Level 3 Foundation Diploma in Health and Social Care
Six 10-credit units that cover what every care worker is expected to understand before their first shift, written for people who want to move into health and social care study at Level 4 rather than for people already qualified in it.
Its 60 credits add nothing to a points total and will not satisfy a university offer expressed in points. What it does lead to is a Level 4 diploma delivered by London School of Planning and Management (LSPM), or first-year university entry where a university chooses to allow it. If you need Tariff points, this foundation diploma is the wrong programme for you.
At a glance
- Level3 (RQF)
- Credits60
- Total qualification time600 hours
- Guided learning hours120 hours
- Awarding bodyOTHM
- Ofqual number603/6776/3
- Units6 mandatory, 0 optional
- UCAS TariffNone
- Duration9 months (standard) or 6 months (fast track)
- Study modesOnline, Blended, Evening classes
- FeesFrom £999 (9 months, standard) or £1,299 (6 months, fast track)
- Next intakeRolling intake — course starts when the fee is paid
Level, credits, hours, Ofqual number and unit list are taken from the OTHM qualification specification (PDF) and the Ofqual register. Duration, study modes, fees and intake dates are set by LSPM, not by this site, and are confirmed by its admissions team.
Photograph slot, to be supplied by LSPM and taken at its own premises (this site has no campus): a tutor and two learners reviewing a reflective account at a table, a care-setting policy folder open beside them. Nobody in uniform, no patients.
In brief
Health and social care has a lot of qualifications and they are easy to confuse. This one is a foundation diploma: its job is to prepare you for Level 4 study, and its six units read like the first chapters of any care textbook. Responsibilities of a Health and Social Care worker; Personal and Professional Development; Effective Communication and Ethical Practice; Health, Safety and Wellbeing; Person-centred Approaches; and Effective Handling of Information. Each is 10 credits.
OTHM lists 600 hours of total qualification time and 120 guided learning hours, a lower guided figure than the other foundation diplomas. That reflects a programme that expects you to read and reflect independently, and it makes the diploma workable alongside a care job or caring responsibilities.
Written by Education adviser, CogniPath Education. Not by LSPM. Facts checked against the awarding body specification and the Ofqual register, September 2026.
Who it suits, and who it does not
A good fit if you are
- Care workers and support workers who want to move from doing the job to studying it, and need a regulated Level 3 first.
- School and college leavers drawn to health and social care who do not have the Level 3 grades for a UCAS application.
- Unpaid carers returning to education with a great deal of experience and no certificate for it.
- Learners who need a manageable study load that fits around shifts.
Look elsewhere if you are
- Anyone applying to nursing, midwifery or allied health degrees, which this diploma will not qualify you for.
- People who need UCAS Tariff points.
- Workers who need an occupational qualification recognised by their employer or regulator; the adult care diplomas on this site are closer to that.
- Learners who want a 120-credit year; this is a 60-credit programme.
What you study
six mandatory units of 10 credits each. There are no optional units, so every learner on the programme covers the same ground.
| # | Unit | Type | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Responsibilities of a Health and Social Care worker | Mandatory | 10 |
| 2 | Personal and Professional Development in Health and Social Care | Mandatory | 10 |
| 3 | Effective Communication and Ethical Practice in Health and Social Care | Mandatory | 10 |
| 4 | Health, Safety and Wellbeing in Health and Social Care Settings | Mandatory | 10 |
| 5 | Person-centred Approaches in Health and Social Care Settings | Mandatory | 10 |
| 6 | Effective Handling of Information in Health and Social Care Settings | Mandatory | 10 |
| Total | 6 units | 60 |
Unit titles and credit values from the OTHM qualification specification (PDF).
LSPM opens with Responsibilities of a Health and Social Care worker and Effective Communication and Ethical Practice, because the reflective writing they demand is the skill the whole programme rests on. Health, Safety and Wellbeing and Effective Handling of Information follow, then Person-centred Approaches and Personal and Professional Development, which asks you to look back over the year.
Entry requirements
OTHM sets the formal entry criteria for this qualification and LSPM, as the approved centre, applies them when it admits learners. As published by the awarding body:
- OTHM Level 3 qualifications can be offered to learners from age 16. OTHM does not specify entry requirements for these qualifications. OTHM ensures that learners admitted to the programme have sufficient capability at the right level to undertake the learning and assessment criteria.OTHM Centre must ensure learners are recruited with integrity onto appropriate qualifications that will meet their needs, enable and facilitate learning and achievement enable progression. The qualification is offered in English. English requirements: If a learner is not from a majority English-speaking country must provide evidence of English language competency. For more information visit English Language Expectations page.
OTHM allows entry from 16 and sets no grades. LSPM asks whether you have any experience of care, paid or unpaid, including looking after a relative, because it changes how you read the units. It is not required. Where English is a second language LSPM asks for evidence of level; ask us which documents count.
Source: the OTHM qualification specification (PDF), which is the definitive statement of the awarding body's criteria. LSPM's admissions team decides eligibility; ask us first if you are unsure whether you meet them.
How you are assessed
Written assignments for each unit, several of them reflective accounts drawing on a placement, workplace or realistic scenario. No practical observation is required for this diploma, and there are no examinations. Marked by LSPM's tutors and sampled by OTHM.
Assessment is regulated by OTHM under Ofqual's conditions. How awarding bodies and regulation work.
Where it leads: progression to Level 4
The route this diploma is built for is a Level 4 diploma in health and social care at LSPM. Learners who complete it arrive at Level 4 already able to write reflectively and already fluent in the language of safeguarding, consent and person-centred practice, which is where new Level 4 learners without that grounding tend to stall.
It does not carry UCAS Tariff points and it is not an entry route to nursing, midwifery, paramedic science or other regulated health degrees, which set their own requirements and usually want scored Level 3 qualifications plus specific GCSEs. A university might consider a holder for first-year entry to a non-regulated health studies course at its discretion.
If you want to compare Level 4 subjects in health and social care before committing to this foundation diploma, our sibling site level4diploma.org is written for exactly that question.
Questions about this programme
Is this the same as the Level 3 Diploma in Adult Care?
No. The Adult Care diplomas are occupational qualifications with competence-based units tied to working in a care setting. This foundation diploma is an academic preparation for Level 4 study. Both are Level 3, but they do different jobs.
Will this help me get into nursing?
Not on its own. Nursing degrees are regulated programmes with their own entry requirements, which typically include scored Level 3 qualifications and GCSEs in English, maths and often science. This diploma carries no UCAS points. It is a route to Level 4 health and social care at LSPM.
Do I need a placement?
No placement is required by the qualification. Some assignments ask you to reflect on a care setting, and LSPM's tutors help learners without one use structured scenarios instead.
Why is the guided learning figure only 120 hours?
OTHM designed this diploma with a small taught component and a large independent one: 120 guided hours within 600 total. Sessions focus on discussion and feedback; the reading and reflective writing happen in your own time.
Also in Health and Social Care
Not sure which route fits? Ask someone who will tell you straight.
We are an independent agent, not LSPM's sales team, and we will say whether a UCAS application, an Access course or a Level 3 diploma is the better option for you, even when the answer earns this site nothing. Replies within two working days.