Our customer service statement

Our commitment to you

CPCAB is committed to providing the highest quality of service to meet the needs of its Approved Centres and registered candidates. We seek to demonstrate this commitment through the following standards.

CPCAB provides guidance on the Centre approval and candidate registration process, including detailed information on:

• The role of the awarding body.
• The terms and conditions for Centre approval, together with a note of Centre approval charges.
• How to contact CPCAB for administrative advice.
• Dates for Centre Induction Days.
• The time-scales for processing applications and notification of decisions.
• Details of standardisation training at regional locations.
• Candidate registration fees.

CPCAB provides details of the external verification service and ensures that:

• Centres are allocated an External Verifier within fifteen working days of receipt from an Approved Centre of a correctly completed Candidate Registration Form.
• The frequency and scope of the verification visits are as set out in the CPCAB Tutor User Guide.
• All External Verifier reports are quality checked and returned to Centres within 20 working days of the verifier visit.
• Where it is necessary to seek the advice of CPCAB's Head of Qualifications, Centres will receive a response within 15 working days.

CPCAB provides details of the external assessment service including:

• Publishing external assessment dates in advance of the teaching year.
• Notifying Centres of external assessment re-sit and appeal fees.
• Publishing mock papers on the website and supplying practice tapes (as appropriate).
• Supplying external assessment materials prior to external assessment dates.

CPCAB offers support to Centres by ensuring that:

• We provide up-to-date Tutor User Guides and Candidate User Guides for each qualification.
• Downloadable documents and information on all CPCAB qualifications are available on the website - www.cpcab.co.uk -and are updated regularly.
• Administrative and professional enquiries receive a telephone response within two working days of receipt wherever possible, or a written response (if appropriate) within ten working days.
• Confidentiality is maintained with respect to all enquiries.
• Centre support visits over and above those prescribed by the verification process will be available if required in certain circumstances.
• Candidates will usually be registered within seven working days - and at most within fifteen working days - of receipt from an Approved Centre of a correctly completed Candidate Registration Form (a copy of this form can be down-loaded from a web-page found by clicking here).
• Certificates will be issued to Centres within 20 working days of receipt of a correct Candidate Certification List and any queries relating to certificates will usually be dealt with within five working days.
• Advice and help is available (on request) concerning reasonable adjustments to external assessment arrangements. A copy of our Reasonable Adjustments Form - designed to help Centres make appropriate arrangements for CPCAB candidates with particular external assessment requirements - can be downloaded from the downloads section.
• Tutors can contact our counselling professionals for specialist advice, e.g. on working with difference and diversity.
• Details of both our Complaints and Appeals procedures are available and include information on the circumstances under which an Approved Centre is entitled to complain or appeal, together with the nominated contact and the timescale involved.