OTHM, Qualifi and Ofqual: who awards and regulates these diplomas

The chain, from top to bottom

1. Ofqual regulates. It recognises awarding organisations, sets the conditions they must meet and keeps the public register of regulated qualifications.
2. OTHM and Qualifi award. They write the specifications, approve and inspect centres, externally verify marked work and issue the certificates in their own names.
3. London School of Planning and Management (LSPM) delivers. As the approved centre, it admits and registers learners, teaches, sets and marks assignments, moderates internally, presents samples for verification and claims certificates.
4. This site advises and refers. LearnLoom Consultants, the publisher, is an independent recruitment agent for LSPM: We explain the qualifications, answer questions and pass people who want to apply to LSPM. We hold no approval from any awarding body and need none, because we deliver nothing.

Ofqual, the regulator

The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation oversees qualifications, examinations and assessments in England. Every qualification it regulates carries a unique number, and each programme page here prints that number and links to the entry at register.ofqual.gov.uk. The register tells you the title, the awarding organisation, the level, the credit value and whether the qualification is currently open to new learners.

OTHM

OTHM Qualifications is an Ofqual-recognised awarding organisation with qualifications from Level 3 to Level 8, concentrated in business, management, computing, health and education. 13 of the Level 4 diplomas on this site are OTHM titles. OTHM's own site is othm.org.uk.

Qualifi

Qualifi is an Ofqual-recognised awarding organisation with a wide catalogue of vocational and higher-level qualifications. 18 of the Level 4 diplomas on this site are Qualifi titles. Qualifi's own site is qualifi.net.

What an approved centre is, and why this site is not one

Awarding organisations do not run classes. They license centres to do so, inspect them before approval and afterwards, and sample the centres' marking through external verification. Approval is granted to a named legal entity for named qualifications; it does not extend to the agents who recruit for that entity. So when this site says a programme is "available", it means LSPM is approved to deliver it and we can introduce you to LSPM. The teaching, the marking and the certificate claim all happen at LSPM, under LSPM's approval, and any question about them is LSPM's to answer.

How to verify LSPM's approval

1. For OTHM, use the centre search on othm.org.uk (OTHM publishes a list of approved delivery centres) or email OTHM with London School of Planning and Management and the qualification title.
2. For Qualifi, use the approved centre search on qualifi.net or ask Qualifi directly in the same way.
3. Cross-check with LSPM itself: its website is www.lspm.org.uk, and it should be willing to show you its current approval letters on request. We can ask on your behalf, but the letters are LSPM's, not ours.

How to verify a qualification

1. Take the Ofqual number from the programme page, for example 610/0763/8.
2. Search for it on the Ofqual register. The entry shows the title, the awarding organisation, the level, the credits and the current status.
3. Compare the title on the register with the title on the certificate you will eventually receive; they should match word for word.

What regulation does not do

Regulation guarantees that the qualification meets the awarding body's and Ofqual's standards, and that LSPM has been inspected to deliver it. It does not guarantee that a particular university or employer will treat the qualification in a particular way, and it says nothing about this site. Universities decide their own admissions policies, and the progression section of every programme page is written with that in mind.