All organisations wishing to offer OCN provision are subject to a process of Centre Recognition which considers the quality assurance arrangements, resources and general functioning of an organisation. This process enables the OCN to make a decision as to whether the organisation is able to deliver OCN provision to the standard required and which curriculum areas they are able to deliver.
The Centre Recognition application requires the provider to agree that they will comply with a set of terms set as NOCN minimum requirements. In addition, the regional OCN will conduct an assessment to ascertain where weaknesses may occur and work with the provider to improve their systems and practice through a Continuous Improvement Plan. Organisations wishing to become providers will receive help and guidance on the requirements for NOCN Centre Recognition as well as advice on how they might meet the requirements
The Centre Recognition Application and Approval Process
- Initial enquiry
- Discussion with OCN, is it for us?
- Decide to proceed
- Begin application Process
- Meet with Curiculum Development Manager (CDM)
- Discuss Quality Assurance issues and requirements, resources etc
- Gather information to support compliance with requirements
- Identify issues that need to be addressed
- Discuss curriculum needs and develop outline curriculum plan
- Complete application form
- Submit to OCN
- Quality Reviewer visits
- Application considered
- Centre notified of recognition - may have conditions attached**
- Centre submits course notifications
- Courses approved
- Register learners on approved courses
- Deliver course
- Assess learners
- Internally verified by centre
- Complete Recommendation for the Award of Credit (RAC)
- Countersigned by external or Approved verifier
- Submitted to OCNEMR
- Certificates printed, sent to centre for distribution to learners
**A Quality Reviewer will visit the centre at some point before centre recognition to review the quality assurance arrangements and compliance with the centre recognition. The Quality Reviewer will also authorise the award of credit for providers who do not have Approved Internal Verification Status. (Please discuss the arrangement for this with your CDM or with the Quality Reviewer or contact OCNEMR direct)
When you have read all the following information and you decide to apply for Centre Recognition you will need to discuss your application with a Curriculum Development Manger from OCNEMR. At this stage you will be given advice about what the requirements will be for recognition, and from that your CDM may advise what you will need to do in order to prepare for the application, but they may also advise that your organisation is not yet ready to submit an application. This may be for a variety of reasons; commonly it is because organisations do not have the resources or organisational structure to meet the requirements for centre recognition. In some instances the CDM may be able to refer the organisation to a larger organisation that may be able to offer assistance in the form of franchise or consortium arrangements.
If the CDM thinks it is appropriate for you to proceed then you will be asked to complete a Centre Recognition Application. This asks for specific information about the centre and its organisation. The application asks for named contacts for specific areas of responsibility including, Finance, Administration and Quality. It asks the centre to confirm its ability to comply with a list of requirements along with an affirmation that it has in place certain listed policies and procedures.
The application needs to be signed by a senior member of the organisation who has the authority to commit the promised resources needed for compliance and acknowledges that this is an agreement and undertaking to comply with the statements contained within the application.
The CDM will, during their discussions, identify areas where they feel there are weaknesses in the ability to comply. They will also highlight areas of good practice. This information is fed back in the form of a Risk Assessment report that will be considered alongside the Centre Recognition application.
The outcome of the Centre Recognition application will depend on the centre’s ability to comply with the requirements and the OCN’s estimation of the risk to the security of the award of credit. A new provider with no experience of credit based accreditation is likelyt to carry a high risk factor and some conditions of the recognition will be made. Sometimes depending on the seriousness these conditions may need to be met before the centre is able to deliver accredited provision or they will need to make changes as part of a continuous improvement plan, that all providers will be given.
As part of the discussions with the CDM the centre will consider what their curriculum offer is likely to be. An outline of the curriculum areas and the likely offer needs to be documented at the same time as the Centre Recognition application, as this forms part of the process of deciding the ability of the centre to support the provision. This is called a Curriculum Plan and does not have to detail individual units that the centre is intending to provide at this stage. However, before learner registrations can be made, individual courses need to be devised, approved by the centre’s own course approval process as agreed at Centre Recognition, and then submitted to OCNEMR for approval. A course is a programme of study made up of a collection of units designed for a particular purpose or group of learners. It can contain any combination of local units, qualification units, and full qualifications.
In preparation for Centre Recognition it is recommended that centres collate an OCN folder that contains information and documentation relating to their compliance to the requirements both for audit purposes and for their own reference. A list of recommended contents is available to download. After successful Centre Recognition, a Quality Reviewer will be assigned to the centre by the OCN. Their role is to ensure continued compliance and continuous improvement in standards. This folder is an excellent focus for them to begin that process.
After a successful Centre Recognition application, the centre will receive notification and details of any conditions that need to be fulfilled; they will also be notified of the name of their assigned Quality Reviewer, who will be in touch to arrange their first visit. The centre will also receive guidance on registration processes etc.
After an initial discussion with the OCN you will need to consider the following questions before proceeding further.
Why do we want OCN accreditation? Is it for us?
Can we afford it? (charges page)
Can we comply? (guidance for Centres, application form)
What courses do we want to offer and at what level, and can the OCN accredit them? (list of qualifications )
Can we identify appropriate people in the organisation for the various roles needed?
Can we gather policies and procedures together or develop new ones? (sample documents)
Are we clear about what curriculum we want to offer?
After considering these questions and you thinking you may wish to proceed, please contact us to arrange a Curriculum Development Manager to discuss your application.
01332 861999
email ocnemr@ocnemr.org.uk
As part of the application process centres are required to complete a centre application. A draft copy is available for download and information. Please click on the link to download a copy. Please do not complete this form without first contacting the OCN and discussing your application with us. As part of the application it is necessary for a centre to be able to comply with a set level of requirements. These are detailed in the document, Guidance for Centres, please click on the link to open and/or save the document for future reference.
Draft Application Form (for information only)
OCNEMR recommends that, in preparation for Centre Recognition and subsequent Quality Review visits, a file is prepared to collect together documentary evidence and supporting information. This serves the purpose of facilitating the Quality review process but also helps the centre bring together and focus attention on key requirements as well as being an ongoing source of pertinent information for the delivery of OCN provision.
The OCN has some sample policies and procedures to help new providers develop their own to suit their needs whilst maintaining basic standards.
The following is a list of documents that will prove useful. The first section refers to documents that support the application process and the second that helps support ongoing delivery and continuous improvement. The second section is by no means definitive and each centre may wish to add their own documentation.
Documents recommended for initial Centre Recognition
- Centre Recognition Application (copy of)
- Internal Verification process and procedure:
How it will be done, who will do it and the forms etc that support it - Staffing Structure of the organisation
identifying the place in the structure of those with designated OCN responsibilities as detailed in the Centre Recognition application - Course approval process
How a new course is put together and how it is agreed - Equal Opportunities
- Fair Assessment policy
- Complaints and Appeals policy and procedure
- Public liability certificate (copy of)
- CVs of current staff engaged in OCN delivery, to illustrate appropriate qualification and/or experience
- Malpractice Policy
- Disability Discrimination Policy
Documents recommended to support ongoing OCN delivery
- Copies of Course Notification forms submitted to OCN
- Unit lists provided by OCN as a result of course notification applications
- Administrative Procedures from OCN and any additional in centre processes that complement them
- Centre Recognition Report
- Quality Review Reports
- Action plans for continuous improvement from OCN and responses by centre
- Internal Verification Reports and outcomes and actions
- OCN Correspondence
