The Schools ITQ

The Schools ITQ assessment model

The benefits of TLM's Schools ITQ - 10 key facts

Provides nationally accredited qualifications independent of learner age
League table points as well as NC levels from Key stage 1 up
Addresses weaknesses in assessment identified by OFSTED in its March 2009 Report
Fully covers the APP requirements supporting assessment for learning
Supports enterprise and PLTS with certification to recognise learning in these themes
Supports practical capability in the use of e-portfolios and VLPs
Can radically reduce assessment costs and supports integrated CPD
Provides support for foundation tier learning and inclusion of special needs
Supports the personalised learning agenda with certification on demand
Reduces the liklihood of certification fraud

What is The Schools ITQ? - The details

The ITQ is the National Vocational Qualification for IT Users developed by e-skills, the Sector Skills Council for Business and Information Technology supported by the Awarding Organisations and employers in the IT sector. All ITQ qualifications are based on the National Occupational Standards that are the foundation of the ITQ units in the Qualifications Credit Framework (QCF). The QCF is in turn mapped to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). (click image on the right for an animated explanation of the QCF) The levels in the QCF are defined by broad level descriptors for all subjects. Subjects then provide more specific detail corresponding to the broad level descriptors. The Learning Machine has developed support for the ITQ designed to make it compatible with the UK National Curriculum programmes of study and the growing importance of Open Systems. In order to be sure of fulfilling the broader educational aims of the school curriculum, schools should use this support as a supplement to the basic ITQ assessment criteria. The Open Systems aspects aim to enable all learners the prospect of gaining an ITQ qualification using technologies that are freely and legally available from the Internet and thus contributes to inclusion and bridging the "digital divide". It also provides opportunities to support PLTS and citizenship. By combining the ITQ with the UK National Curriculum we are bridging the academic/vocational divide. The qualifications are not technology specific and any functionally suitable applications can be used, the design simply ensures maximum choice and requires an understanding of why that choice is important in supporting readiness for future change and development.

ITQ qualifications fall into three categories. Awards, Certificates and Diplomas. For each type of qualification there are three main levels. Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3. Below the three levels, Entry level qualifications are provided to support access to the level 1 qualifications by those currently not at a high enough level of education. Below Entry level are P Scales used extensively in Special Schools. progression from P scales throuh Entry Level to Level 1 supports an inclusion pathway supporting the Foundation Learning Tier strategy. The qualifications are designed to support progression pathways personalised to the learner, including learners with special educational needs and educational disadvantage so that they can access mainstream qualifications. They are not specific to age and what matters is: Can the individual meet the standards?, not how old are they or any other personal attributes. It is therefore perfectly reasonable for primary aged children to take up the entry level qualifications and these automatically translate to UK National Curriculum levels as well as under-pinning the National Occupational Standards. Furthermore, the assessment methods are designed to be compatible with the Assessment of Pupil Progress system being developed by the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Authority with criteria matched as Low, Secure or High.

The size of the qualification at any level is detrmined by its credit value. 1 credit is 10 hours of learning so a 16 credit qualification would be 160 hours of learning for an average learner starting at that level. Prior learning could mean that this time is significantly reduced and it includes self-study as well as formal teaching. It is therefore feasibly for a higher attainer to achieve the level 2 ITQ during Key Stage 3 and for most learners to achieve the level 1.

TLM's ITQ qualifications are named as follows:

Entry level 1 - ITQ support award (Open Systems)
Entry level 2 - ITQ support award (Open Systems)
Entry level 3 - ITQ support award (Open Systems)

Level 1 ITQ - Certificate in IT User Skills (Open Systems and Enterprise)

Level 2 ITQ - Certificate in IT User Skills (Open Systems and Enterprise)
Level 2 ITQ - TLM International Certificate in IT User Skills (Open Systems and Enterprise)

Level 2 ITQ Diploma in IT User Skills (Open Systems) (37+C)

These qualifications are all part of the INGOT family and carry the INGOT brand logo signifying a commitment to open systems, enterprise and international community support.

The ITQ is a simple pass certificate, there is no facility to grade higher level attainment. For this reason we provide a second certificate, the TLM International Certificate in ICT User Skills (Open Systems and Enterprise) at level 2. This certificate meets all the requirements of the ITQ and adds scope for pass with merit and pass with distinction. These units are cross-referenced to both the NOS and the National Curriculum. UK schools have to demonstrate that they cover the full programme of study of the National Curriculum and provide appropriate progression routes from the lowest to the highest levels.

The TLM International Certificate in IT User Skills (Open Systems and Enterprise) therefore enables the automatic award of the ITQ certificate in addition to itself.

There is also a non-accredited enterprise certificate and one for PLTS (personal learing and thinking skills) for those that use appropriate enterprise contexts in their work and can demonstrate participation in PLTS activities. Normally following the free on-line courses will do this automatically.

AWARDS

The Entry Level Awards are designed to lower barriers to take up of formal qualifications starting with a 2 Credit Award at Entry Level 1. This provides direct progression into the 4 credit award at Entry Level 2 and then the 6 credit Award at Entry 3. These three qualifications provide a coherent progression pathway from the lowest levels of education, irrespective of age, in order to access the 13 Credit Level 1 Certificate. They prepare the candidates for the ITQ and the IT Diploma through use of contexts compatible with the National Curriculum. They enable NC levels and APP to be supported directly. A fundamental aspect is in preparing learners for applied leaning through participation in communitiy production of digital resources and services in the style of Web 2.0. This is a requirement highlighted by the Open Source Consortium of small businesses as of value in preparing learners for work in the technology sector both as IT users and IT professionals. It also supports many of the community related policies of government for schools such as in the Specialist Schools Programme and BECTA's Schools Open Source Project.

CERTIFICATES

The Level 1 certificate consists of 4 mandatory units and one chosen from the rest of the available ITQ units. The first unit is the mandatory ITQ unit, IPU: Improving productivity using IT (3 credits). The second unit is the ITQ unit WS: Website Software (3 credits). The third unit is the ITQ unit IT security for users (1 credit). The fourth unit is the ITQ unit Using collaborative technologies (3 credits). A further unit or units of at least 3 credits take us to the 13 credits and 90 GLH required for this certificate. The strategy in choosing the mandatory units is to ensure that the learner has the skills to present evidence in an e-portfolio. TLM provides free hosted e-portfolio resources to any learner so there is no barrier to participation, however, any e-portfolio system can be used as long as the learner can use it to provide evidence of meeting the assessment criteria. Once the learner is secure in the skills to use an e-portfolio it opens up the possibility of presenting the evidence for all their work in any subject across the curriculum including further ITQ units or coursework in other subjects.

The Level 2 certificate consists of 4 mandatory units corresponding to those in the Level 1 certificate. The first unit is the mandatory ITQ unit, IPU: Improving productivity using IT (4 credits). The second unit is the ITQ unit WS: Website Software (4 credits). The third unit is the ITQ unit IT security for users. (1 credit). The fourth unit is the ITQ unit Using collaborative technologies (4 credits). A further unit or units of at least 3 credits take us to the 16 credits and 120 GLH required for this certificate.

The Level 2 certificate can be extended to a broader range of skills and knowledge by adding units in for example, Word processing, spreadsheets, drawing software.

DIPLOMAS

If the total credit value of a certificate reaches 37, the qualification becomes the ITQ Diploma.

The Level 3 qualifications have yet to be decided but will provide progression from Level 2 and are likely to start with units in programming, technopreneurship and/or mathematics as a bridge to university entrance and to provide Specialist Learning Units for the Advanced Diploma in an area identified as poorly served.

CREDIT TRANSFER

The ITQ is part of the Qualifications Credit Framework (QCF) which is mapped to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). Units in the QCF have a credit value and this value determines how much content there is in the syllabus of the unit at a particular level. The idea of the EQF is that units and qualifications can be quantified so as to give transferrable credit to learners in any EU member state. Since each country already has its own methods of valuing qualifications, the EQF is a metaframework against which compatible national qualifications are referenced. This enables a wide variety of national qualifications systems to be brought together so that employers have a better understanding of the value of the qualifications that are being brought to their businesses without compromising cultural and national distinctiveness. The table linked here provides the way credit in the QCF relates to UK schools National Curriculum Levels, GCSE and school threshold points. The Schools ITQ is designed to be international providing a bridge between vocational applied learning and the knowledge and understanding required to cope with management of change more normally associated with academic learning.

PROGRESSION

The Schools ITQ has been carefully planned to support progression using the INGOT assessment model combined with the QCF the National Curriculum and emerging models for APP. A certain amount of credit can be carried forward eg Level 1 units achieved as part of a Level 1 qualification can subsequently count towards a level 2 or level 3 qualification. This is because a minority of units in any level ITQ qualification can be at a lower level than the overall qualification. In addition, breadth of knowledge and capability can be extended by adding units to an Award to make a certificate and for converting a certificate into a Diploma. By starting with the lowest level (Entry 1) with a small sized certificate and providing pathways to higher levels and increased breadth we can match personal needs both through unit progression in terms of difficulty and breadth of study by increasing the number of units. A natural progression route might be

Entry 1 Award

Entry 2 Award

Entry 3 Award

Level 1 Certificate

Level 2 Certificate - ----> (Level 2 Diploma)

(Level 3 Awards, Certificates and Diplomas)

Since qualification units are also additional learning units for 14-19 Diplomas and cover the requirements of the National Curriculum in schools, we have a single suite of qualifications that provides a coherent spine for core learning for IT Users and progression with the flexibility to branch into other subjects and lines of learning at any point. (Brackets denote not yet available)

The Schools ITQ unit details

This link provides the detail of the units in the SI qualifications as determined by the QCF together with rules of combination.

The New INGOTs

This link provides the details of the units translated into the INGOT format for practical assessment and assessor guidance.