Are you ready to become a Recognised Centre?

If you don’t already work with us and have found a qualification that you wish to deliver, then you will need to follow an approval process which we call Centre Recognition. In the sections below we have provided some information that you may find useful when considering whether this approval is right for you.

If you have a general enquiry, please use the Contact Us form or if you are already a Recognised Centre and wish to apply for additional qualifications, please complete a Qualification approval application.

Before you start the centre recognition process, please ensure you have read our Centre Recognition Policy and are ready to provide the following information (more information on each item is provided below):

  • Your permanent address in England or Wales
  • Details of the qualification(s) you wish to deliver
  • An estimate of the numbers of learners you plan to recruit to each qualification
  • Your company number or charity number
  • Evidence of your experience in delivering post-16 education or training
  • Details of qualifications and experience of your tutors/assessors
  • Appropriately qualified Internal Quality Assurers
  • Appropriate arrangements, policies and procedures

If you have all the above details, you are ready to begin the application process.

Start the Centre Recognition Application process

Please note, on approval, you will be required to accept the Gateway Qualifications’ Centre Agreement. The Centre Agreement, a regulatory requirement, is a written and enforceable agreement between Gateway Qualifications and a Recognised Centre. The Agreement includes provisions which require the Centre to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the awarding organisation is able to maintain regulatory compliance.

Delivery of any qualification, including Access to HE Diplomas, must not commence until written approval has been granted and the Centre Agreement Terms and Conditions have been accepted.

More detail to help you prepare

We have provided a little more information below to help ensure you’re ready to start the process. If you need to discuss anything further, please call us on 01206 911 211.

Getting ready for centre recognition
Are you are based in England or Wales?

Currently we can only work with organisations that have a permanent base in England or Wales. This base must be responsible for all quality assurance arrangements.

If you deliver internationally then, as well as having a base in England or Wales, we also require further details about how you intend to deliver these qualifications.

  • In which countries do you expect to deliver the qualifications?
  • Are you an existing approved qualification delivery centre of an awarding organisation? If so with which awarding organisation and in what subject and level?
  • How do you intend to deliver the qualifications? Will this be face to face traditional classroom delivery or on-line distance learning?
  • What are your quality arrangements for qualification delivery?
Do you know which qualifications you wish to offer?

We have a wide range of qualifications for you to choose from and you can search for qualifications based on level and sector. If you decide to seek approval, then you will need to specify qualifications as part of your application.

If you wish to deliver the Access to HE Diploma then you may find this article useful to read. You can also check out our Access to HE Centre page.

Do you want to offer Access to HE?

Deciding to start your Access to HE provision to a new AVA can be nerve-wracking, but our streamlined approach makes the process as simple as possible without compromising validity.

You will be given a named account manager, and our dedicated Access to HE team will be with you every step of the way to get you up and running as quickly and smoothly as possible.

Check out our page to help you become an Access to HE Centre with us.

Do you know how many learners you have?

We typically find that if you are going to deliver the qualification to fewer than 20 learners then it may not be cost-effective for you to become a Recognised Centre in your own right. You may wish to find an organisation to partner with. The National Careers Service website can help when looking for training providers.

You may also wish to consider:

  • What are your plans for recruiting learners?
  • Do you have funding in place?
Do you know your company number or charity number?

We will need this in order to perform a credit check on all enquiries prior to the application stage.

Do you have experience delivering post-16 education?

Qualification delivery is regulated and recognised centres are required to comply with the requirements of the relevant regulator. Since our qualifications are designed with the needs of post-16 learners and adults in mind, as part of our recognition process, we will want to see evidence of your experience of the delivery of post-16 education, and the outcomes of any inspection under the Ofsted Education Inspection Framework for Further Education and Skills Providers.

Do you have appropriate staff in place, and can you supply details of their qualifications and experience?

You will need both a Tutor/Assessor and an Internal Quality Assurer (IQA). Please note that these must be different people as IQAs cannot quality assure their own work.

Tutors/Assessors are responsible for:

  • Delivering the underpinning knowledge and skills required for learners to successfully complete assessments for the qualifications they are delivering
  • Identifying when learners are ready to take assessments
  • Ensuring that appropriate supervision arrangements are made
  • Marking assessment tasks (where applicable)
  • Maintaining accurate and verifiable learner records.

Internal Quality Assurers are responsible for ensuring that:

  • Assessment setting and marking is appropriate, consistent, fair and transparent and does not discriminate against any learner
  • Tutor/Assessors receive on-going advice and support, for example in contextualising assessments
  • Learners clearly understand assessment requirements and are given opportunities to achieve against the assessment criteria
  • Learners’ work is presented in a manner that enables effective internal and external quality assurance to take place
  • Evidence of learner achievement is clearly mapped to the assessment criteria
  • Certification claims are valid, reliable and consistent.

IQAs will need to hold a recognised internal quality assurance/verification qualification or be working towards one, examples as follows:

  • D34 qualification
  • V1 qualification
  • Internal Verifier Award
  • Internal Verification of Credit-Based Learning: Continuing Professional Development for Practitioners Award
  • Level 4 Award in the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice.

You must provide staffing details including name, evidence of experience and qualifications such as a CV, and certifications as part of the qualification approval process for all levels.

Do you have the appropriate arrangements, policies and procedures in place?

You will need to have the following arrangements, policies and procedures in place. We will ask to see evidence of these during the approval process and at the annual compliance visit.

  • Complaints policy and/or process which learners can access
  • Conflict of interest policy
  • Equality and Diversity policy
  • Health and Safety policy
  • Internal quality assurance procedures
  • Learner appeals procedure/policy
  • Malpractice and maladministration policy and procedure
  • Organisation structure
  • Reasonable adjustments and special considerations policy
  • Safeguarding and SEND policies
  • Whistleblowing policy

What happens next?

If you have all the above details, you are ready to begin the application process by completing the short form on the website.

We will assign a member of the Business Development team to you who will provide support during the centre recognition process and on-going curriculum and development support.

Before Centre Recognition can be completed you will be visited by one of our External Quality Assurers (EQAs) at a time that is convenient to all.

An Annual Centre Fee is charged on approval and at the beginning of each academic year.

Start the Centre Recognition Application process