The Academy
An Ofqual regulated training centre and a CPD accredited academy, running out of a working clinic. You train on the machines we sell, in the rooms we treat in, assessed by the person who wrote the protocols.
Regulated or accredited? They are not the same thing
This is the single thing people get wrong when they buy training, and it costs them. Some providers blur the two deliberately. Here is the difference in plain words.
Regulated qualifications
Focus Awards Level 4 and Level 5 sit on the regulated qualifications framework and are regulated by Ofqual. They are awarded by a national awarding organisation, not by us, and they carry a recognised level and credit value.
You build a portfolio, you are assessed against national standards, and the assessment is internally quality assured and externally verified.
CPD accredited courses
Practical short courses that record continuing professional development. They are genuinely useful, they are how most practitioners add a new treatment, and we run a lot of them.
What they are not is a regulated qualification. Anyone telling you a CPD certificate is the same as an Ofqual Level 4 is either confused or hoping you are.
Insurers and some local authorities treat the two very differently. Check what yours require before you book anything.
One person, three hats
Carla Cooper-Gale delivers, assesses and quality assures the training herself. She is also the UK Responsible Person for the devices you train on, which is an unusual combination and the reason the training matches the machines.
Level 5 Diploma in Education and Training
The full teaching qualification, not a train-the-trainer certificate. It is the same level of qualification a further education lecturer holds.
Lead assessor
Assessing learners against national standards, with a portfolio you keep and can show to an insurer or a licensing officer.
Internal quality assurer
Responsible for the quality and consistency of assessment across the centre, and the point of contact for external verification.
Courses and qualifications
Ofqual regulated qualifications
Focus Awards Level 4 and Level 5 in laser and IPL treatments, plus the underpinning awards. The route that insurers and licensing authorities recognise.
CPD accredited courses
Short practical courses across cavitation, radiofrequency, plasma, carbon peel and more, on the machines we supply.
Level 3 Anatomy and Physiology
The underpinning knowledge award. If you do not hold it, we will tell you before you pay for a Level 4, not after.
Practical training days
Hands-on days in our own treatment rooms, on live models rather than mannequins.
Online training
Theory delivered online where the unit allows it, with practical assessment completed in person.
Machine operator training
Included with every machine we sell. Operator training on your own equipment, in your own room, once it is installed.
What we will tell you first
We will not sell you a course you already hold
If you already have a Level 4, we will not sell you another one. If you need the Level 3 Anatomy and Physiology before a Level 4 unit, we will say so before you pay rather than after.
Check your own requirements
Insurance and local authority licensing requirements vary. Before booking, check what your insurer and your council actually ask for, and we will match the training to it. Ask us and we will help you work it out.
Not sure which course you need?
Tell us what you already hold and what you want to offer, and we will tell you the shortest honest route to it.
