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Quality Assurance

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REC QA is risk and intelligence based together with routine monitoring of trainers and courses.
REC QA starts with a robust process of trainer training and development before “sign of” to deliver courses, which is intended to ensure that all trainers can be considered “low risk” at the point that they start to deliver courses independently.
This document updates and reinforces REC QA, including regard to the current (and likely to continue) pandemic conditions.

Initial development - route to becoming a REC trainer

  1. Have experience of the two day, 16 hour, outdoor first aid course.
  2. Have appropriate outdoor experience relevant to courses to be delivered. (Note 1)
  3. Have current FAW. (See note 2)
  4. Attend REC trainer course (4 day, 2 day “fast track” or “Mentoring Scheme” as appropriate).
  5. Attend “Advanced” course (REC, or other). (See note 3)
  6. Observe course delivery (and contribute under supervision) (Note 12)
  7. Develop own scheme of work, session plans and materials for two day (16 hour) outdoor FA.
  8. Submit materials to REC office, with request for final assessment.
  9. REC office to approve materials, and final assessment.
  10. Have, (or complete with “sign off” assessment) teaching or training qualification ( Note s 5, 6)
  11. Have, (or complete with “sign off” assessment) assessor qualification (Note 7)
  12. Assessor must be appointed, and assessment a ctivity approved by REC office.
  13. Assessment carried out, assessment report to REC.
  14. Trainer to send current FAW, teaching qualification and assessing qualification to REC office (“sign off” and access to website will not be processed until these are received).
  15. REC office approves trainer “sign off”, gives access to trainer section of REC website.
  16. Trainer to upload scheme of work, session plans and materials for one and two day courses to
    individual trainers “documents” section of REC website.

At this point trainer will be able to register (and advertise) one and two day courses (including EFAW) through REC website.
New trainer/assessors will not be “signed of” unless considered “low risk”.

Additional Courses

Approval to deliver additional courses will require:

  1. Satisfactory monitoring of existing course delivery.
  2. Appropriate qualification and / or experience for course(s) trainer seeks approval for.
  3. Observe / assist on same course(s) delivered by existing REC trainers. (For new courses, trainer will submit proposal with justification for course development).
  4. Develop own scheme of work, session plans and materials.
  5. Trainer to upload scheme of work, session plans and materials to personal “documents” on website, and submit r equest for approval to REC office.
  6. REC office to approve materials, and confirm nature of final assessment (if required).
  7. Assessor must be app ointed and assessment activity approved by REC office.
  8. Assessment carried out, assessment report to REC
  9. REC office approves “sign off” for additional course(s).

Routine monitoring

  1. All courses require evaluations to be entered on website before certification. “Low” evaluations will trigger a follow up response from REC.
  2. Trainers will keep adequate assessment records for all courses. To be produced on request.
  3. All trainers will complete five days CPD in three years. To be uploaded to individual trainers “documents” on REC website (See note
  4. Annual trainer monitoring will take place face to face or via video (see Note 9)
  5. Trainers attendance at (and contribution to) REC trainer days, and online standardisation meetings will be noted (see note 10).
  6. REC trainers will normally be expected to deliver at least 3 courses per year. Not doing so may attract greater scrutiny (depending on circumstance) at REC discretion.

Intelligence based monitoring

REC will seek and monitor other sources of information relating to trainer performance. In particular (but not limited to):

  1. Social Media (facebook etc.).
  2. Trainer websites.
  3. Complaint & comment from course participants.
  4. Complaint & comment from other REC trainers.
  5. Complaint & comment from any other source.

REC response to concerns

  1. All concerns related to quality of assessment or delivery will be followed up.
  2. Concerns will be discussed with trainer before further action.
  3. REC may require face-face monitoring visit by an appropriately qualified IQA in response to concerns. This will be charged.
  4. Depending on nature of concerns REC trainer status may be immediately suspended.
  5. REC will seek a developmental response to resolve concerns (See note 11)
  6. At REC discretion, trainers may require re-training and / or re assessment. This will be at trainer’s expense.
  7. In extreme cases REC trainer status may be withdrawn.

Notes

Note 1: “Appropriate outdoor competence” may include, but is not restricted to, NGB qualification or MRT / RNLI member, each prospective trainer will be individually assessed.

Note 2: FAW Is required from all new trainers (including those, such as Doctors, Nurses and Paramedics, that are exempt from FAW by HSE). Equivalent or higher qualifications will be an acceptable alternative for “renewals”.

Note 3: “Advanced” course May be REC course or alternative. Intent is simply for trainers to have had training above level of delivery.

Note 4: This course will assume that you have a level of first aid competence, knowledge and experience equivalent to (at least) FAW it is a trainer course, not a first aid course.

Note 5: Teaching or training qualification at (minimum) SCQF level 6 (Scotland), NQF / QCF level 3 (England, Wales, Northern Ireland), or NFQI level 5 (Eire). (e.g. Level 3 Award in Education & Training, SQA “Planning and Delivering Learning Sessions to Groups)

Note 6: Appropriate teaching or training qualification is required to be completed before final “sign off”.

Note 7: Appropriate assessing qualification is to be completed before final “sign off”. (e.g. D32/33, A1, L&D9DI, SQA “Conduct the Assessment

Note 8: CPD - REC trainers will have an obligation to complete five days CPD every three years. This will include two days FAW requal (or equivalent), plus at least one day relating to teaching / training skills.
Remaining CPD may consist of any relevant courses, or self directed reading or research (Teaching / training / assessing / IQA / EQA, HSE, First Aid, Medical, Safety, Rescue, etc. related)
Acceptable CPD will include appropriate self directed reading, as long as a “CPD reading” record is completed that include s full reference and reflection one hour CPD will be allowed for each article, six hours to count as one day CPD.
Where applicable, standardisation meetings and “QA” meetings will be counted towards CPD.
CPD records will be updated on to trainers “document” section of REC website.

Note 9: Annual monitoring - “Default” for annual monitoring will be for trainers to provide video of (minimum) 30 minutes session delivery that includes both trainer presentation and student activity. (Student consent should be obtained, or faces “blurred” on video. Video will be replaced each year, and previous year deleted). This to be uploaded to individual trainer’s “documents” on REC website. Remote “live” monitoring or monitoring visits will be an alternative.
With prior approval from REC, an observed monitoring report may also be completed by an appropriately qualified IQA.
REC may accept documented trainer monitoring from other appropriate organisations. This must be agreed in advance.
If monitoring is unsatisfactory, trainer will receive an action plan, which may include suspension as a trainer until re assessed, or a requirement for a monitoring visit (which will be charged for).

Note 10: Trainer days & standardisation meetings REC will seek to arrange a minimum of 3 trainer CPD days each year. If this is restricted by situations such as ongoing pandemic, REC will consider on line trainer days. This is a likely possibility for some time into the future.

Note 11: Developmental approach to concerns :- Default approach to concerns will be to provide the trainer with an action plan.
Depending on circumstance, this may or may not include temporary suspension of trainer status, requirement for future monitoring, requirem ents for training, or requirement for re assessment.
Revocation of REC trainer status will be a last resort.

Note 12: Observation (and supervised delivery), recommend that at least 3 different REC trainers are observed.