How to achieve your NVQ after your training
Your training day will furnish you with practical tuition and a Carlton Institute Diploma (upon passing a small exam at the end of the day).
Following this, you will receive your NVQ pack which will include questions and assignments to work through to cover all the theory that you need to know, this is studied AT HOME in your own time.
You will also need to practice the treatments on clients and models, recording all your work and recording everything that you do, supported with photographic evidence to prove that you have done the treatments. These will be your case studies, and the number required varies by treatment. You will need to show that you can cover a wide range of conditions and clients.
Once you have completed the theory assignments and the required number of case studies, you will complete your portfolio (a file to hold all the information). This will then be cross referenced to your assessment book ( instructions are later).
When your portfolio and assessment book is complete, you will send it to the Head Office for marking. It is always an idea to keep a copy of your work for revision. Always send recorded.
If anything is missing, you might be asked to resubmit some additional information or case studies, there is no charge for this. If your complete portfolio needs to be returned to you, you will be charged postage at £6.00.
When your portfolio is signed off, you will be invited to attend an assessment session. The first day will consist of multiple choice test, you must achieve a minimum of 70 % to pass the first stage. Second stage will take you to 100%. This is done by oral question and answer. Following this you will attend for the practical assessments. Here you will have to perform each treatment fully and in a commercially viable time.
Please note : If you are attending for a full Level 2 or 3 you may have to attend for 2 days owing to the number of units that have to be assessed.
If you are being assessed on single unit(s) you may only be required to attend for 1 day.
Your Portfolio Pack
Portfolio Pack has full instructions on how to put your portfolio together. If you work through it step by step you will have completed all the necessary work to submit your portfolio to us. You may find that it is a little daunting at first but once you start to work through it, you will find that it is surprisingly straightforward.
Your Record of Assessment Booklet(s)
We suggest that you put the Assessment Booklets to one side until you have almost completed your portfolio, you will then find it much easier to follow.
The Assessment booklet(s) will give you an idea of the Performance Criteria which will be assessed by observing you on the day of your assessment. Some sections of the booklets are completed by your assessor and others you will need to complete yourself once you have completed your portfolio. The pages you need to complete are the Range pages and the Essential Knowledge & Understanding pages (EKU).
The Essential Knowledge and understanding section in your assessment booklet(s) and your training manual(s) will help with your revision. You will need to understand and know this for your final assessment. You may wish to copy these pages in order to revise from once you have submitted your portfolio. The essential knowledge and understanding requirements highlighted in white are assessed by a multiple choice test paper.
If you need any help with your portfolio and record of assessment book our assessors will be happy to help you. For assistance, please call our head office and we will be able to book an appointment for you. The charge for assistance will be £35.00 per hour. Please note that the session needs to be booked in advance and is subject to schedules and availability.
DO NOT USE CORRECTION FLUID OR PENCIL IN YOUR ASSESSMENT BOOK.
Submission of Portfolios
Naturally you will be as anxious as we are that it arrives with us safely so we strongly recommend that you pack it well and you must send it to the school of your assessment choice by recorded delivery. Your portfolio can take up to 6 weeks to be marked and confirmation sent to you:-
Exmouth Assessment Centre
The Carlton Institute (portfolios)
34 Rolle Street
Exmouth
EX8 2SH
Please send all correspondence to the head office - 34 Rolle Street, Exmouth, Devon EX8 2SH
If you have any queries concerning your assessment you should contact Head Office in Exmouth. We know that you will have spent a great deal of time on your portfolio and we will need to spend a lot of time reading it and assessing it before we can put you forward for the next available assessment session. We hold assessment sessions each month in our Windsor centre and six monthly in Stockport, Exmouth, Glasgow and Cardiff. The sooner you send in your completed portfolio the sooner you will be allocated an assessment date.
The date and time of your assessment will be confirmed to you only after we have received your portfolio and it has been marked and signed off; this is so that we can gauge whether you are ready to be put forward for assessment or whether you need to resubmit any work. If any resubmissions are needed, we will ask you to return them within 3 months, marking your envelope with 'Priority Service'. If you take longer than three months, you will have to complete more case studies to keep your records up to date. No date can be given for your assessment until your completed resubmissions are received and re-marked and signed off. Assessments are held over two days - first day will cover written papers, which will include a health and safety paper, multiple choice, written questions and anatomy diagrams. The second day will be practical and assessor feedback, so you will be with us all day. Depending on the length of time between your practical and feedback, you may have time to leave the Centre and return.
All assessment centres have recently been reminded by the awarding body that students who are ready for assessment must attend on the assessment date given "unless there is a family bereavement or illness where a doctor's note must be shown". This is for external verification sampling purposes.
Students who registered for a full qualification may need to complete their practical assessment over two days. This may be covered as consecutive days or you may have to return on the next available assessment (the following month). The full qualifications are Beauty Therapy Level 2, Beauty Therapy Level 3, Massage Level 3, Nail Services Level 2 & Nail Services Level 3.
If you are being assessed on single unit(s) you may only be required to attend for 1 day.
Assessment Client
Students must bring their own client for themselves, or another student, to work on (in special circumstances we may be able to provide a client but a charge would have to be made). It is important to try to think of your assessment client as a true paying salon client and not as a model; this will help you to treat her in a professional way which is necessary if you are to be successful in your assessment.
If you are being assessed for Nail Extensions you will be asked to bring a model with one hand requiring infill's and the other hand without extensions.
Candidate's Handbook
This can be downloaded from the VTCT website: www.vtct.org.uk
Appeals Procedure
Should you wish to appeal against an assessment decision you should first inform the internal verifier (by calling our Head Office for contact details) who will record the details of your appeal and discuss them with your assessor. If it cannot be resolved internally then the matter can be documented and reported to the External Verifier and if necessary to the Regional External Verifier. Unsuccessful appeals may incur a charge to cover the External Verifier's time.
Meanwhile, we are here to help; if you are unsure about the work needed for your portfolio or want to discuss what will happen on the assessment day itself, please do not hesitate to contact us in the office between 9.00am and 5.00pm, Monday to Friday on 01395 226622.
Kind Regards
The Carlton Team