Awarding – Crossfields Institute

CFI Qualifications and Programmes

Crossfields Institute is an awarding organisation regulated by Ofqual (the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation). Ofqual is the regulator of qualifications and examinations in England and therefore of awarding organisations in England. Crossfields Institute is a charity working to promote holistic, integrative education and the awarding organisation develops specialist qualifications using subject expertise from vision-based organisations, centres and colleges in the UK and overseas.

Our approval as an awarding organisation means that we can develop regulated qualifications at different levels in the following subject areas:

As an awarding organisation, we work particularly with those that are innovating in these sectors. Crossfields Institute qualifications are designed to cultivate attributes such as independent thinking, curiosity, resilience and social awareness alongside academic knowledge. Our holistic approach to education aims to encourage cognitive, practical, emotional and spiritual development, supporting learners to reach their full potential and become active citizens.

We work with education providers in England and overseas to develop qualifications that suit their needs or embed their particular method or approach into a robust qualification. We also work with forward thinking employers to develop specific qualifications to support them in building their vision or method and developing in-service capacity.

We offer two different levels of accreditation or validation depending on your requirements:

Benefits of Accreditation

An accredited qualification or programme enhances the reputation of your education or training programme. It gives learners, the public and employers confidence in the quality of the education and achievement. In addition to this, it can promote your organisation’s method and vision to a wider audience, and demonstrate a commitment to succession building within your organisation. It can also give learners the recognition and confidence they need to enrol on the course.

If you are interested in developing a new qualification or delivering an existing Crossfields Institute qualification, please contact the awarding team: info@cfiawarding.com or call 01453 808118.

To find out more about what an awarding organisation is, please read What is an English Awarding Organisation?

Qualifications

Ofqual regulated qualifications are internationally recognised qualifications that have been submitted to the regulator, Ofqual, and are delivered to learners in England and elsewhere in the world. An Ofqual regulated qualification will be on the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF).

Our regulated qualifications are delivered through our network of approved centres. Please click on each link below for more information. Learner registration and centre fees for our qualifications can be seen here.

Health and Social Care

Child Development and Wellbeing

Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry

Foundations for Learning and Life

Teaching and Lecturing

Quality Mark Programmes

The Crossfields Institute Quality Mark is a quality benchmark for organisations who want the benefits and recognition of certification by a UK-based awarding body, but do not need a regulated or customised qualification. Quality Mark programmes can be designed to meet the needs of individual organisations.

A Crossfields Institute Quality Mark means that a programme and centre is endorsed by Crossfields Institute. We will develop the Quality Mark with an approved centre and then monitor and review its delivery to learners. A Quality Mark can be entirely flexible with regard to process and structure and is built around the specific needs of the provider.

Quality Mark Programmes

Introduction to a Person-Centred Approach to Death and Dying & Diploma in the Living Well Dying Well Person-Centred Approach to Death and Dying

Delivered by Living Well Dying Well in East Sussex. These Quality Mark programmes introduce learners to the Living Well Dying Well Person-Centred Approach to Death and Dying. The Introduction programme is not assessed, but learners wishing to progress onto the Diploma must successfully complete an assessed assignment following completion of the programme. The aim of the Introduction and Diploma is to help learners develop practical skills and knowledge to be able to support individuals at end of life and their families within a person-centred approach.

These programmes are not end of life care programmes, but rather for those who are walking alongside the family, carers, professionals and others.

For further information on the programmes, entry requirements and how to apply please visit the Living Well Dying Well website or contact: info@livingwelldyingwell.net

Holistic Baby and Child Care

This programme takes learners through a process which gives them a grounding in the historical context, philosophical approach and developmental understanding of the care and education of young children, informed by an integration of Steiner Waldorf early years principles and the Pikler approach.

Delivered at Emerson College, this Quality Mark programme is taught as a blended programme including both online and in-person components. It is designed for learners who already hold a Level 3 or equivalent qualification in Early Childhood Education.

You can find more information on the course from the Emerson College website

Rhythmical Einreibung Foundation Course

Rhythmical Einreibung is a method of gentle, therapeutic touch that focusses and strengthens the patient’s powers of self-healing through rhythmical movement. It is used to support health through its warming, calming and harmonising qualities.

Delivered at Emerson College, this Quality Mark programme is taught in two 5-day modules and one 3-day module. Originally developed for use by nurses and carers, this course is open to everyone: members of medical and allied professions, carers and non-professionals. No prior experience is necessary.

You can find more information on the course from the Emerson College website

Five Point Einreibung Course

Five Point Einreibung is a course designed to enable learners to build on their experience of the Rhythmical Einreibung (RE) Foundation Course. Five Point Einreibung uses the essential qualities of RE at peripheral points on the body in the sequence of the five-pointed star. Small areas of touch on the forehead, wrists and ankles are used, incorporating the gentle, breathing quality of RE. This course is only open to those with prior experience of RE and is delivered over 2.5 days of training. Participants are then expected to undertake individual study and practical assignments requiring approximately 20 hours of independent work.

Whole Body Einreibung Course

Whole Body Einreibung is a course designed to enable learners to build on their experience of Rhythmical Einreibung Foundation Course (RE). Whole Body Einreibung is a treatment that combines the different parts of RE learnt on the Foundation Course into a specific sequence. These are combined to make a gentle, flowing treatment that warms and relaxes the whole body. This course is only open to those with prior experience of RE and is delivered over 5 days of contact sessions Participants are then expected to undertake individual study and practical assignments requiring approximately 35 hours of independent work.

For more information on the Five Point and Whole Body Einreibung courses please contact registrar@emerson.org.uk

Diploma in Nutrition, Lifestyle and Integrative Wellness Coaching

Nutrition, Lifestyle & Integrative Wellness coaching can improve the health and wellbeing of individuals in many ways. Conventional medical care worldwide is facing pressing challenges both in resources but also in providing individualised treatment. Nutrition, Lifestyle and Integrative Wellness Coaching can offer a viable alternative/proactive approach by incorporating a functional medicine approach, focusing on integrative health care, nutraceutical and naturopathic methods and applied yoga and meditation approaches. This Diploma is offered by Nordic Quest College, Finland in partnership with Firstbeat Technologies, Finland.

For more information on the above two Diplomas please visit the Nordic Quest College

School Improvement Partner Training

This training and network programme will provide experienced, effective Special and Alternative Provision school leaders with the skills and knowledge to become a School Improvement Partner (SIP). This will be of benefit to leaders’ own schools, as well as helping them to provide support and share good practice with other schools. Our regular network events will provide a regular forum for updating skills, and provide a good level of peer support.

The course aims to enable experienced, successful school leaders to develop the skills and knowledge to become a special school and/or alternative provider (AP) School Improvement Partner (SIP).

Please contact CFI for more information.

Certificate in Lifestyle Medicine (Cert LM)

Developed in collaboration with our partners Clinical Education and Practice Unbound, Lifestyle Medicine seeks to improve both the health and well-being of individuals and societies. It gives patients and healthcare professionals renewed hope that conditions can be avoided, treated, and managed more successfully.

Please visit the Clinical Education website for more information.

Steiner Waldorf Early Childhood Studies

This objective of this Crossfields Institute Quality Mark programme in Steiner Waldorf Early Childhood Studies is to provide the learner who already has, or is working towards, an Early Years Educator qualification recognised as full and relevant in England at Level 3 or above (or an equivalent from another country) with the expertise, skills and professional approach needed to be a Steiner Waldorf early childhood practitioner. This qualification is also relevant to those engaged in holistic work with children such as child minders, therapists and others working with children under 7 years old, both in Steiner Waldorf and mainstream settings.

For more information, see the websites of The London Steiner Kindergarten Training Company and NESWEC, who both deliver the programme.

Montessori in Practice

The Montessori in Practice Quality Mark is designed for practitioners who work in Early Years and already hold the following qualifications: Early Years Educator, Qualified Teacher or other full and relevant early years qualification at Level 3 or above listed on the DfE Early Years Qualification database e.g. CACHE Diploma, BA (Hons) Early Years Practice, PGCE or QTS.

The Montessori in Practice Quality Mark aims to develop secure theoretical and conceptual knowledge and understanding of the Montessori philosophy and curriculum. The skills, understanding and experience you will acquire on this programme will help to support your role in a Montessori setting. The blend of taught sessions and placement experience is anticipated to enable you to develop appropriate transferable skills and a solid understanding of the link between theory and practice.

For more information, see the website of Westwood Training and Consultancy, who deliver the programme.

Montessori from the Start (0-3 Certification Programme)

This course is specially designed for educators, caregivers and early childhood professionals dedicated to supporting infants and toddlers in their most formative years. Grounded in Montessori philosophy, it offers a deep dive into the developmental needs of children from birth to age three, exploring how repsectful, responsive care and thoughtfully-prepared environments can nuture independence, emotional security and a lifelong love of learning.

Through nine interconnected modules, participants will gain practical tools and insights into child development, language acquisition, sensorial exploration, emotional guidance and cultural inclusion – all tailored to the unique rhythms and sensitivities of the youngest learners.

For more information, see the website of Westwood Training and Consultancy, who deliver the programme.

Health & Wellbeing Trust Discovery courses

Developed in collaboration with the Health and Wellbeing Trust, the Discovery courses are designed to expand participants’ knowledge and provide tools and strategies in different Integrative Medicine subjects, including self-care for the public and CPD for healthcare professionals. The courses typically entail around 10 hours of study.

The vision of the Health and Wellbeing Trust is to widen access to integrative healthcare through training and informative courses on our website and through providing bursaries and supporting community projects. The Trust works in partnership with the National Centre for Integrative Medicine, whose ambition is for integrative medicine to become part of the mainstream approach to health and wellbeing.

See the Discovery courses for more information.

Professional Psychedelic Practice

The aims of this programme are to develop the theoretical and practical knowledge, the critical and analytic abilities and the professional and reflective practice of healthcare professionals to help them transform healthcare into a more effective and compassionate practice that respects the individual as a whole person.

The programme will lead learners into a sound knowledge of psychedelic substances and to develop an awareness of psychedelic states which can form the basis of a supportive approach to caring for and working with clients/patients/people who choose to use such substances. It will also develop and inspite a network of practitioners with a knolwedge of practice-based research and its role in evidence-informed Psychedelic Practice.

See PsyEdu’s website for more information.

Weleda Holistic Body Treatment Course

Wellbeing treatments – particularly massage and the recognition of the life of touch – are very much part of Weleda’s DNA. Dr Ita Wegman, Weleda’s co-founder, studied massage before she became a medical doctor. She developed a very individual rhythmical massage technique, echoing nature’s rhythms and patterns.

This accredited programme is designed for body practitioners, Weleda Estheticians, nurses and those with a Level 3 equivalent in anatomy and physiology, who are interested in a holistic approach and who wish to expand their treatment offering.

See Weleda’s website for more information.

Responding to AI in Therapy: A Developmental and Transpersonal Approach

Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are beginning to reshape aspects of psychological practice, especially in structured, protocol-driven approaches, raising important questions about the future role of the practitioner. Alongside this, individuals are increasingly engaging with AI tools for reflection, emotional processing and self-guided inquiry – presenting practitioners with both opportunities and challenges.

This programme is designed to support therapists in critically understanding these developments and responding appropriately in practice, and also engages with contemporary philosophical discussions which consider questions about the cultivation of judgement, reflection and depth in an AI-mediated environment.

See the British Transpersonal Association’s website for more information.

The Dharma Diploma

Journey with Nikita is a transformational mentoring centre founded by TEDx speaker, author and mentor Nikita Thakrar. The Dharma Diploma™ is a nine-month personal development journey for spiritually curious individuals navigating life transitions, identity shifts and the call to live with greater purpose. Inspired by dharmic philosophy, nervous system awareness, emotional integration and embodied wisdom, the programme supports participants to recognise unconscious patterns, stabilise their identity and move from survival into alignment. Through guided teaching, reflection and practical integration, students are supported to reconnect with their inner truth, build emotional clarity and begin living their dharma with confidence and purpose.

See Journey with Nikita’s website and social media (Instagram, LinkedIn) for more information.

Resources

Welcome to the CFI resources section. If you do not find what you are looking for below, then please contact info@cfiawarding.com

Policies, procedures and general information

Becoming an approved centre

Enquiries

For all enquiries including how to become a centre delivering an approved CFI qualification or programme please contact us at info@cfiawarding.com

Office hours are Monday – Friday 9am – 4:30pm. We aim to return any call made by the end of the day and respond to emails within three working days.

Approved Centres

If you are already an approved centre delivering a Crossfields Institute qualification or programme then please refer to the Resources section of this page for policies, procedures, centre resources, learner resources and general information.

Fees

Learner registration fees for regulated qualifications can be found within the individual qualification pages. Fees are updated on 1st September each year

Information for learners

Enquiries, Complaints or Appeals

If you have any enquiries, appeals or complaints please contact your centre in the first instance.

Our Appeals and Complaints policies can be found on the Resources section of this page.

Registrations

If you would like to register on one of our qualifications, please contact the appropriate centre. You will find contact details on the Qualifications section of this page.

Replacement Certificates

Please contact the centre who delivered the qualification. If you encounter any problems, please contact the Crossfields Institute Academic Administration Team at info@cfiawarding.com

Fees

All fees listed on this website are for Crossfields Institute approved centres only. Fees are updated on 1st September each year. Please contact the relevant centre for information about enrolment fees for regulated qualifications and Quality Mark programmes. Centre contact information can be found in qualification pages. For more information, please contact info@cfiawarding.com

Fees

Crossfields Institute specialises in the development of integrative and holistic specialist qualifications and programmes. Unlike other similar organisations, the Institute does not rely on large learner numbers to support its business model, we offer to work with niche sectors that other organisations would be unlikely to work with due to lower learner numbers.

For this reason our fees are set at levels that allow us as a charity to cover our operating costs and reflect the heavy regulatory activity that we carry out behind the scenes on behalf of our centres and learners. All registration fees are individually set taking into consideration the level, volume and subject content of the programme or qualification. Please note that registration fees can be found in the individual qualification pages at the top of this page. Learner fees are set by the centres and include the registration fee of the learners to the Awarding Organisation (Crossfields Institute).

Payment Policy

Invoices will always be issued in £ Sterling (GBP) and must be paid in the same currency regardless of the location of the client or customer.
Terms are generally set at 14 days from date of issue of invoice.
Longer payment terms may only be negotiated in exceptional circumstances and in advance of the invoice being issued.
All queries must be raised within 1 week of issue of invoice. No queries will be accepted after this time, with the exception of any re-billable expenses.
A separate policy applies to student fees and educational events and conferences where a minimum up front deposit is applicable to secure a place.
Please note that in some instances we may require a deposit or full upfront payment which will be discussed on a case by case basis.
Registration fees are not transferable, nor are they refundable if a learner fails to complete. Fees are also not refundable if a centre creates a duplicate registration. It is the responsibility of centres to ensure timely, accurate registration information.
In line with our Fees and Invoicing Policy the Institute reserves the right to change fees as necessary, publishing any increase in fees at least 3 months in advance of any increase being implemented.

Testimonials

I really appreciate the way Crossfields have supported Living Well Dying Well as the organisation has grown. You have nurtured and offered tailored guidance throughout, and are always responsive to any issues for discussion. The sharing of good ideas and practice is invaluable, and you are always open and respectful of our views and suggestions…Crossfields Institute is a fantastic organisation and we very much appreciate working with you; your values are evident in all that you do.

Lucy Foss
Living Well Dying Well

No organisation could be more diligent and professional than Crossfields.

Lynne Oldfield
London Steiner Kindergarten Training

We couldn’t find anything that met our needs on the national register of qualifications, so we approached Crossfields Institute in 2016 to ask about developing a specialist qualification in trauma informed care. We were aware of Crossfields Institute as a local awarding organisation with a global reach. We knew that they worked with different approaches other than the mainstream and we felt that they were a good fit with our organisation. For us it was important to have an officially recognised qualification, to help our staff feel valued, to raise the standard of education that we deliver and to raise awareness of trauma informed approaches generally.

The Crossfields Institute Level 4 Award and Certificate in Trauma Informed Care were launched early 2018. Our experience of working with Crossfields Institute was very positive. We worked very closely with the Qualification Development Team to get a qualification that worked for us. They were friendly, helpful, and took a personal approach, whilst also holding us to rigorous standards. It was an excellent dialogue and collaborative process. This has been a very valuable experience for our organisation and our staff.

Kate Barnett
Training Manager and Head of CPD Novalis Trust

LEAP Equine approached Crossfields Institute early in 2016. We had been running a very successful course in Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy for health care professionals for several years. We decided that the next step for our organisation was to develop an officially recognised qualification to raise the bar and increase our competitiveness.

I had already heard about Crossfields Institute, and once I met their staff and heard more about their approach and ethos to experiential learning, they seemed like a really good fit. It was really important to us that we didn’t have to have to compromise on our experiential approach in developing the qualification. We worked closely with the qualification development team at Crossfields Institute who were really helpful and supportive throughout the development process.

The Crossfields Institute Level 5 Diploma in Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy: the LEAP Method was launched in March 2017. Our experience has been that this whole process of developing a recognised qualification has really helped us tighten things up in a very helpful way. The clear learning outcomes and structured assessment process has made everything much less subjective.

Our learners are very pleased with the quality of the education we offer and we have noticed that the process of doing the qualification has really encouraged our learners to take responsibility for their own learning and has helped us ensure that we are teaching and assessing at a level that is appropriate for them.

Ella Bloomfield
Owner and Managing Director LEAP Equine

Working with the Crossfields Institute is a creative and rigorous process. They have a wealth of experience, a holistic worldview and a deeply supportive culture. I am very grateful to be working with them.

Dr William Bloom
Spiritual Companions Trust