Resource Library
PQASSO – Practical Quality Assurance for System for Small Organisations
PQASSO is a self-assessment quality assurance process, specifically designed and suited to the Voluntary Sector. It covers 12 quality areas, helping staff and management committees identify what the organisation is doing well and any areas that need to be improved.
Clear guidance is available in a work book format to understand what evidence is needed across each area in order to demonstrate achievement of the standard.
Research has shown that organisations using PQASSO can gain the following benefits:
- more effective and more efficient organisational systems and procedures
- better quality of services for users
- better communication among staff, trustees and volunteers
- increased motivation for staff, trustees and volunteers
- greater credibility and legitimacy with funders
- more creative thinking, enabling new perspectives and ways of working
- organisational learning
- continuous improvement over time.
Further information can be found on the Charities Evaluation Service website www.ces-vol.org
Please see attached further information regarding PQASSO.
DLDC currently has a project to support rural organisations to achieve PQASSO. There are a few places still available and successful organisations will receive 10 hours support from a trained PQASSO mentor. Those applying will need to be able to achieve the standard by September 2010.
All enquiries should be made in the first instance to Julie Lewis on 01332 265960
Quality First
Quality First is a simple, free tool that uses a workbook to run through nine quality areas that can help an organisation improve its performance. It is aimed at small organisations that are run solely by volunteers, though may be used by organisations with one or two paid staff. The nine areas are:
- Stating our purpose
- Our standards and values
- Managing it all
- Involving our community
- Working together as volunteers
- Equality and fairness
- Reviewing our work
- Financial management
- Communicating effectively
Each area has two levels:
Level 1 – the basic standards that even the smallest organisation should address
Level 2 – for organisations that have met Level 1 standards and have done so for at least a year
CVSs that hold PQASSO at Level 2 or 3 may feel they can offer support to groups in their area to achieve Quality First. DLDC currently has some funding for rural organisations to achieve a quality standard – contact Julie Lewis for further information on 01332 265960 or by emailing julie.lewis@consortium.org.uk
Recognising and Recording Progress and Achievement (RARPA)
Background
RARPA originated as an approach to assure the quality of provision while focusing on learner achievement. The bulk of this provision is in the adult and community learning sector and is that which predominantly does not lead to nationally recognised qualifications or external accreditation.
RARPA was piloted extensively from 2003 and since September 2005, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) require all the non-accredited programmes it funds to implement and evidence the RARPA process.
What is RARPA?
The idea is the application of a simple, five-stage process during the learning programme to ensure a high-quality learning experience and to maximise learner success.
Each of the five stages can be cross referenced to one or more key questions in the Common Inspection Framework (CIF) and are inter related and not separate.
What are the 5 stages?
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Aim(s) of the programme or award, appropriate to an individual learner or groups of learners.
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Initial assessment to establish the learner’s starting point
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Learning outcomes
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Review of progress
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Recognising achievement
What support is there to implement RARPA?
Further information can be found on the NIACE website www.niace.org.uk
NIACE have delivered training sessions on implementing RARPA.
A selection of on-line resources can also be found here
http://www.lsneducation.org.uk/research/centres/rcfteachlearncurricqual/rarpa.aspx
DLDC can offer training if sufficient numbers of people express an interest. Contact Hilary Slater to be put on a waiting list or provide us with feedback at one of the Tutor Development Seminars.
DLDC embeds the RARPA process in all its own delivery programmes, so those attending any of our teacher training courses or Open College Network sessions, will experience it first hand.
Did you know that a "typical" editorial in The Sun has a (SMOG) readability level of under 14, The Daily Express is under 16 but The Telegraph and The Guardian both score over 17?
How can you be confident that you are writing at a level that is appropriate for your audience? We have been working with Professor Colin Harrison at Nottingham University to develop a new tool, which is now on the NIACE website that will help you to establish the "readability level" of any text instantly. There is also a downloadable leaflet which will help you to interpret the readability score given, and provide more information about how to present text so that it is easier to read.
You can find both the readability calculator and the leaflet here: Readability
