What end point assessment is
End point assessment, usually written end-point assessment (EPA), is the independent assessment at the end of an apprenticeship on the model that is now being replaced. The apprentice is assessed against the occupational standard by an organisation that is separate from the training provider. The public finder still describes that independence rule: the end-point assessment organisation must be independent from the training provider.
The Department for Work and Pensions page “Changes to apprenticeship assessment: 2025 to 2026”, updated on 3 August 2026, says the reforms replace end-point assessment with a model that can assess during the apprenticeship, not only at the end. It also changes the names: apprenticeship assessment replaces end-point assessment, and assessment organisation replaces end-point assessment organisation. Skills England is publishing revised assessment plans in phases, so both models are in use through 2026 and 2027.
Until a revised plan is released for starts, the existing EPA version of a standard stays available. A cohort’s rules depend on the version and the start date, not on a single national switch-over date. Meritura does not decide which version applies. That comes from the published plan and the apprenticeship’s own dates.
Apprenticeship end point assessment during the transition
Apprenticeship end point assessment still has to be delivered for apprentices on an EPA plan. The assessment plan for that standard sets the methods, the gateway requirements and the grading approach. Skills England’s requirements for apprenticeship assessment, the GOV.UK publication for organisations developing plans, is the current source for the revised model. It does not erase EPA plans that are still approved for delivery.
Ofqual’s Apprenticeship Assessment Qualification Level Conditions took effect on 1 April 2026. They apply where Skills England has published the relevant apprenticeship assessment plan and the learner started the apprenticeship assessment qualification after the conditions came into force. Legacy EPA, the transition, and cases without enough evidence to classify are different situations. Treating every apprentice as if the new conditions already apply is a mistake.
Employers verify behaviours on revised plans because they see the work. Providers may mark some elements where the plan allows it. The assessment organisation still designs the assessment and remains responsible for the validity of outcomes. Those are the roles in the 2025 to 2026 changes page. They are not a description of a Meritura workflow invented for this page.
How Meritura handles end-point assessment
Meritura is end-point assessment software for the operating record, not a regulator and not a substitute for the plan. It can receive a minimised Journey readiness pack, open an assessment case, block allocation where a conflict is unresolved, record assessment activity, keep IQA ahead of release, and leave the result with an authorised person. Assistive notes are allowed. A final grade, appeal, adjustment or malpractice outcome is not.
The case stores which regime it is in. Historical cases without the evidence to classify stay unverified and are blocked from regulated transitions. A source change to a plan is staged for a person to review before it affects live cases. Meritura does not issue an apprenticeship certificate from an assessment record on its own.
Related Meritura pages
Questions
Is end-point assessment still used in 2026?
Yes, for apprentices on an EPA version of a standard. The 2025 to 2026 changes page says the existing EPA version remains available for new starts until the revised version is released. Revised plans are appearing in phases through 2026 and 2027.
Does Meritura decide an end-point assessment grade?
No. Meritura keeps the case, the evidence and the audit trail. An authorised person releases the result. AI can assist with summaries and risk flags, and it cannot make the final assessment decision.
Is Meritura approved as an end-point assessment organisation?
No. Meritura is software for assessment organisations. Being a customer does not place an organisation on a register, and Meritura is not endorsed by Ofqual, Skills England or the Department for Work and Pensions.
Where is Meritura data hosted?
Your data is hosted in the UK, with our core databases and application servers in London. We work only with trusted, GDPR-compliant providers, and any processing outside the UK is covered by UK GDPR safeguards. A list of sub-processors is available on request.