About Us

OCN Eastern Region, a not for profit registered charity, is part of the Open College Network comprising nine regional OCNs across England, one each in Wales and Northern Ireland, and a national office – the National Open College Network (NOCN).

With over 25 years experience in the education sector, we lead the market in the recognition of achievement through the award of credit for units and qualifications. Our programmes offer a complete and cost effective accreditation service for learners from 14 years old. There is no upper limit!

Dedicated to widening participation, social inclusion, employer engagement and lifelong learning for all, OCN Eastern Region supports flexible, responsive and quality assured learning opportunities whether it’s in the classroom, at work, in the community or through distance learning.

Who we work with:

• Schools and colleges
• Adult and community education centres
• Employers
• HE institutions and universities
• Community and voluntary organisations
• Private and public sector organisations
• Offender learning providers and prisons
• and many other learning establishments.

What we do for them:

• award and certify qualifications
• quality audit learning programmes
• verify learning achievements
• award certificates to learners
• provide curriculum support and advice
• train internal verifiers and tutor assessors
• help identify training or learning needs

NOCN is licensed as an awarding body by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) in England.

OCN Eastern Region is licensed by NOCN to award nationally recognised qualifications and credits, as well as local OCN credits that can be tailored to meet individual needs. We are also an Authorised Validating Agency (AVA) licensed by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) to approve Access to Higher Education courses and award QAA-recognised Access Certificates.

Find out more: About NOCN Our core values Our staff The OCN Network