Approved providers
The Education Department of the Velocity Interoperability Network delivers its programmes directly and through training providers it has approved. An approved provider delivers the Department's syllabus; the examination that ends each programme remains set and marked by the Department. For the programmes themselves, see Training; for what each programme must cover, see the Syllabus.
Approval exists so that a candidate trained anywhere in the Network arrives at the Department's examination having covered the same ground, and so that a pass means the same thing whoever taught the candidate. The Department therefore inspects the instructors, premises, equipment, teaching and records of every provider before approving it, and again during each period of approval.
Who may be approved
- Training units of member organisations
- A member organisation may be approved to deliver the foundation and operator programmes to its own staff. Units that delivered training before 6 September 2026 hold transitional approval and will be inspected before 31 March 2027; others apply in the usual way.
- Foundation and operator programmes. Own staff only unless the approval says otherwise.
- Independent training providers
- A provider that is not a member organisation may be approved to deliver the foundation and operator programmes to the staff of any member organisation. Independent providers are inspected before approval and at least once during each period of approval.
- Foundation and operator programmes. Open enrolment.
- The Department
- The Department delivers all three programmes itself and is the only provider of the assessor programme. Its own delivery is subject to the same syllabus and the same inspection standard, applied by an assessor from outside the Department's training staff.
- Foundation, operator and assessor programmes.
How a provider is approved
Step 1: Expression of interest
The provider writes to the Department stating which programmes it wishes to deliver, where, and with what staff.
Step 2: Application
The provider submits an application giving its teaching staff, premises, equipment and quality procedures. Every instructor must hold current certification at the level of the programme taught.
Step 3: Inspection
A certified assessor appointed by the Department inspects the premises and observes a sample of teaching.
Step 4: Approval
The Department issues a letter of approval naming the programmes and places covered. Approval is valid for two years.
Step 5: Monitoring
Approved providers report each cohort to the Department and are inspected at least once during the period of approval.
What an inspection examines
An inspection is carried out by a certified assessor appointed by the Department, who has no connection with the provider. It takes one day for a provider delivering the foundation programme and two days for one delivering the operator programme, and the provider is told the dates at least ten working days in advance.
The assessor reports to the Department and to the provider. Findings are classed as non-conformances, which must be remedied before approval is granted or continued, and observations, which the provider is asked to consider. The six headings below are the standard against which every provider, including the Department itself, is inspected.
Inspection standard
- Instructors
- That every instructor holds current certification at or above the level of the programme taught, has taught or assisted on at least one full delivery of it, and is named in the provider's records against each session delivered.
- Premises
- That the teaching rooms accommodate the cohort with a desk for each candidate, are free of disturbance during teaching, and are accessible to candidates who need adjustments.
- Equipment
- For the operator programme, that training equipment is of a kind certified against Network standards, is configured as the syllabus requires for modules O2, O3, O4 and O7, and is available to each candidate for the hours the syllabus gives to practice.
- Teaching
- That the sample of teaching observed follows the current syllabus, gives each module at least the hours shown, and is delivered in a way that candidates can follow. The assessor observes at least two sessions, one of which the provider does not choose.
- Records
- That attendance is recorded for every session, that each cohort has been reported to the Department, that candidates registered for examination completed the programme, and that a written complaints procedure exists and has been given to candidates.
- Outcomes
- From the second inspection onwards, that the provider's candidates pass the Department's examinations at a rate not markedly below that of candidates trained by the Department, and that any shortfall has been examined by the provider and acted on.
Conditions of approval
- Deliver the Department's syllabus
- Approved providers teach the current syllabus for each programme without omission. Additional material may be added but not substituted.
- Register candidates for examination
- The provider registers its candidates with the Department no later than ten working days before the examination date. Examinations are set and marked by the Department, not by the provider.
- Keep records
- Attendance records and instructor certification are kept for each cohort and produced to the Department on request.
- Notify changes
- Changes to instructors, premises or ownership are notified to the Department within twenty working days.
- Give candidates the complaints procedure
- Every candidate is given the provider's written complaints procedure at the start of a programme, together with the Department's address for complaints that the provider does not resolve.
Time limits
| Action | Period | Who acts |
|---|---|---|
| Acknowledgement of an expression of interest | 10 working days | The Department |
| Inspection following a complete application | Within 60 working days | The Department |
| Decision following an inspection | 20 working days | The Department |
| Remedy of an inspection finding | As set by the assessor, ordinarily 60 days | The provider |
| Registration of candidates for a sitting | 10 working days before the sitting | The provider |
| Report of a completed cohort | 20 working days after the last session | The provider |
| Notification of a change of instructor, premises or ownership | 20 working days | The provider |
| Inspection of a unit holding transitional approval | Before 31 March 2027 | The Department |
| Application to renew approval | 90 days before expiry | The provider |
Common questions
Applying
The application form and the fee for approval will be published here as they are put in place. Until then, expressions of interest may be sent to contact@education.gov.vin, and the Department will acknowledge them within ten working days and send the application requirements. Providers whose approval is refused, suspended or withdrawn may make representations under Appeals and complaints.