Chief Adjudicator's report 2023

In 2023, 143 submissions were received for the Sword of Honour awards and 115 (80%) of these were adjudged to have reached the pass standard. There is no quota of Swords to be awarded and nor will there be in future years. If every applicant meets the minimum criteria, every applicant will be awarded a Sword of Honour.

General Comments

A maximum of 60 marks are available for the written aspect of the Sword of Honour application. Applicants must score a minimum of 45 marks to remain eligible with a minimum of two individual responses being scored within the top mark band (11-15 marks). Submissions become ineligible for a Sword of Honour should any individual responses be scored within the lower mark band (0-5 marks).

With the pass standard set high (45 out of 60), it is important to score well on each question. One or two weak answers will put the pass standard out of reach. As in previous years, the highest-scoring applicants answered all aspects of each question and adhered closely to the marking scheme, and it was evident that the advice to read the prior year’s Chief Adjudicator’s Report had been taken. This allowed them to give a much more complete answer and so access the top mark band for each question. Notwithstanding this improvement applicants are again reminded to read the Chief Adjudicator’s Report from the previous year prior to completing the application as this report provides helpful insight, comments, and direction on what is required when completing the application; the webinar hosted earlier this year and available online is another helpful guide. Whilst not wishing to be overly critical the Chief Adjudicator feels it incumbent to make the strong point that more care should be taken when completing these applications – The Sword of Honour recognises excellence in health and safety and when applicants do not answer the question fully or provide a less than complete answer the implication is that they are not showing due deference to this scheme and consequently this is a disservice to the safety, health and wellbeing profession. In addition, applicants are reminded that the mark scheme is made available to applicants for reference when completing their application; this mark scheme should be considered throughout the application process. The Chief Adjudicator is of the belief that these documents continue to often be neglected by some of the lower-scoring applicants - something which needlessly risks their achievement of the award.

In 2023, 11 submissions were received for the Globe of Honour awards and 9 (82%) of these were adjudged to have reached the pass standard. There is no quota of Globes to be awarded and nor will there be in future years. If every applicant meets the minimum criteria, every applicant will be awarded a Globe of Honour.

General Comments

A maximum of 60 marks are available for the written aspect of the Globe of Honour application. Applicants must score a minimum of 45 marks to remain eligible with a minimum of two individual responses being scored within the top mark band (11-15 marks). Submissions become ineligible for a Globe of Honour should any individual responses be scored within the lower mark band (0-5 marks).

With the pass standard set high (45 out of 60), it is important to score well on each question. One or two weak answers will put the pass standard out of reach. As in previous years, the highest-scoring applicants answered all aspects of each question and adhered closely to the marking scheme, and it was evident that the advice to read the prior year’s Chief Adjudicator’s Report had been taken. This allowed them to give a much more complete answer and so access the top mark band for each question. Notwithstanding this improvement applicants are again reminded to read the Chief Adjudicator’s Report from the previous year prior to completing the application as this report provides helpful insight, comments, and direction on what is required when completing the application; the webinar hosted earlier this year and available online is another helpful guide. Whilst not wishing to be overly critical the Chief Adjudicator feels it incumbent to make the strong point that more care should be taken when completing these applications – The Globe of Honour recognises excellence in environmental management and when applicants do not answer the question fully or provide a less than complete answer the implication is that they are not showing due deference to this scheme and consequently this is a disservice to the environmental management profession.