Advanced digital forensic professional / Skills England

This is not the latest approved version of this apprenticeship. View the latest version

This apprenticeship is in revision

From 1 January 2026, Level 7 apprenticeships will only be government-funded for apprentices who, at the start of their apprenticeship training, are either aged 16-21, or aged under 25 and have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan and/or have been, or are, in the care of their local authority. Any individual who started a level 7 apprenticeship before 1 January 2026 will continue to be funded through to completion.

The below revised version of the assessment plan is approved by Skills England under the 2025/2026 apprenticeship assessment reforms and is available for information only. On 27th September 2027, it will replace the current version for new starts with a funding band of £27,000, allowing providers and employers to begin working with assessment organisations to deliver the assessment. For further details of the changes to apprenticeship assessment, please refer to the Department for Education's support guidance.

End-point assessment (EPA plan)

Rigorous robust and independent assessment undertaken by an apprentice at the end of training to test that the apprentice can perform in the occupation they have been trained in and can demonstrate the duties, and knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs) set out in the occupational standard

End-point assessment organisation (EPAO)

An organisation approved to deliver end-point assessment for a particular apprenticeship standard. EPAOs must be on the register of end-point assessment organisations

Holistic or synoptic

Assessment of an apprentice’s knowledge, skills and behaviours in an integrated way i.e. assessing several KSBs at the same time

Knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSB)

What is needed to competently undertake the duties required for an occupational standard

Valid

Referred to in relation to assessment methods; fit for purpose

Change request policy

Most changes to an apprenticeship are made as a result of a holistic review of it. We prioritise the need for such reviews based on a range of factors. These include:

the time since the apprenticeship was developed or last reviewed (taking account of its typical duration)
the existence of any known problems with it (e.g. lower than expected starts, low achievement rate, high withdrawal rate, any issues with the availability of training or end-point assessment provision)
whether the apprenticeship is currently subject to a dispensation
the relative significance of the apprenticeship based on how many users it has

The availability of an employer group to support a review and its potential impact on any related technical education product also inform the timing of a review.

Details of apprenticeships that are currently being revised or adjusted are available in our revisions and adjustments status report.

Version log

Version	Change detail	Earliest start date	Latest start date
Revised version awaiting implementation	Assessment plan revised	27/09/2027	Not set
1.1	End point assessment plan revised	02/10/2024	26/09/2027
1.0	Approved for delivery	15/07/2024	01/10/2024

Employers involved in creating the standard: Cambridge Regional College, Associated British Foods, BCS - The Chartered Institute for IT, Bedfordshire Police , Birmingham Metropolitan College, British Transport Police , Cambridge Police Force , CCL Solutions , College of Policing, College of Policing , Cranfield University, Deloitte, Forensic Capability Network, Forensics Access , Forgerock, Hertfordshire Constabulary , IntaForensics, Kent Police , Lancashire Police, London Metropolitan Police , MSAB, National Crime Agency, NCI - College, North Wales Police, Northamptonshire Police , Serious Fraud Office, South Wales Police , South West Police Collaboration , Staffordshire , Staffordshire University, Sytech-Consultants , Teesside University, West Midlands Police, West Yorkshire Police

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Advanced digital forensic professional

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