Terms of Reference of the LOETB FET Quality Council

Role:

The role of the FET Quality Council is to oversee the quality, development and improvement of further education and training offering of the ETB.

Membership:

Chair: Member of FET Senior Management Team (rotated amongst SMT members)

Secretary: Quality Assurance Staff Member (to be assigned)

Members:       

• Remaining FET SMT members
• LOETB staff member, as the CE (DFET) determines appropriate
• A representative from industry
• A representative from the National (Apprenticeship) Programme Board
• A representative from Higher Education

External Members:  The Chair of the FET Quality Council may from time to time recommend to the DFET the appointment of additional external members to the Council.  These will be persons who can bring an external perspective to the working of the Council, such as employers or experts in FET or in quality systems.  Persons with expertise from other ETBs may also be invited to join the FET Quality Council for a defined period.

Accountable to: 

LOETB SMT

Schedule of meetings:

• The FET Quality Council will meet at least 4 times a year. In order for a quorum to be established, 50% of members plus one additional member must be in attendance.
• The meeting agenda and supporting documentation will be made available to members at least one week in advance of a scheduled meeting. Meeting outcomes are recorded and circulated in draft form within two weeks of a meeting. The minutes of meetings are approved at the beginning of the subsequent meeting of the FET Quality Council.
• Decisions are made by consensus or by the exercise of a vote if necessary; the Chair has the deciding vote in the event of a split decision.

In some cases, at the discretion of the Chair, an incorporeal meeting of the FET Quality Council may be held where reports can be circulated virtually and accepted by the FET Quality Council without the FET Quality Council having to meet.  

Responsibilities:

The SMT (DFET) of the ETB has delegated certain governance responsibilities to the FET Quality Council, as detailed below.  The FET Quality Council is accountable to the SMT (DFET) for carrying out its functions, regardless of whether it forms governance sub-groups or working groups to advance these tasks.

The FET Quality Council is responsible for the following:

QA policies and procedures

• Approving the FET quality assurance policies and procedures of the ETB, as recommended by the Quality Forum

Programme responsibilities

• Recommending proposals to the SMT (DFET), as appropriate, for the amendment of, or introduction of new provision that are consistent with the mission and strategy of the ETB
• Approving programme documentation prior to its submission to the awarding body for validation
• Making recommendations to the SMT (DFET) for the establishment of appropriate structures to support new or existing programmes
• Presenting a CPD Plan to SMT (DFET) to facilitate the improved delivery or development of programmes

Monitoring and Review responsibilities

• Establishing as framework for the formal review of all FET provision
• Noting the annual schedule of reviews
• Approving programme review documentation (received from Programme Advisory Forum) prior to its submission to the awarding body
• Approving reports from the QA Forum of progress against action plans arising from quality reviews
• Receiving observations arising from programme feedback reports and other internal and external stakeholder reports, as appropriate

Assessment responsibilities

• Ratifying the agreement of persons to act as External Authenticators
• Noting assessment reports received and confirming they are in line with agreed assessment processes and procedures
• Receiving quarterly reports of assessment results and final results presented by the QA Staff

Apprenticeship-specific responsibilities

The FET Quality Council will reserve a section of its agenda to fulfil the role of “Apprenticeship” FET Quality Council.  In doing so, it undertakes the following responsibilities:

• Considering reports from the Consortium Steering Group established by the Apprenticeship Council on matters affecting apprenticeship programmes
• Considering proposals from the National (Apprenticeship) Programme Board and from the Consortium Steering Group for new partnerships and for new members of partnerships
• Ensuring that the proposals received from the National (Apprenticeship) Programme Board and the Consortium Steering Group for new partnerships conform to the requirements of the programme and that suitable Memorandums of Agreement are in place
• Fulfilling any reporting requirements to external authorities on apprenticeship activities
• Receiving named annual and biannual reports from the National (Apprenticeship) Programme Board
• Noting examination results from the National Examination Board

Operational Matters:

• Working with the FET SMT to implement the operational FET elements of LOETB’s Statement of Strategy
• Agreeing its operating procedures
• Establishing sub-units of governance, as required, and delegating responsibilities to those groups through defined terms of reference
• Establishing ad-hoc working groups to assist it in fulfilling its functions
• Take appropriate action, where necessary, on reports and/or observations received
• Receiving recommendations from sub-units of governance on specified matters to inform its functions
• Receiving annual reports from sub-units of governance on their activities
• Providing a FET Quality Council Annual Report to the SMT (DFET), identifying key decisions and actions taken by the FET Quality Council and making any recommendations to the SMT (DFET), as appropriate
• Participating in the review of its terms of reference and formally making recommendations to the SMT (DFET) for amendments and additions, if required
• Reviewing the outcomes of reviews of terms of reference by its sub-groups and making recommendations to the SMT (DFET) as appropriate
• Exercising any other functions, which may be formally delegated to it by the SMT (DFET)