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.
Manage actions from an assessment report
Actions in a service assessment report are things the team must do to help the service meet the Service Standard.
If your assessment report contains amber or red-rated standard points, there will also be a list of actions for the team.
The assessor panel and heads of profession in DfE will support teams to complete any actions.
If a standard point is rated green
There will be no actions for the team to take. The team is on the right track.
If a standard point is rated amber
If your service has any amber-rated standard points, you can continue to the next phase but should resolve any actions within 3 months.
You should:
- review actions as a team
- build actions into sprint planning
- involve heads of profession or profession leads to address actions
- book your next assessment
- demonstrate how you've resolved any actions before your next assessment
If you have amber actions that you're unable to resolve before your next assessment, work with the assessors, heads of profession, or profession leads to demonstrate how you'll either mitigate the action or resolve it in the future.
For example, an amber rating for an issue that you know you cannot resolve by your next assessment, but will add to your roadmap, ready for the next iteration.
If a standard point is rated red
If your service has any red-rated standard points you'll need to book a reassessment.
You should:
- complete any actions before moving forward
- review actions as a team
- go back to the assessor panel with any specific questions
- prioritise actions in sprint planning
- book a reassessment
- demonstrate, with support of the panel and heads of profession, how you've met the standard
At reassessment, the assessors will listen to the team talk through the actions they've resolved.
You'll then get a new report with outcomes for standards that have been reassessed.
If the team want to challenge the report
Email the Service Assessment Plus team to arrange next steps. They'll set up a meeting with the panel so that you can talk through the report.