Appeals Policy for Qualification and Assessments
Purpose
The Real Consultancy Company is committed to providing an efficient and high standard of service to all. We continuously work to achieve a high level of service by maintaining quality assurance
standards which are compliant with regulatory requirements. Our aim is to ensure that all
assessment outcomes are fair, consistent, and reliable based on the valid judgements of the assessor using the assessment strategy for the qualification in question. However, occasions may arise where
the Centre or the learner may wish to question a decision.
Policy
The Real Consultancy Company will ensure that:
• Assessments are carried out by assessors who have the appropriate qualifications,
knowledge, understanding, and skills, and the assessments are valid for the subject or
qualification in question
• Assessment evidence is authentic, solely being produced by the learner in question
• The consistency of assessments decisions covering all assessors over time
• Appeals are heard by individuals that have the appropriate competence to make decisions in
each individual case and have had no prior involvement, or a personal interest in the case.
Everyone has the right to appeal if they believe that their assessment decision, or a decision
following a malpractice or maladministration investigation is incorrect. This policy defines the stages
and procedures candidates would need to follow:
• The process learners need to follow to submit an enquiry or appeal
• The timescales for an enquiry or appeal
• How and when a learner will be notified of the outcome.
The Real Consultancy Company will accept an appeal in relation to the following:
• Appeals against results of assessment or quality assurance
• Appeals against a decision made relating to a reasonable adjustment or special
considerations application
• Appeals against a decision made relating to recognition of prior learning
• Appeals against decisions relating to any action taken against a learner or Centre following
an investigation into malpractice or maladministration
• Appeals against Centre or qualification approval decisions
The Appeals Process
Stage 1: Enquiries Regarding Assessment Decisions
If a learner wishes to question an assessment result, they should initially discuss their concerns with
their Centre tutor / assessor and follow the Centre’s appeal process. If the learner is not satisfied
with the outcome, the Centre tutor / assessor and learner should complete the appeals form which
is available to download from The Real Consultancy Company’s website. This must be submitted to
The Real Consultancy Company’s within 28 days of the final results being issued to the learner
accompanied with an administration fee of £100.
The Real Consultancy Company will acknowledge receipt of the enquiry within 5 working days; this
will be followed by the adjudication process. The Real Consultancy Company will appoint the
relevant person to act as an adjudicator who has not had any involvement with the case.
The adjudicator will consider the written submission from the course tutor / assessor and learner
and will review the procedures that were followed to reach the result decision, this may include
contacting other parties who were included within the course.
The adjudicator may instruct that a further re-mark or reassessment should take place if they
consider that the assessment procedures were not adequately followed.
The Centre tutor / assessor and learner will be notified of the adjudication outcome within a
maximum of 28 days.
Stage 2: Appeal
If the Centre tutor / assessor and learner are not satisfied with the enquiry outcome of stage 1, they
may escalate the decision to stage 2 of this process.
The Central Services Manager will convene a meeting of the Governing Group as soon as possible to further review the Appeal. The Independent Appeals Reviewer will be invited to review the
paperwork and provide their perspective.
The results of this review will be communicated to the Centre tutor / assessor and learner within 7
days of the Governing Board and Independent Appeals Reviewer meeting.
A copy of the findings of the Governing Group and Independent Reviewer findings will be logged in the individual candidate’s records.
The decision of the Governing Group and Independent Appeals Reviewer is final, and the appeal will be deemed ‘closed’. If the appeal is upheld the appeal administration fees will be reimbursed to the appellant.
If the outcome of an appeal at any stage leads to The Real Consultancy Company discovering a
failure in the assessment process an investigation shall be conducted to determine if there are any
other learners affected, and if there are any adverse effects arising from the failure. If this is the
case, The Real Consultancy Company shall promptly implement the adverse effects procedure and
take decisive action to correct the failure, or if this is not possible to reduce the impact of the failure
on any candidates
Referral to Regulatory Authority
If the candidate is not satisfied with the Governing Group decision, they may refer their complaint to the appropriate Regulatory Authority i.e., Ofqual, Complaints, 2nd floor, 1 Friargate, Station Square, Coventry, CV1 2GN. Tel: 0300 303 3344 (the phone line is open on weekdays from 09:00 to 17:00) Website: www.ofqual.gov.uk Email: complaints@ofqual.gov.uk
Monitoring and Review
Following an appeal decision that is upheld due to a failure in The Real Consultancy Company
assessment process, or notification of failure in the assessment processes of other awarding
organisations, policies and procedures shall be reviewed to ensure that the failure does not reoccur.
This policy and its procedures will be reviewed annually as part of our quality assurance
requirements to ensure it is fit for purpose, reflects the type of appeals that we may receive and
ensure the process is managed in accordance with regulatory requirements.