PLR Agreements

What changes are we making to the Personal Learning Record to support the Qualifications and Credit Framework?

The set of changes to the Personal Learning Record (PLR) (available from September 2010) will underpin the operation of the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF), which is a new way of recognising achievement through the award of credit for the achievement of units and qualifications. The enhanced PLR will offer a simple facility to record all QCF learner achievement. This free service is intended to empower the learner to view and review their learning and support them in making the right learning choices in the context of the QCF. The learner will be able to view all of their QCF achievement data, on-line, and in one place.

Used as part of robust and professional information and advice, the Personal Learning Record will also offer the option of supporting learners to identify potential future QCF learning episodes through Rules of Combination (RoC), Routes to Achievement (RtA) using information sourced from the regulators, as well as opportunities to transfer achievement.

QCF achievement data will be collected directly from awarding organisations and held on the Personal Learning Record, with awarding organisations continuing to hold and own authoritative achievement data. Providers and advisers will also support the learner to access and interpret their QCF achievement data via the Personal Learning Record, and will play a critical role in assigning and verifying learners’ Unique Learner Numbers (ULNs).

Find out more about the enhanced Personal Learning Record.

How can an awarding organisation participate and provide information to be viewed within the Personal Learning Record?

All awarding organisations that are recognised by Ofqual to deliver Qualifications and Credit Framework qualifications are eligible to participate in the Personal Learning Record (PLR). These awarding organisations will need to sign the following documents and return them to us:

PLR Awarding Organisation Agreement

MIAP Learning Provider Agreement (applicable if the AO is also a learning Provider)

These all come into operation from September 2010, when the enhanced Personal Learning Record for the QCF will be launched.

Once your organisation has signed the Agreement you will be eligible to receive technical and business change support from the Learning Records Service to implement, deploy and use the PLR.

What is the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF)?

The Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) is a new way of recognising achievement through the award of credit for the achievement of units and qualifications. The QCF provides a simple and rational organising framework that presents learner achievement and qualifications in a way that is easy to understand, measure and compare. It gives individuals the opportunity to learn in a more flexible way and enables a wider range of organisations, including employers, to have their training recognised. The QCF is a key strand of the Government’s Vocational Qualification Reform (VQR) Programme. The Skills Funding Agency (formerly known as the Learning and Skills Council) is responsible for implementing the QCF across the wider post 19 skills system in England, and for delivering the changes made to the Personal Learning Record to support the additional QCF services which will operate in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.