Direct Claim Status (DCS)

Direct Claim Status (DCS)
Direct Claim Status (DCS) is available for all of our Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) qualifications, National Awards, National Partnerships and Customised Awards.  DCS is simple - it's awarded on a qualification basis and if you’re awarded DCS status you'll be able to sign off your own certificate claim forms for that qualification without having to wait for our External Moderator/Verifier to visit.

The DCS criteria
DCS is awarded for an individual qualification and is based on quality criteria that are measured and reported on through the external moderation/verification visits, carried out by your External Moderator/Verifier.

The quality criteria states that for your last 2 consecutive external moderation/verification visit reports (over a maximum of an 18 month period) you have achieved all grades of 1 or 2 and completed all the actions in the action plan.

How DCS is awarded
When you meet the quality criteria we'll automatically award you DCS for the qualification. We'll email the Programme Contact and Exams Officer at your centre to inform them that you've been awarded DCS. You don't have to do anything - it's that simple.

If you have DCS with another awarding body NCFE will honour this. This applies to generic qualifications such as NVQs and Key Skills. All you need to do is send proof of your DCS status and date awarded, in with your approval form and you'll automatically receive DCS with NCFE. The DCS status will apply as soon as you register learners.

So what does it mean?
If you're awarded DCS, carry on doing what you're doing - deliver the qualification to your learners, assess their work and make sure it's internally moderated/verified. Then, instead of having to wait for the External Moderator/Verifier to visit, you can simply send in the certificate claim form signed by the Internal Moderator/Verifier to NCFE and we'll process it for you and produce your certificates.

Maintaining DCS
You need to make sure that you continue to operate to the high standards that you already have in place. You're only required to have one visit from the External Moderator/Verifier every 12 months, but you can still have the 2 visits, if you'd like them. If you don't have one visit in a 12 month period your DCS status will automatically lapse on the anniversary you were awarded it.

Remember that we can remove your approval for DCS, but we’d only remove it for the following reasons:

• if you don’t meet the DCS criteria during your external moderation/verification visit (as detailed above).  If this happens we’ll contact you and discuss this with you.
• in the exceptional circumstance where information from a range of external sources raises concerns eg complaints, suspensions or investigations which may lead us to review of your DCS approval.  If this happens, an External Quality Assurance Officer from NCFE would contact you to highlight the issues and discuss the concerns.