Quality Mark Self-Assessment Portal Launch
October 9, 2025
By Meiron Avidan, Quality Mark Programme Lead
In one of my first significant moments in my role as Quality Mark Programme lead, we launched the Quality Mark Self-Assessment portal. A digital tool designed to make the Quality Mark process more straight forward. I can’t take credit for the launch, as all of the hard work was done by the time I started the role in August. Although I am now hoping that with a bit of publicity and gentle persuasion, our network of emergency accommodation providers will all excitedly jump at the chance to use it!
What is the Quality Mark?
The Quality Mark is a unique service development tool designed specifically for non-commissioned, faith and community night shelters and emergency accommodation providers. As the only framework tailored to this part of the sector, the Quality Mark is an invaluable tool to help organisations develop and enhance their services, ensuring they meet evolving best practices while supporting positive outcomes for guests, staff, and volunteers. It was developed as part of our strategy to raise standards, strengthen practice, and ensure services are safe, trauma-informed, and well-governed.
How does the portal change the Quality Mark process?
Up until now, projects who undertook the Quality Mark process, needed to complete an excel version of the self-assessment and email over all of their supporting documents. Now, the portal makes it much smoother for projects to go through the process and digitally submit their documents. Although don’t worry, if you would still prefer an excel version of the assessment to look through at your own pace, we can still send you one!
The biggest change to the process is the fact that there are now two options for the Quality Mark process, the self -assessment and the full assessment, both processes are explained on the landing page of the portal.
If you chose to do the Self-Assessment, it is a chance for you as an organisation to reflect on your own practices, and review them in line with industry best practices. All of the Quality Mark criteria have been developed through consultation with sector experts, Housing Justice network providers, and experts by experience.
Alternatively, you can chose to do the full Assessment where you assessment come through to us for review. As part of this process we will meet with staff and trustees, visit your service, and speak with volunteers and guests. At the end of the process you will receive a detailed report including recommendations to support your project’s development. If you chose to start with the self-assessment, you can always switch to the full assessment at a later date.
I know the Quality Mark can feel like a daunting process, with its 113 criterion, but it offers you the opportunity to delve deeper into your service, and evaluate it systematically. It allows you to have difficult conversations with your team or partners but offering a rationale for them, and it brings together the amazing knowledge within our network, and allows that knowledge to develop based on learnings from you.
If you have any questions about the Quality Mark process, or you would like to discuss the process of the full assessment further, please do reach out to me. I would love the opportunity to hear more about the important work you are all doing, and to discuss how we can support you to fit the Quality Mark process into your busy schedules.
Meiron Avidan – [email protected]
Quality Mark Self-assessment portal – Introduction – Housing Justice Quality Mark Self Assessment
