Notice of Intention to Accept a Settlement Proposal: ProQual
Ofqual intends to accept a settlement proposal from ProQual to pay a monetary penalty and commission an independent audit to provide assurance of compliance with its Conditions of Recognition.
Applies to England
Documents
Details
Between November 2021 and November 2022, Ofqual carried out an investigation into ProQual’s compliance with its Conditions of Recognition. The investigation identified significant record keeping failures by ProQual which meant that it was unable to demonstrate how it had complied with its own centre approval and centre monitoring processes. Further, the investigation found evidence that ProQual was not adhering to its own Centre Assessment Standards Scrutiny (CASS) strategy, in circumstances where Centres were responsible for marking assessments completed by Learners. The investigation also highlighted failures to properly identify and monitor actual or potential conflicts of interest which related to it, including in particular a potential conflict of interest relating to a ProQual approved centre that was owned by ProQual’s shareholders.
ProQual has since admitted that it breached Conditions A4, A5, A8 and H2 of its Conditions of Recognition in the ways set out in the attached Notice of Intention, and signed a settlement proposal by which it:
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Agrees to pay the Monetary Penalty of £15,000
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Agrees to commission an independent audit at its own expense to provide assurance as to the extent to which its processes and record keeping are now compliant with its Conditions of Recognition