Policies

Appeals Policy BSLCOURSES.CO.UK (a Signature-approved Centre) aim to treat every candidate fairly, using reliable assessment methods and high- quality, trained assessors. However, if you disagree with a decision we have made, you can request an appeal against that decision. If you want BSLCOURSES.CO.UK to have another look at your result, you must contact us as soon as possible after you receive your result. If your assessment was in BSL, BSLCOURSES.CO.UK will have a copy of the assessment clip(s). Your tutor will be able to look at your assessment again, and advise you whether an appeal might be worthwhile. If your assessment was carried out by staff at BSLCOURSES.CO.UK (internal assessment), you must go through our appeals processes first. What happens to appeals? We may ask for one of these procedures: A clerical check to make sure you have been given the correct result: we double-check that the correct mark has been entered into our database, and that no other handling error has been made; A re-mark: we arrange for a senior assessor to mark your work. This will not be the assessor who initially marked it. A re-mark can either confirm the original mark as a fail, or change it to a pass. If your result changes from fail to pass, we will issue a new result slip and send you a certificate. If your result is still fail we simply inform you that the original result stands. Cost of appeals We charge a fee for appeals, because they involve quite a lot of work for us. However, if your result changes from fail to pass after an appeal, we refund the fee.

 Further appeals If you are still unhappy with your result after the re-mark, you can ask BSLCOURSES.CO.UK to take the matter further. This doesnt happen very often, but we do have procedures for dealing with these cases. Complaints Policy BSLCOURSES.CO.UK endeavours to develop and sustain good practice in all areas of its work, including administration, assessment and verification, and registration. Where a problem occurs, BSLCOURSES.CO.UK has standard procedures for dealing with complaints, investigation requests and appeals from candidates and other customers. All such contacts with BSLCOURSES.CO.UK will be recorded, monitored, evaluated, and details of the outcomes will be published. Complaints about the conduct of examinations must be made BEFORE the results are issued. Dealing with Complaints BSLCOURSES.CO.UK will: publish details of the names and address(es) of who to contact in the event of a complaint being necessary; where possible deal with minor problems immediately, where these can be rectified on the spot. Where this is not possible, we will request that the complaint is put in writing or video letter, and we will tell the customer to whom the complaint will be referred; acknowledge all written/video letter complaints immediately, and within 28 working days either provide a resolution or an outline of proposed action to seek a resolution, and the name of the person dealing with the complaint; resolve every complaint within deadlines set in this response, unless particular circumstances require a lengthier response time; keep the customer informed of the progress of the complaint, and reasons for any delay in resolving it;

 refer the complaint to a Co-director for review, in the event of the customer not being satisfied with the response; refer the complaint to an independent reviewer, in the event of the customer not being satisfied with one of the Co-directors response; keep a record of complaints and develop procedures for corrective action to prevent repetition; monitor performance in improving procedures, against complaints received, and make available the results of such monitoring. All enquiries on any of the above matters should be addressed to: BSLCOURSES.CO.UK, PO Box 825, Bognor Regis, West Sussex, PO21 9GB. Alternatively, enquiries can be made to info@bslcourses.co.uk Customer Service Statement is committed to providing customers with a quality of service that is: open and informative; prompt and efficient; consultative and responsive; cost-effective. Information about policies and each Signature (formally known as CACDP) qualification is available on our website. Alternatively, enquiries can be made to info@bslcourses.co.uk

Data Protection Policy This document explains your rights, as a customer of BSLCOURSES.CO.UK, under the Data Protection Act 1998.

 It explains why we require your personal data, and what you can expect from us in terms of our Data Protection responsibilities. BSLCOURSES.CO.UK Data Protection Statement BSLCOURSES.CO.UK is fully committed to compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998. The following principles will apply when we handle your personal information: Your personal information is only processed with your knowledge; Only information that we actually need is collected and processed; Your personal information is only seen by those who need it to do their jobs; Personal information is retained only for as long as it is required; Decisions affecting you are made on the basis of reliable and up to date information; Your information is protected from unauthorised or accidental disclosure; We will provide you with a copy of your personal information on request; Inaccurate or misleading data will be corrected as soon as possible; Procedures are in place for dealing promptly with any disputes; These principles apply whether we hold your information on paper or in electronic form. Information about BSLCOURSES.CO.UK policies and each Signature (formally known as CACDP) qualification is available on our website. Equal Opportunities Policy BSLCOURSES.CO.UK will at all times encourage and promote policies and practices which ensure equality of opportunity for its staff, its members and the consumers of its services irrespective of ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, religion and disability. The main aim of this policy is to ensure that no job applicant, or employee, or customer should receive less favourable treatment on any grounds not relevant to good employment practice or providing services. Further,

 BSLCOURSES.CO.UK will monitor the composition of the workforce and is committed to a programme of action to make this policy fully effective. Responsibility BSLCOURSES.CO.UKs Co-directors has a responsibility for the formulation of equal opportunities policies and procedures to support BSLCOURSES.CO.UKs overall policy and for overseeing their implementation. The Co-directors has ultimate responsibility for ensuring that BSLCOURSES.CO.UKs policy is fully implemented. The Co-directors has a specific delegated responsibility for the effective development and implementation of equal opportunities in employment. BSLCOURSES.CO.UK encourages all staff to understand and co-operate with the policy and provides training and information to ensure this happens. Implementation Appropriate procedures are being developed and introduced to ensure that all members of staff are aware of BSLCOURSES.CO.UKs policies concerning equal opportunities in employment, and services, and their responsibilities to implement them. All employees and job applicants will be asked to complete a form denoting their sex, race, ethnic origin and any disabilities. BSLCOURSES.CO.UK guarantees that this form will only be used for the purpose of monitoring the effectiveness of its equal opportunities policy only. Complaints Complaints of discrimination from job applicants must be referred to the Codirectors in the first instance who will ensure they are investigated and that the complainant receives a written response. All complaints regarding BSLCOURSES.CO.UKs assessment procedures are logged and follow set procedures. At the higher levels of assessment any candidate who disputes the assessors decision has the right of appeal. Details of complaints and appeal procedures for examinations are outlined in BSLCOURSES.CO.UKs Complaints Procedure. Positive Action The composition of the workforce and of job applicants will be monitored on a regular basis. Should inequalities become apparent, positive action will be taken to reduce the imbalance including such measures as:

 advertising jobs in ethnic publications as appropriate; encouraging under-represented groups to apply for suitable posts; making contact with disabled people via the local Job Centre; informing member organisations of under-represented groups on Advisory/Management Committees; encouraging the employment of under-represented groups by Sign Language Interpreting Agencies or Communication Support Units (CSUs); encouraging training organisations to recruit students of under-represented groups to train as interpreters and other Language Service Professionals. Review BSLCOURSES.CO.UKs policy statement on Equal Opportunities is reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that it continues to reflect current practice. Fees Policy BSLCOURSES.CO.UK will review its fee structure annually. The review will consider the likely number of candidates expected to take each assessment, along with associated costs, direct and indirect, produced from the organisations accounting records. Wherever possible, the fee will be set at such a level that it at least covers its costs, is affordable by its target candidates, and contributes towards the development of future qualifications, and associated activities. The BSLCOURSES.CO.UK website contains course fees that are known for 2010/2011. Malpractice Policy BSLCOURSES.CO.UK, as do Signature, treats any example of malpractice with the greatest seriousness, and will take action in any case where malpractice is confirmed. Examples constituting malpractice might include:

 Fraudulent claims for certification; Non-approved assessor claiming approved status; Deliberate breach of examination or other regulations. BSLCOURSES.CO.UK, a Signature-approved Centre, must report any cases of suspected malpractice to Signature immediately. Failure to do so may have implications for the issue of certificates and the future acceptance of entries from us. Signature will report all significant cases of malpractice to the Examinations Regulator (Ofqual) immediately, and all other cases upon request. Signature will investigate cases of suspected malpractice in the following manner: Evidence will be collected from persons alleging malpractice; Counter-evidence will be collected from persons denying malpractice; All evidence will be examined by Signature using processes that may have one or more stages. The process may require the involvement of any of the following: - centre Co-director(s); - Signature staff; - other interested parties. If the above procedures do not resolve the issue, an independent Appeals Panel, supplemented if necessary with a subject expert for advice only, will be asked to adjudicate. All parties involved may make representations to the panel. The decision of this panel is final; Outcome of procedure may result in: - candidate(s) work declared invalid; - centre approval withdrawn; - assessor/verifier accreditation withdrawn; - malpractice not found;

 - where appropriate, information passed to other awarding bodies/other agencies; - other appropriate outcome. Outcome of procedure recorded and where necessary reported to Ofqual. Where malpractice involves misuse of certificates, Signature will inform Ofqual and agree appropriate action.