Students drawing in school art room

Standard (face-to-face) moderation

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. When 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 standard (face-to-face) 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 standard moderation process for centres with an existing booking.

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Standard (face-to-face) moderation is the most flexible type of Arts Award moderation. A trained moderator visits your venue on your preferred date and time, meaning you can tailor your moderation to your needs. Your centre will need to be able to provide a suitable space for the moderation to take place and your portfolios can be presented in any format.

Standard moderation

Arts Award levels

Explore, Bronze, Silver and Gold

Fee

Minimum fee £550 (see fee info below)

Availability/book by

Flexible - available year-round on your preferred date/time. Book at least eight weeks in advance.

Location/portfolio format

Face-to-face at your own venue, or a venue of your choice / all portfolio formats.

Number of candidates

No limit

Prior to hosting your moderation, read our Private Centre guidance, which includes additional considerations you must make sure are in place at your centre on the day of your standard moderation.

How much does it cost

Standard moderations are subject to our per-person moderation fees. Your moderation fees must meet the minimum fee for a standard moderation, which is £550; for example, £27 each for 21 young people doing Bronze Arts Award. If your per-person moderation fees do not meet this sum, you can pay a top-up fee to reach the minimum fee, if you still wish to have a standard moderation.

If your moderation costs won’t cover the minimum moderation fee, consider our other moderation options, as these may be more cost-effective for your centre. 

Go to Moderation and Certification fees to find out more.

How do I book?

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 an Explore, Bronze, Silver, Gold moderation’. For step-by-step instructions, watch our video tutorial or read our Centre Portal Guidance.

Book a moderation

What happens next?

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 further information and instructions about how to enrol names for moderation and prepare for the moderation day. For any queries about your moderation, respond to the booking confirmation email. 

In preparation for your moderation, ensure all portfolios are assessed, and an adviser assessment report form is completed for each, by the adviser(s) indicated at enrolment.

The moderator will call you a few days prior to moderation to check that everything is ready for their visit and confirm practical arrangements.

See key dates and deadlines in preparation for your moderation.

What happens on the day of the moderation?

The moderator will come to your venue and look through a sample of your group's portfolios/arts logs. 

All portfolios should be present on the day and clearly laid out in alphabetical order with an individual completed adviser assessment report form for each one. Any equipment needed to view portfolio contents e.g. a computer or CD player should be available to the moderator.

On arrival the moderator will briefly meet with the moderation contact/adviser(s) for an introduction to the centre and context of the Arts Award project.

Note: It is no longer a requirement for young people to meet with the moderator on the day of the moderation, so please do not arrange for any of the young people to be present on the day.

When will my group receive their certificates?

Your young people’s results are provisionally confirmed at the end of the moderation. Results are officially confirmed by Trinity College London at the point of certificate issue. Find out more about Arts Award certification.

We send out Arts Award certificates within four weeks of a successful moderation. It's then up to you when and how you present them! 

Key deadlines

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


Requests must be made more than 21 days prior to your booked date (£25 fee applies). To postpone, email your Trinity contact.

Cancellation

To cancel, email your Trinity contact. Cancellation fees apply:

  • Up to 21 days prior your booked date – No Fee
  • 7 to 20 days prior to your booked date - £100
  • Less than 7 days prior to your booked date - £500

Enrolment of candidate details

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.

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