Accreditation, regulation and qualification levels
Every credential this organisation holds, the identifier that proves it, and the public register where you can check it yourself. Written for learners, employers, embassies and careers services.
Our Level 5 TEFL Diploma is a government-regulated qualification, not a private certificate. It is regulated by Ofqual, awarded by Highfield Qualifications, and carries 30 credits over 180 guided learning hours at Level 5 — the framework level referenced to Level 5 of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), the eight-level scale used across Europe to compare qualifications between countries.
§ 1
The record, with identifiers
Six bodies sit behind these courses, and they do different jobs. One regulates, one awards, three accredit, and one is a framework that lets the level travel across borders. Each row below carries the reference number you would use to check it.
Table 1. Credentials held, with identifiers and verification routes. Checked 28 August 2026.
| Body | What it actually does | Our reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ofqual Regulator, England & N. Ireland |
A UK government department that regulates qualifications. It sets and polices how a qualification is designed, assessed and awarded, and publishes every one on a public register. | 610/1571/4 Level 5 TEFL Diploma 610/1573/8 Level 5 Advanced Diploma Check the register → |
| Highfield Qualifications Awarding organisation |
The Ofqual-recognised body that owns the qualification and issues the certificate. We deliver it as one of its approved centres, and it audits us to keep that status. | RN5219 Ofqual recognition 21335 Our approved centre number |
| European Qualifications Framework EU reference framework |
Not an accreditor. An eight-level translation scale that lets a qualification earned in one European country be read at its proper level in another. Explained in full in § 2. | EQF Level 5 Diploma and Advanced Diploma EQF on Europass → |
| DEAC United States |
The Distance Education Accrediting Commission, a US Department of Education recognised accreditor. Its Approved Quality Curriculum review is an independent read of course content and assessment against US standards. | AQC · 20 courses Approved through 2027 |
| OTCAC United Kingdom |
The Online Teaching Course Accreditation Committee, an independent accreditor of online courses. Providers are assessed against published standards and reassessed to keep the accreditation. | 20260330 |
| The CPD Group Professional development |
Registers our training as continuing professional development, which matters to teachers and schools that log CPD hours. | 786529 Provider number |
Each mark links to the issuing body, not to a page of our own.
§ 2
What the European Qualifications Framework is
The European Qualifications Framework is, in the European Commission’s own description, an eight-level, learning-outcomes-based framework for all types of qualifications that works as a translation tool between different national qualifications frameworks.1 It does not award anything and it does not accredit anyone. Its single job is comparison.
Every participating country references its own national framework to the EQF through a formal process against ten agreed criteria. Ireland does this with the National Framework of Qualifications; England and Northern Ireland do it with the Regulated Qualifications Framework, the framework Ofqual regulates. Once both are referenced to the same eight-level scale, a hiring school in Spain, a ministry in Japan or a university admissions office in Ireland can place a qualification earned elsewhere without having to learn a foreign framework first.
The levels are described in terms of what the holder knows, understands and can do, rather than in hours attended or subjects studied. That is why an EQF level is a statement about demand, not about duration.
Level 5 sits above general secondary education and below a bachelor’s degree. At this level a qualification is expected to evidence:
- comprehensive, specialised knowledge of a field, and an awareness of the limits of that knowledge;
- a broad range of skills used to develop creative solutions to abstract problems;
- the ability to manage and supervise where the situation is not fully predictable, and to review and develop the performance of yourself and others.
Read against a classroom, that is the difference between having been shown how to teach a lesson and being trusted to plan a course, adapt it for a group you have not met, assess the results and justify your decisions.
§ 3
What Level 5 means, and what ours contains
Level 5 is a position on a framework, not a brand and not a provider. On the Regulated Qualifications Framework a Level 5 qualification sits at a similar level of demand to a higher education diploma or the second year of a degree. It is not a degree, and we do not describe it as one.
Because the framework is regulated, the detail is public rather than promotional. Ours reads as follows.
| Qualification number | 610/1571/4 |
| Framework and level | RQF Level 5, referenced to EQF Level 5 |
| Credits | 30 |
| Guided learning hours | 180 |
| Modules | 11 |
| Awarding organisation | Highfield Qualifications (Ofqual recognition RN5219) |
| Study mode | Fully online, from any country |
The Level 5 Advanced Diploma, qualification 610/1573/8, adds two 60-hour specialist awards on top of the 180-hour Diploma.
The table below places the levels next to each other. It is offered for orientation only: comparability is not equivalence, and recognition in any particular country remains the decision of the employer, ministry or immigration authority concerned.
Table 3. Where our courses sit on the regulated framework.
| Level | Familiar qualifications at this level | Ours |
|---|---|---|
| Level 6 | Bachelor’s degree | — |
| Level 5 | Higher education diploma, HND, foundation degree, CELTA, Trinity CertTESOL | 180-hour TEFL Diploma Advanced Diploma 60-hour specialist awards |
| Level 4 | Higher national certificate | — |
| Level 3 | A-levels, Irish Leaving Certificate (higher grades) | 120-hour course, at equivalent material |
| Unregulated | Courses on no framework, checked by nobody, on no register | — |
§ 4
Regulated and accredited are not the same word
A government body sets and polices how the qualification is designed, assessed and awarded. The proof is a register entry with a number, a level, a credit value and a status, searchable by anyone. This is the stronger and more checkable claim, and it is the one to ask for first.
An independent organisation has reviewed a provider or a course against its own published standards and issued a seal. Good accreditation adds real value. The phrase internationally accredited, used on its own with no body and no number, has no legal meaning at all — so ask which body, and ask for the reference.
§ 5
How to check us in three minutes
Do not take a provider’s word for its own credentials, including ours. Everything below is checkable on a third-party register.
-
1
Search the Ofqual register. Enter 610/1571/4 at find-a-qualification.services.ofqual.gov.uk. You should see the title, the level, the credits and a live status. -
2
Confirm the awarding organisation. Highfield Qualifications holds Ofqual recognition RN5219. Our approved centre number with Highfield is 21335. -
3
Ask us for anything that is missing. Write to hello@tefl.ie and we will send the Highfield approval letter, the DEAC curriculum approval and the OTCAC certificate. If you find an error on this page, tell us and we will correct it and date the correction.
§ 6
What we do not claim
A credentials page is only as good as the things it refuses to say. For the avoidance of doubt:
- A Level 5 TEFL Diploma is not a degree. It sits at a comparable framework level to a higher education diploma.
- DEAC’s Approved Quality Curriculum status is a course-level curriculum review, not institutional accreditation, and it does not cover our 30-hour, 120-hour or 240-hour courses.
- Our 120-hour course is equivalent material at Level 3. It is a strong, widely accepted certificate; it is not a regulated Level 5 qualification, and we do not sell it as one.
- No TEFL provider can guarantee a visa, a work permit or a job. Regulation makes your qualification verifiable; the decision always belongs to the employer or the authority.
§ 7
Frequently asked questions
What is the European Qualifications Framework in plain terms?
It is an eight-level scale the European Union uses to compare qualifications between countries. Each country references its own framework to it, so a level earned in one country can be read at the right level in another. It does not award or accredit anything; it translates.
Is a Level 5 TEFL qualification the same as a degree?
No. Level 5 describes the level of demand on the framework, comparable to a higher education diploma or the second year of a degree. It is a qualification at that level, not a degree in itself.
What does it mean that the course is government regulated?
It means Ofqual, a UK government department, regulates how the qualification is designed, assessed and awarded, and that it appears on a public register with its number, level, credits and status. An unregulated course has been checked by nobody and appears on no register.
Who are DEAC and what is AQC status?
DEAC is the Distance Education Accrediting Commission, an accreditor recognised by the United States Department of Education. Approved Quality Curriculum is its course-level status, awarded after an independent review of content and assessment. Twenty of our courses hold it, approved through 2027.
Will my qualification be recognised outside Ireland and the UK?
A regulated qualification with a public register entry is straightforward for an overseas employer or ministry to verify, and the EQF level gives them a familiar reference point across Europe. Recognition itself is always the decision of that employer, ministry or immigration authority.
How many hours do employers actually ask for?
120 hours is the international benchmark most language schools and online platforms ask for. A regulated 180-hour Level 5 Diploma goes further and carries a register entry, which helps in competitive markets and for visa applications.
§ 8
The same standard, applied to what we publish
Regulation covers the qualification. It says nothing about the guidance a provider writes around it, so we hold that to a published standard of its own and let you check it the same way.
Every guide on this site carries a real byline, is reviewed by our academic team before it is published, and states the source and date behind each figure. Corrections are logged in a public ledger rather than quietly edited out, and salary figures always carry a currency and a year.
Our fortnightly hiring briefing, where the same discipline is applied to the job market: every hiring line is checked against the employer, ministry or programme’s own source, with the pay, the location and the closing date as published. Useful if you want to see how a regulated qualification is actually asked for.
See the regulated courses behind these credentials
The Level 5 Diploma, the Advanced Diploma and the 60-hour specialist awards, with the register entry for each.
- European Commission, The European Qualifications Framework, Europass. europass.europa.eu. Checked 28 August 2026.
- Ofqual, Find a regulated qualification, entries 610/1571/4 and 610/1573/8. find-a-qualification.services.ofqual.gov.uk.
- Highfield Qualifications, Ofqual recognition RN5219; approved centre 21335. Approval letter available on request.
- Distance Education Accrediting Commission, Approved Quality Curriculum status, 20 courses, approved through 2027.
How to cite this page: The TEFL Institute Group, “Accreditation, regulation and qualification levels”, reviewed 28 August 2026, https://tefl.ie/tefl-accreditation-regulation/. Issued by The TEFL Institute Limited, registered in Ireland, company number 613324.