Step 1 - checking which programmes are available

If you would like to offer our International English Qualifications, please follow this link: www.cityandguilds.com/ieq.

Step 2 - contacting City & Guilds

If your country is supported by local representatives then you need to contact them to ask for further guidance.

If your country is not supported by any of our local representatives, then you need to contact the European Branch office at info@cityandguilds.hu

Click here to find out if you have a local representative in your country.

Step 3 - completing the forms

You need to complete the application forms and send it to us with the supporting evidence needed.

If you would like to offer the City & Guilds International English Qualifications, you need to complete the following forms, which can be found in Chapter 3 of Centre Guide - Delivering International Qualifications Edition 3.

Application for Credit (Form CGI-CAF)

Application for Centre Approval (Form CGI-CAP)

The application forms need to be sent to the City & Guilds European Branch Office in an electronic format as well as two hard copies signed by post.

Step 4 - collecting supporting evidence

The information you provide us on the completed application form needs to be supported by evidence. The most important documents you need to send us are the following:

Appeals policy - to show that candidates are allowed to appeal against an assessment decision and how that is handled at the centre

Health and safety certificate - to show that the institution satisfies all the local health and safety requirements

Equal opportunities policy - to show that you have a commitment to equality of opportunity for all groups of candidates (e.g. women, candidates with learning difficulties, people from minorities and all ethnic groups, etc.)

Organisational chart - to show us how staff involved in running City & Guilds are linked to each other

Step 5 - settling the centre approval fee

Once we have your application form, we will check that you have everything required and we will give you any additional advice you may need.

After receiving all necessary documents including the completed application forms, a headed paper, the appeals policy, the health & safety certificate, the equal opportunities policy, the CV of staff involved in running our examinations, we will send you an invoice with the centre approval fee. You will need to settle the invoice before we can move to the next step.

Ide kéne linkelni a centre approval fees list-et.

Step 6 - approval visit

Once the centre approval fee has been settled, we will arrange an approval visit to take place at your institution.

Quality inspectors are appointed by City & Guilds to ensure that centres comply with our centre approval criteria. Their responsibilities relate to systems and quality assurance. Quality inspectors are responsible for making approval visits and recommendations (where appropriate) to confirm that potential centres satisfy/will be able to satisfy the centre approval criteria.

Step 7 - centre approval

After the successful approval visit your institution will become a City & Guilds approved centre for a period of two years. After two years you will need to apply for re-approval, which is normally a desk-based process unless your centres has undergone significant changes operations/staffing or has not entered a viable number of candidates for examinations over the two year approval period. Please note that the minimum volume requirements may vary from region to region, so please contact your local representative or the branch office for further information.

You will receive the following things upon the successful approval:

- centre approval certificate

- Centre Guide - Delivering International Qualifications Edition 3.

- 'Quiet Please. City & Guilds examination in progress' signs

- outdoor City & Guilds approved centre plaque

- leaflets and posters

Visit the resources section to find out what you need to become an approved City & Guilds centre

The main document you need to be familiar with is the Centre Guide - Delivering International Qualifications Edition 3. if you are going to offer City & Guilds International English Language Examinations, please look at chapters, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 12, 13.

The most important points to consider when preparing to become a City & Guilds centre are the following:

people,

examination rooms,

administrative requirements,

understanding of examination regulations.

People

It is necessary to have the right people in place to carry out all the key roles in verification, assessment, examination and invigilation. There are several main participants. If you would like to offer the City & Guilds English language qualifications, you will need to have an Assessment Manager an Examinations Secretary, Invigilators and Interlocutors (for the Spoken ESOL examinations).

Assessment Manager

The Assessment Manager is the person whose job is to ensure that the management, administrative and quality assurance systems for all City & Guilds programmes are properly maintained. This person may be the Principal or a Head of Department.

Whatever his or her status, this person will need to have an appropriate background and the necessary authority to make sure that all the required procedures are carried out correctly and consistently.

Examinations Secretary

The Assessment Manager may wish to appoint an Examinations Secretary, who is responsible for making sure that all registrations are sent to City & Guilds and exams are conducted in line with the correct procedures. The examinations secretary:

• is responsible for the recruiting and monitoring Invigilators, to ensure that examinations are conducted in accordance with City & Guilds regulations.
• will notify all interested parties of assessment or examination dates well in advance.
• will make sure that the appropriate security arrangements are in place for written papers, assessment materials and so on.
• ensures that certificates received from City & Guilds are securely stored and then correctly issued to candidates.
• ensures that City & Guilds is notified of any changes to the centres details

Invigilators

An invigilator is responsible for the conduct and integrity of all examinations. Invigilators are responsible for

• familiarising themselves with City & Guilds requirements including the Regulations for the conduct of examinations,
• accurately observing the time allotted for the examination
• reading out the ‘rules to candidates' prior to commencing the examination
• ensuring that all examination scripts are collected immediately after the examination and handed to the person responsible for despatching them
• ensuring compliance with all other regulations relating to the examination.

Interlocutors for the International Spoken ESOL examinations

Examination rooms

The examination room must be in a suitably quiet location, which will remain undisturbed for the whole examination, and have adequate space, heating, lighting and ventilation. A reliable clock must be visible to every candidate in the examination room.

Seating arrangements must be made which will prevent candidates from seeing each other's work, intentionally or otherwise. It is recommended that:

the minimum distance in all directions from centre to centre of candidates' chairs is 1.25 metres

all candidates should face in the same direction,

each candidate should be seated at a separate desk, table or workstation.

Administrative and security requirements

All question papers must be kept in a place of security and available only to authorised persons. This will require a safe or a non-portable, lockable, metal cabinet within a room, which is also secure from non-authorised entry, with restricted access and locked when not attended by authorised persons.

Once you are approved as a centre, you will need to use the City & Guilds' interactive administration service - Walled Garden - for ordering the examinations, monitoring the delivery process and the results. The Walled Garden allows you to carry out a range of day-to-day functions quickly and efficiently and it requires authorisation from City & Guilds to set up user accounts.

In order for you to be able use Walled Garden you need to have good internet connection and Internet Explorer as the internet browser.

Understanding of examination regulations

It is of utmost importance that all staff in the centre (especially the examinations secretary and the invigilators) understands the rules of conduction City & Guilds examinations. Please follow this link the read the examination regulations.