Accreditation and certificates

Each course page states its certificate and accreditation details. Templates and archived entries are labelled separately. This page explains CPD accreditation, course completion certificates and the cases where a regulated qualification is needed.

What CPD accreditation means

CPD stands for Continuing Professional Development, the system UK professionals use to record learning that happens after their initial qualification. A CPD accredited course has been reviewed against CPD standards and carries a number of CPD hours, so the time you spend on it can count towards that record where your profession keeps one. Accreditation is a judgement on the training itself: what it covers and how it is assessed.

Who the accrediting body is

The CPD Certification Service, the UK's largest independent CPD accreditation body. Courses accredited through it have been assessed against CPD standards for content and delivery, and each carries a stated number of CPD hours. Titles accredited this way across our library include Food Hygiene and Safety Level 2 in its catering, retail and manufacturing versions, HACCP at Levels 2 and 3, Allergen Awareness, Manual Handling, Fire Warden Training, Legionella Awareness, Data Protection and UK GDPR, Responsible Sale and Service of Alcohol for England and for Scotland, and TACCP and VACCP Level 2.

The accreditation belongs to the courses, not to a badge we award ourselves. If you need the accreditation confirmed in writing before buying for a team, email workwithus@chefsbay.co.uk and we will send it.

What your certificate is

For a course labelled CPD accredited, the completion certificate names you and the course you completed and records its accreditation. It is ready to download after you pass. Check the individual course page for the certificate offered; a completion certificate does not by itself establish CPD accreditation.

What your certificate is not

It is not a regulated qualification. Regulated qualifications are awarded by recognised awarding bodies under the oversight of Ofqual in England (SQA Accreditation, Qualifications Wales and CCEA Regulation perform that role elsewhere in the UK), for example a Level 2 Award in Food Safety in Catering. A CPD accredited course is a different thing, and any provider claiming that an online course like ours produces a regulated award is misleading you. Better you read that here than find out in an interview.

Who accepts it

Employers and environmental health officers look for evidence that a person has been trained appropriately for the work they actually do. Food law is written that way: Regulation (EC) 852/2004, which continues to apply in UK law, asks for food handlers to be supervised and instructed and/or trained commensurate with their work activity, not for a named certificate. Health and safety law follows the same pattern, requiring information, instruction, training and supervision rather than a specific award. A dated certificate from an accredited course, filed with the training records, is how businesses evidence both. Our guide to food hygiene certificates goes through how that works at an inspection.

Where a CPD course is not enough

Some roles legally require a regulated qualification, and no CPD course substitutes for one. A personal licence to sell alcohol needs an accredited licensing qualification plus an application to your local council. A First Aid at Work certificate needs practical, in-person assessment from a competent training provider, because it tests hands-on skills that cannot be marked online. If a job advert names a specific regulated award, take it at its word and check with the employer before buying any training.

Who runs the Academy

Chefs Bay Academy is operated by Chefs Bay Hospitality Limited (Company No. 13588811), a hospitality staffing company at Liscard Business Centre, 188 Liscard Rd, Wallasey CH44 5TN. The same business places chefs and kitchen staff with hospitality, healthcare and education caterers, and the compliance training it asks of those workers is the training this platform sells.

Checking a certificate

An employer who wants to confirm a certificate came from us can email workwithus@chefsbay.co.uk with the learner's name and the course title, or call 0151 440 2249. Ask the learner for the PDF rather than a phone screenshot. It is easier to read and harder to fake.