Frequently Asked Questions

We’re staying on top of the news and passing our learnings and insight on to you. Catch up with our quick-fire FAQs and keep checking back as we add more.

Overview

  • In February 2025, the Department for Education made a series of apprenticeship assessment reform announcements. Their outlined changes are aimed at:

    • enabling greater flexibility, allowing for more timely, proportionate and efficient assessment

    • ensuring apprentices are assessed on areas employers deem most essential to confirming occupational competency

    • getting skilled workers into the workplace, whilst removing any unnecessary barriers. 

  • As part of its apprenticeship reform announcements in February 2025, the government introduced a set of assessment principles. These principles aim to streamline the assessment process by enabling more flexibility in design and delivery. The principles are:

    • Introduce shorter, high-level, less prescriptive assessment plans.

    • Assessment is more proportionate to the competency being tested.

    • Include the minimum number of assessments required to confirm occupational competency.

    • Remove duplication, including crossover of any criteria covered by included qualifications.

    • Where appropriate, assessments can be designed to take place on-programme.

    • Where appropriate, training providers will be able to deliver elements of the assessment, which will be quality assured by assessment organisations.

    • Make the best use of technology.

    • Enable employers to verify Behaviours.

  • Yes. To better represent the approach to apprenticeship assessment, the following changes will be made:
    • end-point assessment will be replaced by apprentiYes. To better represent the approach to apprenticeship assessment, the following changes will be made:

    • ‘End-point assessment’ will be replaced by ‘apprenticeship assessment’.

    • ‘End-point assessment organisations’ will be known as ‘assessment organisations’.

    • ‘Gateway’ will become ‘gateway to completion’.ceship assessment
      • End-point assessment organisations will be known as assessment organisations
      • Gateway will become gateway to completion.

  • Apprenticeship assessment is being reformed. This includes the removal of the need for all assessments to be done at the end of the apprenticeship journey, allowing for greater flexibility for apprentices to be assessed whilst on-programme. This will only apply where it makes sense to do so, enabling a more authentic demonstration of competence. It is expected that some assessment will still take place at the end of the apprenticeship journey.

  • The review of apprenticeship standards will be carried out in a phased approach. While there is currently no published list of the priority order, revisions are expected to begin with high-volume and high-impact standards, including those aligned with foundation apprenticeships and critical sectors. Updates will be communicated by Skills England and the Department for Education as each revised assessment plan is released.

  • Skills England is currently piloting its revised principle-based approach to apprenticeship assessment with five test case standards, which are expected to be published in July/August. Following the pilot, they will establish a conversion schedule for all remaining assessment plans — a process expected to take approximately 15 months.
    While revised plans will be approved and published in stages, the formal timeline for apprenticeship starts and delivery under the new approach has not yet been confirmed. TQUK is advocating for a minimum six-month transition period between publication and implementation to ensure that both assessment organisations and providers have adequate time to prepare.
    TQUK will share specific rollout timelines for each apprenticeship standard in its portfolio as soon as they are confirmed

Assessment Design

  • Assessment plans are being streamlined and restructured to adopt a more high-level, less prescriptive format. Key changes include:

    • The reduction of assessment plan length to 2-3 pages.

    • A focus on broad assessment outcomes rather than mapping individual knowledge, skills, and behaviours (KSBs) to specific assessment methods.

    • The removal of detailed descriptions of mandatory assessment methods, offering assessment organisations greater flexibility in assessment design.

  • Yes, under the reformed apprenticeship model, assessments may vary between assessment organisations (AOs) delivering the same standard, but only within defined boundaries.

    The new approach gives AOs greater flexibility to design assessment strategies that align with the streamlined, high-level assessment plans. These plans:

    • focus on assessment outcomes rather than prescribing specific methods

    • allow AOs to determine how best to assess competence, provided they meet the occupational standard

    • encourage innovation and responsiveness to sector needs.

    As a result, two AOs may use different assessment methods, formats, or sequencing. For example, one might use a professional discussion while another opts for a written case study. As long as both approaches are valid and meet the required outcomes, they are permissible. Whilst the assessments may look different across AOs, they must be equally rigorous, valid, and aligned to the same occupational standard. The goal is to balance flexibility with fairness, allowing for innovation without compromising quality.

  • Description text goes hereWhile assessment organisations (AOs) have more freedom to design assessment strategies, consistency will be safeguarded through several mechanisms, including but not limited to:

    • Ofqual regulation that ensures all strategies are valid, reliable, and comparable across AOs.

    • High-level assessment plans that define mandatory outcomes and structural expectations.

    • Assessment strategies submitted by AOs that demonstrate how assessments meet national standards.

    • Ongoing monitoring by Ofqual and sector engagement to help preserve fairness and employer trust.

    So, while assessments may look different, they must remain equivalent in quality, rigour, and intent.

  • Where the content of a qualification is deemed to sufficiently cover the required assessment outcomes, aligned with the new assessment principles, and avoiding unnecessary duplication, it may be possible for the qualification to serve as the sole assessment component for the apprenticeship.

Assessment Delivery

  • Under the new apprenticeship assessment principles, training providers may deliver and assess specific components, where appropriate, and subject to oversight by the assessment organisation (AO). As part of their assessment strategy, AOs will determine, on a standard-by-standard basis, which assessment elements may be delivered by providers, and where they demonstrate the necessary expertise, resources, and capacity to do so.

  • Responsibility for assessing behaviours is shifting from assessment organisations to employers, who will be required to verify that apprentices have consistently demonstrated the required behaviours throughout the programme. This verification must be completed before the apprenticeship can be formally concluded.

  • No. Behaviour competencies remain part of apprenticeship standards. However, they are no longer independently assessed by assessment organisations. Instead, employers are responsible for verifying that required Behaviours have been consistently demonstrated throughout the apprenticeship, before completion.

  • Not entirely. Under the new reforms, training providers may be permitted to deliver certain assessment components, but only where this is specified by the assessment organisation (AO) in the assessment strategy. Providers must also demonstrate they have the necessary expertise, resources, and capacity. All delivery remains subject to AO oversight and Ofqual regulation.

  • Yes. However, while the reforms introduce greater flexibility, such as enabling providers to participate in assessment delivery and marking, the overarching responsibility for ensuring the validity, reliability, and regulatory compliance of assessments remains with the AO.

    As such, AOs must be able to demonstrate to Ofqual that any provider contributing to assessment adheres to agreed quality standards, and formal approval and quality assurance processes will be necessary to safeguard the integrity of the assessment.

  • No. Under the new reforms, it will not be mandatory for training providers to deliver any part of the apprenticeship assessment. However, assessment organisations may permit providers to deliver certain components, where appropriate. This is based on the provider’s capability, and with oversight to ensure quality and compliance.

  • Yes. Where training providers are permitted to deliver elements of apprenticeship assessment, TQUK will apply a Centre Assessment Standards Scrutiny (CASS) model to ensure quality, consistency, and regulatory compliance. This includes robust external quality assurance and oversight of provider-marked assessments.

  • Assessment organisations will be responsible for scrutinising the standards of all approved assessors, including in provider-led assessments. All assessors must adhere to the established delivery principles to maintain valid, reliable, and fair assessment outcomes.

  • No. While the new assessment plans are generally less prescriptive, the degree of specificity will vary across standards. Assessment organisations must comply with the detail outlined in each plan, incorporating it into their assessment design and delivery. Some plans may stipulate that particular assessment outcomes be delivered through specific methods, or exclusively by the assessment organisation. Others may allow assessment organisations full discretion in determining delivery. As such, TQUK cannot apply a uniform approach to the involvement of Training Providers across all standards.

Ofqual Consultation

  • No, it's not just for EPAOs. This consultation is an opportunity for interested groups to comment on the way Ofqual proposes to regulate the new apprenticeship assessments. This includes training providers and employers. Everyone affected by apprenticeship assessment reforms is encouraged to review the proposed framework and share their feedback to help shape its development.

  • As outlined in the DfE’s new principles of apprenticeship, training providers may take on a more active role in delivering certain aspects of apprenticeship assessments. Ofqual’s framework introduces clear regulatory expectations to ensure assessments are valid, reliable, and quality assured, regardless of who delivers them. Providers will need to work closely with assessment organisations (EPAOs) to understand these expectations and ensure assessment practices align with Ofqual’s standards.

  • Providers can contribute by reviewing the consultation documents available on the Ofqual website and submitting feedback through the official online response form. TQUK customers are also encouraged to engage with our own consultation support activities. If you missed our recent webinar, 'Understanding the Proposed Approach to Regulating Apprenticeship Assessment,' a recording is available to view on The Hive. Additionally, keep an eye out for details on our upcoming events.

Foundation Apprenticeships

  • A foundation apprenticeship is a flexible, entry-level programme designed to help young people gain work experience, develop essential skills, and prepare for further education, employment, or a full apprenticeship.

  • Only training providers listed on the Apprenticeship Provider and Assessment Register (APAR) are approved to deliver foundation apprenticeship programmes.

  • Not necessarily. If learners haven’t already achieved a pass in English and maths, they’ll be supported to study these subjects as part of their apprenticeship. However, passing them is not a mandatory requirement to successfully complete the foundation apprenticeship.

  • Yes. Foundation apprenticeships are designed to support progression into full apprenticeships, further education, or employment.

  • Yes. Employers can receive up to £3,000 in financial incentives, including a £1,000 payment for supporting 16–18-year-olds and up to £2,000 more to help with recruitment and retention, especially when apprentices progress onto further programmes.

  • Typically, the apprentice must normally be aged 16 to 21 at the start of their apprenticeship. Individuals aged 22 to 24 can also apply if they meet specific criteria, such as:
    • having an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
    • being care-experienced
    • being in prison or recently released.

  • Yes. Foundation apprenticeships require a minimum of 187 hours of off-the-job learning, which includes structured training away from day-to-day work duties.

  • Yes. The new Apprenticeship Assessment Principles and streamlined assessment plan format apply to all apprenticeships, including foundation apprenticeships. These changes introduce more flexible, proportionate, and employer-informed assessment methods throughout the programme—not just at the end.

  • Yes. TQUK is expanding its portfolio to include foundation apprenticeships. We’re currently developing our offer for the Health and Social Care pathway. If you're interested or would like more information, please get in touch. We’d love to hear from you!

Shorter Duration Apprenticeships

  • An SDA is an apprenticeship where full occupational competence can be achieved in less than 12 months.
    From 1 August 2025, the Department for Education (DfE) has officially reduced the minimum duration of an apprenticeship from 12 to 8 months.
    This change applies to all Foundation and Specialist apprenticeship standards, but only for new starts from 1 August 2025 onwards. It does not include existing learners, restarts, and those that come back from a break in learning.

  • From 1 August 2025, apprenticeships can officially be delivered over a shorter period (as little as eight months) if all required standards are met. This change only applies to new apprenticeship starts from that date onwards.

  • Apprentices who bring relevant prior learning or experience that aligns with parts of the occupational standard may be eligible for a shorter programme, potentially as short as eight months.

  • Yes. From 1 August 2025, apprenticeships can be shortened to a minimum of 187 hours of off-the-job training, where relevant prior learning (RPL) is identified. However, programmes cannot go below 187 hours, as anything less would not meet compliance requirements.

  • Training providers must carry out a thorough initial assessment to identify any relevant prior learning or experience. This must be clearly documented and used to justify any reduction in the apprenticeship’s duration.