Good morning September! It’s been over 3 months since we were approved and were added to the Register of End-Point Assessment Organisations, but feels like only yesterday. I had a really good conversation with a gentleman from the ESFA the other day during a routine follow up call from giving SSES approval to deliver Early Years. Once he realised that the Early Years Standards have always had Ofqual as their EQA, he explained he didn’t have a whole lot to discuss as Ofqual is so thorough, and we didn’t have to apply for transition. And yes, he’s right. At the time it was quite onerous, but I completed the process 95% ready to deliver (last 5% will be finished by the end of the month), which has allowed me to spend the past 3 months focusing on other areas.
I completed a survey on Linkedin: End-Point Assessment Organisation (EPAO) Perspectives on their journey to Ofqual recognition. You can find the report here, if you’re interested in our application as part of the EQA process Post | Feed | LinkedIn
We also carried out some interviewing, and recruited our first member of staff. Recruiting an apprentice, we felt was essential, we have recruited and supported apprentices since our nursery days in the 1990’s, as we know the value of apprenticeships. I would like to introduce Alex, who is our Digital Marketing Apprentice (Level 3). He has already let us know he plans to complete Levels 4 and 6 with us! Isn’t ambition and determination a wonderful thing? In 10-years’ time I have no doubt he will be running a whole marketing department. And it’s a good feeling to know that we are supporting him on that first rung. Jeff is also completing a Level 5 Leadership and Management Apprenticeship so that he can better support SSES. He couldn’t find his O-Level certificates though, so has just completed and passed his English and Maths for the second time in his lifetime.
The biggest change though is social media. I am a fan of Instagram, but understanding Google Analytics, Semrush, content calendars etc?! Alex has helped set up our whole digital marketing offering. We dipped our toes in August, but September is the official launch of all our marketing – and I am so excited about it. Do keep popping back as I have been told by Alex (and Joe, our ‘Marketing Manager’ aka our son) that I should be blogging a whole lot more than once a month!
Whilst here, please use the chat box (a new feature Alex added) if you would like to know more about the EPAs we offer, the costs involved, or to request a brochure.
Suzanne
