Terms & Conditions

The following terms and conditions apply to your use of all VQA Websites. By accessing and viewing these Websites and using the on-line content and services you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.

The full terms and conditions apply to any and all use of VQA websites.

1. Definitions

In these terms and conditions, unless inconsistent with the context or otherwise specified, the following definitions apply to words and expressions:

  • ‘VQA’ means VQA Limited (Company number 07827508). Our registered address is Crossgate House, Cross Street, Sale, England, M33 7FT.

  • ‘VQA Material’ means any material or content in whatever format accessed or downloaded through the Websites.

  • ‘Recognised Centre’ means school, college, training provider or other organisation that has recognised by VQA to deliver our qualifications.

  • ‘Centre Administrator’ means the person, usually the Examinations Officer, who is authorised to manage access to Verve Reg & Cert in a Centre and register additional users to use Verve Reg & Cert.

  • ‘Verve Reg & Cert’ means the web pages contained at the address https://verve.vqa.org/ and that are secure access only.

  • ‘Examiner’ means all of the following roles of appointment, Chair of Examiners, Chief Examiner, Principal Examiner, Principal Moderator, Assistant Principal Examiner, Assistant Principal Moderator, Team Leader Examiner, Team Leader Moderator, Examiner, Moderator, Reserve Examiner.

  • ‘Terms and Conditions’ means these terms and conditions and any additional terms and conditions or disclaimers with reference to, or displayed on, VQA’s Websites whether by hyperlink or otherwise.

  • ‘User’ means each person accessing the Website(s). In the context of Verve Reg & Cert, users means the Centre Administrator and other authorised staff at a Centre or at VQA with the necessary permissions to access the Centre information.

  • ‘Website(s)’ means the VQA Website(s) located at VQA.org.uk, or any subsequent or additional URL used by VQA from time to time, and includes Verve Reg & Cert.

  • ‘Working day’ means any day other than Saturday or Sunday or any English bank holiday or other English national holiday.

  • ‘You’ means the user accessing and using any of the websites and (if any) the legal entity he/she represents during the course of employment or engagement by that entity.

 

2. General principles

2.1. VQA’s websites are to provide information, VQA Materials and services. VQAs materials, services and websites are subject to availability.

Use of the websites indicates your agreement to abide by these terms and conditions. If you do not wish to abide by these conditions, you may not and should not access or use these websites.

2.2. If you have any queries relating to the use of the VQA websites, please contact our Customer Support team.

2.3. VQA aims to provide a first-class website service, and will seek to make continuous improvements in pursuit of that aim. VQA reserve the right to withdraw any services from the websites and to edit or remove any information or content on the websites at any time.

 

3. Revisions

VQA reserves the right to amend these Terms and Conditions at any time by publishing revisions on its websites. Users are responsible for regularly reviewing information published on-line to obtain timely notice of such revisions. Users' continued use of the websites after changes are published constitutes acceptance of these terms and conditions as modified by the published revisions.

 

4. Proprietary rights and copyright

4.1. All rights, including copyright, in the content on the Website(s) and in any VQA Materials are owned or controlled by VQA. In accessing VQA’s Website(s) and/or any VQA Materials, you agree that you may only download the content for your own personal non-commercial use or that Recognised Centre or, in respect of Users of the Associate Extranet, in your capacity as an VQA Examiner. Please read our copyright and intellectual property policy (which forms part of these terms and conditions) for more detail on permitted use of VQA Materials.

4.2. You are not permitted to adapt, alter, copy, print, broadcast, download, store (in any medium), transmit, loan, disassemble, decompile or otherwise reverse engineer, sell, show or play in public, adapt or change in any way the content on the Website(s) or any VQA Materials for any other purpose whatsoever without the prior written permission of the VQA (except in any instance where alternative information is given by VQA regarding the status of particular content). Any rights not expressly granted in these Terms and Conditions are hereby reserved. All users of the websites must be made aware of these restrictions. Please read our copyright and intellectual property policy which forms part of these terms and conditions.

Some documents may be made available as Word documents. Please note that you should always refer to the VQA websites for the latest version of these documents to make sure that you are looking at the full correct content.

4.3. Requests to reproduce VQA material (including but not limited to any website content or VQA Materials) must be made in the first instance by contacting our Customer Support Team. You should apply direct to the copyright holder, as indicated, for third-party extracts. VQA reserves the right to refuse copyright permission without explanation or to make a charge or impose constraints where permission is granted.

 

5. Disclaimer of liability

5.1. VQA is not responsible for the content of external sites and makes no representations or warranties as to the nature of the content or the compliance of such sites with any legal, regulatory or other requirements.

5.2. VQA does not accept any liability for any loss of profits, loss of business or business opportunity, loss of goodwill or reputation, business interruption, loss or corruption of programs or data or any type of indirect or consequential loss whatsoever arising from your access to and use of these websites and/or any VQA Materials.

5.3. In no event will VQA be liable for any losses or damages whatsoever arising out of, or in connection with, any unauthorised use of the website(s) and/or VQA Materials.

5.4. No assurances are given that the pages of the websites are free from infection from computer viruses, although VQA takes all reasonable steps to prevent such infection.

5.5. VQA will use reasonable endeavours to verify the accuracy of any information on the Websites and/or any VQA Materials but makes no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, statutory or otherwise regarding the contents, relevance or accuracy of the Websites or VQA Materials.

5.6. Although every effort is made to keep the websites up and running smoothly, due to the nature of the internet and the technology involved, VQA takes no responsibility for and will not be liable for the websites being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues (or otherwise) beyond its control, or for any loss or damage suffered as a result of the use of or access to, or inability to use or access the websites whatsoever.

5.7. Nothing in these terms and conditions seeks to exclude or limit in any way VQAs potential liability:

  • for death or personal injury caused by VQAs negligence;

  • for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation;

  • where you are acting as a consumer so as to adversely affect your statutory rights as a consumer; or

  • for any matter for which it would be illegal for VQA to exclude, or attempt to exclude, its liability.

 

6. Indemnity

You agree to fully indemnify and to keep VQA indemnified from and against any costs, claims, demands, expenses and liabilities suffered by VQA arising from or which are directly or indirectly related to your access to and/or use of the websites or VQA Materials in breach of these terms and conditions and any such access and/or use by any person (including, without limitation, a user) who is authorised by and/or who represents you.

 

7. Applicable law and jurisdiction

7.1. These terms and conditions are governed and will be interpreted in accordance with English law.

7.2. The English courts shall have non-exclusive jurisdiction to settle any claim or dispute which might arise out of or in connection with these terms and conditions.

7.3. If any part of the terms and conditions is found by a court of competent jurisdiction or other competent authority to be invalid, unlawful or unenforceable then such part shall be severed from the remainder of the terms and conditions which will continue to be valid and enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.

 

8. Verve Reg & Cert (for use by VQA Recognised Centres only)

General

8.1. VQA will make Verve Reg & Cert available to Centres that have applied for centre recognition, when the necessary security checks have been undertaken, which may require further communications between VQA and the Centre.

8.3. Verve Reg & Cert is intended to work on any W3C standards-compliant web browser. VQA is not responsible for the provision of a suitable computer, software, and internet access.

Access rights

8.4. The Centre Administrator will, by default, have access to all services offered through Verve Reg & Cert.

8.5. Centre Administrators can register users to access Verve Reg & Cert services for their Centre. Users must be authorised members of the teaching or administrative staff of the Centre.

8.6. Users shall comply with the UK Data Protection legislation in relation to the handling and processing of any personal data accessed or made available through Verve Reg & Cert.

8.7. Any services offered through Verve Reg & Cert can be included or excluded by VQA from user's access rights.

8.8. It is the responsibility of the Centre Administrator to:

  • ensure and procure that only authorised staff from their own Recognised Centre have access to Verve Reg & Cert

  • register users in accordance with the Recognised Centre's requirements and working practices

  • ensure that users have access only to the services on Verve Reg & Cert that are appropriate to the Recognised Centre's requirements and working practices

  • ensure that all users have seen and shall comply with these Verve Reg & Cert Terms and Conditions and the VQA Website Terms and Conditions

  • de-register users as required, in particular when such users cease to be members of the teaching or administrative staff at the Recognised Centre

  • ensure the integrity of all data submitted

  • act as the first point of contact for all issues related to accessing Verve Reg & Cert.

8.9. VQA reserves the right in its absolute discretion to refuse an application to register for, or to remove access to, Verve Reg & Cert and to temporarily or indefinitely suspend any user.

8.10. The Recognised Centre is responsible for ensuring that users have sufficient skills to access the Verve Reg & Cert facilities that have been made available to them.

8.11. Users agree not to use or permit another to use Verve Reg & Cert:

  • to upload or post e-mail, transmit or otherwise make available any content that is unreliable and misleading, unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortuous, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libellous, invasive of another's privacy, infringes a third party's intellectual property rights, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise considered by us in our absolute discretion to be objectionable or unlawful

  • to cause or introduce a software virus or other disruptive program

  • in any way that is not authorised by VQA or is in breach of the Verve Reg & Cert or VQA Terms and Conditions.

8.12. Where applicable, results are available on Verve Reg & Cert from the agreed inter-Awarding Body date for the electronic publication of results (normally one day prior to Publication date) for each series under the same conditions as EDI. This is on the strict understanding that the results files and their contents remain confidential to the Head of the Centre and Examinations Office staff (including Verve Reg & Cert Centre Administrators) at the centre and that the results will not be divulged to candidates, parents, teachers or other persons/bodies or put into the postal system until Publication day. The early provision of results is a special concession and the facility will be withdrawn for any centre which fails to maintain the confidentiality of results prior to the official date for their publication.

Availability

8.13. VQA shall use reasonable endeavours to ensure that Verve Reg & Cert is available between 06.00 and midnight, seven days a week. However, it may occasionally be necessary for VQA to undertake tasks that require the temporary removal of Verve Reg & Cert, so availability cannot be guaranteed.

Use of your username and password

Centre Administrators

8.14. In order to access and use secure areas of Verve Reg & Cert, users require a username and password. Centre Administrators will be able to access all information and services related to their Centre.

8.15. When registering users, Centre Administrators will be asked to choose a temporary login ID and password to enable the new user to log in. The Centre Administrator is responsible for passing this initial login information to the new user. Users will then have an opportunity to change these details to something more personally memorable at first login to Verve Reg & Cert.

Care of your username and password

8.16. It is the users' responsibility to ensure that their login details remain confidential. In order to ensure this, users must:

  • take all reasonable steps to keep login details secret

  • not allow anyone else to use the login details

  • never write login details down without disguising them so they are meaningful only to the user

  • change login details to something that the user can remember

  • change login details immediately if the user believes that such details are known to someone else

  • change login details at regular intervals.

8.17. Users should, where possible, ensure that they log out of Verve Reg & Cert when they have finished using said services. At no time should any user leave their computer whilst logged in to Verve Reg & Cert. If use of Verve Reg & Cert remains inactive for 30 minutes, then the session will automatically be terminated by VQA.

8.18. VQA reserves the right to withdraw usernames and passwords at any time without notice and in its sole discretion where VQA have reason to believe that such login ID and password have been discovered and/or used by any person or organisation other than a user.

Payment of fees

8.19. There is currently no registration or on-going maintenance fee to use Verve Reg & Cert. However, where it is indicated on Verve Reg & Cert, or the main VQA Websites that a charge is made for a service offered, VQA will raise an invoice to the Recognised Centre. Application for a chargeable on-line service commits a Centre to responsibility for making the appropriate payment(s). By accessing and using chargeable services via Verve Reg & Cert, users shall be deemed to have the authority to request such services on behalf of the Centre.

8.20. These VQA Terms and Conditions, including the section specifically referring to Verve Reg & Cert, must be accepted by the Centre Administrator in order for a Centre to be registered to use Verve Reg & Cert. It is the responsibility of the Centre Administrator to ensure and procure that all additional users have seen and agree to comply with these Terms and Conditions in respect of access and use of Verve Reg & Cert.

8.21. VQA reserves the right to amend these Terms and Conditions at any time by publishing revisions. Users are responsible for reviewing regularly information published on-line to obtain timely notice of such revisions. Users' continued use of Verve Reg & Cert after changes are published constitutes acceptance of these Verve Reg & Cert Terms and Conditions as modified by the posted revisions.

8.22. VQA reserves the right to modify or withdraw Verve Reg & Cert (or any part) at any time or terminate access to Verve Reg & Cert (or any part) at any time.

 

9. Data Protection and Privacy

9.1. You agree that any and all personal information and data collected from you via these Websites or as part of the services from time to time may be used in accordance with VQA's current Privacy Notice. The statement also sets out VQA's commitment to protecting your personal information and provides guidance on your rights under the UK Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK GDPR.

9.2. You warrant that the personal information you provide to us is true, accurate and complete in all respects and you will notify us immediately if there is any change in the personal information that you have supplied to us.

9.3. You are responsible for keeping your login ID and password secure and confidential. If you believe that your login ID and password have become known to another person, then you must notify VQA as soon as possible. You should not share, display, disclose or permit your password to be disclosed to any other party.

9.4. VQA reserve the right to withdraw login ID and passwords at any time without notice and in our sole discretion where VQA have reason to believe that such login ID and passwords have been discovered and/or used by any person or organisation other than you.

 

10.  General information

10.1. You may not assign or sub-contract any of your rights or obligations under these Terms and Conditions to any third party unless agreed upon in writing by VQA.

10.2. VQA reserve the right to transfer or assign all or any of its rights, duties and responsibilities set out in the Terms and Conditions to another party.

10.3. Headings have been included for convenience only and will not be used in construing any provision of the Terms and Conditions.

10.4. No delay or failure by VQA to exercise any powers, rights or remedies under these Terms and Conditions will operate as a waiver of them nor will any single or partial exercise of any such powers, rights or remedies include any other or further exercise of them.

10.5. The Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 will not apply to these Terms and Conditions.

10.6. These Terms and Conditions contain the whole agreement between the parties relating to the use of the Websites and supersede all previous agreements between the parties relating to the Websites.