NCFE

175 years of shaping smarter learning

NCFE was born in 1848 from the belief that no learner should be left behind – and today, 175 years later, we’re proud to be continuing to take up this same cause with new energy.  

If you’ve got a story to share about NCFE, we’d love to hear from you – join in on socials using the hashtag #NCFE175. 

What is NCFE? 

NCFE is a national, educational awarding organisation that designs, develops, and certifies diverse, recognised qualifications and awards, including for distance learning courses. It’s a registered educational charity that has been dedicated to learning for over 150 years. 

The NCFE is recognised as an awarding organisation by the qualification regulators for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, including Ofqual, the Welsh government, and the CCEA in Northern Ireland. 

What Does NCFE Stand For? 

NCFE originally stood for Northern Council for Further Education, but it dropped the full name in the 1990s, as it no longer accurately reflected the company’s growing national focus. Now the company is known simply as NCFE. It’s the UK’s longest established awarding body, as well as one of the UK’s fastest-growing. This means the NCFE is highly respected for its professionalism and quality. 

Why Should You Care? 

The NCFE’s role as an awarding body means that it spends time independently accrediting courses that are designed and delivered by third parties, including distance education providers. A home learning course with the NCFE stamp of approval means it is accredited, or checked off, by the NCFE as a quality distance learning course. 

Stonebridge Associated Colleges is an NCFE registered learning centre. Our accreditation by the NCFE means that we have been inspected and approved by an independent and experienced educational organisation. It also means that we are audited for quality on a biannual basis by the awarding body and that we have been licensed by the NCFE on the basis of our own quality systems. NCFE’s stamp of approval is our guarantee of quality. 

What Does This Mean for You? 

Our NCFE-accredited courses are accredited to various levels, from Level 1 to Level 5, according to their degree of difficulty. You can be sure that the NCFE-accredited paper-based or online course you are studying, is of the highest quality. 

Once you’ve successfully completed your accredited distance learning course, you’ll receive an NCFE certificate of achievement as an acknowledgement from this nationally recognised awarding body of your accomplishment. 

Last year over a quarter of a million learners, from over 2,000 education and training organisations, chose the NCFE as the awarding body to help them advance their learning and career goals. Now it’s your turn. 

What NCFE Courses Can I Study Online? 

Would you like to be a Teaching Classroom Assistant? Our many NCFE-accredited courses include many education-focused options ranging from awards to Teaching Assistant certificates and diplomas aimed a providing you with qualifications for Teaching Assistant roles.