Important Update - Changes to Arts Award
As part of the upcoming changes to Arts Award, centres will not be moderated every time they enter young people for Arts Award. If selected to be moderated, centres will submit a sample of work digitally via our new online portfolio submission platform.
We will remove complicated booking options and make the moderation process (where required) quick and easy. The new portfolio submission platform will streamline the submission process and speed up feedback. For this reason postal moderation will no longer be available as an option.
The new process will take effect from 13 December. For detailed information on the upcoming changes, read our News and FAQs.
The deadlines to book moderation through the current process have now passed. This means that centres wishing to enter young people for Arts Award will need to wait until we launch our new process on 13 December.
The following information applies to the current postal moderation process for centres with an existing moderation booking.
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Postal moderation involves sending young people's Arts Award portfolios or arts logs to Trinity College London by post so a trained moderator can verify your assessment. Trinity selects and requests only a sample of portfolios, so that centres do not have to submit the work of all of the young people entered for moderation.
We are only able to provide a limited number of postal moderations and therefore reserve them for centres that are unable to moderate via our other moderation options and are working with smaller groups. If you are not able to meet the limits outlined below, you must select an alternative moderation option.
| Postal moderation | |
| Arts Award levels | Explore, Bronze, Silver and Gold |
| Fee | Maximum fee £549, including a £24 admin fee per booking (see fee info below) |
| Booking info | Centres book onto one of our publicly advertised sample dates. On this date we will confirm with you the young people’s names whose portfolios/arts logs have been selected to be sampled. Samples must be posted within two working days of the sample date. Moderation takes place a few weeks later. |
| Availability/book by | Places on each date are filled on a first-come, first-served basis, and dates as soon as they reach capacity. Dates are available year-round and released on a rolling basis, meaning that as one closes, another will open. Centres may book a maximum of three dates per calendar year and it is not possible to book onto consecutive dates. |
| Location/portfolio format | Remote - Send a sample of portfolios/arts logs by post to one of our moderation venues. You will receive instructions on how and where to send your work on your booked sample date. Postal moderations are available to centres submitting portfolios in hardcopy format, or a combination of hardcopy and digital work. Work in digital format (incl. online links) must be saved in a data storage device (CD/DVD/USB) and posted alongside the hardcopy work. |
| Number of candidates | There is a maximum cohort size based on fees (see fee info below). |
Postal moderations are subject to our per-person moderation fees and there is an additional admin fee of £24 per booking for the safe handling, processing and return of the portfolios/arts logs back to centres via tracked delivery.
The maximum fee for postal moderation is £549: the total invoiced fee (the per-person fee plus £24 admin fee) must be below the minimum fee for standard moderation (£550).
Go to Moderation and Certification fees to find out more.
Before booking moderation, ensure your organisation is registered as an Arts Award centre, and that you and all advisers assessing the young people’s work are linked to your centre. To make a booking simply log on to the Arts Award centre portal and Click ‘Request a Explore/Bronze/Silver/Gold moderation’ to book. For step-by-step instructions, view our video guidance.
Sample dates close for booking as soon as they reach capacity and we recommend booking at least six weeks in advance to ensure you can book on the date you want. For bookings received close to the enrolment deadline, an extension of two working days will be offered at the point we confirm your booking.
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Enrol names by
| SAMPLE DATE | Post sample portfolios by |
| 28 September 2023 | 19 October 2023 **DATE CLOSED** | 23 October 2023 |
| 3 November 2023 *Bookings made after 03/11 must enrol within 2 working days* | 24 November 2023 **DATE CLOSED** | 28 November 2023 |
We will send you a confirmation email within three working days. If you don't receive it, please contact Moderation.Team@trinitycollege.co.uk.
Please read the booking confirmation email for full information and instructions about how to enrol names for moderation and prepare for the sample date. For any queries about your moderation, respond to the booking confirmation email.
In preparation for your sample date, ensure all portfolios are assessed, and an assessment report form is completed for each, by the adviser(s) indicated at enrolment.
See key dates and deadlines in preparation for your moderation.
On your booked date, we will email you the names of the young people selected to be in the sample and instructions on how and where to send your work. The number we request is determined by the number of advisers assessing the work (indicated at the point of enrolment), and the levels of Arts Award they are assessing.
We will ask you to post the following within two working days:
- the portfolios/arts logs of the young people selected in the sample
- the adviser assessment report forms for all young people entered for moderation
Note: Your work must be posted within the specified timeframe, otherwise we may not be able to include your portfolios/arts logs for moderation and you may still be charged.
On the day of the moderation, the moderator will take a look at the sample. The moderator won't contact you on the day.
The moderation will take place a few weeks after the sample date. We will confirm your young people’s provisional results via email within three weeks of the booked date. Results are officially confirmed by Trinity College London at the point of certificate issue. Find out more about Arts Award certification.
Certificates will be dispatched within six weeks of your sample date.
Please note the following key deadlines. For full details, read the Best Practice Guidebook and our Terms and Conditions of booking (updated: May 2023).
| STEP | DEADLINE |
| Postponement | Not possible - you need to cancel your existing booking and book on a new date (cancellation fees apply - see below) |
| Cancellation | To cancel, email your Trinity contact. Cancellation fees apply
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| Enrolment | Enrolment must be completed via the centre portal by 21 days before the booked date. Additions/substitutions will be accepted up to 7 days before the booked date (provided they do not impact any finalised moderation timings). Requests to remove names are not possible. |