FAQs

Please contact the approved centre/employer directly who will able to advise you about availability, assessment and price.

When you have completed your qualification at your approved centre/employer, they will have requested a certificate which will be sent directly to them in the first instance.

Please contact your approved centre/employer directly.

Yes, SFJ Awards offer a qualification check. Head to our Qualification Check page via Odyssey to do this. You will need your certificate number, full name and your date of birth.

Newer certificates also include a handy QR code which you can use to check the certificate’s validity.

Contact the approved centre/employer where you undertook your qualification, they can order one for you.

Please note SFJ Awards charge a fee for replacement certificates which may be passed on to you.

Some prior learning can be counted towards your SFJ Awards qualification. For more information, please see our Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) Policy. Alternatively, speak to your approved centre/employer who will also be able to advise you on this.

Your approved centre/employer will be able to advise you on this.

You may be able to  apply for an Advanced Learner Loan to help with the costs of a course at a college or training provider in England. Advanced Learner Loans are available to learners aged from 19 years for qualifications from Level 3 to Level 6 which meet the Education and Skills Funding Agency requirements.

Loan eligibility doesn’t depend on your income and there are no credit checks. You will need to check if you’re eligible before you apply for an Advanced Learner Loan.

Details of the qualifications approved for Loans are available in the Advanced Learner Loans Qualifications Catalogue.

You will need to speak to our Business Development team via [email protected]. You will be required to submit the CTR 10 – SFJ Awards Qualifications Approval Form which can be found in Odyssey.

This depends on the qualification; details can be found in the individual qualification handbook.

You can access qualification handbooks for the qualifications your centre is approved to offer via the Odyssey Online system or on our website. If you require assistance with downloading a handbook, please contact us on 0114 284 1970 or via our website contact form.

We have a centre directory where approved centres are listed, sharing their company information, website, contact details and location. Please email [email protected] to discuss being listed on our website directory.

End-Point Assessment (EPA)

For apprentices completing an End-Point Assessment, SFJ Awards will issue results in line with the timelines set out in the Service Guide for the relevant apprenticeship standard. The timelines for the release of results are usually detailed within the individuals contracts but the longest SLA is 20 working days.

Qualification examinations

For qualification examinations set by SFJ Awards:

• Online tests: Results will be issued to your Centre within 10 working days of the assessment date.
• Paper-based assessments: Results will be issued within 10 working days of SFJ Awards receiving the completed exam papers.

Centres are responsible for communicating results to their learners once they have been received.

EPAOs are approved by the Department for Education. Go to Skills England’s website to see a list of apprenticeship standards and approved EPAOs.

Skills England states that if an EPAO is approached to deliver End-Point Assessment by a training provider, they must request the details of the employer to meet with them and confirm arrangements directly with them.

This is tri-partite between the employer, the training provider and the apprentice.

We work with a range of experienced, qualified, independent end-point assessors who carry out the EPA for your apprenticeships. Supporting you through the process, and co-ordinating assessments to meet your needs, are our expert Operations Team, led by Head of Performance and Operations Laura Davison-Valente.

The engagement of the EPAO would be the main provider (or the employer if they have chosen to undertake this role). The amount of communication that we have with the employer does vary depending on the apprenticeship standard, the training provider and the employer themselves.

It is important that centre’s notify SFJ Awards immediately when changes occur by completing the CTR 11 – Centre Detail Changes Form on Odyssey.

In accordance with our Direct Claims Policy, there is no exact timescale to achieving DCS.

Centres may be granted DCS, based on the recommendation of an EQA, having demonstrated the following quality criteria (the list is not exhaustive and is intended for guidance only):

• The centre has an experienced internal quality assurer.
• The centre has had two successful consecutive monitoring EQA events for the qualification DCS is being sought.
• The centre’s internal quality assurance policy is being effectively implemented and covers all aspects of internal quality assurance.
• The centre’s standardisation activity is satisfactory.
• The centre has no sanctions above Level 1* and no unaddressed action plans relating to both successful monitoring EQA events.
• The centre has ‘low risk’ status as identified within the centre’s ongoing compliance report, based on SFJ Awards’ centre approval and centre agreement criteria.

Please use this a form to request feedback on assessments after results are issued.

When fire and rescue service personnel are identified as candidates for promotion, they are placed on a specific development programme that is written in accordance with the National Occupational Standards (NOS) and IPDS development modules. This ensures the employee can operate at the right level for the role in question. The employee remains at his or her current level until they successfully pass their development programme and become operational in their new role.

In order to link these development programmes to a development rate of pay (in accordance with NJC circular 09/05), the development programme and the assessment of competence has to be externally quality assured against the Code of Practice for Assessment of Competence in Relation to Pay. This quality assurance process must be carried out by an awarding organisation recognised by Ofqual, such as SFJ Awards (this being the replacement for the organisation that complies with DFES specifications as noted in the NJC circular 09/05 and 09/11).

Our extensive experience of working with the fire and rescue sector means we can provide an external quality assurance service in accordance with the Code of Practice for Assessment of Competence in Relation to Pay.

Our quality assurance framework has been developed in consultation with the Fire and Rescue Services and the Fire Brigades Union (FBU).

It comprises of the following stages, which are all managed by the SFJ Awards team:

• Stage 1: Self-assessment
• Stage 2: Desktop review
• Stage 3: On-site visit
• Stage 4: Summary report
• Stage 5: Annual review

Investing in an FRS QA framework reaps many rewards for fire services across the UK. It is of particular interest to services in light of the “Facing the Future” report from Sir Ken Knight, and the need to reduce costs across forces in the UK. Click here for the report.

Other benefits include:

• Independent verification that is recognised by trade unions
• Extremely competitive pricing
• Enables huge cost-savings across a service
• Provides a stepped approach to promotion
• Helps services with progression planning
• SFJ Awards has expert knowledge of the sector

If you are a fire service looking for a reputable and fit-for-purpose FRS QA framework, then get in touch with us today. For more information or a call back to discuss your requirements please contact us.

Why not learn from some that are already using our FRS QA? See how Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue have made it a huge success.