The Quality Mark
Since its launch in June 2021, our Quality Mark has provided a structured, quality assurance programme for universities and colleges to demonstrate their commitment to supporting the inclusion and success of students with care backgrounds or who are estranged.
The QM framework covers:
- the student lifecycle from outreach through to enrolment, graduation (and beyond)
- institutional culture and leadership
- continuous improvement and future planning.
This framework enables institutions to assess their current practices, identify gaps in provision, and establish areas for future development through an institutional self-assessment, which is supported and reviewed by an NNECL Assessor.
Impact of Quality Mark
In late 2024, The Lines Between conducted an independent review of the Quality Mark, which confirmed our change management programme (Quality Mark) is a vehicle for driving up educational attainment for young people with care experience and is positively impacting our learners. You can read the report published in February 2025 here.
The Lines Between said:
- Desire for Improvement: Institutions choose to undertake the NNECL Quality Mark as part of their desire to improve the outcomes for learners with care experience and they consider it a valuable resource for review, recognition, development and continuous improvement.
- Multitude of impacts: The Quality Mark has a multitude of impacts, even for universities and colleges, which have previously developed policies and practices relating to students with care experience.
- Positive change across departments: There is evidence of positive change for leadership teams and for staff across a range of departments and faculties. This change is typically through staff gaining a greater awareness and understanding of issues affecting students with care experience, speaking up for them and being involved in policy and practice change leading to better educational outcomes.
- Real-world impact: One participant in the study said, “Having an awareness of our students’ situation has been invaluable. Showing what we already do, and if we can improve it, was good to see. We work closely with our Student Wellbeing and Support Services, and we have been able to continue this. It has opened our eyes to external opportunities we can join in with.”
Speakers
In this session, Sian Edwards (NNECL Programme Manager) and Moira Mitchell (NNECL QM Consultant) will provide expert guidance on Quality Mark. We’ll also hear from colleagues who have recently completed the change management programme or have begun the process and learn about the impact the Quality Mark is having on students.
We will outline the steps involved in achieving the Quality Mark and allocate dedicated time for questions, which will assist you in preparing your institution for the Quality Mark submission process.
Pricing
This webinar is free to attend.
Who should attend?
This webinar is ideal for any practitioner or institution that works with students from care backgrounds and is looking to enhance their support and services for them.
How will it be delivered?
This will be a live webinar hosted on Microsoft Teams. Once registered, the link to join will be shared ahead of the event.
Will this event be recorded?
No, this event will not be recorded, however, it is a recurring event taking place place each academic term. Be sure to join us at a future session if you are unable to attend this one.
Your access needs
We are committed to inclusivity and to ensure that all our participants feel welcomed and can fully engage with our sessions. Therefore,
- All online events will have closed captions.
- To help us, please share any access needs you have when prompted by our booking form. We may be in touch to ensure we’re making the right adjustments.
Having trouble booking?
If you have any questions or encounter any issues during registration, please email us at [email protected] for support.
