Failed end point assessment

This guidance was correct at the time of publication. Please be aware it may no longer reflect current guidance. Please refer to our current support materials for up to date guidance. This can be found on the epaPRO portal.

Failing your end point assessment (EPA) or apprenticeship assessment is not the end of the road – it’s a hurdle to get past. And if you’ve come this far, you’ve triumphed over many hurdles already in your apprenticeship.

As tough as it can be to see the word ‘Fail’, don’t be discouraged. Re-sits and re-takes are common in assessment and they give you a second (or third) chance to pass your apprenticeship.

Imagine yourself a few months down the line, with that apprenticeship completion certificate in hand, celebrating everything you’ve achieved. That might be difficult to picture right now, but it’s all within your reach.

Here’s what you can do to prepare for a re-sit or re-take.

1. Gather info

The first thing to do is find out exactly where you stand and what the next steps are. Do you wait for your training provider to get in touch, or do you take action? Are there timescales you need to work to? Is there a maximum grade you can achieve in a re-sit? Some apprenticeship standards cap re-sit grades at a Pass.

1st for Awarding will share this information with your training provider.

2. Set a timeline for yourself to prepare and re-sit your assessment

Look at the timescale you’re given and make a plan, using the tips in this article to make sure you’re prepared. Many apprentices find that booking their re-sit gives them a date to work towards and motivates them to complete.

3. Review what went wrong

1st for Awarding will give you feedback on your assessment performance, and often this includes detail on the assessment criteria/outcomes (or knowledge, skills, and behaviours) you didn’t quite meet.

Reflect on your performance, and be honest with yourself. Are there areas you didn’t perform the best you could? What could you do differently next time around?

If your assessment involved producing a written report, review it alongside your feedback and identify exactly what was missing.

If your assessment involved a professional discussion or interview, were you prepared with examples to show off everything you have achieved? Assessment isn’t the time to be shy – assessors love to hear about how well you’ve done and the difference you’ve made for your team or employer.

Your apprenticeship coach or tutor will be in touch and it may be useful to chat with them about this and bounce ideas around.

4. Look at the support materials again

Now the initial pressure of assessment is out of the way, read through the support materials you’ve been given again. Is there anything you missed the first time? Pay particular attention to tips as these can hold the key to improving your grade.

Many apprentices find it useful to read through the assessment criteria/KSBs and prepare examples that show how they have met each one.

5. Practice showing off your skills and behaviours

The assessor isn’t looking for you to simply know the skills and behaviours from the standard and assessment plan, you must show how you applied these in your role. There are several ways you can do this, and you might find the following article useful:
6 Ways to Demonstrate Skills and Behaviours in Assessment

6. Don’t panic going into your re-sit or re-take

The assessor will not judge you and will not grade you any differently because it’s not your first attempt. In fact, they will be rooting for you to succeed – but they definitely won’t show it and will keep a poker face!

If you need to re-sit or re-take your assessment, don’t worry. Plenty of others have been in your position. Prepare for your re-sit or re-take and make the most of the resources available to you – including your coach and any support materials you’re given. In six months, it’s most likely you’ll have passed your apprenticeship and your re-sit will be a distant memory.

Here’s some feedback from an apprentice who had to re-sit his EPA: