The purpose of the operating rules for component and Diploma awarding bodies is to set out the regulatory requirements for the operation of the Diploma qualification, principal learning, the project and the contribution of other constituent qualifications to the Diploma. The operating rules apply to component and Diploma awarding bodies, and include information on what component and Diploma awarding bodies require of centres to ensure the Diploma can operate effectively.
The operating rules cover specific requirements for the Diploma, principal learning and the project. Principal learning and project component awarding bodies must also comply with the GCSE, GCE, principal learning and project code of practice April 2010.
The operating rules also refer to requirements in relation to other constituent qualifications for the Diploma, such as qualifications that contribute to additional and specialist learning, so that the Diploma aggregation service can record and aggregate the results needed for the award of the Diploma qualification.
Existing regulatory arrangements remain in place for functional skills and for qualifications that contribute to additional and specialist learning. The operating rules only apply to those qualifications in terms of the requirement that results are included in the constituent qualification results that must be supplied to the Diploma aggregation service, for those learners with a Diploma learner account.
These operating rules establish the principles and describe the required regulatory outcomes for the Diploma. They do not set out the processes by which those aims are achieved. Further information on regulatory requirements for principal learning and project qualifications is available in the GCSE, GCE, principal learning and project code of practice April 2010. Details of the processes and requirements of the Diploma aggregation service are available from QCDA.
This approach provides component and Diploma awarding bodies with the flexibility to work to the principles and meet the required outcomes, without the majority of processes being prescribed. This approach also enables component and Diploma awarding bodies to determine the process that is most suitable for their own contexts.
These rules only include information over and above the principles and outcomes where it is helpful in securing comparability between awarding organisations' qualifications or in minimising the bureaucratic burden on centres.
The operating rules set out requirements for different types of component awarding bodies and for Diploma awarding bodies as shown below (requirements that are common to all component awarding bodies are repeated in the relevant sections):
- operating rules for additional and specialist learning component awarding bodies (including awarding organisations offering functional skills for the Diploma1)
- operating rules for principal learning and project component awarding bodies (including relevant aspects of the rules for additional and specialist learning component awarding bodies)
- operating rules for Diploma awarding bodies.
- Awarding organisations that only offer functional skills outside the Diploma do not need to be recognised as a component awarding body. [↩]
< Scope and purpose of the recognition requirements Regulatory aims for the Diploma >
