Timescale for submission of self assessment questionnaire

Once an applicant’s declaration form and property schedule have been completed, they will then be able to begin the self-assessment process.

An applicant has 28 days from the time the application is made to submit the initial self-assessment, otherwise the application will lapse.

Structure of the SAQ

As of January 2023, the SAQ system has changed. Instead of there being a single assessment to complete, it has been divided into two parts.

The first, called the Organisational Self Assessment Questionnaire (OSAQ), will need to be completed by all members once every three years as it relates to compliance with aspects of the Code that are concerned with the providers overall management procedures. All new applicants for membership of the Non-Educational Establishment Code (from January 23rd 2023) will also be required to complete this SAQ.

The second SAQ relates specifically to buildings and is called the Site Self Assessment Questionnaire (SSAQ). Members of the Code for Non Educational Establishments will need to complete and submit an SSAQ ahead of each verification visits, specifically for the development that is to be visited. New applicants are likely to be asked to do the same.

Each of the SAQs asks a series of questions covering the nine different sections of the Code for Non-Educational Establishments, and respondents are able to upload relevant documents to support their responses to certain questions.

The user guide for the new SAQ system can be downloaded here

It is anticipated that members (and applicants for) of the Educational Establishment Code will be required to undertake the self assessment process in the same way as from 2024, but until then the existing (single) SAQ system will apply to them.

Commitment entailed by self assessment

Satisfactory self assessment does not lead directly to membership and full accreditation. This will only be granted once the verification process has been undertaken and the outcomes confirmed by the verifier as satisfactory.

Once an OSAQ has been received the applicant is fully part of the membership process and the applicant agrees to having placed in the public domain the fact of a failed application beyond this point and the reasons for that failure.

Applications which fail after or as a result of the SAQ process are dealt with formally by the Audit Panel or the Tribunal, for recommendation to the CoM. The Tribunal and Audit Panel each has the power to suspend the provider pending further consideration of the case.

Re-assessment

Existing members are required to undertake a fresh OSAQ within each three-year period of membership and an SSAQ each time that they have a development visited.

Online self assessment

The SAQ is only available online. The NCA will provide all members with a link to the relevant website at the time they are required to complete or re-complete the assessment, along with some guidance on how to proceed. The same link and guidance will be available to new applicants.