May 17 2021
SQE Supervisors: help your candidates get a head start!
Flex News
Samantha Gunn
:format(webp)/f/91079/4000x2000/559dfe2d86/blog-banner-sqe-supervisors.png)
Flex Legal Journal: supervisor confirmation now live!
Earlier this year, we launched the UK’s first digital SQE journal for candidates to record their QWE. We’ve been blown away with the results so far; over 500 paralegals have already started their journey to qualification using the Flex Legal Journal, logging over 29.5k hours of qualifying work experience in just two months!With only four short months to go until the first SQE 1 exam, we are delighted to share that Flex Legal Journal is now open to legal supervisors.
SQE supervisor responsibilities
To be able to submit qualifying work experience to the SRA as part of the SQE qualification it must first be confirmed by a solicitor qualified in England and Wales. As the UK’s first digital record of SQE Qualifying Work Experience (QWE), the Flex Legal Journal supports supervisors to easily fulfil their responsibilities under the new route.Under the SQE, candidates must evidence two years of QWE that fulfils criteria specified by the SRA. The Flex Legal Journal allows supervisors to seamlessly manage the approval of candidates’ work experience in one secure and centralised location.
As part of the UK’s first digital record of QWE, candidate work experience journals are recorded in the Flex Legal Journal, and then submit directly to supervisors for approval and feedback - with all QWE managed safely and securely online.
:format(webp)/f/91079/3965x3965/85113c05c9/journal-3jpg-1.jpg)
Notify
Supervisors will be notified by email if someone would like them to confirm their qualifying work experience and invited to create a subscription-free Flex Legal account. The Flex Legal Journal is open to all SQE candidates, regardless of whether or not they are onboarded onto Flex Legal platform.Review
After simply creating an account, Supervisors can immediately view which areas of the SQE competency framework have been completed and read their candidates’ answers to the reflective learning questions.:format(webp)/f/91079/3966x3965/0efebddcc4/image-4_square-1.jpg)
Comment
When supervisors are happy with the entry, they can approve and provide comments to the SQE candidate (see picture).Confirm
When a journal of entries is complete, a qualified Solicitor in England and Wales can provide the official confirmation.Supporting supervisors and organisations with SQE
In its guidance on qualifying work experience, the SRA has advised that candidates can start gaining the necessary experience now and 'banking' it for when SQE comes into effect on 1 September 2021.Despite the SQE proving tremendously popular with aspiring solicitors, supervising organisations are still getting to grips with the new route, with supervisors unclear on how best to support aspiring candidates.
The Flex Legal Journal can help manage this process for supervisors. Not only does it demonstrate an organisation’s dedication to supporting the new route, but it more widely symbolises a commitment to breaking down historical barriers of access to the profession, thereby creating a fairer and more open path to legal qualification.
We have always been vocal supporters of the SQE, which we believe will carve through the existing training contract bottleneck and create a more accessible and fair legal industry. We are committed to supporting the SQE and what it represents, which is why we’ve been hard at work on the journal, which will allow candidates and supervisors to easily manage qualifying work experience in an amazing range of diverse roles.
Additional Resources:
- The Flex Legal Journal - enough about us telling you why it’s so good, why not take a look at what the journal can offer for yourself?
- Flex Legal Journal: over 25k QWE hours logged so far! - despite the journal only launching a few short months ago, it’s already seen an enormous calibre of QWE hours logged!
- The SRA’s guidelines for SQE Supervisors - need more information on the supervisor side of the SQE? Take a look at the SRA’s guidelines and information here on their website.