International Academic

Approval Guidance
Becoming a Pearson Edexcel Centre

This guidance explains the process to become an

approved Pearson Edexcel centre.
By following these steps, you will be able to offer our qualifications
as soon as possible. Our guidance includes useful tips on things you
need to do, the steps in the process, and support with completing the
paperwork. If there is anything you are still unsure about, or if you need
additional support, your Regional Development Manager will be happy
to help you.
Pearson is regulated by Ofqual and we are part of the Joint Council for
Qualifications. Because of this, there are some regulatory requirements
you will need to have in place before you can become an approved
centre for our academic qualifications.
There is a JCQ Checklist which is useful as a starting point to see what
you already have in place and what still needs to be put in place before
you apply for approval.
Overview of the process

Approvals Process
Step 1 - Expression of Interest

You tell us you would like to become an

approved Pearson Edexcel centre. You
can do this using the form on our
website, or by talking with your Regional
Development Manager.

Step 2 - Customer Discussion

Development Manager will talk you through the approvals process, discuss the qualifications
you are looking to offer, and answer any questions you might have.

Step 3 - Approvals paperwork

You and your Regional Development Manager will complete the relevant checks and
paperwork, and your Regional Development Manager will conduct a centre inspection
either in person or remotely. This makes sure you have all the paperwork and security
arrangements in place before we submit your application, we will support you through every
part of this.

Step 4 - Approval review

Our Approvals Team will review the approval paperwork. If they have questions, they will
talk to your Regional Development manager who will work with you to collect any additional
evidence needed. If there are no queries about your application, we aim to process your
approval applications within 14 days.

Step 5 - You become an approved centre

You will receive a welcome pack, with everything you need to need to know, and your
Regional Development Manager will take you through your next steps to start delivering our
qualifications.
Guidance for completing the International
academic approval form

This is the main form that you need to complete to apply to be an approved Pearson centre
You and your Regional Development Manager will complete this together.
The guidelines below explain what we need from you so that we can process your
application as quickly as possible.

Section 1 – Centre Details Approval

l  with another organisation –
You need to state if you have approval
Centre
l  Name - This is the name of the
with another awarding organisation. You
centre that will appear on candidate
also need to state if f you have ever had
certificates. Please note this must be a
an approval declined or withdrawn and
maximum of 46 characters, including
provide details of what happened.
spacing.
l Centre Address - You need to provide Policies and procedures
your full centre address (building There are key policies and procedures that
name/number, street name, town/city, centres will need to have in place ready to
postcode/zip code and country), we deliver academic qualifications and gain
cannot accept PO Box addresses. If you approval, these are listed below:
supply a PO Box address this will delay l Access arrangements for candidates who
your application.
may have special educational needs and
Centre
l  Contacts - The head of centre require additional support/access.
and examinations officer are two distinct l Broadband internet access
and separate roles; the same person
l Safeguarding policy
cannot perform both roles. You need
to ensure that separate people and l Data Protection policy
separate email addresses are listed for l Disability policy
these roles. If they are the same person,
l Written Appeals and Complaints policy
this will delay your application
l Contingency plan in case of emergencies
Email
l  addresses- Centres must use and unforeseen circumstances
business email addresses for Pearson
activities. Personal email addresses such If you don’t have policies for any of these
as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail etc are not already in place, please talk to your
permitted. Using a personal email will Regional Representative. We have template
delay your application policies that you can adapt for your school’s
use.
Telephone
l  numbers - Centres must use
landline telephone numbers for contacts,
we cannot accept mobile telephone
numbers. Supplying a mobile telephone
number may delay your application.
Section 2 - Qualifications
Section 2 of the application form asks you
to provide details of the qualification(s) and
subjects you are planning to deliver, when
you are planning for students to take the
qualification and how many students this
will apply to. This information allows us to
check that the secure storage is the right
size for the number of qualifications and
students.
Section 3 - Examination
accommodation and secure
storage
Exam accommodation – We need to
know where you are planning to hold the
qualifications examinations. For example,
will you be using a designated room or
hall, and what is the expected seating
arrangements etc. We need as much detail
as possible to understand the set up you
have.
Example of a response lacking detail:
“We will use the hall”
Example of response with the level of detail
needed:
“We will be using the hall for the students to
sit examinations, The sports hall is approx.
60m by 30m. The room is well ventilated
with windows set high in the walls. We will
set up desks that are roughly 80cm by 80cm
and place these at least 1 meter apart,
this allows us to seat the 60 candidates we
expect to have taking the exam. We will
have a desk at the front of the room for the
invigilator and where we will keep spare
paper. There is enough space in between
desks for invigilators to walk the room and
to prevent any students seeing each other’s
work.”
Receipt and handling of confidential
material(s) - You need to explain the
arrangements you will have in place for
receiving and securing materials such as
exam papers. Please provide as much
detail as you can. Some top tips of things to
include in this are below:
l  ho is employed at the centre and is
W
involved with the receipt and handling of
confidential materials? (e.g. receptionist,
security guard, exams officer, any other
nominated person)
l  ill the staff members receiving the
W
materials have keys to the secure
storage room? If so, they should be listed
as keyholders.
l Will any logging activity take place?
Example of a response lacking detail:
“ Materials will be delivered to the office,
and will wait there until Jeff can take them
to the safe”
Example of response with the level of detail
needed:
“All secure materials will be delivered to
reception and signed for by the receptionist.
The JCQ Exam Materials Receipt Log (Point
of Delivery) will be signed by the Receptionist
and the Exams Officer will be contacted.
The Exams Officer will then visit Reception
to collect the papers and take these to the
secure room for checking and sorting. At this
point, the JCQ Exam Materials Receipt Log
(Exams Officer) will be signed and the papers
will be stored securely in the e.g. Safe,
cabinet etc. Only the following People have
keys to the secure storage area (Minimum
of 2 and maximum of 6 keyholders to be
listed).”
Secure storage of confidential l You must confirm whether the room
material(s) - All centres must ensure that has any windows. If the room is located
the room they will use for storing secure on the ground floor any window(s) must
materials complies with JCQ requirements. have metal bars fitted across them.
l  he room must be made of solid
T It is helpful if you can also include
construction (brick or concrete for information about the location of your
example) and must solely be used for secure storage room, such as a diagram or
storing examination papers. It should not floorplan.
contain archive material and electrical
The following pages have examples of the
equipment.
types of images that are needed to support
l  here must be no direct access from the
T your application.
secure storage room to external areas of
the building.
Examples of Door locks
l If the room has ceiling tiles, centres
must confirm the ceiling is of solid
that meet the approval
construction behind the tiles. requirements
l  he secure room door needs to be solid
T 5 lever mortice lock
wood or solid metal with heavy duty
hinges You must provide information
about the type of lock(s) that are fitted
i.e., 5 lever mortice lock, electronic
keypad, or coded lock.
l  aterials must be stored in a strong
M
non-portable metal safe or cabinet. You
must tell us the types of lock(s) that are
fitted i.e., key operated or electronic
keypad, and whether the secure storage
is bolted to the wall or floor.
l If you use wardrobe style metal cabinets,
an external locking bar will need to be
fitted across the entire width of the
cabinet. The external locking bar must
be bolted to the wall.
l If you use a metal filing cabinet an
external locking bar will need to be fitted
across the entire length. The external
locking bar must be bolted to the floor
and wall.
l  ou can use a small safe, if it has the
Y
capacity to hold up to three weeks
of question papers and any other
confidential materials. Small safes must
be bolted to the wall or floor.
Coded Keypad Electronic keypad

Examples of corridors, leading

to the secure storage room that
meet requirements
The corridor leading to the secure storage room
is internal and has no external access
Examples of adequate bars on windows for secure storage
rooms on lower floors or easy access via a flat roof

Examples of secure storage that does NOT meet requirements

The secure storage room must not have direct access to external areas of the building.
Doors must be solid wood or solid metal. Metal grills are not classed as doors and the
lock fitted is a cylinder lock with a padlock which does not meet requirements.
Locker style cabinets cannot be used to store secure materials because they can
be easily broken into.

Wooden cabinets can be easily broken into and must not be used for storing
secure materials.

Small lockable safes/boxes are

not appropriate. They need to
be large enough to store exam
materials/stationery for up to
three weeks.
Desk drawers or portable small cabinets cannot be used for secure storage.

Wardrobe style cabinets with slimline doors and small/narrow bolts in the door
are not robust and can easily be broken into. An external locking bar across the
width of the cabinet would be required.
Photographs of Secure storage - To l View inside the room.
support your application, you will also need l View of the safe/cabinet in a closed and
to provide photographs of your secure open position from all sides and a close-
storage room. Below is a useful list of the up of the locking mechanism.
type of images we need to support your
l View of window(s) if there are any.
application:
l  iew of the corridor where the secure
V The following pages have examples of the
storage room is located. types of images that are needed to support
your application for different types of
l  iew of the secure storage room door
V secure storage.
including a close-up view of the door lock
and handle.

Examples of Secure Storage that meets requirements

A multi-point locking cabinet has thick-set doors with heavy duty bolts in the door
Traditional style safes should be heavy with thick-set doors
to ensure they are non-portable.
If you wish to use small sized safes, you need to make sure
they are fixed securely in place by bolting the safe to the
wall or floor. You will need to provide images of this.

Wardrobe style cabinets will need to have an external locking bar that covers the
entire width of the cabinet, where the doors meet. The external locking bar will need
to be bolted to the wall.
Metal cabinets which have slimline doors will need to be secured in place by being
bolted to the wall or floor and will need to have an external locking bar fitted across
the width, which is bolted to the wall.

Metal filing cabinets must be supported with a full-length locking bar that runs the
entire length of the cabinet and must be bolted to the wall and floor to ensure it
non-portable.
Centre Agreement

shawn@academyvietnam.edu.vn
Shawn Allison
Head of Center
March 16 2023

International Academic Centre Approval Guidance. Prepared by Academic Approval Team Leader.
Authorised by International Qualilty Standards and Operations Manager July 2022 - DCL1 Public.