RARPA (Recognising And Recording Progress and Achievement in non-accredited learning)
A Joint project between NIACE and the Learning and Skills Development Agency.
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What is RARPA?
The Recognition and Recording of Progress and Achievement (RARPA) describes a particular approach to a significant part of the quality assurance systems of providers in the post-school sector for non-accredited provision. The term ‘non-accredited’ in this context describes all provision in the Learning and Skills sector that does not lead to a qualification or to an externally-accredited certificate. ‘Externally accredited’ means that the certificate is awarded by an organisation independent of the provider of the programme. The RARPA approach consists of two interlinked processes:
The application of an explicit and common staged process to the recognition and recording of progress and achievement.
The validation of the consistent and effective application of this staged process through a range of judgements about the application of the staged process.
We refer to these two aspects of the RARPA approach in this report through the shorthand terms ‘staged process’ and ‘National Validation System (NVS)‘. However it should be emphasised here that the evaluation activities reported on here focus exclusively on the staged process. Occasional reference to the NVS is made in the text of the report, but recommendations to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) on the NVS fall outside the scope of this report.
Background
In 2001/2002, The Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA) was asked by the LSC to devise a method to recognise and record progress and achievement in non-accredited learning, in the absence of formal assessment. In addition, NIACE looked at the views and perceptions of learners on approaches to identifying and evaluating learning outcomes. This is the latest publication in a long line of publications and research on identifying learning outcomes in non-accredited work produced by NIACE and LSDA. As a result the LSC set up a project to extend the development work and test a method of recognising and recording progress and achievement. This report evaluates this phase of developing the RARPA approach.
The approach that has been developed by LSDA, NIACE and the LSC’s Quality and Standards directorate acknowledges the paramount importance of the diverse needs, purposes and interests of learners. It seeks to address the requirements and interests of other stakeholders, particularly providers and the Council and local LSCs. In addition, the RARPA approach takes account of the wider needs of communities, employers in relation to workforce development and the imperative to attract potential learners i.e. those not currently participating in learning.
For more information on RARPA please visit the LSC website: www.lsc.gov.uk/rarpa
