Dear Learners,
As you are aware from the updates that we have sent you, your welfare and enabling you to achieve your NCFE CACHE qualification in this strange time is our paramount concern. We are aware that for many students, both from our centre and others, not finishing their qualification in the time scale expected has had a real impact on them. We are proud to say that usually over 90% of our cohorts achieve their qualification with us in the time expected, so we are very concerned the effect that delaying completion has, when it is all out of our control.
To this end we have been talking to the NCFE CACHE team since the pandemic started, working with them to find ways to assess your practical skills outcomes that we would usually be able to see when we observed you in practice. Your NCFE CACHE early years qualification is regarded as the industry leader in quality as it assesses both your knowledge and your practical skills. This ensures that every learner who passes achieves competence to teach. We know that the practical element is an essential part of the qualification if learners are able to prove they can provide the young children in their care with the best teaching and learning environment.
Obviously due to the ongoing restrictions we have been unable to assess learners in the usual way and we have raised our concerns that learners are thus not able to achieve the skills outcomes that are an essential part of the qualification and therefore learners are not able to finish their qualification. In our numerous meetings and emails with NCFE CACHE over the past 7 months, they have shown to be very aware of the impact of these restrictions as they do not just effect all learners in the UAE but also across many other parts of the world, including the UK. To this end NCFE CACHE have been working with others in the UK industry, including the UK regulatory body OFQUAL who oversee and license all the UK qualifications, to try to find solutions to this dilemma. OFQUAL have the final say on any changes to assessment arrangement to ensure that all UK Awarding Bodies uphold the UK standards, and of course NCFE/CACHE have to follow the industry standards too.
‘Where we need to flex our approach to meet industry sector requirements, we will look to do so – whilst ensuring that we continue to work within the parameters of Ofqual’s Extended Extraordinary Regulatory Framework (EERF) and other regulatory requirements.’ NCFE/ Cache 23/10/20
To this end NCFE CACHE published their NCFE Covid Risk Mitigation Assessment adaptation blueprint on Friday 23rd October and their NCFE guide to designing and creating learner portfolios of evidence for assessment which outlines a way forward. We will be discussing this with them in more detail and have a meeting with our EQA on Monday 26th October to discuss further how we can support our learners.
We are really pleased that, as the first and largest NCFE CACHE centre in Dubai, NCFE CACHE have taken our concerns seriously and worked hard to find a solution for all learners in the UAE, not just the learners in our centre. We will continue to work closely with NCFE CACHE and update all our learners as soon as possible on the way forward at this difficult time.
We will send all learners a further update later this week once we have spoken to our EQA and have put a plan in place to support you to complete your qualifications with us.
If you do have any questions regarding the above information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sarah Rogers.
