It can also be referred back to at any time as much of the information will be useful throughout your learning programme.

It covers:

• Your Trainer Assessor

• Training and Assessment

• Curriculum

• Progress Reviews

• Learner Scorecard

• Off-the-Job Training

• Learning Log Examples

• Gateway

• End Point Assessment (EPA)

• Maths and English

• Functional Skills

• Examinations

• Remote Invigilation of Examinations

• Examinations - What You Need to Do

• What do we expect from you?

• Producing Work / Methods of Assessment

• Health and Safety

• Equality and Diversity

• The Equality Act

• Radicalisation and Extremism

• Fundamental British Values

• Safeguarding

• eSafety

• Citizenship Calendar

• Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPaG)

• Wider Curriculum

• Support with your Mental Health

• Additional Support

• Careers Offer at Apprenticeship Start

• Careers Offer on Programme

• Progression Routes

• Vocational Progression Routes

• Ofsted Inspection

• Appeals Procedure

• Complaints Procedure

• How did we do?

Any videos used have been produced by third parties and are for reference only.

• your progress to date, measured against the Learner Scorecard

• the current percentages for actual and planned achievement.

• the current number of Off-the-Job (OTJ) hours which you have recorded and how many you should have recorded.

• your personal development.

• any additional support needs and the support you are being given for these. 

• Feedback and targets that stretch you in order to ensure you, where appropriate, are being prepared for higher level learning.

• any H&S problems or issues / H&S learning

• any Equality of Opportunity problems or issues / E&D learning

• Safeguarding (including PREVENT)

• Citizenship Calendar topic

• what you have achieved since since the last review

• employer participation by way of reporting their view of your progression on the qualification and within the workplace

• SMART targets set to be achieved by the next planned assessment date.

• the progress made against the SMART targets set at the previous assessment appointment.

• comments from you / your reflection about the progress you are making.

• Your confidence and motivation.

• Careers / Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) about your career path and how your qualification is helping you towards your careers objectives.

• final IAG within the last 2 or 3 progress reviews to prepare you for your next steps.

Before you started your apprenticeship you will have completed your Skills Analysis / Initial Assessment using the Learner Scorecard.

Whilst the Learner Scorecard is usually completed by your Trainer Assessor, you will provide input in the form of completed learning logs (see next section) to record your Off-the-job training hours.

Your Learner Scorecard contains the following:

• Initial Assessment 

• Skills Analysis - What you already know

• Training Plan - Agreement

• Programme Plan - Exactlty what needs to be delivered

• Sequencing Plan - When during your apprenticeship each part it will be delivered. This plan might be updated throughout the apprenticeship.

• Learning Log - Where you record your Off-the-Job hours (OTJ). This will also show how many OTJ hours you need to complete and if you are on target to complete your OTJ hours.

• Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours (KSBs) Reviews - Follow on KSB reviews to monitor your progression from your initial KSB review at the start of the apprenticeship.

• Contact Diary - Where your TA will record all of your interactions.

• Validation - To be signed at the start / on completion

An example Learner Scorecard is below.

• a practical assessment
• an interview
• a project
• written and/or multiple choice tests
• a presentation

• Pass
• Merit*
• Distinction

If you have achieved Maths and English previously you would be classed as "exempt".

However, even if you have achieved them previously you may need to "Work Towards" the next level of Maths and English. See section "Maths / English Working Towards" below.

The level of Maths and English required for each apprenticeship standard is set and can differ for each apprenticeship and the level of each apprenticeship.

You will have taken a diagnostic test at the recruitment stage which will accurately determine your current level of English and Maths skills. 

You may be required to attend additional classes depending on the level required for the apprenticeship standard.

• the Equal Pay Act 1970
• the Sex Discrimination Act 1975
• the Race Relations Act 1976
• the Disability Discrimination Act 1995
• the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003
• the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003
• the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006
• the Equality Act 2006, Part 2
• the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulation

• TOTUM - Student Cards / Discounts

• Your Notts Directory

• Nottingham City Transport

• Association of Apprentices

To enter the "Gateway", the apprentice must have completed and achieved the minimum requirements necessary to undertake the EPA as set out in their apprenticeship standard / assessment plan.

This includes the completion and achievement of Maths and English to the required level, unless you have achieved them previously.

Once the employer, training provider and apprentice are all in agreement that the apprentice is ready to enter the "Gateway" stage, all of the required evidence needs to be submitted by your Trainer Assessor. This includes the Gateway declaration form. 

This could be face to face, over the phone or remotely using Teams / Zoom.

This will always be a planned meeting and you will be asked to participate before it happens.

The guide attached is to help you prepare for what an Ofsted inspector might ask you about.

A Presentation

To be able to complete a presentation to your End Point Assessor, you'll need to be able to:

• Communicate effectively using both verbal and non-verbal communication.

• Put together good presentation materials such as a PowerPoint presentation and handouts.

• Manage your time, to make sure you cover all the content needed in the time allowed for your presentation.

A Practical Assessment

To be able to complete a practical assessment with your End Point Assessor, you'll need to be able to:

• Demonstrate the Skills your have learnt whilst on the apprenticeship.

• Communicate the knowledge you have learnt on your apprenticeship.

• Demonstrate the behaviours you have learnt on your apprenticeship.

• Be prepared and organised. Make sure everything is ready in the days before you start your assessment. Preparing on the morning of your assessment will be too late.

• Manage your time, to make sure you demonstrate everything required in the time allowed.

An Interview

To be able to complete an interview with your End Point Assessor, you'll need to be able to:

• Communicate effectively using both verbal and non-verbal communication.

• Listen to questions asked carefully, to make sure you are answering what you were asked.

• Manage your time, to make sure you cover all the content needed in the time allowed.

A Project

To be able to complete a project you'll need to be able to:

• Make a plan of exactly what needs to be achieved and by what date. Then you'll know at every point if you are on target for completion.

• Understand the purpose of the project and what part of the apprenticeship standard it will meet.

• Put together good presentation materials such as a PowerPoint presentation and handouts.

A Multiple Choice Exam / Test

To be able to complete an examination or test you'll need to be able to:

• Be organised. Know exactly when / where your exam is being held and be ready for it.

• Complete revision or practice tests where possible.

• Practice your exam technique, including managing your time, to make sure you answer all possible questions and don't waste time on certain questions.

If you are unsure about any of the skills needed, please speak to your Trainer Assessor for support.

Assignments can be very effective, as if your assignment is well written, it can cover multiple parts of your apprenticeship in a single piece of work.

This will be used widely by your Trainer Assessor to check your learning and understanding at each stage of your apprenticeship.

A portfolio of evidence is a collection of work demonstrating that you have attained, and can apply, the knowledge and skills identified in the relevant qualification framework. It provides an opportunity for learners to demonstrate the progress they have made and provide examples of the required competencies.

Your portfolio could include writing up reports, photos and witness statements as well as any evidence of the assessment types above being completed.

In other words, someone watching you work or complete a task and assessing what you are doing against a competency framework such as an apprenticeship standard.

Observation can be really strong evidence as it proves you can actually complete a task in reality.

Some of the most common ways in which you produce evidence are listed below.

All work produced by you will be assessed against the relevant apprenticeship standard.

Always refer to your last progress review for information about your apprenticeship.

You are responsible for meeting the objectives set in your apprenticeship.

Your Trainer Assessor will help and support you throughout the apprenticeship, but they cannot do your work for you and meet your objectives for you.

When you are set targets and objectives to achieve it is your responsibility to make sure that they are completed on time.

If you are unable to meet an objective then you need to communicate this to your Trainer Assessor in advance of your next meeting with them.

They can help you to develop and apply important skills such as communication, analytical and presentation skills. Functional Skills are assessed by completion of an examination.

At Access Training, we understand the responsibility to protect our learners as well as educate them on eSafety issues; teaching them the appropriate behaviours and critical thinking skills to enable them to remain both safe and legal when using the internet and related technologies, in and beyond the context of training.

All employees have a shared responsibility to secure any sensitive information used in their day-to-day professional duties and even staff not directly involved in data handling should be made aware of the risks and threats and how to minimise them.

To address this Access Training has an eSafety Policy in place.

Wrong! In many cases you will be expected to work towards the next level of Maths / English.

This is not an Access Training rule. It is an ESFA funding requirement and is not optional.

To prove that you are "working towards" your Maths / English you are required to sit the examination as part of your apprenticeship.

Your Trainer Assessor will discuss this with you.

For some apprentices this could be your first job after leaving education, which is a big step.

A probationary period is a period at the beginning of an employment contract which allows your employer to determine if they made the right choice in employing you. It also allows you the employee to decide if you made the right choice too.

It is expected that you receive guidance and support from your employer during this period to help you get settled in.

Typically a probationary period is set at an appropriate length to your contract. Commonly this could be between 1 to 6 months.

Usually you will have an appraisal or review with your employer at the end of your probationary period. This is where a decision will be made on whether your employment will become permanent or not.

If any set targets or objectives have not been met during your probationary period, the period can be extended to allow more time for objectives to be met or in the worst cases your employment could be terminated.

So your probationary period is critical to you remaining in employment and being able to complete your apprenticeship.

Your contract should explain all of the terms and conditions that your employer expects you to follow.

It will also contain details of your pay / wages, holiday entitlement and the duration of the contract.

Some contracts are for a fixed period of time, such as 12 or 24 months, whilst others are open ended with no fixed end date. It's important for you to know what type of contract you have.

For your apprenticeship it is a requirement for you to have a contract in place which covers the full duration of your apprenticeship.

Examinations are conducted if your apprenticeship includes English and maths.

Most apprenticeships have a formal examination session of some type.

The copying of someone else's and claiming it as your own is called Plagiarism. All work submitted must be your own work, and if you submit any work which has been copied from someone else and claimed as your own, it will be viewed as malpractice and could lead to you being exited from the apprenticeship.

This includes the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) apps such as Chat GPT.

You may choose to do this to make sure the work you are submitting is as good as it can be.

However, English and maths may still be required by your employer or to be fully qualified in your chosen vocational area.

Your English and maths requirements should have been established as part of your interview and initial assessment before the start of your apprenticeship.

You even get a certificate on completion!

There are many benefits to a workplace mentor and this Padlet can be used to help a mentor understand what is required of them.

Speak to your line managers about your workplace mentor.

A separate Padlet has been setup to help you to navigate and use SmartAssessor effectively.