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2. Cost.
3. Quality Assurance.
4. Criteria for Accreditation.
5. Accreditation Procedure.
6. Reaccreditation.
1. Introduction.
These notes are intended as a guide to applying for BDA accreditation for your course. They should be read in conjunction with the appropriate BDA criteria. These criteria set out those areas of study that the BDA Accreditation Board see as necessary for inclusion in BDA accredited courses.
The BDA will accredit courses satisfying the criteria for one the following:
- Associate Membership of the BDA (AMBDA).
- Associate Membership of the BDA (FE/HE) (AMBDA FE/HE).
- Associate Membership of the BDA (Numeracy) (AMBDA Numeracy).
- Approved Teacher Status (ATS).
- Approved Teacher Status (FE/HE) (ATS FE/HE)
- Accredited Learning Support Assistant (ALSA).
- Mainstream Teachers course .
These awards are granted to those individuals who successfully complete your course and who meet the relevant BDA criteria in full.
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2. Cost.
The basic administrative cost of accrediting courses is as follows:
- AMBDA and ATS - £205.70 (£175 plus VAT) .
- AMBDA FE/HE and ATS FE/HE - £205.70 (£175 plus VAT) .
- AMBDA Numeracy - £205.70 (£175 plus VAT) .
- ALSA - £117.5 (£100 plus VAT) .
- Mainstream - £117.5 (£100 plus VAT) .
The fee must be received in full for all courses before the procedure can begin. All fees are non refundable.
It may be necessary for Board member(s) to visit your institution to discuss certain issues face to face. This will incur an additional cost, however, this will be agreed with you before any action is taken.
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3. Quality Assurance.
BDA accreditation is not a substitute for validation. All courses must be validated by a Higher Education Institution. You must also have approved mechanisms for ongoing quality assurance. For sources of validation, please see the Validation Guidelines information.
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4. Criteria for Accreditation.
The BDA will accredit your course if the following points are fulfilled:
- The quality assurance procedures stated above are met in full.
- The course contents meet the appropriate criteria in full.
- The course is directed and taught by appropriately qualified persons. In particular all observation of practical work must be undertaken by a tutor who holds AMBDA. If the observing tutor is part of the teaching team it is important to ensure that he or she is formally inducted and all evaluations are monitored.
- Distance learning courses using tutors for observations should take formal steps to ensure cross moderation.
- Adequate time must be allocated for coverage of the course.
- Acceptable arrangements must be made for supervised teaching practice.
- Appropriate means are in place to assess students’ progress and their final level of attainment.
- An appropriately qualified external examiner must be appointed.
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5. Accreditation Procedure.
The Accreditation Board currently consists of 12 members, all of whom are qualified teacher trainers within various institutions. They do not work directly for the BDA and meet three times per year. It is at these meetings that course and individual accreditation applications are discussed and, consequently, the accreditation process may take some time.
Step 1.
Once you have familiarised yourself with the appropriate BDA criteria, please read either:
These documents outline the information required by the Accreditation Board. You must construct and submit an application accordingly.
Step 2.
Applications should be made to:
Education Department,
British Dyslexia Association,
98 London Road,
Reading,
RG1 5AU.
Please send your paperwork in triplicate.
Alternatively you can email your application.
We will acknowledge your application and add your course to the agenda for the next available Accreditation Board meeting.
At the meeting a liaison team from the Accreditation Board will be appointed to work with you towards accreditation. They will receive copies of your paperwork. We will advise you of their contact details immediately after the meeting and you can liaise directly with your team from this point.
In order to speed up the accreditation process, it is to your advantage to have your paperwork as complete as possible ready for your liaison team.
Step 3.
Your team will review your paperwork and advise you further. When they are satisfied that your course meets the appropriate BDA criteria, they will recommend that your course is accredited. This will be confirmed in writing and your Certificate of Accreditation will be issued.
In all cases, the final decision will rest with the Accreditation Board.
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Reaccreditation.
BDA accreditation will normally be granted for four years. This is contingent on the Board's approval of any significant changes to the course or its personnel during that time. It is the responsibility of the course leader to inform the Board of any changes in order to retain BDA accreditation. If you do not comply with this you may lose your BDA accreditation.
Your liaison team will remain in place and you should consult them if you have any queries arising during your accredited period.
Shortly before your accredited period is due to lapse, we will contact and invite you to apply for formal reaccreditation. Reaccreditation is charged at the same rate as new accreditations (see above).
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