Quality Mark

"The Quality Mark process is a great way to pull together a complete view of our provision for care experienced students and identify areas for development. Our assessor was brilliant, helping us step by step through the submission process."

"The NNECL Quality Mark is an important tool for improving access and raising standards for care experienced students across the post-16 landscape. The department is fully supportive of the Quality Mark, and I would encourage institutions to continue to work towards their accreditation. I welcome you to share this message with the sector."

Rt Hon Baroness Jacqui Smith

Minister for Skills, September 2024

Launched in June 2021, the NNECL Quality Mark is an evidence based and impact driven change management process for universities and colleges to demonstrate their support for the inclusion and success of students with care experience and who are estranged.

The QM framework covers:

the student lifecycle from outreach through to graduation (and beyond);
institutional culture and leadership; and
continuous improvement and future plans.

Our Quality Mark enables institutions to assess their current practice, identify gaps in provision and establish areas for development in coming years through an institutional self-assessment with support and review by a NNECL Assessor. This stage is an important part of your Quality Mark journey as the Assessor's role is to support you in the collation of evidence required to complete a submission.

We are not seeking perfection in present provision. We are looking for evidence of your current work, inclusion that the student voice and journey are informing your decisions and you are working to strengthen and progress the package of support for learners with care experience or who are estranged, through the development of an action plan.

The Quality Mark has been carefully designed to be holistic and proportionate, reflecting the diversity of institutions within the HE and FE sectors. Our guidance, which is regularly updated, and includes estranged students also contextualises the framework against the different requirements and policies for each of the UK's four nations.

First awards are made for three years.

We recommend the Quality Mark submission process adopts a whole institution approach and a working group of colleagues from across institutional departments is formed. This process also supports the development of internal collaboration. Please do contact us if you have any questions.

Findings from Quality Mark assessments have enabled us to build a detailed repository of effective practices across the sector to inform future policy and further improvements. You can see initial learning from the developmental phase on our Learning from the Quality Mark page.

The universities and colleges that have achieved the NNECL Quality Mark are listed on our Awards page.

Quality Mark Webinars

We offer a series of introductions to the Quality Mark Webinars. These are termly throughout the academic year- keep an eye on our newsletters and events for the next one!

We are also here if you would like an informal chat about the processes. Just get in touch

Expressions of interest

Once we have received your Expression of Interest we will arrange a time to meet so we can discuss your current practice, resources, timelines and the process. We will then match you with a NNECL Quality Mark Assessor and arrange the first meeting.

The Submission Process

Your Assessor will guide you through the submission process via a series of online meetings. Acting as a critical friend, your Assessor will support you by asking insightful questions, helping you articulate key information, and ensuring your submission is as strong and comprehensive as possible.

Once complete, your Assessor will carry out an initial review of your Quality Mark submission before passing it is is peer reviewed. We apply this process to every submission to ensure fair benchmarking across all institutions and to help us learn from the fantastic practice taking place across the sector.

Holding the QM Award

Once your institution is awarded the Quality Mark, we will provide you with the official logo to display on your own website as well as the Become/Propel page. We’re also happy to support you in celebrating your achievement through social media and events.

At the 18‑month point, we carry out a review to check in on your progress. This gives us an opportunity to see how the work in your action plan is developing and to understand any changes in direction resulting from internal priorities or wider sector updates.

As you approach the end of your three‑year Quality Mark period, we will contact you to discuss renewal arrangements. The renewal process builds on your original submission and includes sharing evidence of progress against your action plan, alongside developing a new plan for the next three years to maintain your Quality Mark status.

Quality Mark

Quality Mark Webinars

Expressions of interest

The Submission Process

Holding the QM Award

Meet the assessors

NNECL Quality Mark FAQ's

Expressions of interest

Quality Mark Holders

Learning from the Quality Mark

Background to the Quality Mark