Promoting and facilitating Welsh-medium qualifications
Proposed Conditions of Recognition
We are proposing to put in place Conditions to require awarding bodies to promote the availability of, and facilitate access to, Welsh-medium qualifications.
The aim of these Conditions is to improve clarity and transparency of information to users of qualifications, including learners, schools and colleges, about the availability of Welsh-medium qualifications.
Our proposed Conditions are in two parts:
We propose to require all awarding bodies to publish a policy statement which specifies whether or not it makes available or proposes to make available qualifications through the medium of Welsh. We note that this is already a requirement for awarding bodies wanting to submit GCSEs, AS and A level qualifications for Designation by Qualifications Wales.
This policy statement will need to explain the basis on which it has decided whether or not to make a qualification available through the medium of Welsh. It will be for an awarding body to consider how to meet this requirement, and what level of detail is necessary and appropriate in that regard.
Awarding bodies will be required to comply with their policy statement on an ongoing basis.
Where an awarding body makes available, or proposes to make available, a qualification through the medium of Welsh, they will be required to promote the availability of, and facilitate access to, those qualifications.
Where the proposed Conditions require an awarding body to publish a policy statement, the rules of interpretation as outlined in Condition J1.7 of our Standard Conditions of Recognition will apply.
Condition J1.7 Where an awarding body is required to publish a document or information, that document or information must be published in a way which is:
clear to its intended audience;
accurate; and
reasonably accessible (including by way of publication on the awarding body’s website).
Requirements
Our proposed Condition D9.6(a) allows us to specify requirements in relation to an awarding body promoting the availability of, and facilitating access to, Welsh-medium qualifications.
In setting these requirements, our aim is to provide clarity to awarding bodies on the minimum that we consider necessary to ensure compliance with the proposed Conditions.
The requirements are not intended to be prescriptive, but rather have been drafted in a way that allows for awarding bodies to determine the most effective approach to promoting the availability of, and facilitating access to, their Welsh-medium qualifications.
These requirements apply to arrangements that an awarding body has in place to:
publish a policy statement specifying whether or not it makes available, or proposes to make available, qualifications through the medium of Welsh, and
promote the availability of, and facilitate access to, those qualifications.
An awarding body must ensure that the arrangements which it has in place in relation to the above meets at least the minimum requirements for the purposes of Condition D9.6(a).
To read our proposed rules in full, please look at our Conditions and Requirements.
Proposed Guidance
Our proposed Condition D9.6(a) allows us to specify guidance in relation to an awarding body promoting the availability of, and facilitating access to, Welsh-medium qualifications.
We recognise that there are a variety of methods and approaches an awarding body can take to promote their qualifications. Which promotional methods an awarding body chooses to use will depend on several factors. These can include:
Stage in the life cycle of a qualification: e.g. advertising is important at the launch stage
Nature of the qualification: how much information is required by customers before they buy
Competition: what are rivals doing?
Marketing budget: how much can the organisation afford?
Marketing strategy: other elements of the mix (price, product, place etc)
Target market: appropriate ways to reach the target market.
We believe that awarding bodies are best placed to make judgements on what promotional activities will be most effective in relation to their qualifications, and the schools and colleges that they work with.
As such, we do not propose to prescribe what activities an awarding body should undertake. It is for an awarding body to consider what form any arrangements and activities which go beyond our minimum requirements should take, depending on their own circumstances.
Our proposed guidance sets out how an awarding body should comply with our requirements, factors it may wish to consider when determining its arrangements, and how it could go beyond those should it wish to do so. These factors are not intended to be exhaustive, and the weight an awarding body attaches to them may vary.
The guidance also sets out some of the activities an awarding body may wish to consider when promoting and facilitating Welsh-medium qualifications.
We are keen to understand from awarding bodies whether the activities we have outlined in our proposed guidance represent those that they would expect to consider.
Similarly, we are also keen to hear views from users of qualifications, including learners, schools, and colleges on steps they would like to see awarding bodies take in line with the proposed Conditions and Requirements.
The proposed Guidance has been developed in consultation with the Welsh Language Commissioner and Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol. We thank them for their valuable input.
Proposal for Implementation
If we proceed to implement the proposed Conditions, Requirements and Guidance following this consultation, we will set out the date on which they will take effect in our Regulatory Framework, and the date by which we would expect awarding bodies to comply with any new requirements.
We propose to allow awarding bodies to phase the introduction of these requirements, recognising that it will be possible to implement and meet some aspects more quickly than others. For example, our requirement to publish a policy statement should require less time to meet than those relating to promoting and facilitating Welsh-medium qualifications.
We propose to provide awarding bodies a lead-in period of 12 months to be fully compliant with our requirements. Where some or all of these requirements can be met sooner than this, we would encourage awarding bodies to do so.
This consultation is now closed.
