Steps to Success
A Quality Assurance scheme is a tool to help you run your voluntary organisation more effectively and efficiently. It is a formal management system that you can use to strengthen your organisation. It is intended to raise standards of work and help you to do everything consistently. The quality assurance scheme is to be used both as a self-assessment tool as well as an external assessment. Its focus is on elements that all voluntary organisations need.
It will also help to ensure that a minimum standard of quality is being met for your service. Quality is about learning what you are doing well and striving to do it better. It also means discovering what you need to change to make sure you meet your users’ needs.
Within this area we aim to improve knowledge of:-
- legal frameworks
- skills and understanding of financial planning and control
- skills in project building and organisational management
- developing policies, procedures, and practices of governance
This is achieved by building strategic plans, providing learning opportunities, undertaking training needs analysis, and working with training providers.
How does it Work?
The Steps To Success Quality Assurance Scheme will have 3 award levels: –
- Bronze (Appendix 1)
- Silver (Appendix 2)
- Gold (Appendix 3)
What do the bronze, silver and gold awards mean?
The 3-step award recognises the fact that not all voluntary organisations have the capacity to achieve the same standards in all aspects of their management.
For example:-
- smaller or newer voluntary organisations may not be as well-resourced to have the same procedures in place as larger organisations.
- organisations which have only just started using quality assessment may need time to build up the expertise and processes over time.
However, this definitely does not mean that smaller or newer organisations cannot aspire to or achieve higher standards.
The Awards Structure
Bronze Award
A relatively new or small voluntary organisation which has been set up to meet our bronze award level which includes:
- a basic legal and management structure
- appropriate policies and procedures
- a vision
- appropriate governing documents
- bank account and signatories
Silver Award
A voluntary organisation with the characteristics of sound governance and practice.
Quality assessments using standards meeting our silver award ensures an organisation is well managed and meeting certain minimum requirements. A voluntary organisation cannot be awarded a pass at this level if it does not demonstrate that it has the following minimum governance characteristics:
- meets all bronze level requirements
- compliance with the relevant legal frameworks, including accounting and reporting
- properly appointed, eligible trustees/management structure with relevant skills
- planning and risk management processes
- appropriate policies and procedures
- equality and diversity
Gold Award
An effective voluntary organisation with the characteristics of good governance and displaying a wide range of good practice.
Quality assessments using standards meeting our gold award and ensures a voluntary organisation is effectively managed and is exceeding requirements. A voluntary organisation cannot be awarded a pass at this level if it does not demonstrate that it has the following governance characteristics:
- meets all bronze and silver level requirements
- integral strategic planning (business and financial)
- trustee induction and training
- regular reviews of governance, structure and process
- board performance assessed
- ongoing improvement and innovative ways of working
- leadership in supporting the voluntary sector through sharing, collaboration or partnership
Make an application
To make an application, please complete the above enquiry form and email to info@cvabv.org.uk
