EPA is the final stage of an apprenticeship. Here, your apprentice proves they’ve learned the knowledge, skills and behaviours outlined in their apprenticeship standard.

By passing their EPA your apprentice proves they’re fully capable of doing their job.

To receive their apprenticeship certificate, your apprentice also needs to reach the required levels for maths, English and ICT. These are set out in their apprenticeship standard.

EPA is the final stage of an apprenticeship. Here, your apprentice proves they’ve learned the knowledge, skills and behaviours outlined in their apprenticeship standard.

By passing their EPA your apprentice proves they’re fully capable of doing their job.

To receive their apprenticeship certificate, your apprentice also needs to reach the required levels for maths, English and ICT. These are set out in their apprenticeship standard.

EPA usually costs 10-20% of the total cost of apprenticeship training. This cost is usually included in the amount you pay your training provider. You pay the provider, and then they pay for the EPA Organisation on your behalf. You still choose which EPA Organisation is best for you.

If you pay into the Apprenticeship Levy, you can use your levy contributions to pay for EPA.

If you don’t pay into the levy, you’ll pay a third of EPA costs. The Education and Skills Funding Agency will cover the rest. 

An EPAO is an independent accrediting organisation licensed to carry out EPAs. Each EPAO must be approved by the Education and Skills Funding Agency. You can find all approved EPAOs on the Register of End-Point Assessment Organisations.

EPAs are delivered by a team of expert assessors from your chosen EPAO.

No, they can’t. An independent third party EPAO must conduct your EPA to ensure a fair, unbiased assessment. That way, you can be confident your apprentice is fully prepared for their role.

We’re already the EPAO of choice for some RAF and NHS apprenticeships, and there are many great reasons why we should be yours, too.

Choosing Notebook Assessment Services means choosing a qualified, experienced provider. We know what apprentices and employers need, and use this to make your EPA process straightforward and easy to understand.

What sets us apart from other EPAOs is our personalised approach to EPA management. Where other providers might treat you like a number in a database, we match you with a personal account manager for one-to-one guidance. Add to that our lightning-fast customer service and turnaround rates, and navigating your EPA couldn’t be simpler.

Our assessors also have a level of competence and sector knowledge not widely available among EPAOs. They’ve each spent many years in roles related to the apprenticeships they assess, and have the theoretical and practical skills needed to deliver reliable assessments.

We also:

Work closely with external quality assurance providers to guarantee fair, accurate assessments.

Provide a Secure Learning Portal to make uploading evidence and booking assessments easy.

Guarantee fair and transparent pricing, so you know you’re getting the right value for your money.

To see which assessments Notebook Assessment Services provides, take a look at our EPA assessment plans.

Or, if you’d like to contract with us right away, you can fill in our quick EPA enquiries form.

To get more information on what we can offer you, you can also:

Email enquiries@notebook-epa.co.uk

Call 0800 999 1482

You need to choose an EPAO at the start of your employee’s apprenticeship. Your training provider will contract with them on your behalf within the first three months of the apprenticeship.

To pass EPA, your apprentice must demonstrate the knowledge, skills and behaviours required by their apprenticeship standard. All apprenticeships have their own apprenticeship standard.

Each apprenticeship standard is developed by a group of employers, training providers and industry authorities known as Apprenticeship Trailblazers. They’re also responsible for writing assessment plans, to make sure the EPA tests knowledge, skills and behaviours appropriate for each job role.

EPA takes place once your apprentice has completed their training. Depending on the apprenticeship, training could take between one and six years.

Before taking their EPA, your apprentice must also achieve functional skills qualifications in maths, English and ICT. You can see the levels required in their apprenticeship standard.

To make sure your apprentice is ready for EPA, they first pass through the apprenticeship Gateway.

In the last three months of training, the apprentice, employer and training provider decide whether the apprentice meets the requirements of the apprenticeship standard. This process is called Gateway.

Gateway also lets the apprentice revise what they’ve learned, practice for their assessments, and build their portfolio. Their portfolio consists of evidence from their hands-on working experience that demonstrates the knowledge, skills and behaviours they’ve acquired. The apprenticeship assessment plan explains how their portfolio is graded. It’s also an excellent guide for what to include.

Once the apprentice passes through Gateway, their employer puts them forward for EPA. If the apprentice doesn’t pass Gateway, they can work with the training provider to improve, and resubmit their evidence.

There are many different apprenticeship assessment methods to test theoretical and practical learning. The methods chosen are those most relevant to the job role. These are included in the assessment plan for each apprenticeship standard. EPA must include at least two forms of assessment.

Assessment methods might include:

An assessment of work output.

A case study.

An examination.

An interview.

A multiple-choice test.

A portfolio.

A practical assessment.

A presentation.

A professional discussion. 

A project

A question-and-answer session.

A showcase.

A situational judgement test.

A workplace observation

A written test of knowledge.

EPAs are typically graded as Pass, Merit or Distinction. This encourages your apprentice to work hard on developing their skills, and to strive for the highest possible grade.

You can find the criteria for meeting each grade in your assessment plan. Some plans don’t include a Merit grade.

Employers and training providers might be part of the assessment panel. However, the end-point assessor makes the final judgement for the grade.

Each apprenticeship standard has an External Quality Assurer. They’re responsible for confirming the quality and consistency of an EPAO.

EPAOs also have internal quality assurance. By standardising assessments and making sure they're properly marked, the EPAO guarantees a fair, accurate grade.

Each apprenticeship standard has an External Quality Assurer. They’re responsible for confirming the quality and consistency of an EPAO.

EPAOs also have internal quality assurance. By standardising assessments and making sure they're properly marked, the EPAO guarantees a fair, accurate grade.

Gateway works to make sure your apprentice is ready to pass their EPA. However, if they fail, they can retake the assessment.

Between failing and retaking the EPA, the apprentice, employer and training provider work together to improve performance. This might include more training, or making time for more revision.

If your apprentice only fails one part of their assessment, they might be able the retake just that part. However, they must do this within the limited time stated in their assessment plan. If they take too long to retake the part they failed, they’ll need to retake the entire EPA.

The employer’s Apprenticeship Levy account can be used to cover the cost of retakes. If there isn’t enough money to cover the cost, the employer must pay for the retake instead.

Yes, but only if you believe the grade was unfair, or the assessment process was faulty. You must make the reason for your appeal clear when you submit an appeal request. Notebook Assessment Services works hard to make sure the grades we give accurately reflect an apprentice’s ability. We allow employers every opportunity to appeal a grade, but so far it’s never been necessary.

Once the EPA has been marked and moderated, the results will be passed to the training provider. They then share those results with the employer and apprentice.