What the engagement covers
- Gap analysis of your existing provision against the published criteria of the body you are applying to, in the version in force at the time.
- Preparation of the submission itself, including programme documentation, learning outcomes, assessment strategy and the supporting evidence the body expects.
- Independent review by a second person before anything leaves us.
- Management of the submission, including answering queries from the body through to a decision.
- Where the route needs it, positioning you with the right awarding organisation and managing that relationship on your behalf.
- Quality assurance at both ends: an initial readiness review before submission, and maintenance work afterwards so the approval holds. See quality assurance for Qualifications Accreditation.
The work is bounded by a written scope agreed before anything starts. That scope names the body, the criteria version in force, the deliverables and the fee. If the body revises its criteria mid-engagement, we tell you within ten working days and set out what changes.
Choosing the route before building anything
The most expensive mistakes here are route mistakes, not quality mistakes. A well-built qualification submitted to the wrong body is wasted money, and one designed for England that a client in Cardiff cannot use is wasted twice.
We establish which nations and markets you are selling into, what your buyers actually ask for, and which body serves that. If a CPD certification would satisfy the buyer at a fraction of the cost of a regulated qualification, we say so, even though it is smaller work for us.
What we do not promise, and what we do
What we do not promise
- That any regulator, awarding organisation or body will approve your submission. That decision belongs to the body.
- An outcome. Anyone who promises one is misunderstanding the process, or misrepresenting it.
What we do commit to
- Work that meets the body's published criteria as they stand when we prepare it.
- An honest read before you spend, if we think an application is unlikely to succeed.
Which route fits
There is rarely only one option, and the cheapest credible route is often not the one a client first asks for. This is the comparison we walk through on the scoping call, mapped to where your learners and buyers actually are.
| Route | Best when | What learners get |
|---|---|---|
| CPD Certification | You want quick, credible recognition for a short course or programme. This runs through our separate CPD Certification service. | Certified CPD hours a professional can log |
| Ofqual-regulated, England | You want a regulated qualification for the English market | A place on the Regulated Qualifications Framework, through an awarding organisation |
| Qualifications Wales | Your learners are in Wales | Approval or designation on the Credit and Qualifications Framework for Wales |
| CCEA Regulation, Northern Ireland | Your learners are in Northern Ireland | RQF recognition through a CCEA-recognised awarding organisation |
| Qualifications Scotland | Your learners are in Scotland | Recognition on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework |
| MFHEA, Malta | You want an EU-recognised, level-rated qualification after Brexit | An MQF level referenced to the EQF, issued from inside the EU |
Qualifications Scotland Accreditation replaced SQA Accreditation on 1 February 2026. Regulator names and requirements change, so we confirm the current position with the body before we submit.
How the submission runs
Gap analysis
We measure your existing provision against the body's published criteria in force, and against the reasons given for any earlier refusal, then tell you whether the application is realistic.
Build the evidence
We prepare the programme documentation, learning outcomes, assessment strategy and the supporting evidence the body expects, to the version of the criteria that applies.
Independent review
A second person reviews the whole submission before anything leaves us, because the first reader is always too close to catch the gaps.
Manage to a decision
We submit, position you with the right awarding organisation where the route needs one, and answer the body's queries through to the decision, so the correspondence sits with us, not you.
Maintenance quality assurance
After approval we set up internal verification and standardisation, keep the self-evaluation current and prepare you for each external visit.
No programme to submit yet? Our course development for Qualifications Accreditation builds one to the level first.
Who this is for
First-time applicants
Training providers and academies seeking a first accreditation, who need the route chosen correctly before a penny goes into building the submission.
Refused, and trying again
Providers whose submission was turned down and who want an honest read on whether a resubmission is realistic before committing to it.
Employers raising the bar
Organisations that want an in-house programme to carry a recognised level or certified CPD, so the training their people complete means something outside the building.
The mistakes that cost the most
The expensive failures are almost never a lack of quality in the training. They are decisions made before the writing started, or steps skipped in a hurry. Three cause the most damage.
The route mistake
A qualification submitted to the wrong body is wasted money, and one built for a nation your buyer cannot use is wasted twice. We fix the body to the market first, because that decision determines everything after it.
The timing mistake
Bodies revise their criteria, and a submission built to last year's version is judged against this year's. We record the version we build to and flag any change within ten working days. In Malta, provider and programme accreditation must be applied for together.
The evidence mistake
A body accredits documented outcomes, not intentions. Most refusals we are asked to rescue asserted more than they evidenced. We build the evidence to the standard first, so the decision is made on the strongest version of your case.
None of these are hard to avoid once you know they are the ones that matter. They are simply the mistakes nobody warns you about until you have already made them.
What a submission actually contains
Accreditation is not a form. It is a case, built to the body's published criteria and evidenced line by line. The clean decision goes to the submission where every claim is answered with something the body can verify, not to the longest one. A submission carries four things:
- The programme documented at the level it claims, with learning outcomes an assessor can trace to where each one is taught and tested.
- An assessment strategy that shows how the level is actually judged, not merely asserted.
- The policies a body expects a provider to run, on quality, appeals and integrity, as working documents rather than templates.
- A mapping that ties it together, so a reviewer follows one outcome from syllabus to mark sheet without asking you for it.
It is slower at the start and far faster at the finish, because the unanswered question is what generates the rounds of queries that turn a decision into a saga. When the body does come back, the query lands with us and is answered to its standard, not left on your desk in language you were never trained to read.
Common questions
Which accreditation bodies do you work with?
MFHEA in Malta, CPD certification bodies, Ofqual-regulated awarding organisations in England, Qualifications Wales, CCEA Regulation in Northern Ireland and Qualifications Scotland. We also work with other national frameworks and awarding bodies on request.
Do you guarantee my submission will be approved?
No. That decision belongs to the body, applying its own criteria at the time it decides. We commit to work that meets the published criteria as they stand when we prepare it, and to telling you honestly before you spend money if we think an application is unlikely to succeed.
Are you an awarding organisation?
No. We are a consultancy. We are not a regulator, an awarding organisation or an accreditation body, we do not award qualifications and we do not grant accreditation.
Can you take over a submission that has already been refused?
Usually yes. We start with a gap analysis against the body's published criteria and the reasons given for the refusal, then tell you whether a resubmission is realistic before you commit to the work.
How much does accreditation cost?
It depends entirely on the route and the scope, so we price it in a written scope agreed before any work starts, naming the body, the deliverables and the fee. As a rule, CPD certification is a fraction of the cost of a regulated qualification, and we will point you to the cheaper credible route when it does the job.
Can you position us with an awarding organisation?
Yes. Where the route runs through a recognised awarding organisation, we identify the right one, position you with it and manage that relationship on your behalf through to the decision.
How long does the whole submission take?
It depends on the route. CPD certification is measured in weeks. MFHEA provider licensing in Malta is stated by the authority as roughly 6 to 12 months, with programme accreditation alongside it. We give you a realistic timeline for your specific route on the first call.
Do you handle the correspondence with the body?
Yes. Once we submit, the queries come to us. We answer them to the body's standard and keep you informed, so you are not left translating a regulator's questions you were never trained to read.
Can you accredit an online or blended course?
Yes. The delivery mode is not the barrier. What matters is that the outcomes, the assessment and the evidence meet the body's criteria, and we build those the same way whether the course is online, in the room or blended.
Do you work with heavily regulated sectors?
Yes. Much of the training that most needs recognition sits in regulated sectors, from financial services and iGaming to health and safety and data protection. The route is the same: we establish which body serves your market, build the submission to its published criteria, and manage it to a decision. Where a sector has its own expectations on top of the accreditation body's, we build to both, so the qualification holds up to the regulator and to the sector at once.
FreeCourse diagnostic
Send us one course. We'll tell you what it needs, free.
Share one course or programme you already run, or the slides and notes behind it. After a short first call, we review it at no charge and send you a written note on what it needs and which package fits, within a few working days.
- One course or programme, reviewed by a named person
- A written note on what it needs
- The package that fits, so you know where to start
- No charge and no obligation
Get in touch
Tell us what you want recognised.
Send a short note on what you are trying to get recognised, who it is for and any deadline. We will come back with the route, the standards that apply and what the work involves.
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We prepare and manage submissions in line with the principles of ISO 21001 (educational organisations) and ISO/IEC 17024 (certifying people). See how we apply each standard.