Welcome to the REAL Assessor Newsletter

Kia ora koutou assessor whānau,

We have had a number of staffing changes across the Moderation and Assessment Practice Team over the last month or two.

In the National Moderator role we have welcomed Caren Oliver; Caren comes to Careerforce with a history of assessor training, moderation, and support in a number of different industry backgrounds, having spent time across three other ITOs. Caren is a brilliantly warm individual and will happily provide care and support to our assessors through the process of moderation.

In the Learning Engagement Advisor (LEA) role we have welcomed Dérene Els; Dérene comes to Careerforce with a background in adult literacy and numeracy education, supporting workplaces with bespoke resources to build confidence and capability in these areas. She has also been involved with Occupational English testing and has extensive experience teaching English as a second language. Dérene is working alongside Ifi Ripley in the Northern region (Waikato – north) to acclimatise to this new role. We’re looking forward to having Dérene out and about supporting you on the ground in no time.

Last but not at all least, a new role has recently been created within the team – Team Leader Learning Engagement. The role will provide supervision and support for the LEAs while doubling as a key player in the building of skills, strategies, and methodologies that will enhance learner engagement, especially with our Pacific learners. Ifi Ripley – a familiar face and name to many – has taken on this role. We congratulate her whole heartedly and look forward to the massive impact she will have on our learners’ experiences.

Moderation and Assessment Practice Team

Words of wisdom and encouragement from our team to you

As you develop your kete of assessor skills and knowledge, keep in mind..

As you get to know your assigned trainees, be supportive and honest with them. Encourage them. Don’t do the mahi for them or take short cuts.
Have fun in the interactions with your trainees. Things may be difficult at times, but most issues can be worked out. Enjoy the journey!
You are the guardian of standards…stay true to the evidence requirements and performance criteria.
Don’t be afraid to ask for further evidence if you are unsure if the work presented meets requirements.
Preparing your learner well for assessment will give them extra confidence and will likely reduce the need for resubmissions.
Always use the assessor guidance that you have and even the unit standard – these documents will guide you in making good judgments.
When providing feedback, incorporate the feedback sandwich – commend, recommend, commend.
Be really clear and concise when asking for additional information from the trainee.

The below unit standards and versions are due to expire on 31 December 2020.

Expiring Unit Standard: US 21335 - Lead a team to achieve an objective (Level 4, 5 credits)

Programme: NZ Certificate Health & Wellbeing (Level 4) (Advanced Support)

Last date for assessment: 31 December 2020

Careerforce is developing a new programme for the NZ Certificate in Advanced Care and Support (Level 4) to replace the Advanced Support Programme, so we are not intending to replace this unit in the Advanced Support programme.

It is recommended that trainees do not sign up for this unit in their training agreement after 17 October 2020 as there is a risk they will not be able to complete the unit prior to it expiring.

Expiring Version of Unit Standard: US 9694 - Demonstrate and apply knowledge of communication process theory version 7 (Level 3, 5 credits)

Programmes: NZ Certificate in Health & Wellbeing (Level 3) – Programmes: Health Assistance, Support Work, Vision Hearing Screening, DHB Programme (Health Assistance), NZ Certificate in Business (Level 3)

Last date for assessment: 31 December 2020

Version 7 (5 credits) of this unit standard is expiring on 31 December 2020.
This version is replaced by Version 8 (4 credits).

This change in credit value may impact some employers training plans. Please check training plans to ensure the correct credit value is applied, in particular those plans that meet the minimum credit value to achieve the qualification.

It is recommended that trainees do not sign up for Version 7 of this unit in their training agreement after 17 October 2020 as there is a risk they will not be able to complete the unit prior to it expiring.

Please advise your trainees and/or employers of these changes so that trainees can submit their assessments before the 31 December 2020 expiry date. It is recommended that, if possible, all assessments are completed and loaded onto iportal/ Aka Toi by 30 November so that they can be processed with NZQA before the Christmas Break.

Careerforce is currently looking at providing opportunities for Careerforce Registered Assessors to enrol and complete the New Zealand Certificate in Assessment Practice in 2021.

Programme Details (40 credits in total)

U/S 30421 – Carry out assessment against standards to make judgements of learner performance (15 credits)
U/S 30422 – Participate in the quality assurance of assessment (15 credits)
U/S 30423 – Participate in assessment process (10 credits)

Duration: 6-8 months

In 2018 there was a review of the New Zealand Certificate in Health and Wellbeing (Advanced Support) Level 4 qualification. The outcome from this review was a shift from 70 to 120 credits, and a new qualification was developed, New Zealand Certificate in Health and Wellbeing (Advanced Care and Support) Level 4. Two new Graduate Profile Outcomes for clinical supported tasks and communication were added.

The 50 new credits were added as follows;

10 credits allocated to relationship-centred support
25 credits to supporting clinical tasks
5 credits to leadership
10 credits to communication

Careerforce is developing a new programme leading to this qualification and is reviewing the existing programme to ensure the current material is still relevant. We have been working collaboratively with stakeholders across: Aged Residential Care, Home and Community, Disability and District Health Boards. This is to ensure the programme is fit for purpose and adds value to the trainee and workplace.

The development team is conducting workshops to both review current and develop new unit standards. We are working with the different sectors to determine how these could best work for their trainees and workplace. We have been lucky enough to have not only sector knowledge but individual knowledge including Registered Nurses, Assessors and Trainees.

Moving into our next phase, we will be reviewing and developing learning and assessment resources.