Stage 1 – understand the standards
The standards can be downloaded in pdf format. This allows organisations to collect evidence towards the seven pillars.
Stage 2 – evidencing meeting the standards
You will be required to write a statement to evidence each of the criteria at the level (Bronze, Silver or Gold) you want to apply for. In addition, there is a separate section for putting in hyperlinks to evidence, such as pamphlets, webpages, reports, or resources.
In order to quality assure the process and ensure best practice is embedded, programmes are required to remain at each stage for six months before progressing to the next level and cannot progress from Bronze to Gold in one step.
New applicants will need to meet the Bronze standards and hold that level for at least six months before being able to progress.
Judgements are based on best fit, for example if a submission meets most of the criteria in a level, then this will be awarded. The overall judgement will require at least six of the seven pillars to be scored at that level or higher, for example to be accredited at silver level, at least six of the pillars must be rated as silver or gold.
Stage 3- submitting an application
Organisations complete a separate submission form on the website to notify us that the submission is ready and instigate the assessment process for accreditation.
The assessor will award an outcome for each pillar and the overall accreditation. These cannot be appealed against, however the assessor will contact the applicant prior to this to request more evidence if a criteria does not meet the threshold.