Welcome to the Level 4 Diploma in Learning and Development. You will need to start by familiarising yourself with this website. The site contains resources and information regarding course delivery, assessments, duration, and ground rules.

Nature of Course
Please bear in mind that this is an RQF qualification. It is not a self-study qualification. You can not be signed off without evidence of learning. This website will track your activities which includes the number of times you access the site and the duration. Quality Assurers will monitor these activities including your involvement during the planning and assessment stages. Your behaviour and response to feedback, assessment plans and reviews will also be monitored both internally and externally.

Specialist Area
We encourage you to remain grounded to your speciality area. You are expected to relate to your specialist area he completing your coursework. It is important you justify the pedagogy that makes your specialist area tick. What might be acceptable in one specialist area might not be for another. For example in Health and Social care, you might be expected to pay attention to some ethical concerns which might not be important when it comes to customer services. It might not be appropriate to go around a nursing home with a click board assessing a care worker in a nursing home while there might be nothing wrongdoing the same thing assessing a shop worker in a Supermarket.

Pedagogy focuses on the theory and practice that defines your specialist area. Some common pedagogy principles could include supporting learners in small groups, working with others and a commitment to reflection and continuous professional development. You will be expected to know the current or changes in your specialist area such as government agenda, latest evidence-based practice or regulations.

Course Duration
Our system will send an alert at least 14 days before your course expiry advising you to either complete your course or apply for an extension. You have 3 to 12 weeks from enrolment to complete the course. All extension requests are subject to application which has to be done by completing the necessary online form. Assessors can not extend courses. This role and responsibility fall under the remit of our admin. All extensions will be processed at the end of every month in line with our extensions, reasonable adjustments and extenuating circumstances procedures. Any assessments beyond the course duration are generally chargeable.

Course Dedicated Day
Our dedicated day for the course is Wednesday. This is the day you should normally be expected to have contact with your assessor. This is also the day assessors actively carry out assessments, tutorials and respond to tickets!

Every candidate is allocated an assessor as soon as they enrol. If you do not know your assessor please contact our Admin (contact@etutor.org.uk).

Course Delivery
The course is delivered by Blended Learning. Each assessment criteria is attached to learning outcomes. You will be expected to demonstrate learning by participating in course activities such as web conferences, online forums and completing learning logs. You can also attend a face to face sessions and be supported by tutorials either on an individual or group basis. More information regarding this crucial course requirement is highlighted under “Ground Rules”.

Initial Forms You need to complete three forms as part of your initial assessment and enrolment. These are: Service Level Agreement. Initial Assessment. Learning Agreement. You can access the three forms from the right handside menu after the “Ground Rules” topic

Recognised Prior learning
We promote the use of prior learning as the first assessment method for all our courses. This involves applying credit transfer for all like for like units. The process also takes into account any prior learning, knowledge and skills. Candidates who are interested in having their prior learning considered should submit their evidence when completing the initial assessment.

Assessors will often identify eligible candidates at induction. They will often outline what is expected and agree with you on an action plan which will usually involve supporting, making you aware of all units that make your course and the assessment criteria. If there are no like for like units, it is your responsibility to submit any evidence you believe meets the assessment criteria. All evidence will need to fully meet the assessment criteria. Part of the test will need to ensure that all your evidence is authentic, reliable, current and sufficient. It is common for additional assessments to be required to ensure your evidence meets our standardisation procedures. Do not take it for granted that we will agree with the assessment decisions of your previous assessor.

Prior learning is only considered at the beginning of the course. It is your responsibility to make your assessor aware of any prior learning request as soon as possible. Certain prior learning decisions might require consultation with our quality assurance team. External opinion might also be required for complex cases or where awarding body approval is needed.

Induction, Initial Chat and Reasonable Adjustment It is compulsory for you to participate in a generic induction session either online or face to face in order to understand course requirements, how to use this site, access resources, assessments and delivery. Dates and times of scheduled sessions are published under “Events”. Where there is no scheduled induction within a week and you want to progress quickly please get in touch with your allocated assessor to request a mini-induction. Assessors will expect you to be flexible and provide at least three dates and times when you are free for the mini-induction. In addition to the generic induction, your allocated assessor will always invite you for an initial chat. This can take anything from twenty minutes to an hour and can be face to face, online or telephone. The initial chat is to discuss your individual needs and assessment plan. You will need to provide at least three dates and times when you are free. Please note that if taking part in a mini-induction with your assessor, the initial chat will take place at the same time. If you have needs that require reasonable adjustment this is the time to disclose and seek guidance from your assessor. Where your course requires choosing optional units, this is also the time to discuss your choice of units. After your chat, your assessor will draw up your initial holistic assessment plan, which will outline what you need to do in order to achieve your qualification? The holistic assessment will state your expected course end date, your responsibilities and the requirements of your course. Your assessor will use the information from your discussion and any other appropriate sources to draw up the plan.