This paper outlines the policy and pedagogical outcomes of an AP(E)L Pilot Project in the social care sector undertaken as an element of the 2003-2005 Socrates-Grundtvig Research Project: VaLEx Valuing Learning from Experience, by the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) and the Open Training College (OTC). It deals with the experiences of the two providers in taking a scaled-up rather than an individualistic approach and considers the evaluation feedback from participants, facilitators/accompaniers and assessors. The paper recommends that accreditation for prior experiential learning AP(E)L / recognition of prior learning RPL could be managed more effectively and efficiently by linking it with pedagogies of work-based learning for professional development in communities of practice. (Contains 2 tables, 1 figure and 1 footnote.)