Service assessments
Services must be assessed against the Service Standard at the end of each phase. Being assessed is a condition of Cabinet Office spend approval.
Get an assessment report
You'll receive an email with a link to the report up to 7 days after the assessment.
What to expect in a report
The overall service and each of the 14 Service Standard points will be given a green, amber or red rating.
Assessors will take into account the context the team are working in and will evaluate the Service Standard in a proportionate way.
If any of the standard points are given an amber or red rating, there will also be a list of actions for the team.
Service assessment results
Green rating
This replaces the 'met' rating. Services that receive green ratings for all 14 Service Standard points can progress to the next phase.
There will be no actions recorded in the report.
Amber rating
This replaces the previous rating of 'not met', or 'met with conditions' that has been used in DfE.
The service can continue to the next phase of delivery while you work on the amber issues.
You'll be given a list of actions in the report for any standard points rated amber. You should address these actions within 3 months.
All amber-rated actions should be addressed before you book your next service assessment.
Red rating
This also replaces the previous rating of 'not met'.
If you receive a red rating, the service needs to pause, take action to address the issue and be re-assessed.
For the service to continue to the next phase, it must meet the Service Standard.
You'll be given a list of actions in the report to be reassessed against any standards rated red.
Accept or challenge the report
Once you've read the report, the product or delivery manager will have 10 working days to accept or challenge it.
To accept the report
You can accept the report on your dashboard in the Service assessment service.
To challenge the report
Email the Service Assessment Plus team to arrange next steps.
They'll set up a meeting for the team with the panel. You'll need to agree any changes to the report with the panel before you accept the outcome.
When to get reassessed
If your service receives a red rating for any of the standards, it will need to be reassessed against those points.
For any standards that are rated red, the team will need to:
- Focus on resolving the actions.
- Book a reassessment.
- Evidence how they've resolved actions to meet the Service Standard.
What happens next
Once you've accepted the report, it will automatically be published in the reports section of the Service assessment service.
After your assessment, you'll receive a link to provide feedback to help us improve the assessment experience.