About the college
Governance & quality assurance
治理与质量保障
Legal status
What the college is, in law
SCMAT UK — UK College of Chinese Medicine & Acupuncture Techniques is a [PRIVATE LIMITED COMPANY / CHARITABLE INCORPORATED ORGANISATION] registered in England & Wales. It is not a university and does not have degree-awarding powers. Any award the college makes in its own name is a professional or college award; where a programme is validated by a university or awarding body, the award is made by that body, and this website will say so plainly on the programme page once that is the case.
The college is governed by a board of [DIRECTORS / TRUSTEES] who are accountable for its conduct. Members of the governing body are unpaid [except for the Principal], serve fixed terms of [THREE YEARS], and declare any interests annually. A register of interests is maintained by the college office and is available on request.
The college’s objects, as set out in its articles, are to advance education and to relieve sickness for the public benefit by teaching Chinese medicine and acupuncture techniques to professional standards and by providing clinical services, including free treatment for those who could not otherwise access them.
We are not a public authority and are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act. We publish our key policies anyway, and we will answer reasonable questions about how the college is run — including questions from students, applicants, partner organisations and journalists.
Registration details
The legal form, company number, registered office and charitable status shown below are placeholders. The client must confirm the registered entity and its numbers before publication — applicants, partners and regulators all rely on these details.
Where the college is registered
SCMAT UK — UK College of Chinese Medicine & Acupuncture Techniques · Registered in England & Wales. Registration documents and the college’s articles are available from the college office.
- Legal name
- SCMAT UK — UK College of Chinese Medicine & Acupuncture Techniques
- Trading name
- SCMAT UK · 英国中医针药技术学院
- Legal form
- [PRIVATE LIMITED COMPANY / CIO]
- Registered in
- Registered in England & Wales
- Company number
- Company No. 00000000
- Charity number
- [CHARITY NUMBER, IF APPLICABLE]
- Registered office
- SCMAT UK Head Office
1 Example Square
London
EC1A 1AA - VAT registration
- [VAT NUMBER]
The governing body
What the board is responsible for
Standards, academic and clinical
Satisfying itself that teaching, assessment and patient care meet the standards the college claims, and that external scrutiny is genuine rather than nominal.
Financial sustainability
Approving budgets, monitoring solvency and reserves, setting fee policy, and being satisfied that the college can meet its obligations to students already enrolled.
Appointment of the Principal
Appointing, supporting and, if necessary, dismissing the Principal and the other executive post-holders, and setting their remuneration.
Risk and compliance
Setting the college's risk appetite, reviewing the risk register, and ensuring compliance with the law and with the college's own regulations.
Safeguarding and welfare
Ensuring that arrangements for safeguarding students, patients and anyone under 18 in contact with the college are adequate and are actually followed.
Public claims
Approving what the college says publicly about itself, including accreditation status, so that no claim outruns the evidence the college holds.
Committees
Who sits where, and how often
| Committee | Chair | Membership | Frequency | Responsibilities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governing body | [CHAIR NAME] | [NUMBER] members, of whom [NUMBER] are independent; the Principal attends | [X] times a year | Strategic direction, financial sustainability, oversight of academic and clinical standards, appointment of the Principal, risk appetite and approval of policies. |
| Academic board | Director of Education ([DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION NAME]) | Programme leads, tutors, the Registrar, two student representatives, the external examiner in attendance | [X] times a year | Programme approval and review, assessment and moderation, annual monitoring, external examiner reports, admissions standards and tutor development. |
| Clinical governance committee | Clinical Director ([CLINICAL DIRECTOR NAME]) | Clinical supervisors, the herbal medicine lead, the Principal and [EXTERNAL CLINICAL ADVISER] | [X] times a year | Patient safety, incidents and adverse events, clinical audit, consent and record-keeping standards, supervision ratios and herb quality. |
| Audit & risk committee | [CHAIR NAME] | [NUMBER] independent members and the Registrar in attendance | [X] times a year | Risk register, financial controls, data protection, business continuity, and oversight of public interest disclosures. |
| Admissions & student matters committee | Registrar ([REGISTRAR NAME]) | Programme leads, a student representative and [STUDENT SUPPORT LEAD] | [X] times a year | Admissions decisions and entry requirements, extenuating circumstances, reasonable adjustments, student welfare and the student protection plan. |
Academic board
The academic board is where teaching standards are actually decided. It approves new programmes and material changes to existing ones, agrees assessment arrangements, receives the external examiner’s report and requires a written response to every recommendation, and reviews the annual monitoring report for each programme. Student representatives sit on it and can place items on the agenda.
Clinical governance committee
The clinical governance committee is concerned with patients rather than students, although the two overlap constantly. It reviews every incident and near miss in the teaching clinic, sets and monitors the clinical audit programme, agrees supervision ratios, and oversees herb sourcing, identification and dispensing standards. Its minutes go to the governing body. Safe practice in the clinic is governed by the health & safety policy, which covers sharps, infection prevention and herb handling.
Reporting lines
Both boards report to the governing body through the Principal, and each has a standing item at every board meeting. Where a committee and the executive disagree, the disagreement is recorded and escalated rather than resolved by silence — and where a committee believes a matter has not been addressed, the chair may write directly to the board.
Terms of reference
Each committee has written terms of reference setting out its membership, quorum, delegated authority and reporting duties. Copies are available to students and to partner organisations on request via the college office.
Quality assurance cycle
The loop that keeps standards honest
Before a programme runs
Programme approval and validation
A new programme is approved against written criteria — aims, learning outcomes, curriculum map, assessment strategy, staffing, resources and clinical hours — by the academic board, with external input where the programme leads to a professional award. Nothing is advertised before it is approved.Every year
Annual monitoring
Each programme produces an annual report on recruitment, retention, achievement, student feedback, external examiner comment and the previous year’s actions. The academic board scrutinises it, the governing body receives a summary, and the resulting action plan is tracked to completion with a named owner and a deadline.Every year
External examining
An external examiner with no other connection to the college reviews assessment design, sees a sample of student work and reports on whether our standards are comparable with those of similar programmes. The college must respond in writing to every recommendation, and the report goes to the governing body unedited.Every [FIVE YEARS]
Periodic review
Each programme is reviewed in the round — curriculum, assessment, staffing, resources, outcomes and the student experience — with external panel members. Periodic review is where a programme may be substantially revised, merged or discontinued, and the reasons are recorded.Continuous
Student representation and feedback
Module evaluation, mid-programme reviews and elected student representatives on the academic board. Feedback is answered publicly with what will change, what will not, and why.Continuous
Clinical audit and incident review
Cases, incidents and near misses in the teaching clinic are reviewed by the clinical governance committee, audit topics are chosen on risk, and findings change practice or are explained. See clinical services.
Risk, data and safeguarding
The obligations that do not depend on size
Risk management
- A risk register scoring likelihood and impact, owned by the executive and reviewed by the audit & risk committee [TERMLY]
- Principal risks: clinical incident, financial sustainability, key-person dependency, regulatory change, data protection, safeguarding and herb supply
- A risk appetite statement agreed by the governing body, so that decisions about growth are made deliberately
- Business continuity and a student protection plan setting out what happens to students and their fees if the college were to close or a programme were withdrawn — see terms & conditions of enrolment
Data protection & records
- UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, with the Registrar as data protection lead [NAMED DPO]
- A privacy notice for applicants, students, patients and website visitors, published under policies
- Clinical records kept separately from student records, with access restricted to those who need it
- A retention schedule: student records [X YEARS], clinical records [X YEARS] after the last treatment, unsuccessful applications [X MONTHS]
- Documented procedures for subject access requests, breaches and the ICO notification duty
Safeguarding
- A designated safeguarding lead [NAME] and a deputy, named in the safeguarding policy and known to all staff
- Enhanced DBS checks for all staff and volunteers with contact with students or patients, repeated [THREE-YEARLY]
- Students under 18 admitted only to specified programmes, with additional supervision and parental consent
- Referrals to the local authority or the police made without hesitation, and never filtered through the college's reputation
- Annual safeguarding report to the governing body, including the number of concerns raised and how each was resolved
Named post-holders, retention periods and review intervals shown in gold are placeholders. They are the details an accreditation reviewer or a partner organisation will ask for first, so they must be confirmed rather than assumed.
Complaints & disclosures
How to challenge the college
Complaints and appeals
A complaint may be made informally, and most are resolved that way. A formal complaint must be made in writing and is acknowledged within [X] working days and answered within [X] working days by a member of staff who has not previously been involved in the matter.
If you are not satisfied with the response, the complaint goes to a panel including a member of the governing body. Academic appeals additionally involve the external examiner. Records of complaints, and the lessons drawn from them, are reported to the governing body annually.
The full procedure, including timescales and the grounds on which an appeal may be brought, is published at complaints & appeals.
Public interest disclosure (whistleblowing)
Staff, students and contractors who raise a genuine concern about wrongdoing — including concerns about patient safety, safeguarding or the accuracy of what the college claims publicly — are protected from detriment. That protection applies whether or not the concern turns out to be well founded, provided it was raised in good faith.
Concerns may be raised with the Principal, with the chair of the audit & risk committee ([CHAIR NAME]), or anonymously through the college’s [ANONYMOUS REPORTING ROUTE]. Where a concern cannot be resolved internally, the college will not obstruct a disclosure to an external regulator or the police.
The audit & risk committee receives an annual report of disclosures made, in a form that does not identify individuals, and the governing body confirms each year that no member of staff has suffered detriment for making one.
A note on tone
This page describes arrangements that are in place or in preparation. Where a named post, a period or a committee is still to be confirmed, it is marked as a placeholder rather than presented as settled. If you are relying on any of this — as an applicant, a partner or a patient — please ask us for written confirmation of the current position.
Ask us how the college is governed
Governance questions from applicants, partners and journalists are answered by the college office. If you need a document — terms of reference, a policy, or written confirmation of our accreditation position — ask and we will send it.