Developing confident External Quality Assurers: RI Training’s work with Lantra

textWhat does effective External Quality Assurer development look like in practice?

Developing a confident and competent External Quality Assurer requires more than delivering the underpinning knowledge. Candidates also need opportunities to carry out genuine EQA activities, make professional judgements and demonstrate their competence through evidence from the workplace.

In summer 2025, RI Training launched an External Quality Assurer development programme for Lantra. The programme supports Lantra staff and contracted EQAs working towards the Level 4 Award in the External Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice.

RI Training delivers the training and assessment through Enable Assessment, the assessment centre registered with iCQ. Successful candidates receive their qualification certificate from iCQ.

External Quality Assurers play an important part in protecting the integrity of vocational qualifications and assessment systems.

Their role involves much more than checking completed portfolios. An effective EQA must be able to evaluate how an approved centre manages the complete assessment process and determine whether assessment decisions are valid, reliable, fair and consistent.

The programme introduced candidates to the principles of external quality assurance and the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to operate effectively in the role.

This included:

• Planning external quality-assurance activities.
• Using risk to determine the focus and frequency of EQA activity.
• Sampling assessment and internal quality-assurance practice.
• Conducting centre visits.
• Observing assessment and quality-assurance activities.
• Reviewing centre systems and records.
• Evaluating compliance with awarding-organisation requirements.
• Providing constructive feedback.
• Agreeing and monitoring actions.
• Producing clear EQA reports.
• Supporting continuous improvement while protecting assessment standards.

As with many professional qualifications, the greatest challenge is not necessarily developing the underpinning knowledge. It is demonstrating that this knowledge can be applied consistently in the workplace.

Candidates were required to provide evidence of genuine EQA practice. This included completing assessment-centre visits and assuring assessment and internal quality-assurance arrangements against recognised standards.

The evidence needed to demonstrate more than participation in an activity. Candidates must show how they had planned their work, gathered and evaluated information, reached their conclusions and communicated their findings.

RI Training’s approach focused on guiding candidates through this process and helping them understand what constitutes valid and meaningful evidence.

Evidence was mapped clearly to the qualification requirements and had to reflect the candidate’s own professional practice and judgement.

Structured support was provided throughout the programme.

Candidates received guidance on the qualification requirements, the evidence they needed to generate, and how their evidence should be presented. Assessor feedback helped them identify progress, address gaps and refine their evidence where necessary.

This support was intended to help candidates take ownership of their portfolios rather than simply collect documents without understanding how they demonstrated competence.

The programme combined:

• Initial structured training.
• Guidance and learning resources.
• Workplace EQA activities.
• Portfolio development.
• Ongoing assessor support.
• Assessment feedback.
• Internal quality assurance.

This combination allowed candidates to develop their understanding while progressively demonstrating their ability to perform the role.

The SwiftTrack e-portfolio system was used to support the programme’s assessment and quality-assurance processes.

The system hosts the units and assessment criteria that form the EQA qualification. Candidates can access the requirements, guidance and learning resources through their secure accounts.

They can also upload evidence in different formats, including documents, reports, reflective accounts and other records generated through their EQA activities.

Assessors can monitor progress, review submitted evidence, provide feedback and record assessment decisions. The internal and external quality-assurance stages can also be completed securely through the system.

Using an e-portfolio provides a clear connection between the qualification requirements, the candidate’s evidence and the resulting assessment decisions. It also makes it easier to identify gaps and monitor progress throughout the programme.

The first two Lantra EQA candidates successfully completed their portfolios, demonstrated competence and progressed through the internal quality-assurance process in January 2026.

This represents an important milestone for the programme and demonstrates the value of combining structured learning with authentic workplace practice, ongoing support and an effective digital assessment system.

The experience reinforces a central principle of vocational development:

Effective EQA development depends on balancing strong theoretical foundations with genuine workplace application and supportive—but rigorous—assessment practices.

RI Training supports awarding organisations, professional bodies, employers and training providers with the development of Assessors, Internal Quality Assurers and External Quality Assurers.

Our support includes:

• Bespoke Assessor, IQA and EQA training.
• Recognised vocational qualifications.
• Assessment and portfolio support.
• Development of quality-assurance systems.
• EQA planning, risk and sampling.
• Assessment and quality-assurance resources.
• Digital portfolio and evidence-management solutions.

If your organisation needs to develop confident quality assurers or strengthen its assessment and quality-assurance arrangements, please contact RI Training to discuss your requirements.