What you are signing up for
Design Education and Training Provision, Engage Learners in Education and Training and Evaluate Education and Training Provision, each 20 credits, form the working spine of this diploma: plan a course, teach it, find out whether it worked. Principles of Education and Training sets out the theory beforehand, and Professional Development and Reflection in Education and Training asks you to look at your own practice at the end. The sixth unit, Plan, Allocate and Monitor Work in Own Area of Responsibility, is the management unit that gives the programme the second half of its name.
Learners here are typically workplace trainers, apprenticeship coordinators, learning and development officers and further-education staff who teach without a teaching qualification. Assignments ask you to design and evaluate a real piece of provision, so you will leave with a redesigned course and evidence of its effect, not just a certificate. To be clear about what it is not: this is an OTHM academic diploma of 120 credits, not the regulated teacher-training route into further education, and it confers no teaching status. It does sit at the same level as the first year of an education degree.
The six units
- Principles of Education and Training20 credits
- Design Education and Training Provision20 credits
- Engage Learners in Education and Training20 credits
- Plan, Allocate and Monitor Work in Own Area of Responsibility20 credits
- Evaluate Education and Training Provision20 credits
- Professional Development and Reflection in Education and Training20 credits
Unit titles and credit values are taken from the OTHM qualification specification. The order in which LSPM teaches them is set by LSPM and confirmed at enrolment.
Principles first, then design, engage and evaluate as a connected cycle applied to one piece of training, then the management unit, and finally reflection. Pick your training project early; LSPM will tell you when it needs to be settled.
Entry requirements
OTHM sets the entry requirements for this qualification and LSPM, as the approved centre, applies them when it assesses your application. As published by the awarding body:
- Relevant Level 3 Diploma or equivalent qualification
- GCE Advanced level in 2 subjects or equivalent qualification
- Mature learners (over 21) with relevant management experience (learners must check with the delivery centre regarding this experience prior to registering for the programme)
The awarding body's three doors are a Level 3 diploma, a pair of A levels, or age 21 plus experience. For this programme, running or coordinating any training, induction or apprenticeship activity at work counts for a great deal, and in the decisions we have seen LSPM weighs it accordingly.
How you are assessed
Written assignments for each unit, with the design, delivery and evaluation units assessed through a training project you carry out at work. There are no exams. Confirm with LSPM whether drafts are reviewed before submission.
Where it leads, stated carefully
Level 5 Diploma in Education and Training from OTHM, continuing into curriculum and quality at the second-year level.
Advanced entry to an education or training degree, on the terms the university sets.
Learning and development, training manager or apprenticeship lead roles where a recognised qualification in training practice is expected.
We do not name partner universities on this page. If and when LSPM shows us a written progression agreement for this diploma, it will be listed here with the date it was signed.
Who it suits
Likely to get a lot from it
- In-house trainers who were good at the job and got asked to teach it.
- Learning and development coordinators who manage others' training but want to understand the craft.
- FE and adult education staff on hourly contracts who want a Level 4 to strengthen their position.
Better served by something else
- People who want to teach in schools; this is not a route to qualified teacher status.
- Anyone seeking the regulated post-16 teaching qualification; this is an academic diploma, not that.
- Learners with no training activity to draw on, since the central project needs real learners to work with.
Asked about this programme
Do I need people to train while I study?
Yes, for three of the six units. Formal training sessions, inductions, coaching groups or apprenticeship reviews all count. If you have no learners at all, wait until you do.
Is this the same as the Qualifi Education and Training diploma?
They are structurally close: both have six units covering fundamentals, design, engagement, work planning, evaluation and reflection. The OTHM version publishes 20-credit units and names the management strand explicitly; the Qualifi version is worded more towards resource design. Awarding body and progression route are the main practical differences.
What does the management unit involve?
Plan, Allocate and Monitor Work in Own Area of Responsibility asks you to plan a piece of work for a team, delegate it and track it. For a training coordinator that usually means managing a rollout or a cohort.
Read before you decide
Programme brochure
Brochure slot: PDF to be supplied by LSPM, with its fees, dates and tutor profiles for this programme. Ask us for it by email in the meantime and we will obtain the current version from LSPM.
Official specification
OTHM Level 4 Diploma in Education and Training Management specification, published by the awarding body. The authoritative source for units, learning outcomes and assessment criteria. Also listed on the Ofqual register under 610/1377/8.