Since the amalgamation of North and South Vocational Educational Committees (VEC) and Foras Áiseanna Saothair (FÁS) in 2013, Tipperary Education and Training Board (ETB) has inherited four separate quality assurance agreements:

• North Tipperary VEC QA Agreement
• South Tipperary VEC QA Agreement 
• Institiud Thuamhumhan QA Agreement
• Transitional Quality Assurance System (TQAS) QA Agreement

These are being updated and merged and become part of a new and modernised quality assurance framework that embeds a culture of quality, is underpinned by robust governance and is fully documented. The nature of this development work is ongoing and is closely informed by QQI’s guidelines above.

The Quality Policy (Jan 2024)  is the overarching and cornerstone policy intended to inform the development, review and implementation of all quality assurance policies and procedures.

All newly revised quality-related policies and procedures will use the QA terminology and definitions noted in Tipperary ETB’s Glossary of Standard Language for QA Policies and Procedures document to ensure clarity and consistency of the QA language used. As procedures are revised and developed, they will be approved by the appropriate governance bodies, will then be uploaded into the relevant sections of the website and will supersede the existing legacy policies and procedures.

For policies and procedures not yet revised, learners, FET staff and stakeholders can revert to legacy QA agreements above.

Self-Evaluation

The completion of Tipperary ETB’s Executive Self-Evaluation (ESE) in January 2018 has supported the goal to achieve a transparent, robust and fully documented approach to QA by identifying and evaluating the areas of quality assurance that required attention, including the governance and management of QA. The Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) which resulted from this evaluative exercise, provided TETB with a priority roadmap to guide the ETB in meeting its obligations for the establishment and operation of updated internal QA procedures. Quality improvement planning will ongoing and annual, and, as Self-Evaluation Reports and Quality Improvement Reports are finalised they will be published here:

 

• Executive Self-Evaluation Report (ESER), 2018 
• Quality Improvement Plan (QIP), 2018 and Progress Report on 2018 QIP
• Quality Improvement Plan (QIP), 2019 and Progress Report on 2019 QIP
• Quality Improvement Plan (QIP), 2020