Assessor role and responsibilities: Specialist Accreditation Scheme

Specialist Accreditation is achieved by robust examination and assessment of those who apply in relation to both their Core knowledge and skills, and specialist areas of practice. Candidates are tested on their knowledge, skills and their ability to apply that knowledge and those skills in their everyday practice. Uniquely, they are also assessed on their ability to apply the Resolution Code of Practice. Those who are appointed by Resolution to act as questions setters and assessors must therefore be practitioners of the highest quality and specialism in practice.

Role and responsibilities

Question setters and assessors are responsible for the drafting of case studies and questions (question setters) and the proper assessment (assessors) of candidate papers for accreditation and reaccreditation.  Their responsibilities are as follows:

• Maintain their Resolution membership, their specialist accreditation and their own professional standard of practice
• Adhere to the Resolution Code of Practice
• Remain alert to changes in relevant legislation or standards of professional practice
• Adhere to all Resolution policies eg cheating, collusion and plagiarism and complaints policies
• Adhere to the rules of the specialist accreditation scheme including the rules around use of AI
• Maintain confidentiality and act impartially and fairly in their role
• For questions setters: draft (within the deadline set by Resolution) appropriate case study and accompanying questions that utilise the competencies required by the specialist area
• For assessors: mark candidate papers using the scheme, and to the level of assessment, set by Resolution and by the deadline set by Resolution.
• Use Resolution’s online platform to access and mark candidate papers.
• In the case of borderline or failed papers record clearly the competencies that have not been met by the candidate and any other reason that has led to a borderline or failed paper.
• When it is necessary to provide feedback to candidates assessors should do so in the timeframe set by the Resolution team and the feedback should be constructive, balanced and professional.
• With the Head of Standards, ensure the competencies set reflect changes in law and practice, suggesting amendments and updates.

Accreditation status

Resolution has agreed the following arrangements for question setters and assessors in relation to their own accredited status:

• We expect applicants for the role of question setters and assessors to be current holders of Resolution specialist accreditation.
• Question setters and assessors will not be required to re-accredit for the period of their appointment as a question setter or assessor with Resolution.
• On stepping down or retiring from their role as a question setter or assessor they will be required to re-accredit as required within three years.
• Resolution reserves the right to change these arrangements from time to time and as required.

Change of status and declaring interests

Question setters and assessors must notify the Head of Standards of:

• Any change to their professional status or standing that would affect their continuing role with Resolution. This includes retiring, leaving their specialist areas of work, or taking extended leave (excluding parental leave).
• Any connection or relationship with a candidate that may cause, or be construed as, a conflict of interest or is likely to lead to a biased or partial outcome.
• Any other potential conflict of interest

Resolution’s responsibilities

Resolution provides support to question setters and assessors by:

• Providing induction and training (including on how to use our online platform)
• Giving good notice and clear deadlines for when questions must be drafted and papers marked.
• Providing an annual opportunity for the team to meet to discuss issues relating to accreditation and relevant changes in practice, qualification requirements and family law legislation.
• Providing administrative support to enable smooth-running of the specialist accreditation scheme, answering any queries or concerns in good time.
• Ensuring prompt fee payment for work completed at a rate set out by the organisation.

Person Specification

Question setters and assessors must have professional integrity and respect the principles of fairness, impartiality and confidentiality set out in Resolution’s Code of Practice. Additionally, they should be able to demonstrate:

• Specialist knowledge, skills and experience as a practitioner in their specialist area of practice
• Ability to deal with and analyse and assess candidate responses
• Excellent written communication skills, the ability to work in a balanced and impartial way and confident in making decisions
• Ability to plan for and complete tasks within a set timetable
• Ability to learn and become competent in using the technology deployed by Resolution to manage the accreditation programme

Fees and expenses

Resolution pays a small fee to question setters and assessors in recognition of their role.

The fee for writing a case study and setting questions is £190.  In some cases, two people are appointed to do this task jointly and they share the fee.

The fees for marking a paper are £48 per full accreditation candidate and £21 per re-accreditation candidate.

Travel expenses for meetings will be provided for in line with Resolution’s expenses policy (as at Sept 2026 this covers second-class train travel, booked in advance for a reasonable fare and/or 40p/mile towards the cost of travel by car).  Where other expenses are incurred these must be agreed with Resolution prior to making a claim.

Recruitment

Resolution members who are interested in this role are asked to apply using the short application form.  The form asks why you are interested in the role and what you can bring to it.  There is no requirement for previous experience as an assessor – we will offer training and support to induct you into the role.