From the cosy hot chocolates and cold winter evenings to the sparkling markets gracing the streets of Manchester, we can’t quite believe Christmas is right around the corner! You know what that means… Our official Christmas and New Year Service Times have landed!

Be sure to carefully review the information below and if you have any questions, get in touch with us at support@tquk.org (for all things Awarding), epasupport@tquk.org (for all things EPA) or call us on 0333 358 3344.

Please click the links below to be taken directly to the suite of your choice.

• Christmas Closure
• End-Point Assessment
• Quality Assurance
• Appeals
• Certifications
• Manuals and Assessment Records

Christmas Closure

Our head office will be closing for Christmas at 2pm on Friday 23rd December 2022 and will remain closed until 8:30am on Tuesday 3rd January 2023.

End-Point Assessment

With these 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, TQUK’s 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 21^st December 2022. (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

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 the 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.

EPA MCQ Bookings

General

• The last day to book an online exam to guarantee results before Christmas is Tuesday 13th December 2022
• The last day that an online exam can be sat to guarantee results before Christmas is Tuesday 20th December 2022
• Regulated exams will be available to sit until Tuesday 20th December 2022 and will start again on Tuesday 3rd January 2023

Healthcare Assistant Practitioner

• The last day to book a paper-based Healthcare Assistant Practitioner exam to guarantee results before Christmas is Thursday 8th December 2022
• The last day that a paper-based Healthcare Assistant Practitioner exam can be sat to guarantee results before Christmas is Thursday 15th December 2022

Children, Young People and Families Manager

• The last day to book a remotely invigilated Children, Young People and Families Manager exam by TQUK is Monday 14th December 2022
• The last day to book an online Children, Young People and Families Manager invigilated by the Training provider is Tuesday 13th December 2022
• The last day a Children, Young People and Families Manager exam can be taken is Tuesday 20th December 2022
• Results for Children, Young People and Families Manager will be issued after Christmas as exams require both components to be completed and an allowance of 10-12 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 Google Form submission and the date of the exam.

While the office is closed, we’ll be unable to offer support with any booked exams.

End-Point Assessment Results

Whilst our average SLA for issuing EPA results is 4 working days, our official SLA is 10 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 9^th December 2022.

If the final component is completed on Monday 12^th December 2022, the result will be released on Tuesday 3^rd January 2023. Any assessments in which the final component takes place from Tuesday 13^th December 2022 will have results released from Wednesday 4^th January 2023.

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.

Quality Assurance

The period between Monday 26^th December 2022 and Monday 2^nd January 2022 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
• Direct Claims Status transfers
• Reasonable Adjustments
• Special Considerations

The final day in 2022 for allocating EQA Activities to EQAs will be Friday 23^rd December 2022. Allocation activities will resume on Tuesday 3rd January 2023.

If you have any questions regarding any of the above dates and times, please contact 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 26^th December to Friday 30^th December 2022, and Monday 2nd January 2023 will not count as working days.

If you have any questions regarding any of the above dates and times, please get in touch with 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 Thursday 22nd December 2022. Any claims submitted after Thursday 22^nd December 2022 will be certificated on Tuesday 3rd January 2023.

For endorsed certification, the final day for printing will be Thursday 22nd December 2022 so to ensure certification before Christmas, please make all submissions as early as possible. Any claims submitted will be printed on Tuesday 3rd January 2023.

Manuals and Assessment Records

For delivery before Christmas, we recommend that any orders are placed as early as possible. Our last day for shipment will be Wednesday 21st December 2022 for guaranteed delivery before Christmas. Any orders placed after Wednesday 21st December 2022 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 3rd January 2023.

If you have any questions regarding the dates detailed, please do reach out to your Account Managers who will be able to answer any further questions you may have.

Phoebe Walters

November 16, 2022