TQUK Christmas and New Years Services Times 2023
As the holidays unfold, we’re communicating Training Qualifications UKs Christmas and New Year service times. Join us as we navigate through the key service times, ensuring that your seasonal engagements with us are both convenient and suit your own centre festivities.
The TQUK head office closes for Christmas at 5pm on Friday 22nd December 2023, and will reopen at 8:30am on Tuesday 2nd January 2024.
In this article, you will find key dates for the following:
· end-point assessment (EPA)
· external quality assurance (EQA)
· appeals
· certifications
· manuals and assessment records.
End-Point Assessment
With the below EPA dates in mind, the EPA team will not be available to access their emails during this period, and our business-as-usual processes will not be in operation.
Some worked examples of how the Christmas closure may alter our SLAs can be viewed below.
Gateway approval before Christmas
As always, TQUKs SLA for gateway reviews is 24 hours from submission, therefore, the final day to accept gateway submissions for approval ahead of the Christmas closure period, is Wednesday 20th December 2023.
Please note - If gateway evidence is not sufficient, this will be rejected, and apprentices may not be approved before the Christmas closure period.
EPA component bookings
Leading up to the festive period, some organisations within the education industry will be closing on Friday 15th December 2023. If your apprentice is working within a school or other educational environment which closes in mid-December, they may not receive an assessment booking this side of the New Year.
Assessments will not be scheduled during the Christmas closure period. Any assessments made during this period will be at the discretion of the assessor to meet an extenuating circumstance. However, we encourage all assessors to take a full break over the festive period.
Should any assessments proceed during this time it should be acknowledged by all parties that as the TQUK office is closed, there will be no access to additional service or technical support.
End-Point Assessment Results
Whilst our average SLA for issuing EPA results is 2.5 working days, our official SLA is five working days from completion of the final EPA component. Therefore, to guarantee the release of an apprentice’s results before Christmas, the final EPA component needs to be completed by Friday 15th December 2023.
If the final component is completed on Monday 18th December 2023, the result will be released on Tuesday 2nd January 2023. Any assessments in which the final component takes place from Tuesday 19th December 2023 will have results released from Wednesday 3rd January 2024.
If you have any questions regarding the above dates, please contact our Customer Service Team by emailing epasupport@tquk.org or calling 03333 583 344.
Assessment bookings
General
The last day to book an online exam to guarantee results before Christmas is Friday 15th December 2023.
The last day an online exam can be sat to guarantee results before Christmas is Wednesday 20th December 2023.
Regulated exams will be available to sit until Thursday 21st December 2023, and will start again on Tuesday 2nd January 2024.
Children, Young People and Families Manager
The last day to book a remotely invigilated Children, Young People and Families Manager exam by TQUK is Thursday 14th December 2023.
The last day to book an online Children, Young People and Families Manager invigilated by the training provider is Wednesday 13th December 2023.
The last day a Children, Young People and Families Manager exam can be taken is Thursday 21st December 2023.
Results for Children, Young People and Families Manager will be issued after Christmas closure as exams require both components to be completed and an allowance of five working days following this for results distribution
Invigilation documents and declarations need to be submitted on the same day as the exam to ensure that there are no delays. A minimum of five working days’ notice must be provided between the date of form submission and the date of the exam.
While the office is closed, we’ll be unable to offer support with any booked exams.
If you have any questions regarding the above dates, please contact our Customer Service Team by emailing epasupport@tquk.org or calling 03333 583 344.
External Quality Assurance
The period between Monday 25th December 2023 and Monday 1st January 2023 inclusive will not count any working days when calculating the completion time for the following:
· EQA activities, including sampling and continuous recognition activities (CRAs)
· centre recognition
· qualification approvals
· DCS transfers
· APL requests
· late registration/certification requests.
The final day in 2023 for allocating EQA activities to EQAs will be Friday 22nd December 2023. Allocation activities will resume on Tuesday 2nd January 2024.
If you have any questions in regards to any of the above dates and times, please get in touch with the Quality Team by emailing quality@tquk.org or calling 03333 583 344.
Appeals
Due to the office closure, when calculating the completion time for an appeal, Monday 25th December 2023 to Friday 29th December 2023 and Monday 1st January 2024 will not count as working days.
If you have any questions regarding any of the above dates and times, please contact the Compliance Team by emailing compliance@tquk.org or calling 03333 583 344.
Certifications
The last day for certification of our regulated qualifications will be Wednesday 20th December 2023. Any claims submitted after Wednesday 20th December 2023 will be certificated on Tuesday 2nd January 2024.
For endorsed certification, the final day for printing will be Wednesday 20th December 2023. To ensure certification before Christmas, please make all submissions as early as possible. Any claims submitted will be printed on Tuesday 2nd January 2024.
Manuals and assessment records
For delivery before Christmas, we recommend that any orders be placed as early as possible. Our last day for shipment will be Wednesday 20th December 2023 for guaranteed delivery before Christmas.
Any orders placed after Wednesday 20th December 2023 may be shipped before Christmas, but delivery cannot be guaranteed before. Orders requested during the period of closure will be processed when our offices reopen on Tuesday 2nd January 2024.
If you have any questions about the above dates and times, please contact support@tquk.org or call our Customer Service Team at 03333 583 344.