✅ What is Smarter Booking?
Smarter Booking is a system designed to help you plan, submit, and manage Professional Discussion (PD) bookings, ensuring a smooth journey from learner registration through to results.
🔐 Step 1: Access Smarter Booking
Smarter Booking is accessed through EAL Connect.
Your Centre Coordinator is set up as a Super User and will be able to create and manage additional users for your centre, ensuring everyone has the appropriate access.
If you don’t yet have access to Smarter Booking, please contact your Centre Coordinator or another Super User for support.
👉 For step‑by‑step guidance on accessing Smarter Booking, please see: How can you access Smarter Booking? | EAL Connect
👤 Step 2: Set Up Your Users
Your Super User should ensure the right people have access:
Super User – manages users and system setup
General User – creates and manages bookings
Senior Manager – views and monitors activity
Users can be added in the Users section within Smarter Booking.
👉 For step‑by‑step guidance on adding users, please see: How to Add a New User in Smarter Booking | EAL Connect
📍Step 3: Create Assessment Sites
Assessment sites are required so EAL can confirm that the Professional Discussion is being conducted in an appropriate assessment environment.
Go to Sites.
Select Add Site.
Enter:
Site name
Main contact
Telephone number
Address
Confirm details.
Save.
🔗 Step 3a : Link Qualifications to Site
Select the site.
Link relevant Professional Discussion qualifications.
Verify qualification-site mapping.
Output: The site will be available for selection when creating a Professional Discussion booking.
📋 Step 4: Complete Prerequisites
Before you can submit a booking request, you must ensure all required prerequisites have been completed. These include:
Employer Confirmation has been completed.
The Practical Project Assessment has been completed.
EQA sign-off has been obtained.
These include key requirements such as learner readiness, completion of prior assessment components, and required supporting evidence.
⚠️ You will not be able to proceed with booking until all prerequisites have been met.
👉 For full details, please refer to: Professional Discussion Booking (Pre‑Requisites) | EAL Connect
🧾 Step 5: Register the Learner
Before a learner can be booked, they must first be registered via Online Services.
The learner must be registered on both:
The main qualification.
The corresponding Professional Discussion (PD) component.
Ensure the correct Professional Discussion component is selected, including the appropriate English or Welsh (CYM) version.
⚠️ You will not be able to find or book a learner in Smarter Booking until they have been registered.
👉 For step‑by‑step guidance, see: Registering a Learner for a Professional Discussion | EAL Connect
🔍 Step 6: Locate the Learner
Once registered in Online Services, the learner record will sync to Smarter Booking overnight and will be available the following day. To locate the learner record:
Log into Smarter Booking via EAL Connect
Navigate to Bookings
Search for the learner by the EAL Candidate Number
Hover over the learner record and click to open the External Assessment overview.
📝 Step 7: Complete Assessment Planning
To prepare the booking:
Select Assessment Planning
Complete all required fields and evidence including the learner name and candidate number where appropriate.
Save your changes
📤 Step 8: Submit a Booking Request
To create a booking request:
Open Candidate Details.
Select Grading View.
Upload the EQA Sign-Off Form via: Candidate Details → Grading View → Gateway → Other Requests under learner documents.
Upload the Practical Project Evidence via: Registration Details → Practical Project → Other Requests under learner documents.
Click Save Changes once both documents have been uploaded.
If applicable, submit a Reasonable Adjustment Request and upload the required supporting documents.
👉 For step‑by‑step guidance covering steps 6-8, please see:
📌 Step 9: Scheduling Your Session
Once the required evidence has been uploaded and saved, return to Candidate Details and select the Session View tab.
To request a Professional Discussion date:
Click Add Session.
Select SmartDays.
Choose your preferred assessment date and click Use Selected Date.
Review the availability indicator before selecting a date:
High – Good assessor availability.
Medium – Limited assessor availability.
Low – There is a possibility that we may not be able to accommodate this date and an alternative may be required.
Complete the remaining required fields, including the preferred assessment time.
Select the assessment site where the Professional Discussion will take place.
Add any relevant notes regarding the learner's availability, such as holidays, restricted availability, or preferred days/times.
💡 The Professional Discussion typically lasts around 40 minutes; however, a 1-hour session will need to be booked to allow time for introductions, technical checks, and any unexpected delays.
Once all details have been completed, click Create Session to continue with the booking process.
📚 Add Learner Components Once the session has been created:
Select Add Learner Components.
Choose the Professional Discussion component(s) that are required for the learner.
Add the components to the session.
Click Finalise Session.
Review the booking details and select Finalise Session again to submit the session request.
Submit the Professional Discussion Request Once the required documents have been uploaded and the session has been finalised:
Navigate back to Form Overview.
Then select Request PD.
✅ Step 10: Confirmation
The Professional Discussion request will now be submitted to EAL for review and scheduling.
As part of this review, EAL will check that:
The Assessment Planning Form has been completed.
The EQA Sign-Off Form has been uploaded.
The Practical Project Evidence has been uploaded.
The Professional Discussion session has been created and finalised.
All booking requirements have been met.
Once submitted, the form will disappear from your active bookings screen. If you need to view the learner, you can locate them via the Learners tab by searching using their EAL reference number.
Next, you will receive confirmation of:
The session date and time.
The assigned assessor.
Any relevant session details or instructions.
This confirmation ensures that all parties are aligned and the assessment can go ahead as planned, reducing the risk of delays or rescheduling.
If assessor availability is not available for your preferred date, you will be contacted to discuss alternative dates wherever possible.
⚠️ Important
You do not need to take action during this stage unless contacted
Scheduling is managed by EAL, and timings are dependent on availability and successful review
If there are any issues with your submission, EAL will contact you directly
👉 For full details on scheduling and confirmation, please see:
💻 Step 11: Accessing the Professional Discussion Meeting Link
Once the Professional Discussion has been scheduled, the Microsoft Teams meeting link will be available within Smarter Booking.
To locate the meeting link:
Open the learner record.
Select Bookings
Navigate to the Professional Discussion section.
Select Other Requests.
The Teams meeting link will be displayed here and can be accessed by any authorised Smarter Booking user.
If the learner is not attending from the approved assessment site, please notify EAL so appropriate arrangements can be made and the meeting details can be shared accordingly.
✅ Once scheduled, there is no need to wait for a separate email invitation, as the meeting link will be available directly within Smarter Booking.
🎓 Step 12: Assessment Delivery
The learner completes their Professional Discussion.
📊 Step 13: Results
Following the assessment:
Results are processed by EAL
All required quality assurance checks are completed
A final grade is determined
Results can take up to 30 days from the date of assessment to be confirmed.
While results are being processed, the system may temporarily display a fail status. This is the default system status and does not indicate the learner's final outcome.
Once the assessment form has been claimed, awarded and closed in Smarter Booking, the result will be released back to the learner's registration in Online Services.
Grades are transferred daily from Smarter Booking to Online Services between 12:00am and 6:00am.
🔄 Integration with learner records
Once confirmed, the final grade will automatically:
Update the learner’s Professional Discussion registration
Feed back into the learner’s full qualification record
This ensures all components are aligned and ready for certification.
✅ Claiming the qualification
Once results are available, you will need to claim the qualification as the final step in the process.
👉 For full guidance, including important restrictions, see:
🔁 Automatic claim scenario and restrictions
If you have already claimed all units before the learner completes the Professional Discussion, and this is the final outstanding component, a full qualification claim will be automatically generated by the system.
If this claim is then restricted for certification:
You will need to contact your EQA to request release of the certificate
Once the claim has been released by the EQA:
The system will automatically determine the final grade
A certificate will be issued
📄 The e‑Certificate is typically published in Certify within 1 working day.