Star Units represent an opportunity to extend your role and enhance the performance of your students and trainees. They are based on thorough industry-based research and embody current best practice. They will enable you to give additional motivation to the most talented of those you teach and also offer them an additional recognition for their efforts.

Star Units will also provide scope for you to show a wider awareness of what quality means within your area of professional expertise. They provide a framework of aspiration – and stretch targets - for the ambitious trainees and student.

They should enrich your teaching experience whilst making learning more rewarding. They will allow you to fulfil your potential as a teacher.

As part of an education programme STAR UNITS have a number of benefits including encouraging learners to raise their horizons to achieve exceptional or outstanding performance.
  • This gives your learners an additional level of quality to work towards and should have the effect of motivating them (or at least those who are the most able and committed)
  • Achievement of Star Units by your learners will reflect well on your success as a teacher and is an endorsement of the quality of your course
  • You will gain extra satisfaction by seeing your learners achieve more and be recognised for outstanding performance.
Experience shows that achievement of Star Units by learners does not add significantly – if at all - to the workload of lecturers and trainers. There is no increase to the range of competence required although issues of quality, speed, productivity and ‘finish’ will be important and incorporated into your established assessment practices.

There are three different models for Star Units (see What is the structure of Star Units?) which means that they are either integrated with or alongside the normal NVQ units depending upon what works best for that particular occupation. Whichever model is used in your S/NVQs, however, it is important to understand how exceptional performance can be expressed and recognised.

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