We are firmly committed to the highest standards of professional practice, transparency and accountability. We seek to conduct our business affairs in professional and responsible manner, while respecting our legal and contractual obligations to all of our customers, staff, partners, and regulators.
Listed below are a range of policy statements which attest our resolve to different areas of our business. Please note that these are policy statements and as such do not necessarily provide specific procedural stages. Where it is deemed appropriate (e.g. complaints procedure), we have provided links to files that contains the full corresponding procedure.
In the event that you require further information or clarification on any of the policy statements, please feel free to get in touch.
Accessibility Policy
We seek to make our website as accessible and user-friendly as possible, and to the widest possible audience. The user’s experience is at the very epicentre of our website development strategy to ensure that we communicate our business objectives as transparently as possible.
In order to ensure that we are successful in our development strategy, we must also consider the specific needs of those with physical disabilities, visual impairments and/or learning difficulties. Furthermore, we also need to make sure that our website and learner engagement system (LES) render correctly, and in a variety of web browsers, including:
- Edge
- Safari
- Mozilla Firefox
- Google Chrome
In order to ensure that our accessibility objectives and obligations are met, we have committed to the World Wide Web Consortium Standards (WC3) in all of our web development activities. All web pages, sub-domains and social media websites have and will continue to be developed and tested in accordance with the WC3 standards.
The Publicly Available Standards (PAS 78), which were published by the British Standards Industry (BSI) on March 8th 2006, and in collaboration with the Disability Rights Commission (DRC), outline the steps website operators must take to ensure that their websites remain compliant with the DDA. We at Health and Fitness Education are implicitly committed to ensuring that our website remains compliant with the Act, and Standards respectively. Moreover, we are dedicated to ensuring that all of our users, irrespective of any disabilities or impairments, are able to operate our website effectively.
Appeals Policy
We recognise that some learners may feel that they have been unnecessarily disadvantaged during the assessment and/or delivery of their training course or qualification, and as such may wish to challenge the outcome of their assessment.
We are committed to providing all learners with a fair and objective forum in which assessment decisions can be challenged.
Any learner has the right to appeal against their assessment outcome, irrespective of the type of assessment, and/or the course or qualification they are working towards.
We are dedicated to ensuring that all learners are given an equal and fair opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and competence at the level being assessed.
Appeals should not be considered as a fast track alternative to re-assessment. All candidates launching an appeal must be able to prove that they have been disadvantaged in the assessment process, and/or their evidence has not been judged accurately or fairly (e.g. video evidence, expert witness testimony).
Please note: In the case of practical assessments completed on our training courses and which have not been recorded, it will not be possible to overturn an assessor’s decision. To change any assessment decision retrospectively, we would require firm and indisputable evidence that the assessor’s observations that gave rise to the ‘referred outcome’ were wrong assessor’s judgement was wrong – a learner’s testimony would not constitute this.
The attached guidance should be reviewed carefully by learners wishing to make an appeal because this explains the necessary steps and what evidence is required.
Learners wishing to make an appeal should do so using the attached Assessment Appeal Form (AP-01). You will need to save a copy of this form (pdf) on your device before editing or completing it.
Appeal Fee: Appeal applications will carry a fee of £50.00, to cover the associated administrative costs. The Appeal Fee will be refunded should the appeal be upheld.
Cancellation Policy
We recognise that the needs and circumstances of our customers have the potential to change and consequently we understand that we must be flexible in the way that we offer our services.
Our Cancellations Policy therefore exists to inform our customers and potential customers how and when we will accept cancellations, including any refunds that may or may not be due.
Our full position on cancellations is described in Clause 9 of our Terms of Business – however, a brief summary is provided below for your convenience. From time-to-time our Terms of Business to change and so it is important that you check the version of terms that applied at the time of your booking.
- Our cancellation policy has been written to comply with the entirety of the Consumer Rights Act (2015).
- If you cancel a Course within the Cooling-off Period (within 14 days of booking your course), you will be entitled to a refund of all monies paid within 14 days of receipt by us of all the materials supplied to you, provided that these are fit to be reused.
- If you cancel a Course after the end of the Cooling-off Period, but at least 28 days prior to the commencement of a Course, then you will be liable to pay a sum equal to the difference between the deposit paid and 50% of the total Course Fees.
- If you cancel a Course within 28 days of the commencement date of the Course then you are liable to pay all Course Fees.
- If your Commencement Date is within 14 days of the date of your booking is made, your legal right to cancel this agreement under the Consumer Contracts (information Cancellation & Additional charges) Regulations 2013 will not apply.
- If you use any of the Services provided by us, you waive your right to cancel this agreement and the provisions of Clause 9.4 and 9.5 above shall apply.
- You cannot cancel your course after your Commencement date.
Please note that this policy does not affect your statutory rights.
Complaints Policy
We are firmly committed to providing a quality teaching, learning and assessment service to our customers and we pride ourselves on our ability to achieve high levels of customer service. That said, we also recognise that one of the key ways in which we can continue to improve our service offering is by listening and responding to the views of our customers.
This policy is designed to provide our customers, potential customers, or any person working with us, with a fair and equitable means of making a complaint.
In cases where the complaint specifically relates to the outcome of an assessment, the customer is advised to follow refer to the Appeals Policy.
When handling complaints about our products or services, we seek to:
- treat all complaints as clear expression of dissatisfaction with our service which calls for a response.
- treat all complaints seriously whether it is made in person, by telephone, by letter, or by e-mail.
- deal with complaints promptly, politely and, where appropriate, informally (for example, by telephone).
- respond in the right way – for example, with an explanation, or an apology where we have got things wrong, or information on any action taken etc.
- learn from complaints, use them to improve our service, and publish information on complaints – for example, in our Departmental Report.
Making a Complaint:
If you wish to make a formal complaint about any of our products or services then you should do so in writing by way of email or letter. We are also happy to receive complaints by telephone if you feel you would rather speak to us directly.
Any written correspondence should be titled ‘Customer Complaint’ and include a contemporaneous account of the events surrounding your complaint.
If the complaint pertains to a particular member of staff, please provide the appropriate details, including any evidence to support your complaint.
In order to ensure that we can conduct a reliable and robust investigation, please ensure that you submit your complaint within 30 days of the incident which fell short of your expectations. While we company will investigate all complaints thoroughly, this time frame will enable us to ensure that the information we gather during the investigation process is as accurate as it can possibly be.
Course Transfer Policy
We recognise that the needs and commitments of our customers have the potential to change and as such we will need to be flexible in the way we continue to offer our teaching, learning and assessment services.
Our Transfer Policy therefore exists to provide our customers and potential customers with clear guidance on how and when course transfers (e.g. deferring attendance to a later course instance) will be accepted, including any additional fees that may apply.
This policy is governed by Clause 10 of our Terms of Business, which do from time to time change, in order to make improvements. As such we advise that you refer to the version of the Terms of Business that you agreed to upon enrolment (as supplied with your learning materials).
We committed to ensuring that all advertised courses run as scheduled and that we are able to continue to provide the high-standard of training that has become synonymous with our brand. Additionally, at the heart of our mission statement is ‘affordability’, and we are dedicated to ensuring that we can continue to keep our course prices competitive. In order to achieve this objective however, it is essential that we can plan in advance, and ensure that all reserved places for students on our courses are used as originally planned.
Why we Charge for Transfers?
In the event that you decide to make a transfer and defer your attendance to a later date, you will effectively be consuming two course places instead of the one that you booked and paid for.
In cases where your notice period supplied is less than 6-weeks, it is highly unlikely that we will be able re-use that place based on the volume of home-study learning involved with our courses and the limited time, we would have to advertise that space. We will however still have to honour our financial and contractual obligations with suppliers (tutors, assessors, venues etc).
The transfer fees outlined below make a partial contribution to additional costs, although in no way do these costs cover all of our losses. These costs are however significant enough to get a firm commitment from you in respect of the course you are transferring to.
It should also be noted that the more times you transfer a course the more our losses and costs compound. As such, we reserve the right to limit each student to 2 course transfers per booking, as per Clause 10 of our terms of Business.
This transfer policy does not affect your statutory rights.
Course Transfer Fees
Unfortunately, theory and practical exam bookings are non-refundable and non-transferable.
Where a notice period of 6-weeks or more is provided before the Commencement Date, there will be no fee for the first course transfer.
Where the notice period is less than 6-weeks before the Commencement Date of, a fee of £100.00 will be due.
Where the notice period is less than 2-weeks before the Commencement Date, a fee of £250.00 will be due.
N.B. The “Commencement Date” is the first day of the Course requiring your attendance, as detailed on the Application form for the Initial Course.
Data Protection Policy
We handle and store information about our staff, learners, suppliers and partners to enable it to ensure that we can meet our legal, professional and contractual obligations.
We will comply with the principles of the Data Protection Act (2018), including the ‘Principles’ of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We will make every effort possible to ensure that we comply with these Principles.
Data collection must be fair, for a legal purpose and we must be open and transparent as to how the data will be used. Described below is how we comply with these principles.
- Lawfulness, fairness and transparency: Inform you what data we hold, match the data to how it has been described and meet the requirements of article 5, clause 1(a) of GDPR.
- Limited for its purpose: Data can only be collected for a specific purpose.
- Data minimisation: Any data collected must be necessary and not excessive for its purpose.
- Accurate: The data we hold must be accurate and kept up to date.
- Retention: We cannot store data longer than necessary.
- Integrity and confidentiality: The data we hold must be kept safe and secure.
All staff, suppliers (e.g. awarding bodies) and regulators (funding organisations) who come into contact with your personal data collected in our name must ensure that they follow the above Principles.
All Data Processors (people who handle personal data on our behalf) are contractually required to comply with our full Data Protection Policy, the above Principles and the terms and conditions set out in our Data Processing Agreement.
Compliance with the Regulation is the responsibility of anyone who has access to your personal data. A breach of this Policy may lead to disciplinary action and/or access to our facilities and services being withdrawn, or criminal prosecution.
Questions and concerns about the interpretation or operation of this policy should be taken up with the Company’s Data Protection Officer (DPO): Lee Cain – 01772 641 091.
Any person(s) who believe that our Data Protection Policy has not been followed with regard to their own personal data, or that of others, should first raise the matter with the our DPO.
Equality Policy
We celebrate diversity and champion equality in everything that we do. The aim of our Equality Policy is to create an environment in which people treat each other with mutual respect, regardless of their differences.
This policy statement attests our firm commitment to promoting equality and how we ensure that we do not unlawfully or unfairly discriminate against anyone for any reason. However, we will be particularly focused and sensitive to those who are defined by one or more or the ‘protected characteristics’, as defined by the Equality Act (2010). The protected characteristics include age, disability, marriage and civil partnership, race, maternity and pregnancy, religion or belief, sexual orientation, sex and gender reassignment.
To ensure that our Equality Policy is effective, and for no other purpose, we will maintain records of all customers, employees, applicants for employees and suppliers. Ongoing monitoring and regular analysis of these records provide the basis for appropriate positive action to remove discriminatory and potentially discriminatory barriers.
Fair Assessment Policy
The assessment of learner’s knowledge, skills and competencies are integral to a dynamic learning and teaching process and not separate from it.
It is of paramount importance that all learners, staff, suppliers, regulators and stakeholders have confidence in our ability to implement an effective and robust assessment plan that aligns with the appropriate regulations (e.g. standards set by the qualification body).
We are firmly committed to ensuring that all of our assessments are conducted thoroughly and in accordance with the prevailing standards. Moreover, we will:
- ensure that our assessment process is carried out by appropriately qualified and competent member of staff.
- ensure that all assessment judgments are underpinned by objective and unambiguous assessment criteria that is made available to the learners in advance of their assessment.
- ensure continual and thorough internal quality assurance of all assessors and across a wide range of assessment methods to promote reliability within the assessment process.
- ensure that all assessed coursework is set in a timely manner with clear guidelines to students about what is required, in what form and by when?
- ensure that all formative work is returned to students with appropriate feedback and within a reasonable time period.
- seek to ensure that students are assessed using a wide variety of assessment methods which align with the awarding body standards and learning outcomes.
- ensure that any student with ‘additional learning needs’ receive a comparable assessment task that is agreed and approved by the appropriate person/body prior to that assessment taking place.
In all cases where an assessment needs to be adapted for somebody with an additional learning need (reasonable adjustment), we will require the appropriate of the needs disclosed in advance of the planned assessment. This is essential to allow us time to make the necessary arrangements.
Health and Safety Policy
We are absolutely committed to ensuring the health, safety and welfare of all of our customers, employees, sub-contractors, suppliers and stakeholders. It is therefore our policy to adopt all reasonably practicable measures:
- to secure the health, safety and welfare of all employees at places of work under our control, and elsewhere while performing their duties
- to protect students and other persons who are lawfully on our premises against risk to their health or safety which might arise out of activities in those places
- to maintain safe plant, machinery and equipment and a safe and healthy place of work
- to commit to continuous improvement in the management of health and safety
In the implementation of our Health and Safety Policy, we are also firmly committed to ensuring that all employees, customers, sub-contractors, suppliers and stakeholders are aware of their individual responsibility to exercise due care and consideration in relation to themselves and those who are working with them.
To this end individuals are instructed to:
- familiarise themselves with our Health and Safety Policy and any associated safety requirements
- take reasonable care to ensure that all procedures used are safely carried out, and seek expert advice in any case of doubt
- warn of any special or newly identified hazards in existing procedures or risks in new procedures about to be introduced
- report accidents or incidents promptly
familiarise themselves with fire and emergency drills (including the location of emergency exits and telephones) and escape routes
Malpractice Policy
We define malpractice as ‘any attempt by a learner to obtain an unfair advantage during any assessment’. Furthermore, this definition extends to the conduct of staff when ‘a member of staff provides that learner with an unfair advantage within any assessment’.
This Malpractice Policy is considered to be one of our most important operating principles because malpractice on any level, can compromise the integrity and professional credibility of the entire organisation, our delivery partners and suppliers.
Incidents of malpractice have the potential to place at risk our approval to operate as a learning provider. As such, incidents of malpractice will not be tolerated in any capacity.
Examples of malpractice include but are not limited to:
- Cheating in exams
- Plagiarism
- Collusion in coursework
- Fabrication and falsification
- Impersonation
What We Will do to Prevent Malpractice
All learners will be verbally informed of the assessment requirements including any conditions or restrictions of the assessment before the assessment commences.
In the case of theory assessments or invigilated worksheets, each learner shall be provided with a copy of the ‘candidate guidelines’ from the awarding body, which clearly sets the boundaries for acceptable and unacceptable conduct.
All learners must sign and date authenticity statements/declarations on all written evidence submitted to confirm that it is entirely their own work.
In cases where learners are proven to have engaged in instances of malpractice, their assessment will be discarded and any outcome or achievement revoked.
The company reserves the right to refuse to provide any further service to learners who are found to be involved in malpractice, however so.
Medical Disclaimer
(1) No Advice
This website contains general information about health and fitness-related matters, and may from time to time provide information on medical conditions and treatments. The information is not advice, and should not be treated as such.
(2) No Warranties
The medical information on this website is provided without any representations or warranties, express or implied. We make no representations or warranties in relation to the medical information on this website.
Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing paragraph, we do not warrant that:
(a) the medical information on this website will be constantly available, or available at all; or
(b) the medical information on this website is complete, true, accurate, up-to-date, or non-misleading.
(3) Professional Assistance
You must not rely on the information on this website as an alternative to medical advice from your doctor or other professional healthcare provider. If you have any specific questions about any medical matter you should consult your doctor or other professional healthcare provider. If you think you may be suffering from any medical condition you should seek immediate medical attention. You should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice, or discontinue medical treatment because of information on this website.
(4) Limiting our Liability
Nothing in this medical disclaimer will:
(a) limit or exclude our liability for death or personal injury resulting from negligence;
(b) limit or exclude our liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation;
(c) limit any of our liabilities in any way that is not permitted under applicable law; or
(d) exclude any of our liabilities that may not be excluded under applicable law.
Privacy Policy
We are committed to respecting and protecting the privacy of all those who use our website and services. The following policy explains the various ways in which we collect personal information and data about our users. It also outlines what this information is used for, the steps we take to keep it secure, and the situations in which we may disclose this information to others.
By using the HFE website, you’re agreeing to be bound by the terms of this policy.
From time to time, this policy may change so you may want to occasionally check this page to ensure you’re happy with any updates.
Questions about this policy or other practices relating to privacy can be sent to [email protected]. Alternatively, we can be contacted on our main office number – 0800 612 4067.
Click here for our full web-based privacy policy.
Safeguarding Policy
We believe that the safety of our staff, customers, suppliers and visitors is our number one priority and as such we are vehemently committed to ensuring that everyone with whom we work, whether they are children, young adults, vulnerable or not, remains sage, secure while they are under our care.
Our safeguarding Policy is based on the following principles:
- The welfare of young people and vulnerable adults is of primary concern
All young people and vulnerable adults, irrespective of their age, culture, disability, gender, language, racial origin, socio-economic status, religious belief and/or sexual identify have the right to be safeguarded from abuse
- It is everyone’s responsibility to report any concerns about abuse and potential abuse to the Designated Senior Person (see below)
- All incidents of alleged poor practice, misconduct and abuse will be taken seriously and reported and responded to promptly
- All personal data will be processed in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018
Designated Senior Person
All schools, training organisations and learning providers are required to have a designated member of staff, who is assigned to act upon child and at risk adults protection concerns. In the Company, this person is called the ‘Designated Senior Person’ (DSP) for safeguarding and he/she is responsible for co-ordinating action within the Company and liaising with other agencies. The Company’s current DSP for safeguarding is: Lee Cain (Managing Director)
For a full copy of the Company’s Safeguarding policy, please contact the DSP by writing to Health and Fitness Education, 7-8 Roundhouse Court, Barnes Wallis Way, Buckshaw Village, Chorley, Lancashire, PR7 7JN.
Terms of Business
Our Terms of Business set out the legal basis by which we will provide our teaching, learning and assessment services to you. These terms provide essential definitions and set out each parties’ responsibility in the provision of these services. They form the legal basis of the contract between you and us, so it is essential that you read them prior to enrolment.
You will be provided with an electronic copy of our Terms of Business immediately prior to enrolling on your course – you will need to agree to these before you can submit your enrolment application. We will also supply you with a paper copy of these terms you’re your learning materials once you have enrolled. If there is anything that you are not happy with, you have the legal right to cancel your booking within 14 days of enrolment (“The Cooling-Off Period”) without charge.
Our Terms of Business do change periodically and this is usually in response to legislative changes. The following Terms of Business (V7.1) were published in October 2024 so if you enrolled before this date, it is likely that the version which apply to you are slightly different.
If you have any questions about which version of our terms apply to you, please contact a member of our Careers Team.
Quality Assurance Policy
The primary purpose of our Quality Assurance Policy and its related procedures is the enhancement of the learner’s experience in an effort to maximise their potential for achievement. The Policy also seeks to safeguard the integrity of the qualifications that we deliver and to promote equality of opportunity within our service provision.
What is Quality Assurance?
Quality Assurance comprises all the steps that we take, including the policies, systems and operational processes that ensure that the quality and standards of the training provision remain high.
Quality Control relates to the arrangements and measures (procedures, organisation etc.) which verify that teaching, learning and assessment are being carried out in an appropriate manner.
A Quality Audit is the process of ensuring that the quality assurance and control arrangements are satisfactory and operating effectively, and in the best interests of both learners and staff.
Quality Enhancement is the process of continuous improvement- we are absolutely committed to this process!
Our quality assurance framework:
- sets objectives rather than dictating detailed procedures and structures for staff and students to operate in
- promotes consistency rather than standardisation across throughout all areas of the company
- is underpinned by the concepts of equality and fairness
We will rigorously and continuously monitor the effectiveness our quality assurance policy and the related procedures to ensure that they conform to accepted best practice. We will also seek to ensure that they align with the interests of learners and in accordance with the standards set by our awarding organisations and regulators.
Proctored Exam Policy
Some of our courses use proctored exams to assess learner knowledge and understanding. These exams are conducted online and learners are monitored by a remote proctor to ensure that they conduct themselves within the exam rules. Proctoring software uses a learner’s webcam and microphone, in conjunction with artificial intelligence (AI), to uphold the rigour and integrity of the online assessment.
Learners are able to access their exams from within their Learner Engagement System (LES), which integrates seamlessly with the remote proctoring software (Proctor-U) to provide learners with a simple and intuitive online assessment experience.
Proctored exams provide learners with a flexible opportunity to take exams online – they also get instant access to their results. However, learners must agree to be bound by our strict proctored exam rules which can be found below.
Follow the link to: Book a Proctored Exam
Reasonable Adjustment Policy
As a learning provider of regulated qualifications, we acknowledge our duty to ensure that people with disabilities, impairments and/or additional learning needs are not disadvantaged as a result of our delivery or assessment practices.
The Equality Act (2010) is the legal framework that outlines our duty with regards to equality and the Act states very clearly that we are required to take active steps in order to reduce disadvantage in the provision of our learning services. A failure to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to accommodate these needs is considered ‘discrimination’.
Every learner should be given equal opportunity to succeed. Equality of opportunity does not mean that all learners should be treated the same and this is a very important distinction! Our Reasonable Adjustment Policy outlines the many different ways that our delivery and support staff can reasonably adjust formal assessments in order better meet the needs of individual learners.
Any adjustments to assessment will only be agreed if they are ‘reasonable’ and ‘practicable’. It would be ‘unreasonable’ to expect us to make wholesale changes, or provide extensive support services to a single learner that might place the company at significant financial disadvantage (e.g. sending a member of staff to a course venue specifically for one learner). Additionally, we do have a duty to maintain the integrity of the assessment in question and we are unable to make changes/adjustments that might provide a learner with an advantage over other learners. All reasonable adjustment requests will be reviewed individually and on balance with a number of other contributing factors.
Our delivery and assessment team are not able to make adjustments to assessments unless these adjustments have been authorised by our Internal Quality Assurance (IQA) team. There are stringent rules around evidence for adjustments to assessment and as such, our staff cannot make these decisions independently.
There are a number of ways that we can reasonably adjust assessments and so any learner that feels that they may qualify, should in the first instance speak to our support team. As previously stated, before any adjustment can be made, the appropriate evidence to support the request must be supplied (e.g. specialist educational assessment for dyslexia, dyscalculia etc).
