Awarding Organisations, Centre Agreements and the Role of the IQA

Every Internal Quality Assurer (IQA) must understand how awarding organisations operate, what they expect from approved centres, and how centre agreements directly influence the delivery of training and assessment.

This knowledge forms the foundation of effective internal quality assurance and ongoing compliance.

The Role of Awarding Organisations

Awarding organisations are responsible for:

• Developing regulated qualifications
• Setting assessment strategies
• Approving centres to deliver qualifications

They act as the guardians of standards that centres must follow to maintain qualification integrity.

Centre Approval and Formal Agreements

Once approved, a centre enters into a formal agreement with the awarding organisation. This agreement outlines:

• How assessments must be conducted
• What quality assurance systems must be in place
• The standards that must be maintained at all times

These agreements typically include requirements relating to:

• Assessor and IQA qualifications
• Sampling strategies
• Record keeping and audit trails
• Data protection compliance
• Adherence to regulatory frameworks such as Ofqual and the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF)

Monitoring and External Quality Assurance

Awarding organisations carry out regular monitoring activities, which may include:

• Remote compliance checks
• Sampling of learner work
• External Quality Assurance (EQA) visits

During these activities, centres may be required to provide:

• Assessment records
• IQA reports
• Sampling plans
• Standardisation meeting evidence
• Records of quality improvement actions

These checks confirm that the centre is meeting its obligations and maintaining required standards.

The IQA’s Responsibility for Compliance

As an IQA, you must be fully familiar with awarding organisation requirements. Your responsibilities include ensuring that:

• Assessors operate within agreed rules and assessment strategies
• Assessment decisions meet required standards
• The centre remains compliant at all times

A key part of the role is ensuring documentation is accurate, complete and audit-ready.

Essential Documentation May Include:

• Assessment plans
• Learner evidence
• Assessor qualification records
• Standardisation records
• Sampling plans
• Observation records
• Communication logs with assessors

If documentation is incomplete or unclear, it is the IQA’s responsibility to resolve this before monitoring takes place.

Consequences of Non-Compliance

Failure to meet awarding organisation requirements can lead to serious consequences, including:

• Increased monitoring
• Restrictions on qualification delivery
• Suspension or removal of centre approval

Such actions can affect learners, staff and the centre’s professional reputation.

Effective IQA protects standards and prevents these risks.

The Importance of Communication

Centre agreements require clear and ongoing communication with the awarding organisation. Centres must inform them of:

• Staffing changes
• Assessment concerns
• Potential risks to quality
• Operational updates that affect delivery

The IQA plays a central role in ensuring communication is timely, accurate and transparent.

Conclusion

Understanding awarding organisation expectations and centre agreements is essential for any IQA. Internal Quality Assurance is not just about sampling work — it is about maintaining compliance, protecting standards and ensuring learners receive qualifications that are credible, fair and robust.