The Institute of Educational Assessors

Attention all tutors and verifiers!

You may be eligible to become a member of the newly chartered Institute of Educational Assessors which has been established as the professional body for all those involved in assessment. Membership of the CIEA is likely to become a key requirement for future assessment roles in education and training. If you haven’t yet come across this professional organisation it might be worth your while to take a look at their website and membership categories on www.ciea.org.uk/Home/membership/how_to_join.aspxn to take advantage of the introductory offer of free membership if you join before May 2008.

‘... members enjoy a wide range of benefits including access to a dedicated Member area on this website, a termly magazine, networking opportunities, financial advice, unlimited access to the CIEA Research Database and much more. Membership is completely free-of-charge until 8th May 2008 and without obligation’ (CIEA website)

Members include people involved in assessment, from senior examiners, moderators and markers to individuals with an interest in or responsibility for assessment in primary schools, secondary schools, colleges, universities, training centres and other educational organisations.

Challenges in the regulation of the UK counselling profession

In 2007, as you may know, the BACP distributed for consultation a "core curriculum" document setting out its views in relation to the debate surrounding the prospective UK regulation of counselling. As a specialist awarding body CPCAB is a key stakeholder in both the vocational qualification reform programme and the regulation of counselling as a profession. We are determined to ensure that our qualifications are fit-for-purpose in the current landscape.

For a full version of the discussion paper recently prepared by CPCAB and details of how to take part in the debate, click here.

Contents of the paper:

Introduction
A rich and diverse profession that requires a balanced approach to regulation
A different epistemology from mainstream science
Two sets of linked standards will form the heart of the profession
Counselling is part of ‘health’ provision but is more than a ‘health’ profession
Entry levels and entry routes to registration

Overview
Raising the entry level may not protect the public and may lead to major reductions in counselling services
Reducing the choice of entry routes will reduce access to the profession

Conclusion

Counselling training - the way ahead - Saturday, 26th April

Our CPCAB conference, in the wonderful surroundings of the Royal Agricultural College at Cirencester, is nearly upon us now. The team at head office are hard at work finalising the arrangements. We’re getting very excited about the whole thing and look forward to meeting you there. There are still a few places left (if you’re quick!) although some of the workshops are fully booked now. If you’d like to come along contact Jackie or Clare without delay on 01458 850350, or email conference@cpcab.co.uk.

Jobs at CPCAB: Qualification Leader (NQF levels 4-6)

We are currently looking for a counselling professional with teaching and assessment experience to be a key member of our core professional team. As Qualification Leader you will be working at the forefront of the development and assessment of counselling qualifications with prime responsibility for our higher level qualifications (4-6).

This important role requires someone who is enthusiastic, well organised, a good team player and an excellent communicator. Salary is circa £28,000 pro rata for this 3 day a week part-time post based in Somerset.

To apply, please send your CV and a letter of application to:
Gill Baker, CPCAB, PO Box 1768, Glastonbury, Somerset BA6 8YP by 30 April 2008.

Funding difficulties

As you will be only too aware, changes in the allocation of funding for vocational qualifications are putting counselling training in a vulnerable position and we have been approached for advice by a number of course co-ordinators, some of whom are very worried indeed.

Some of the advice we have been able to offer follows, in the hope that you might find it useful. We would be pleased to hear from you if you have any other suggestions to make and will gladly share them with others through Update.

Read the full article...

The important thing is to put together a strong argument, backed up by solid evidence. We have learned that these points carry a lot of weight:

a record of high retention. Look back at previous registration figures, including completion and pass rates. A clear and continuing need for this training in your area is a very convincing argument;
a record of progression on to employment in a health related field. Are your former students out there in placements? Do you have figures to back you up? Stress the importance of ensuring wider participation in the community, especially in relation to promoting mental health;
the college's role in meeting the PSA (Public Sector Agreement) targets for the local LSC;
counselling - particularly the introduction to initial skills - being part of the college's 'entitlement' provision;
the contribution that these courses might make toward the acquisition of Key Skills, including 'communication', working with others' and 'self development'.
the Government’s own stated prioritizing of mental health issues . The press release here (click for link) first appeared in February 2008 and by itself creates a convincing argument. The Layard Report is easily accessed via the internet. You could also go to the NIMHE website and read the report on promoting mental health in BME communities. And the Department for Work and Pensions issued a press release on 27th November 2007 outlining the impact of mental health issues on absenteeism, together with a programme of initiatives designed to offer some support. To read the release follow this link: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/mediacentre/pressreleases/2007/nov/drc057-271107.asp.

There is also much to be gained by identifying the agencies used by your diploma students in the area and getting their WRITTEN support for the continuing provision of the full range of counselling courses.

Finally, we have heard from centres who have been able to overturn LSC decisions as a direct result of putting together a strong argument, so don’t assume that any situation is hopeless.

CPCAB and the Open University in partnership

Many tutors will be aware that CPCAB has been working with the Open University (OU) to develop a foundation degree in counselling. This project is in its final stages now and we are pleased to be able to give you an update on progress.

The CPCAB practitioner diplomas (levels 4 and 5) will form an integral part of the new foundation degree. Additional academic modules will be provided by the OU. Further information and details of a new short course offered by the OU follow.

Foundation Degree in Counselling (planned for 2009)

In collaboration with CPCAB, the Open University will be offering a Foundation Degree in Counselling (subject to approval). It will be suitable for individuals with some knowledge of basic counselling theory and skills who wish to train further to become qualified to practice in a professional setting. Further details will be available soon at www.open.ac.uk.

Introduction to Counselling is a new short course, available from The Open University in October 2008 at a cost of £215.

The course (course code D171) provides an accessible and interesting introduction to the theory and practice of counselling. It introduces a range of key topics in counselling, including the cultural and historical origins of counselling; different theoretical orientations; and the vital role of the counselling relationship. For more information visit www.open.ac.uk and search for D171.

Glastonbury Festival

One of the benefits of living and working near Glastonbury is the opportunity to take part in the world-famous music festival. Or one of the drawbacks, depending on your point of view!

This year, for the first time, a group of CPCAB staff and their friends have volunteered to act as campsite stewards at ‘Glasto’. As well as the obvious attractions of the festival itself, this is a great way to raise funds for a nominated charity, and our team have agreed to support Headway.

Headway is a national organisation offering support to people with acquired brain injuries plus their families. They have a particularly effective local branch and will be able to make good use of our donation. The charity offers a wide range of services, including rehabilitation programmes, carer support, social re-integration, community outreach and respite care. For more details see www.headway.org.uk.

And if you’re at the festival make your way up to the South Park campsite and say hello - we’ll be pleased to see you!

Staff changes

This year we have been delighted to welcome Niall O’Loingsingh to the team here in Somerset. Niall has joined us as a Production Assistant and has brought a mass of new ideas to our film unit, as well as a highly-developed sense of humour!

We have been sorry to say goodbye to Sue Chance, our Deputy Head of Qualifications who will be familiar to many of you through standardisation and EV visits; many of our tutors have benefited from Sue's hands-on support and encouragement as Deputy Head of Qualifications. We know you’ll be pleased to know that she’s much better now after some health problems including a very painful knee injury!

Sue and her husband are planning a move to Kent to be nearer their daughter and she is looking forward to concentrating on her writing career. All of us at CPCAB would like to extend a big thank you to Sue, who has contributed so much to CPCAB over the last three years.

You may be interested to know, too, that we have heard from Irene Helps, who retired at Christmas, that she and her husband are now happily installed in their dream house in France. They are looking forward to a busy retirement getting their new life under way!

Improvements to online candidate registration

We are continually looking to improve the candidate registration system and we have planned some upgrades in the coming months. These are:

You will be able to submit Internal Assessment results for candidates online. We will then send you an email when the External Assessment results are available and you'll be able to log in to see them.

We will be switching invoices and Candidate Registration Lists (CRLs) to PDF format. This is aimed to make the system more compatible with centres and make documents more secure. It will also fix problems that some centres have had with pop-up blocking.

A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section will be added to clear up common questions that users might have.

We are going to add some video tutorials demonstrating how to use the system.

It is imperative that we hold up-to-date email addresses for both centre and finance contacts so at the start of the next academic year you will be required to update your centre contact details by 30th September via the message that will appear when you log in.

For more information please contact Steve Spraggon (steve@cpcab.co.uk).

Correction of fees

Unfortunately there were some minor errors with the fee structure we sent you in January's update. The table of fees below is correct so apologies for any inconvenience.

Qualification	Initial qualification approval fee	Candidate registration fee	Re-sit fee	Appeals
ELSK-L2	£89	£38	£29	£38
LSK-L2	£89	£38	£29	£38
ICSK-L2	£119	£38	£29	£38
CSK-L2	£149	£116	£59	£116
CSK-L3	£149	£143	£89	£143
CST-L3	£149	£116	£59	£116
TC-L4	£199	Year 1: £199 Year 2: £199	£149	£199

Candidate registration fees for PC-L5, CBT-L5 and TCSU-L6 remain unchanged in 2008-09 but fees for re-sits have been increased.

Qualification	Initial qualification approval fee	Candidate registration fee	Re-sit fee	Appeals
PC-L5	£199	£199	£149	£199
CBT-L5	£199	£199	£149	£199
TCSU-L6	£199	£199	£149	£199

External Assessment dates for 2008-09

Below are the External Assessment dates for 2008-09.

Qualification	Date of EA	Date of results
ELSK-L2* and LSK-L2*	01/12/08 09/03/09 08/06/09 17/08/09	26/01/09 20/04/09 06/07/09 14/09/09
ICSK-L2	01/12/08 09/03/09 08/06/09 17/08/09	26/01/09 20/04/09 06/07/09 14/09/09
CSK-L2	12/01/09 27/04/09 29/06/09	16/03/09 08/06/09 01/09/09
CSK-L3	12/01/09 29/06/09	09/02/09 01/09/09
CST-L3	26/01/09 11/05/09 29/06/09	23/03/09 15/06/09 01/09/09

Qualification	Date of EA	Date of results
TC-L4 Stage 1	06/10/08 12/01/09 11/05/09	N/A
TC-L4 Stage 2	10/11/08 02/02/09 08/06/09	12/01/09 20/04/09 01/09/09
PC-L5	24/11/08 18/05/09	15/01/09 22/06/09
CBT-L5	18/05/09	22/06/09
TCSU-L6	18/05/09	22/06/09

*Independent Verification.

In this Update