Ofqual
Portfolio
·
Workplace portfolio
£699From · incl. VAT
View course
Ofqual Level 6 NVQ Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety Practice — Qualification No. 603/7172/9
Turn senior-level health and safety responsibility into a recognised professional qualification. The Level 6 NVQ in Occupational Health and Safety Practice is aimed at experienced practitioners who are already involved in developing, implementing, monitoring and reviewing health and safety systems within an organisation. It is assessed through your real work, so you can build the qualification around responsibilities you already carry out.
Level 6 NVQ Course Overview
- Designed for experienced occupational health and safety practitioners with genuine responsibility in the workplace.
- Competence-based assessment using an online portfolio and evidence from your own role.
- A total of 97 credits are required: 80 credits from the mandatory group and at least 17 credits from optional units.
- Covers higher-level areas such as risk control, health and safety culture, communication systems, monitoring, review and organisational competence.
- The programme is IOSH accredited; successful completion, alongside at least two years of experience, can meet the requirements for Certified IOSH membership.
Who Is This Course For?
The Level 6 NVQ is intended for people who already have substantial health and safety responsibilities. It is suitable for roles such as:
- Health and Safety Manager
- Senior construction health and safety managers seeking a Black CSCS card, subject to CSCS qualification and test requirements
- Health and Safety Adviser or Consultant
- SHE / HSE / EHS Manager
- Compliance or Risk Manager with health and safety responsibility
- Senior supervisors or managers who develop and review organisational health and safety systems
Level 6 NVQ Entry Requirements
There is no benefit in enrolling on this qualification if your job does not allow you to demonstrate senior health and safety practice. You should be working in a role where you can show that you influence, develop, implement, monitor or review health and safety arrangements. Your assessor will normally check your responsibilities before registration to make sure the qualification is suitable for you.
How the Level 6 Health and Safety NVQ Works
Skills and role review — we look at your current responsibilities and identify where your existing work matches the qualification.
Personal assessment plan — your assessor breaks the qualification into manageable stages and explains what evidence is required.
Portfolio evidence — you provide relevant documents and examples from your work, supported where necessary by professional discussion, questioning or witness evidence.
Assessor feedback — evidence is reviewed against the unit criteria and you are told clearly where more information or evidence is needed.
Completion and quality assurance — when all required units are achieved, the portfolio goes through the centre’s quality assurance process before certification.
What You Will Cover
Mandatory Mandatory areas include:
- Promoting a positive health and safety culture
- Developing and implementing effective communication systems for health and safety information
- Developing and maintaining individual and organisational competence in health and safety matters
- Controlling health and safety risks
- Developing, implementing and reviewing proactive monitoring systems
- Developing, implementing and reviewing reactive monitoring systems
- Developing and implementing health and safety review systems
- Developing, implementing and monitoring behavioural safety in the workplace
Optional
Optional units allow the qualification to reflect your role. Areas can include emergency response systems, induction processes, health and safety policy, managing contractors, and keeping pace with improvements in health and safety practice.
Workplace Portfolio Assessment
Assessment focuses on what you can demonstrate in your own workplace. There is not one traditional final examination that decides the whole qualification. Instead, you build a portfolio showing that you meet the required standards. Your assessor can use several methods, including review of workplace documents, professional discussion, questioning, observation where appropriate and witness evidence.
How Long Does It Take?
The time required varies because every learner starts with a different level of experience and a different amount of existing evidence. Someone already managing mature health and safety systems may be able to evidence the units more quickly than a learner who still needs to complete certain workplace activities. Your assessor will agree a realistic plan and milestones with you at the beginning.
Why Choose the Level 6 Health and Safety NVQ?
- Achieve a high-level vocational qualification while remaining in employment.
- Demonstrate competence through real management and health and safety responsibilities.
- Formalise experience you may already have gained over several years in the profession.
- Develop a stronger evidence base for senior health and safety, compliance and management roles.
- Support professional progression through an IOSH-accredited qualification.
Frequently Asked Questions
Usually not. It is designed for practitioners who already have significant health and safety responsibility and can produce evidence of higher-level practice in a real organisation.
Much of the assessor support and portfolio work can be managed remotely. You still need to produce authentic evidence from your workplace, and assessment arrangements will depend on the evidence required for your units.
The qualification is competence based. Assessment is mainly through a portfolio of workplace evidence supported by professional discussion, questioning and other appropriate assessment methods rather than one traditional final exam.
Evidence will depend on your role and chosen units. It may include policies, risk management records, monitoring and review documents, investigation records, communication systems, training or competence records, meeting evidence, contractor arrangements, emergency planning documents and other work you have personally led or contributed to.
This Level 6 programme is IOSH accredited. Successful completion, alongside a minimum of two years’ experience, can meet the requirements for Certified IOSH membership, subject to IOSH membership requirements at the time of application.
No. The Level 6 NVQ Diploma in Construction Site Management is a separate qualification focused on managing construction site activities. This page covers the Level 6 NVQ Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety Practice. Ask High Aims Training which qualification matches your current responsibilities before enrolling.
Ready to Start?
Tell us your current job title and what you are responsible for, and the High Aims Training team will confirm this qualification is the right fit for your role before you enrol.
