Your experience can be a starting point.

Experience takes different forms.

We consider voluntary work, self-employment, caring and lived experience individually. Applicants must be 18 or over and ready to develop safe, reflective practice supporting children and families.

We welcome disabled people, people managing chronic illness, carers, community volunteers, people returning to work and young adults aged 18–24 who are not currently in education, employment or training. Reasonable adjustments can support participation; a diagnosis is not required.

Our aim is to widen access to vocational learning and progression towards meaningful, flexible work. This ambition aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goal 8. Certification does not guarantee employment, clients, income or register approval.

How individual consideration works

1. Join the waiting list. When applications open, we will explain the evidence required and how to provide referee details securely.
2. Pay the £95 application deposit when applications open.
3. Our panel considers your experience, contacts your referees and emails an outcome within 2–4 weeks of application submission. If essential evidence is missing, the outcome may request further information.
4. If approved, pay the remaining £505 before accessing certification training.

References and any optional access information will be restricted to authorised reviewers and accessed only where needed for the application decision.

Outcomes are approved, approved subject to preparation, more information required, or not currently approved. Conditional approval remains valid for 12 months from approval. Feedback is provided; there is no separate admissions appeal, but later reconsideration is possible with suitable evidence or references. The complaints route remains available.

Understand the full commitment

For applicant withdrawals, a full or partial refund will depend on the circumstances and assessment work completed. The detailed withdrawal terms must be supplied before deposits open; no fixed deduction is currently agreed.

Recruitment is ongoing. Book the four shared webinar hours and the 15-minute small-group competency conversation through the existing weekly practitioner rotation, with no more than one session per week. The standard practitioner attendance, assessment and session-booking arrangements apply. See the practitioner programme and ongoing costs.

Optional register activation is a separate process. The alternative entry decision does not waive experience, suitability, insurance or registration checks. The appropriate Enhanced DBS check, with Children’s Barred List information only where legally eligible, is required for the relevant registration role. Any child-facing activity during training must already have the appropriate safeguards and checks.