If you’re looking to book a course you’ll (unfortunately) start to encounter some terminology – so we thought we’d offer a quick explanation & why it does actually matter.

Attendance ~ means just that – someone attended the course. They might have been enthused and engaged – but equally they might have been bored or just played on their phone…

Qualification ~ to be a qualification there must be a test of knowledge – this can be written, oral or practical – but it does show that the learner has actually learnt!

Certified ~ Sounds great initially – but actually it’s potentially only worth the paper it’s written on. Literally anyone can issue a certificate – but what does it actually mean? Did someone just sit through a lecture? Was there any test of knowledge? how has the content been validated?

Accredited ~ This might be a little better – but who has it been accredited by? How have they proven their or the participants competence? Who has checked the relevance and currency of the course content?

Regulated ~ This means the course has been independently regulated by an independent regulator (in our case this is OfQual) to meet an independent standard and that the content has been assessed to be relevant. A regulated course will also usually have a test of knowledge or performance as a component – so you can be assured participants have actually paid attention and learnt the content.

All of Mental Health North West’s standard courses are regulated qualifications – the gold standard for learners.