The National Qualifications Framework (NQF) is a credit transfer system developed for qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Framework has nine levels covering all levels of learning in secondary education, further education, vocational, and higher education. Though academic higher education courses (such as academic degrees) are not covered in the NQF, it is broadly aligned with the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ), allowing levels of achievement to be compared.
Only when a course has been accredited and become part of the NQF is it then eligible for state funding. As such, many courses which are popular internationally and offered by British based organisations, such as the IGCSE, are not available to state schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The NQF is the joint responsibility of England's QCA, Wales's DCELLS and Northern Ireland's CCEA.
Scotland has its own education system and its own twelve level system, the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework.
Read more about National Qualifications Framework: Framework, History
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