We have already explained the role in our guide to what an IQA is, and the qualifications in our comparison of the Level 4 IQA Award vs the Certificate in Leading IQA. This guide covers what those articles leave out: the practical route, what your evidence has to show, and how to get started when you do not yet have assessors to work with.
The three things every IQA needs
| Requirement | What it means | Where it is set |
|---|---|---|
| Subject expertise | Current knowledge of the occupation, at or above the level you will be assuring | ABBE's Assessment Principles; City & Guilds' staffing rules |
| Assessment and quality assurance know-how | You understand assessment well enough to judge other people's decisions, and you work to the national standards for internal quality assurance | ABBE's Assessment Principles refer to National Occupational Standard 11, "Internally Monitor and Maintain the Quality of Assessment" |
| Assessors to assure | The practical qualification is evidenced from real quality assurance of real assessors | City & Guilds 6317, Unit 402 |
ABBE's Assessment Principles spell out the first two. IQAs must be currently occupationally knowledgeable, have relevant occupational expertise at the level (or above) in the vocational area they are assuring, and be competent to make quality assurance decisions. In most circumstances ABBE requires an IQA to hold, or be working towards, a current, recognised IQA qualification, such as the Level 4 Award in the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice, the Level 4 Certificate in Leading the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice, V1 or D34. The Principles add that in some circumstances ABBE does not require a formal IQA qualification, and where that is the case, the qualification handbook says so.
City & Guilds sets out something similar in its handbook for the 6317 suite. Internal quality assurers must have appropriate teaching and vocational knowledge and expertise, have experience in quality management or internal quality assurance, hold or be working towards an appropriate teaching, training or assessing qualification, and be familiar with the occupation and the technical content covered by the qualification.
Notice the phrase "working towards". Both organisations accept it for IQAs. That matters because it means you do not have to finish the qualification before you start doing the job. But requirements are set per awarding organisation and per qualification, so always check the handbook for the qualifications you will be assuring.
Where are you starting from?
Most people arrive at IQA from one of three directions. Your starting point decides your first step.
| If you are... | Your first step | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| An experienced assessor (you hold CAVA, A1/A2, D32/D33 or similar) | Find a centre with assessors you can quality-assure, then register for the Level 4 Award | Make sure the role gives you real assessors with their own learners |
| A tutor, manager or trainer who has not assessed | Qualify as an assessor first with the CAVA, and build a record of assessing | Assessment experience is the foundation of IQA. Our guide to how to become a vocational assessor covers the route |
| A tradesperson or professional with no teaching or assessing background | Build up from tutor or assessor work in your subject, then move into IQA | The knowledge-only Level 4 Award (6317-40) does not qualify you to practise. See our IQA guide for the three Level 4 options |
Our guide to tutor, assessor or IQA compares the three paths, if you are not sure which one fits you.
The route, step by step
- Build your subject expertise and keep it current. The IQA has to be credible to the assessors they check. Keep a record of your experience, training and CPD.
- Gain assessing experience. Hold a recognised assessor qualification and assess real learners, so you understand what good assessment looks like from the inside.
- Find out what your awarding organisation requires. Read the staffing section of the handbook for the qualifications you will assure. It may differ from City & Guilds' rules.
- Secure access to assessors and learners. Before you register for a practical IQA qualification, make sure you will have assessors with learners to quality-assure. Section below explains how.
- Register for the right Level 4 qualification. The Award (6317-41) is the working IQA qualification. The Certificate in Leading IQA (6317-42) adds a unit on planning and monitoring work.
- Plan your quality assurance activity. Write a monitoring plan, covering what you will check, how often and with whom.
- Carry out the activity and record it. Observe, sample, give feedback, run standardisation and keep records.
- Compile your evidence and finish the qualification. Your assessor will confirm that your evidence meets each criterion.
- Keep developing. Maintain your subject knowledge and CPD, and take on more complex quality assurance work.
What the practical evidence has to show
The practical unit in the City & Guilds 6317 suite is Unit 402, Internally Assure the Quality of Assessment (6 credits, Level 4). It is what turns the Level 4 Award from a knowledge qualification into an IQA practitioner qualification. The handbook sets out the evidence rules.
The core requirement: the primary evidence "must come from the candidate IQA monitoring and quality assuring the work of two assessors, each with a minimum of two candidates of their own through components of a qualification."
Put simply, that means you need to quality-assure at least two assessors, and each of them needs at least two real learners. Here is how the unit's evidence breaks down.
| Stage | What you must be able to show |
|---|---|
| Plan | A plan to monitor the work of two assessors, each working with two learners, covering the components of a qualification. The handbook's best-practice guide says a plan should include risk assessment and the approach to managing risk, monitoring of the documentation and resources given to assessors and learners, observation of assessors, sampling of assessment plans, learner induction and products of work, discussions with learners and witnesses, monitoring of assessment decisions, records and certification claims, the occupational and assessment competence and CPD of assessors, standardisation, learner needs and progress reviews, and checking the application of policies including equality and diversity. It should show regular activity over the period of the plan |
| Carry out quality assurance | Products of work, supported by at least one observation, across the two assessors and four learners, showing how you checked that assessment methods are valid and reliable and that assessment decisions are made consistently against the agreed criteria |
| Give feedback and support | Records of meetings and feedback sessions with assessors, supported by an observation of you giving feedback and guidance |
| Standardise | Meeting records showing you took part in standardisation activity on at least two occasions |
| Manage records | Records stored and reported according to the centre's and the awarding organisation's requirements, including at least one report that you produced |
| Maintain quality | Records of your observations and activity, showing how you keep the quality of assessment under review |
This has to be real activity with real assessors. The handbook says simulation may only be used in the knowledge-only units (Units 1 and 4 in its numbering) and "is not allowed in any of the other units", which includes the practical IQA unit. Read the current handbook for the full text, because the exact evidence rules can change between versions.
The practical effect is that you cannot complete the unit without access to assessors who are working with learners. This is why the first question for anyone planning to become an IQA should be: who will I be quality-assuring?
An illustrative first quality assurance plan
Your evidence will be stronger if the plan is simple and the activity is spread over time. The table below is an example of how a candidate IQA might spread the work for two assessors, each with two learners, over three months. It is our illustration, not a City & Guilds template, so adapt it to your centre and awarding organisation.
| When | What the IQA does | Evidence produced |
|---|---|---|
| Start | Check each assessor's qualifications, occupational competence and CPD; check that the assessors have what they need to assess; review the learners' inductions and assessment plans | Plan; checklist of assessor and learner records |
| First month | Hold a standardisation meeting with both assessors; agree what counts as sufficient evidence | Meeting record |
| Second month | Observe each assessor carrying out an assessment; sample products of work from each learner; give feedback straight afterwards | Observation records; sampling record; feedback record |
| Second month | Check that assessment decisions match the criteria and that records are complete | Decision sampling notes |
| Third month | Hold a second standardisation meeting using real samples from both assessors; review the learners' progress reviews | Meeting record; progress review notes |
| End | Write a report on the quality of assessment, record any actions, and reflect on your own practice and CPD | Report; reflective statement |
Notice that the table includes at least one observation, two standardisation occasions and at least one report, which are the minimums the City & Guilds unit asks for.
How to get access to assessors
This is the part nobody explains. These are the realistic options, with our view on each.
| Route | How it works | Things to consider |
|---|---|---|
| Your current employer | You are already in a training provider, college or company with assessors and learners, and you take on the IQA role | Often the simplest, because the access comes with the job. Make sure the role is properly allocated, so your quality assurance is part of your duties |
| A centre that needs an IQA | A training provider or approved centre without enough IQAs recruits you, sometimes as an associate or part-time IQA | They will want evidence you can do the job; some will accept "working towards" |
| A training provider that offers the qualification with placements | Some providers arrange assessors for candidates to quality-assure | Ask exactly how it works, who the assessors are, and who pays |
| Your own centre | If you are setting up a training centre, you create the team | The independence rules apply. You cannot quality-assure your own assessment, so you will need at least one other assessor |
| A consortium or partnership of small providers | Providers share IQA resource | Agree who is responsible for what and keep clear records |
Before you commit to any of these, ask:
- Which assessors will I quality-assure, and how many learners does each have?
- How long will those learners be on programme? Your evidence needs regular activity over time.
- Who will countersign or confirm my practice, and who is my own assessor?
- What happens if an assessor or learner leaves partway through?
- Does the awarding organisation for those learners accept me as an IQA, and on what conditions?
Independence: why you cannot check your own work
An IQA's job is to be a second pair of eyes. That only works if the eyes are independent. ABBE's Assessment Principles say assessors must not assess learners where they have a potential conflict of interest, for example a family member or close friend, and where this cannot be avoided the centre must notify ABBE before the assessment and agree additional quality assurance checks. The IQA is the person responsible for making sure conflicts are avoided or properly notified.
For a small centre, this has a practical consequence. If you are the only assessor, you cannot also be your own IQA. You need a second person, even if that person works part-time or as an associate. Our guide to quality nominee vs IQA explains how the centre-level quality role and the IQA role fit together in small centres.
Keeping your competence current
Becoming an IQA is not a one-off. Awarding organisations expect your knowledge to stay up to date. ABBE's Assessment Principles define occupational competence and knowledge as things that "should be maintained through clearly demonstrable continuing learning and professional development", and say that evidence of current knowledge is assessed through a review of CPD records, CV, qualification certificates and other indicative evidence. City & Guilds expects practitioners to show current evidence of CPD and practice in assessment and quality assurance.
Keep a simple file:
- certificates for your subject, assessing and IQA qualifications
- an up-to-date CV that shows your recent practical experience
- a CPD log with dates, what you did and what you learned
- records of your IQA activity, such as plans, observations and meeting notes
If you ever apply to a new awarding organisation, this file is what they will ask to see.
After you qualify
Qualification opens several directions:
- Lead IQA. You take responsibility for a team of IQAs and for the quality assurance plan for a qualification or subject area. The Level 4 Certificate in Leading IQA is aimed at this.
- Centre-level quality roles. Some awarding organisations ask centres to name a quality lead, such as a quality nominee, who oversees the whole centre. We explain it in quality nominee vs IQA.
- External quality assurance. Awarding organisations appoint their own external quality assurers. ABBE says its EQAs are appointed against rigorous criteria, so you would normally need substantial experience first.
- Freelance or associate work. Some centres buy in IQA capacity when they need it.
Common mistakes
- Registering before you have assessors. You cannot complete Unit 402 without them, so you pay for a qualification you cannot finish.
- Assuming the knowledge-only award qualifies you. The Level 4 Award in Understanding the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice does not qualify you to practise.
- Assuming one awarding organisation's rules apply to another. Check each handbook.
- Having only one assessor. The unit asks for two assessors, each with two learners.
- Leaving records until the end. Plans, observation notes and standardisation records are easiest to produce as you go.
- Checking your own assessments. This breaks the independence that gives quality assurance its value.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to be an assessor before I can become an IQA?
In practice, yes. The practical qualification needs you to quality-assure real assessors, and IQA roles expect you to understand assessment from experience. The knowledge-only Level 4 Award does not require assessing experience, but it does not qualify you to practise.
Can I become an IQA while working towards the qualification?
Often, yes. ABBE says that in most circumstances an IQA must hold or be working towards a recognised IQA qualification, and City & Guilds' staffing rules for its 6317 suite use similar wording. Requirements differ by awarding organisation and qualification, so check the handbook for the qualification you will be quality-assuring.
How many assessors do I need to quality-assure?
For the City & Guilds Unit 402, the primary evidence must come from monitoring and quality assuring two assessors, each with a minimum of two learners of their own. That is a minimum for the qualification; real IQA roles usually cover more.
Do I need experience in the subject?
Yes. ABBE's Assessment Principles require IQAs to be currently occupationally knowledgeable and to have relevant occupational expertise at or above the level in the vocational area they are assuring. City & Guilds likewise expects IQAs to be familiar with the occupation and its technical content.
Can I be my own IQA?
No. An IQA cannot independently check their own assessment decisions. If you are the only assessor in a small centre, you need another person to act as IQA for your work.
Does an IQA qualification expire?
The qualifications themselves do not carry an expiry date, but awarding organisations expect evidence of current practice and CPD. Keep a record of your recent quality assurance work and professional development.
Can I do the IQA qualification online?
Many providers offer the knowledge elements online, but the practical unit depends on observed activity with real assessors, so check how a provider handles observation and who your assessors will be. Ask the awarding organisation what it accepts.
How Nexis Academy can help
Nexis Academy is a City & Guilds Approved Centre (T91185) in Manchester. We currently deliver internal wall insulation training, with more trade and construction courses in development. We do not yet offer assessing or quality assurance courses, so please register your interest to hear when that changes.
We are also recruiting qualified IQAs for our own programmes. If you hold a Level 4 IQA qualification and retrofit or construction knowledge, see careers at Nexis Academy.
See also what an IQA is and quality nominee vs IQA.
Sources
- City & Guilds, Level 3 and 4 Awards and Certificates in Assessment and Quality Assurance (6317-30-33, 40-42) Qualification Handbook v1.8: staffing requirements for IQAs, Unit 402 evidence rules, internal and external quality assurance.
- ABBE, Assessment Principles v12, June 2025: IQA requirements, definitions of occupational competence and knowledge, conflicts of interest, EQA appointment.