 of ability).

If you don’t have access to psychometric tests in your school already, or wish to update your school resources, as an apprentice with us you can benefit from a 10% discount at the Dyslexia Action Shop. If you are looking to complete the value-added Certificate of Competence in Educational Testing (CCET)* qualification alongside your apprenticeship, you also have the opportunity to use the Study Purchase Scheme to buy psychometric tests during your training that usually would not be available to you until you complete CCET.

*The value-added qualification is available for just £75 + VAT. Access to the tests on the Study Purchase Scheme is only available once you have registered for this course.

The school will be able to:

• Make the best use of their apprenticeship funding by choosing training that delivers a demonstrable positive impact on outcomes for students in the school.
• Have staff trained to understand the needs of individual learners so that support can be adapted accordingly.
• Develop their internal expertise instead of relying on external agencies.
• Reduce costs and lengthy waits often associated with using external support, by having a competent educational test user in-house.
• Improve collaboration with external agencies by enabling staff to effectively understand and discuss written reports from other professionals.
• Delegate testing to an additional, trained member of staff, freeing up their SENCOs time.
• Develop the capacity to conduct educational testing throughout the year, rather than simply focussing on termly assessments.
• Provide a personalised testing experience as opposed to standard computer licences.
• Benefit from training that is delivered online with minimal disruption to the school schedule and with practice-led projects that make an impact in school straight away.

For the apprentice, the Learning and Skills Assessor Apprenticeship:

• Provides the opportunity to develop valuable and purposeful skills in assessing students’ learning and progress and understand where their key skills and challenges lie, to help them reach their potential.
• Enables you to stretch yourself and take on additional responsibilities at work.
• Supports your professional development plans.
• Enables you to understand the needs of individual learners throughout the year, so that your practice can be adapted accordingly to enable you to better support the needs of your learners.
• Supports your development of key professional behaviours and ways to communicate with all stakeholders in a student’s learning – including colleagues, external agencies, parents and the student themselves.
• Offers a supportive environment for learning, with coaching from experienced and highly qualified tutors and peer networking opportunities.

LEARN

During the course, you will take part in a number of live learning sessions online. A training plan of these activities will be discussed and provided in advance of the start of the apprenticeship. 

There are two main types of online LEARN sessions: 

• Full cohort masterclasses in which our tutors set the scene, sharing their knowledge and expertise. This includes a 3-day event held near the start of the course that will deliver the fundamental knowledge of educational testing. Subsequent full cohort masterclasses after this will be 2 hours. 
• Smaller group workshops, which will embed learning through discussion, Q&A and best practice sharing – with both the tutor and peers. Workshop sessions will be 90 minutes long. 

The following topics will be covered during these sessions:

• Principles and practice of assessment in the primary classroom.
• Educational testing and the role of the assessor in schools.
• Psychometric assessment in schools (delivered near the start of the course via a 3-day intensive session).
• Planning pupil assessment.
• Administering tests correctly and with accuracy.
• Interpreting test results.
• Assessment feedback through report writing.
• Explaining test results through oral feedback, communicating outcomes to parents, colleagues and partner organisations.
• Whole school practice – assessment interventions and impact for literacy and numeracy.
• Whole school practice – assessment, interventions and impact for social and pastoral needs.
• Storing personal assessment data.
• Recording and tracking assessment decisions, including the use of digital technology.
• Interpreting test results.
• Sustainable assessment practice.
• Theories of intelligence – optional content to be studied by those wishing to gain the value-added qualification, the Certificate of Competence in Educational Testing (CCET). An additional fee of £75 + VAT is applicable.

APPLY

You will complete a variety of practice-led projects and practical research tasks, relating to the key focus areas described above. This will help to embed your learning and will build the portfolio of work for your End Point Assessment (EPA) at the end of the apprenticeship. Through this practice-led learning model, you will develop and enhance both the school’s educational testing provision and policies and the supportive classroom practices, from the very start of the apprenticeship.

REFLECT

Progress reviews will be undertaken at five key stages during the programme. This is an excellent opportunity for you to meet with your employer and tutor to reflect on progress and celebrate achievements. Work-based projects can be discussed and the impact of the training will be evaluated. Targets and next steps are also agreed.

This Learning and Skills Assessor apprenticeship is delivered entirely online with a mix of live and self-paced content. 

Prior to the start date, there will be a 1 hour online induction with the tutor and programme lead. 

Following this, during the 13 months, there will be regular LEARN sessions to attend online. These will be delivered in two formats, knowledge-sharing masterclasses will be delivered to the whole cohort, whilst workshops will be a valuable opportunity for apprentices to reflect on and consolidate the learning in small groups. 

Near the start of the programme, there will be a 3 day intensive online event to take a deep dive into the topic of educational testing. 

Across the apprenticeship, you will be required to REFLECT and attend 5 progress meetings, and you will APPLY your newly developed skills, knowledge and behaviours through practical projects (each of which will form part of you End Point Assessment portfolio). 

Upon completion, there will be the opportunity to complete an essay on “Theories of Intelligence”, if you would like to upgrade to a full CCET qualification for a small fee.

The apprenticeship is 13 months in duration, inclusive of the End Point Assessment (EPA). In total approximately 300 hours of training and apprenticeship-related activity will be delivered and directed throughout the programme over this period of time.

In line with the standards set for all apprenticeships by the ‘Institute for Apprenticeships’, apprentices should complete 6 hours of ‘off-the-job’ (OTJ) learning per week, if they are a full-time apprentice (working at least 30 hours per week).

However, these OTJ hours will not all be completed through structured learning sessions. They also include all the practical application of your learning, for example, your project and portfolio work, as well as any other non-guided implementation and practice of learned skills and knowledge, which can be carried out as part of your new assessment remit in your setting.

With our practice-led learning model, it means that during a typical month, the school will commit to providing release time for the LEARN and REFLECT online sessions. Most months* will include LEARN and REFLECT sessions totalling between 90 minutes and 3 hours. There may also be some reflective and research work to also complete. A full training calendar and curriculum plan will be provided for you upon confirmation of attendance to help you and the school plan your time. 

* Near the start of the programme, there will be an intensive LEARN session for 3 full days (6 hours per day).

OTJ hours include any activities using or resulting in new learning related to the apprenticeship. This includes the following:

The apprenticeship will be delivered through BUD, Educational & Sporting Futures’ online platform.

BUD is a purpose built learning platform, designed to meet the needs of your apprenticeship. Apprentices will be able to track progress and off-the-job hours, access resources and upload all of their assessment tasks online.

All the live sessions, including the online masterclasses, workshops and meetings will take place over Zoom.

Over the course of the apprenticeship, you will complete a series of assessment-based projects and activities which will form your portfolio of evidence for submission as part of your End Point Assessment (EPA). Your EPA includes a professional discussion with an external End Point Assessment Organisation (equivalent to an awarding body). This organisation will also observe you in your setting as part of the EPA process. You will have the opportunity to practise for the discussion and observation, as well as being fully supported in your project work to ensure you are ready for the EPA process. You will have the opportunity to practise for the discussion and observation, as well as being fully supported in your project work, to ensure you are ready for the EPA.

In your portfolio, you must demonstrate that you meet (or exceed) a set list of Knowledge, Skills and Behaviour (KSBs). Again, guidance will be provided at every step during your learning journey to ensure you know what is expected of you. 

All apprentices that successfully complete the Learning and Skills Assessor Apprenticeship will receive a Certificate awarded by the EPA Organisation. The certificate will be recognised by the DfE and the Institute for Apprenticeships. The assessment will result in either a ‘fail’, ‘pass’ or ‘distinction’.

£0. Primary schools can use their Apprenticeship Levy to fully fund the apprenticeship.

Contact the Educational & Sporting Futures Team on 01438 791068 or admin@sportingfutures.co.uk if you would like to find out if your school is eligible for the Apprenticeship Levy (the vast majority are) or if you would like to know more about how to access and use this.

An additional fee of £75 + VAT will be required if you want to upgrade your apprenticeship to obtain the Certificate of Competence in Educational Testing (CCET) qualification. You can register your interest for the value-added CCET course when you sign up for the apprenticeship.

The Learning and Skills Assessor apprenticeship will provide you with an understanding of the fundamental underlying principles for all psychometric tests, rather than teaching you how to use specific educational tests. This means that, with the knowledge, skills and behaviours you develop during the programme, you will be able to choose, administer and interpret any psychometric test in your setting. You will be able to use a range of tests to be able to assess learning progress, as well as understand the learner’s strengths and areas of challenge, helping you to create and implement tailored support plans for them.

Throughout the apprenticeship you will be required to use psychometric tests to practise and demonstrate your new skills set. You can use tests you already have access to in your school. If you want or need to purchase new tests, you have the opportunity to do this through the Dyslexia Action Shop with a 10% discount.

As a professional working in an educational setting, you have access to buy tests through the Dyslexia Action Shop. Available tests include:

• DRAS3 – Diagnostic Reading Analysis – designed to assess listening and reading comprehension in pupils aged 7-16 years.
• BPVS3 – British Picture Vocabulary Scale 3rd Edition – designed to assess receptive (hearing) vocabulary of children aged 3-16 years of age, identifying delays in vocabulary development.
• DASH – Detailed Assessment of Speed of Handwriting – designed to assess five different aspects of handwriting speed in pupils aged 9 to 16 and 11 months.
• Raven’s Educational Progressive Matrices – designed to assess the general ability and cognitive function of children in the UK. Two versions available with different age ranges: 4-11 years and 7-18 years.
• Beery-Buktenica Development Test of Visual-Motor Integration Sixth Edition – screens for visual-motor, neuropsychological and behaviour problems in learners 2+ years.
• WIAT-III-UK-T – Wechsler Individual Achievement Test Third UK Edition for Teachers – UK-normed battery of five subtests to test key aspects of literacy, useful for identifying academic strengths and weaknesses of a student 4-25 years.

Please note that purchase of educational tests is often restricted by the test publishers who require the test user to hold a level 7 qualification in educational testing or a related field. If you wish to be able to access a wider range of tests (the vast majority of t the tests available on the Dyslexia Action Shop), we recommend registering to complete the value-added qualification, the Certificate of Competence in Educational Testing (CCET) alongside your apprenticeship. This will allow you to purchase additional tests using the Study Purchase Scheme whilst you are studying with us.

You can register now for this apprenticeship. The next cohort starts in January 2024. Places are limited, so please register your interest as soon as possible by completing our registration form.

Please complete this reservation form to book a place for your school in our cohort enrolling for January 2024.

Add further value to your apprenticeship and achieve Real Training’s reputable Certificate of Competence in Educational Testing (CCET) qualification in full with the Learning and Skills Assessor top-up assignment.

For just £75 (+VAT) apprentices can opt to complete the “Theories of Intelligence” essay. Upon successful completion of the full apprenticeship and this assignment, you be awarded Real Training’s CCET qualification in full, offering additional benefits:

• Access to a wider range of psychometric tests
• The opportunity to register with the BPS and join their Register of Qualified Test Users (RQTU)*
• CCET is a gateway qualification to additional professional development. If you meet the eligibility criteria, you may be interested in completing our Access Arrangements Course, gaining a postgraduate qualification on our Masters-level SEND Programme and completing further modules to gain an Assessment Practising Certificate (APC) – allowing you to be able to assess for Dyslexia. 

Please note that this is an optional upgrade.

A booking form for the Learning and Skills Assessor top-up course will be provided by Educational & Sporting Futures as part of the apprentice’s induction process. 

*Note: There is an additional fee to join the BPS RQTU. Find out more about the costs, benefits and how to apply on the BPS’s website.