How LSPM teaches and assesses at Level 6
One unit at a time, one assignment per unit, marked by the centre's tutors and checked by the awarding body. This page follows a unit from its first session to a confirmed result, as the process is described by London School of Planning and Management and required by OTHM and Qualifi. We are the agent, not the teacher; where a detail is LSPM's to confirm, it is marked.
ShapeThe shape of a programme
Every diploma on this site is delivered by LSPM part-time to people in work. The units run in sequence rather than in parallel, so that at any moment you are reading for one assignment, not three. The sequence is set by LSPM and published to each cohort before it starts; where a programme has a research project unit, it usually comes last, when the analytical habits of the earlier units are already formed.
Study modes offered are online, blended, evening classes. Session timetable, platform and any in-person element to be confirmed by LSPM.
A unitFrom first session to submission
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Orientation
The unit opens with its learning outcomes, the assessment criteria from the specification, the reading list and the assignment brief. You know from the first hour what you will be asked to produce.
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Taught sessions
Tutor-led sessions cover the unit's content and, more usefully, how to apply it to an organisation. Sessions are scheduled in advance and recorded where the mode allows; the guided hours published by the awarding body are met through these and through written feedback.
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Independent study
Reading, note-making and drafting, which for a 20-credit unit is the larger part of the roughly 200 hours. LSPM's tutors are reachable by correspondence throughout; a formative draft may be submitted once per unit for comment.
the feedback on a draft is about direction, not marks. Nobody is told they have passed until the work is assessed.
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Submission
One assignment per unit, submitted electronically by the published date with a declaration of authorship. Extensions are available on evidenced grounds under LSPM's policy.
AssessmentHow work is marked and checked
Assignments are marked by the tutor who taught the unit against the awarding body's assessment criteria, which are the same at every centre. A second tutor at LSPM moderates a sample. The awarding body then conducts its own external quality assurance before results are confirmed and certificates issued; until that point, all results are provisional. Neither OTHM nor Qualifi diplomas at this level are graded: the outcome for each unit is a pass or a referral.
A referral is not a fail. It means the work has not yet met one or more criteria; you receive written feedback that names them, and a resubmission opportunity under the awarding body's rules. A first referral on a research-methods unit is common and is not recorded on the final certificate.
What an assignment is like
Most are reports or analyses of three to five thousand words about a real organisation, usually the learner's own; some are reflective pieces; the research project is longer and follows the conventions of a small study. Each programme page describes the assignments particular to that diploma.
SupportWho you can ask at LSPM, and about what
- Unit tutor
- Content, reading, the assignment brief, a formative draft. The person who marks your work.
- Programme lead
- Sequence, pacing, pauses between units, anything about the programme as a whole. Named by LSPM at induction.
- Study skills
- Academic writing, referencing and research methods, for those returning to study after years away. Offered to every cohort at the start and on request thereafter.
- Administration
- Registration with the awarding body, certificates, transcripts, fees and extensions.
Reasonable adjustments to assessment are made in line with the awarding bodies' policies; tell LSPM before the unit begins so that arrangements are in place, and tell us at enquiry if you would like it raised on your behalf. See also the accessibility statement.
Ask someone who will say if this is wrong for you
An independent adviser at LearnLoom Consultants, not LSPM's sales desk, replies within two working days. Then a short advice call, if you want one. Nothing is sold on it.
- Enquire
- Advice call
- Apply to LSPM
- Enrol