Independence and fairness
How we keep certification independent
Certification only means something if it is earned, fairly decided and open to challenge. This page explains who assesses a school, who checks the decision, how conflicts of interest are handled and how a school can appeal.
Who assesses and who decides
Every audit is carried out by the Founder and Lead Assessor, who is named on the About page.
A second person, the moderator, independently reviews a sample of decisions before they are confirmed. The moderator is an independent educational specialist with postgraduate qualifications in education or psychology and extensive experience in these fields.
Every one of the first audits is moderated. After that a random sample is moderated, plus every Certified with Distinction decision, every borderline decision and every reassessment that followed a consultation.
Conflicts of interest
- Assessors and moderators declare any connection to a school before an audit starts. Anyone with a conflict takes no part in that school’s decision.
- From the day a school’s membership is paid until its first decision, we give that school no consultancy at all. We cannot coach answers and then judge them.
- After a decision, members may book paid consultations. They are always declared, they never influence a certification outcome and the advice stays general: we do not write a school’s policies for it.
- Where a consultation has been given after a development report, the moderator reviews the reassessment decision as well.
- Consultations are closed again while a reassessment or an annual check-in is being decided.
Appeals
A school that disagrees with a decision can appeal in writing within 30 days. The appeal is reviewed by an equally qualified professional who took no part in the audit or its moderation. They look at the evidence again and reply in writing within 20 working days.
Safety and safeguarding
- The audit looks at systems, never at named individuals. We never ask for the names or case details of children or staff, in interviews or in documents.
- The audit is not a crisis, clinical or counselling service.
- If an assessor learns during an audit that a child or an adult may be at risk, they tell the school’s designated safeguarding lead straight away.
- Every school must have a safeguarding and child protection policy and a documented response for a student or a member of staff who may be at risk of self-harm or suicide.
What this certification is
Neurodivergent Excellence certification is awarded under our own independent framework. It is not government accreditation, a statutory inspection or a regulatory approval, and it does not replace any inspection a school must undergo under local law.
We do not claim external endorsement. If external reviewers are appointed we will name them here.