CIfA Approved Training & CPD is our training and CPD quality mark.
Archaeologists and other historic environment professionals choose CIfA Approved Training & CPD because it meets a set of criteria that ensures it is a high-quality learning opportunity.
Field schools and excavation training provided by CIfA Registered Organisations and external training providers can be approved.
Once approved, you can use the CIfA Approved Training & CPD logo on relevant marketing material and your learning opportunity will be listed in the weekly Jobs Information Service and Training bulletin (JIST).
The approval process
- Contact anna.welch [at] archaeologists.net for an informal discussion
- Submit written evidence to support your application to become CIfA Approved Training & CPD
- Await assessment against a set of criteria
- Receive approval of your learning opportunity or feedback to resubmit your application
Reassessment
Field schools, training excavations and similar learning opportunities must be reassessed every three years.
Assessment criteria for field schools, excavation training and similar learning opportunities
CIfA is able to offer formal approval of field schools and training excavations provided by Registered Organisations if they meet the following criteria
- there is a clear research design in place for fieldwork
- there are systems in place to ensure that all historic environment work is conducted in accordance with the relevant professional codes of practice (eg CIfA Code of conduct)
- learning outcomes are appropriate and achievable, and are expressed in terms of national occupational standards or other nationally recognised benchmarks
- learning outcomes include understanding of relevant ethical issues (where appropriate)
- learning outcomes can lead to professional recognition (where appropriate)
- there is active encouragement of CPD culture
- supervision/tuition is undertaken by appropriately competent and accredited organisations and individuals
For field schools and training excavations delivered by organisations that have not been subject to review through the Registered Organisations scheme, applications should also demonstrate
- Professional standards of relevant staff
- Appropriate levels of competence/skills
- Appropriate use of trainees/volunteers on fieldwork projects, particularly those with a commercial element
- Quality assurance systems
- Record of appropriate archiving and publication
- Appropriate policies including health and safety, equal opportunities, training policies
- Appropriate insurances in place
Fees
For Registered Organisations, approval costs are included within the RO applications/subscriptions fees. The fees payable for non-Registered providers are
Single field school £450 (to include assessment of course documentation and a site visit)
Application for 2-5 field schools submitted together £650 (to include assessment of course documentation for all events and a site visit to one)
Approval is for three years on provision of an annual update confirming that there have been no substantive changes to the training provision.
Find out more about the assessment process and criteria (Pdf).
