The School of Civil Celebrancy Learner Charter – Conflict of Interest Policy

The School of Civil Celebrancy trusts in the professionalism of it’s team members.

This Conflict of Interest policy is intended to mitigate risks and safeguard student achievements as well as team members and the school’s integrity and reputation.

It also contributes to the maintenance of awarding body accreditation and certification.

Definition and examples of Conflict of Interest:

A conflict of interest occurs where the professional responsibilities and position of trust held by an individual or an organisation is compromised by the potential for personal gain or organisational benefit from a situation. E.g., If a member of the team is related to a learner whose work they assess, there is a conflict of interest as they have a personal interest in their relative’s achievement.

Activities related to managing a conflict of interest:

• Our team members are trained in managing boundaries and related conflicts as part of their induction.
• Where there is potential for a conflict of interest, the awarding body will be notified, and their agreement requested prior to the start of the course.
• Any agreed conflict of interest will be recorded on a central log maintained by the lead director.
• Development is provided for students on key policies during their induction and new policies or procedures are introduced in tutorials.

Disclosure:

It is important that team members and students recognise and disclose any situations that present a conflict of interest for example:

• Team members applying to study or currently studying within the School where they are an employee:
• Teaching, assessing, internally verifying or invigilating an exam where a relative, friend or colleague is a student.
• Students completing an assessment or examination that is supervised or assessed by a member of the team who is a relative, carer or family friend.

Failure to disclose a conflict of interest:

If a conflict of interest is identified that has not been disclosed the related examination or assessment will be invalidated and the team member or student disciplinary procedure will be activated. The qualification awarding body will be notified of the conflict of interest.

Procedure:

The lead director and/or Examinations team will take steps to manage the conflict e.g.

• Provide an alternative assessor, internal verifier, invigilator or support worker who is not related to any learner.
• Inform the awarding body if the tutor is the only available specialist in that subject area to seek their permission and to arrange for any additional scrutiny to monitor fair and impartial approaches.
• Record the conflict of interest in the conflict of interest log maintained by the examinations team.
• Provide details of conflicts of interest to visiting External Quality Assurers and External Examiners or others associated with the awarding body for the relevant qualification.

If a student or Team member believes that a declaration of conflict of interest has not been managed correctly, they may raise a complaint in line with the Complaint’s Policy. If the full complaints procedure has been exhausted and the issue remains unresolved in line with direction in the Complaints Policy, the learner may refer their concern to the NOCN.

This policy will be reviewed every 12 months by the School of Civil Celebrancy Team.

Please view the School of Civil Celebrancy Terms and Conditions for additional information. Please click here for our T’s and C’s.