NEBOSH’s first ‘Open Book Examinations (OBE)’ took place on the 6th August 2020. We will provide further dates as soon as they become available from NEBOSH.

In the absence of OBE for some examinations and due to Covid 19 we have carefully reviewed our examination processes for written examinations in order to ensure the safety of both our staff and our students when visiting our examination centres.

NEBOSH have provided an examination date for these written examinations in September, however, we have reluctantly made the decision not to hold these examinations at any of our usual venues until we can establish a fully robust Covid secure examination setting for the safety of all.

We are intending to be able to offer written examinations at all venues for the December examinations and information will be provided to our students on how to book onto these in the coming weeks.

When we are in a position to safely run examinations it is highly likely that students will be asked to wear a face covering during their examination to mitigate risks. Any additional instructions on safety measures when visiting any of our centres will be provided with booking confirmations 2 weeks prior to the examinations; this is to ensure that we adhere to applicable government guidance.

Should there be any developments that impact the examinations going ahead, we would transfer any students who have booked on to the examinations to the next available session.

While lockdown measures are slowly being eased in England, we at the Health and Safety Training College are continuing to operate as close to normal as possible within all Government guidelines – with the great majority of our staff continuing to work from home.

As always, we are absolutely committed to our students’ studies – we are continuing to welcome new and past students onto our courses, and are accepting assignments daily by post and email (info@healthandsafetytrainingcollege.org.uk). Our tutors are working hard to mark these and return them as soon as possible.

We are pleased to advise learners that NEBOSH has been successful in implementing a change to the way examinations can be held to allow students to complete some examinations as ‘Open Book Examinations (OBE)’.

The first ‘open book examination’ will take place on 6 August 2020 for the units NG1, IG1, NGC1, IGC1.

Active learners will have received an email from us to provide information on how to book their OBE, any students who did not receive our email or would like to book an exam may contact us for further information. Bookings for this first OBE must be received by Friday 24 July 2020.

Further information about ‘Open Book Examinations’ can be found on NEBOSH’S dedicated website: www.nebosh.org.uk/obe. From here you will be able to access resources and guidance, including example papers, to help you if you are preparing to sit an OBE.

NEBOSH are working hard to prepare for the other examinations as and when it is safe to do so and we will keep you informed as we receive further information on arrangements for these. We anticipate further information in the coming weeks on those qualifications and examinations that are not included in these OBE arrangements.

Details of NEBOSH’s interim measures can be found at: https://www.nebosh.org.uk/our-news-and-events/our-news/interim-arrangements-for-nebosh-assessments/

As we all get used to the ‘new normal’, you can be confident when enrolling or continuing your studies with us that we are striving to provide our usual high level of service.

We will continue to keep in touch with students and communicate any updates.

We wish you all the very best.

From us all at Health and Safety Training College.

We are continuing to stay in touch with our students during the COVID-19 pandemic with reassurance of our ongoing commitment to their studies.

With the extension of lockdown measures in the UK, we are now getting used to a ‘new normal’, whereby with a handful of exceptions, we are staying at home in order to protect our NHS and save lives.

What this means for us

As a distance learning provider, we are continuing to operate as close to normal as possible within all Government guidelines.

We as a college understand we have a vital part to play in slowing the spread of the virus as we continue to operate and we take this responsibility very seriously. This has included facilitating the great majority of our staff working remotely from their homes.

We continue to welcome new and past students onto our courses. We are currently still receiving postal assignments daily, but please remember you can also submit your assignments by email to info@healthandsafetytrainingcollege.org.uk, this will be marked and returned to you as soon as possible.

What this means for you

As our student services support staff are now working remotely, some of you may experience short delays compared to our usual level of service when contacting us during this time. We kindly ask you to please bear with us – we are doing all we can to continue to support all current and prospective students.

We believe learning can be a great source of comfort and fulfilment and home-study is a great way to make positive use of any free time you may have. We are here to support you and your self-development in any way we can.

We will continue to communicate any updates as the situation progresses. May we wish you and your loved ones all the very best during this period.

From us all at the Health & Safety Training College.