Delivering Excellence at Scale with Raise the Bar

Background

Raise the Bar delivers high-quality apprenticeship programmes that blend professional development with practical impact. Renowned for its focus on leadership, performance, and continuous improvement, Raise the Bar supports hundreds of apprentices each year across programmes such as Team Leader, Operations Manager, and Coaching Professional.

With monthly start dates and learners reaching Gateway throughout the year, often peaking at key times, Raise the Bar required an End-Point Assessment Organisation (EPAO) that could offer flexibility, consistency, and capacity to manage sustained large volumes without compromising on quality.

Solution

DSW collaborated with Raise the Bar to provide a responsive, transparent, and high-quality assessment service that complemented their delivery. DSW’s approach focused on maintaining standards and supporting learners throughout the assessment journey.

Key strengths of our collaboration include:

Capacity planning: DSW effectively managed its large assessor network and scheduling processes to accommodate several hundreds of Gateway submissions throughout the year, including during peak months when volumes were highest.

Flexible scheduling: DSW’s approach ensured learners progressed smoothly from Gateway to completion, achieving timely assessment outcomes, with sector leading turnaround times, that contributed to Raise the Bar’s strong performance and QAR results.

Clear communication: The EPA portal, monthly meetings, and shared dashboards give Raise the Bar full visibility of learner progress and assessment timelines, making a large volume of assessments easy to track and digest.

Outcomes

The partnership between DSW and Raise the Bar has delivered tangible benefits for learners and employers alike:

On-time assessment: Every apprentice was assessed within agreed timelines, even during periods of high activity. Every apprentice received their results within 2-5 days, a sector leading SLA.

Operational confidence: Raise the Bar could focus on delivering outstanding learning experiences, knowing that DSW had the EPA process handled with the utmost care, precision and reliability.

Enhanced learner experience: Apprentices benefited from a consistent, well-supported EPA journey that reflected the professionalism and standards of Raise the Bar’s provision.