Qualifications & Training
KCL offers accredited routes in two directions: recognised qualifications for the children and young people we teach, and training delivered to the organisations that work alongside us. Both are shaped around what the people in front of us actually need next.
How qualifications work here
KCL does not run a qualification in isolation and hope a learner attends it. Accreditation is designed into a personalised SEND programme from the start, so the evidence comes out of work the learner was doing anyway.
Units are chosen to fit the pathway a learner is already engaged in — the farm, the studio, the court, the kitchen — so accreditation follows the work rather than interrupting it.
Level and pathway are set by where the learner actually is: attainment, communication, regulation and stamina, not year group.
A programme that begins with unit awards can move on to Functional Skills or a vocational route. The plan is reviewed as the learner settles, and adjusted in either direction.
Where an EHCP is in place, qualification goals are written against its outcomes and reported on the same cycle as the rest of the provision.
For learners
Every route below can be taught inside a personalised SEND programme. Learners are entered when the evidence says they are ready, not when a calendar says so.
NCFE
Entry Level 1 to Level 2
Reading, writing, speaking and listening taught through work a learner is already doing rather than through exam drill. Levels are taken one step at a time, so an interrupted education does not close the route off.
NCFE
Entry Level 1 to Level 2
Number, measure, shape and handling data, built around practical tasks — weights, costings, timings and records. The maths stays attached to something the learner can see the point of.
KCL as an assessment and examination venue
KCL acts as an assessment and examination venue for Functional Skills, including for learners who study elsewhere. Sitting a paper in a familiar, low-arousal room with staff a learner already knows removes a barrier that has ended many attempts before.
AQA
Unit accreditation at every level
Short certificated units that record exactly what a learner has done, with no examination attached. Units are gathered across every pathway, so achievement accumulates while confidence is still being rebuilt.
Trinity College London
Discover, Explore and Bronze upward
A recognised creative qualification moderated by Trinity College London. KCL is a registered Arts Award Centre, so learners are supported and moderated in-house rather than sent elsewhere to be assessed.
NCFE
Entry Level and Level 1
Vocationally framed units covering practical, work-related learning — useful where a learner's next step is college, training or supported employment.
Where applicable to the pathways KCL is currently approved to deliver.
For learners
Trinity College London
Regulated qualification typeFor professionals
KCL also trains the people who work with SEND learners elsewhere. Sessions are delivered by staff who are doing the work themselves, so the examples come out of practice rather than a generic workbook.
A full certificate for staff who support teaching in classrooms and alternative provision, covering child development, safeguarding, and supporting learning and behaviour. Assessment tasks are built around the learners a candidate already works with.
NCFE CACHE
Level 2
Paediatric first aid for staff working with children and young people, delivered at a KCL site or at the commissioning organisation's own premises. Certification is valid for three years from the date of the award.
NCFE CACHE
Level 3
Short in-house sessions on low-arousal environments, regulation, re-engaging learners who have withdrawn, and running alternative provision safely. Content is shaped with the commissioning organisation rather than taken off a shelf.
Delivered by KCL
Training is delivered to organisations across education and children's services.
For professionals
Exact official qualification titles, levels and awarding-body approvals are confirmed with KCL before publication.
Or speak to us directly on 01895 722 304.
Begin a conversation
Reaching out can feel like a big step. Whether you're a parent, school, or local authority, we're happy to talk through needs and whether we're the right fit.
