Video conferencing guidance

Yes. Workbooks should be provided to all course attendees.

Workbooks can still be requested in the usual way and will be dispatched accordingly to the address you have provided. However, you will be required to ensure your learners receive the workbooks through the post prior to course delivery.

If you have any issues with providing workbooks in time, please contact training@iosh.com.

Your final delegate assessments should be completed on the assessment papers provided through the IOSH Course Management System (CMS). We are in the process of making all course assessments editable so attendees can easily populate and return completed assessments.

For previously approved Tailored Courses, you may offer assessments in a format which suits you as a provider.

The following process explains how you could run an assessment that you may have traditionally run in a face-to-face classroom environment via video conferencing technology.

It steps you through some ideas to ensure your course delivery is effective and the assessment process is robust, to help to maintain the standards we are all striving for in the workplace.

Please note – this is designed to help your thought processes and to prompt you to develop your own solution that meets the needs of your business and audience.

The assessment process could be operated as follows, in order to maintain integrity:

• Email assessment papers to your learners at the point of assessment – not before.
• Request learners demonstrate that there are no textbooks in their immediate surroundings, that workbooks have been removed from their immediate vicinity and that there is nothing in the room which could be considered malpractice. Learners could do this, for example, by scanning their webcam around the room for the provider to see.
• You may wish to increase your level of assurance by implementing use of software which locks down a learners’ internet browser. This is your choice. We are unable to make recommendations, and would ask you to complete your own research and find suitable solutions – there are different options, it’s not one-size fits all. Having sufficient terms and conditions around malpractice for your learners, reiterating appropriate examination practice at the start of the exam with confirmation from the learners that this is understood, could be a reasonable alternative to use of software.
• To further minimise malpractice learners could show an acceptable form of ID to the camera, as they would for a face to face course. Please note, if you have already done this as part of the registration process, you wouldn’t need to do it again.
• When setting up your course you should email a written statement that learners return to you, stating that they “will not do anything to reduce the integrity of the assessment, including referring to the internet or any other resources whilst it is taking place.” This must be returned before the assessment begins. You can choose your own form of words, but the statement should clearly set out your expectations.
• Your learners can either print the assessments and complete them on paper in front of their PC, or complete a soft-copy at the PC. The learners must be visible to you at all times during the assessment process.
• Once complete, your learners can either scan or photograph their paper copy and email it to you, or email their completed soft-copy assessment.
• Finally, you must request your learners delete both the blank paper and their completed paper – tearing/shredding it in front of the camera if it is paper based.

Providing the way you have chosen to deliver adheres to the IOSH guidelines, we will not be prescriptive. We recognise that we have many different providers operating globally and want you to feel able to create a solution that meets your needs whilst maintaining the standards and integrity of the IOSH products.

This remote training and assessment process may be observed/ audited without notice at any time. You may wish to add this statement to your own terms and conditions with learners. You may also wish to increase your own quality assurance by sampling remote delivery in addition to existing internal quality assurance processes.

Some providers have asked us whether they may use pre-recorded video content in their video conference delivery of IOSH-produced courses. IOSH will not be proscriptive about delivery methods: if you as a provider feel you can deliver an equally high quality experience by pre-recording some elements, that’s your decision. It may be that learners in some parts of the world could be disadvantaged by having to spend long periods of time connected to the internet – you should factor in the learners you work with when making your decision. We would urge you though, to consider carefully the benefits of peer learning and live interaction, and to what extent learners would miss out on this, in making your decision. Delivery must not inadvertently disadvantage any learners – group or individual.

Should you choose to use pre-recorded sessions in your delivery, please notify verifiers@IOSH.com in advance of your course.

At this stage we have no agreement from CSCS as to whether virtually delivered SHECW courses will be accepted for the attainment of CSCS cards. We are working on this issue with CSCS and will update you via the Training & Skills newsletter.