Level 3 Certificate in Understanding Mental Health (EQUAL)

02/09/2025
Format
26/06/2026
BHSL3004 (2025/2026Z)
Online Provision
Fee for non-Lancashire Residents: £TBC
Fee for Lancashire Residents: £TBC

You may be entitled to a discount if you are in receipt of one or more benefits:

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If the above applies to you, you will be asked to provide evidence of this before you make a payment. You will find further instructions after you have completed the enrolment steps.

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You may be entitled to this course for free. There are two cases where you may qualify for this:

If you are currently unemployed, are looking for work and are in receipt of one or more of the following benefits you may qualify for a discount:

Tuitfeintrowaiver

If the above applies to you, you will be asked to provide evidence of this before you make a payment. You will find further instructions after you have completed the enrolment steps.

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Cant Enrol Reason

Please note that the College is only able to offer this course at the rates publicised on this website to those individuals aged 19+ or over on 31st August 2025 whose home address is in areas of England outside of the devolved authority areas of: Cambridge and Peterborough, Greater Manchester, Greater London, Liverpool City Region, Tees Valley, West Midlands and West of England. Where an individual resides outside of England or in one of the devolved areas then the College reserves the right to charge you for the delivery of the course at a rate of £11.75 per hour. This is in line with the College’s Fees Policy which is published on our websites.

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Overview of Course

Overview of Course

This online programme is designed to increase learners knowledge and understanding of mental health and mental well-being. Successful completion of the required units will allow the learner to develop in-depth knowledge and understanding of mental health.

This flexible online course allows you to gain an in-depth knowledge and understanding of mental health and mental wellbeing to support individuals with mental health problems.

Achievement of this qualification will help support progression into a variety of job roles and occupational areas within health and social care, or roles in other sectors which support people with mental health problems.

If you’re aged 19-23, or if you already have a level 3 qualification and are unemployed, or on low income, you could access a level 3 qualification for free. This is part of the support available from the government to help you gain the skills you need to get the job you want - whatever your stage of life.

A level 3 qualification is equivalent to an advanced technical certificate or diploma, or A levels.

The qualifications could help you:

Gain skills that employers value
Improve your job prospects
Earn a higher wage

If you’re eligible, you will not have to pay for your level 3 qualification. The government will pay the course fees. For more information, and to check the full eligibility criteria see the Lifetime Skills Guarantee

Course Overview

What you will learn

What you will learn

To be awarded the Level 3 Certificate in Understanding Mental Health, learners are required to successfully complete 5 mandatory units:
• Unit 01 Understanding the context of mental health and wellbeing
• Unit 02 Promotion of mental health and wellbeing
• Unit 03 Mental health problems: associated issues and consequences
• Unit 04 Understanding mental ill health
• Unit 05 Working in mental health

This course aims to increase your knowledge of mental health and mental wellbeing.

Completion of the qualification will help you to understand:
• mental health legislation, services and public attitudes and how these have evolved
• how to support mental wellbeing through various stages of life
• mental ill health, treatment options available and the potential consequences of mental ill health, the skills required to work in the mental health service.

What Will I Learn

Entry Requirements

Entry Requirements

In order to attend the course, learners should be able to follow instructions in English at Level 2 and above. Learners will also need a good level of IT skills to be able to access and navigate the learning platform and keep in contact with their personal tutor.

There are no specific recommended prior learning requirements for this qualification, however, learners may find it helpful if they’ve already achieved a Level 2 mental health qualification, or qualifications in healthcare or social care contexts.

Learners will need access to a computer, laptop or tablet device with access to the internet. 

The setup of this course enables learners to study independently and flexibly at times convenient to them.

All learners will need to initially apply online and complete an initial assessment prior to access to the course.

Entry Requirements

How Your Course Will Be Assessed

How Your Course Will Be Assessed

The course content is designed to take around 200 hours (20-24 weeks) to work through both learning and assessments.

Learners will be given access to a comprehensive online learning platform (EQUAL) which will provide them with detailed knowledge and information to support their successful completion of each unit.

A tutor will be assigned to the learner once enrolled, they will support you in your induction and be the point of support throughout the length of the course.

Further self-directed research is encouraged to expand learner’s understanding of key topics.

Assessment Methods

How will I know if I'm making progress?

How will I know if I'm making progress?

Clear deadlines will be provided for each unit to ensure the qualification is completed within the set time frame.

Completion and progress on each unit is clearly identified on the learner’s online dashboard.

Learners will receive regular feedback throughout the course including opportunities for further development.

Progress

What coursework will I be expected to complete?

What coursework will I be expected to complete?

You will be completing work in relation to each unit, which a range of activities and questioning to allow you to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding. You will complete this online using the online platform.

Required Coursework

Additional information

Additional information

The Additional Learning Support Team work across college supporting students with a variety of learning needs in different ways.  Support can be requested at enrolment or at any point throughout your course. For more information about ALS or for support with booking onto a course telephone 0333 0031717

Additional Information

Careers progression

Careers progression

Following completion of this course the following progression option(s) are available:

Access to Higher Education Pathways

Level 3 Award in Awareness of the Mental Capacity Act 2005

Level 3 Certificate in Preparing to Work in Adult Social Care

Level 3 Certificate in Working in the Health Sector.

For general information about other courses, contact us on the same number or check out the website www.lal.ac.uk

Careers Progression
We are very sorry but it appears that it is not currently possible to apply onto this course online, we are very sorry about this. If you wish to discuss this course with us please do get in touch and we will see how we can help. Or alternatively if you go to the main college website you can browse for other courses to apply for
Cant Apply Reason
The online application and enrolment process is really simple, once you have clicked the “APPLY" or "ENROL” button you will be redirected to the portal where you either log in or create an account (if you haven’t done so previously). We will then ask you to give us a couple of bits of information like address, mobile phone number ect and that’s it.
Once your applications has been made the next step will be for you to book yourself onto one of our interview evenings, depending on availability you might be able to do this straight away but otherwise we will get in contact to arrange when you come in for an interview.
At any point you can log back into the portal throughout the year, update information like your predicted GCSE grades, update contact and consent information and keep a live track of your application.
If you have any questions or run into any problems when using the portal please get in contact with us and we will help

Location Map / Directions to College

Location Map / Directions to College