The Institute of Crystal and Gem Therapists (ICGT) was formed in 1985. Over the years ICGT has remained at the forefront of crystal therapy teaching in the UK. ICGT is a founder member of ACHO, the Affiliation of Crystal Healing Organisations, which in 1988 agreed a core curriculum now taught by more than 20 schools in the UK. ICGT is under the care of Mandala Complementary Studies which was acknowledged as a National Open College Network Centre in January 2006.

The Institute of Crystal and Gem Therapists (ICGT) is a Members' School of the Affiliation of Crystal Healing Organisations (ACHO), which is part of the British Crystal Healers, and Associate of the Institute for Complementary Medicine.

The ICGT Certificates and Graduate Diplomas are awarded upon successful completion of all written work, course requirements and assessment criteria, after which insurance is available in the UK for professional practice at these levels.

The MCS / ICGT Code of Conduct and other Policies and Procedures can be found via the website link www.mcscourses.co.uk.

Mandala Complementary Studies (formerly Mandragora Complementary Studies) provides an umbrella for many courses covered by the general heading of ‘energy healing’.

Courses are presented across this wide field of study in a way that encourages people to develop their full potential, to grow towards becoming whole beings, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Where possible these courses are accredited with the relevant organisations to ensure validity and usefulness in an ever-changing world.

Mandala Complementary Studies is a National Open College Network Centre and on the UK Register for Learning Providers.

Both Mandala CS and the Institute of Crystal and Gem Therapists (ICGT) are Associate Members of the Institute for Complementary Medicine.

In addition to OCN South West, Mandala is affiliated to a number of other external bodies for the delivery of certain qualifications, and so must ensure that these courses are delivered in a manner which fulfils the requirements of these bodies.

• Crystals - Association of Crystal Healing Organisations
• Colour – International Association of Colour & Colour International
• Flower Essences – British Flower and Vibrational Essences Association

However, in practical terms, the assessment, moderation and quality review procedures which Mandala has put in place to become an approved OCN South West centre also meet the requirements for these other external bodies.

Website:www.mcscourses.co.uk

ACHO (the association) was formed in 1988 by a group of crystal healing organisations to promote training and competence in crystal healing therapy and to act as a nationally recognised representative body for crystal healing.

Website: www.crystal-healing.org

A number of regulatory and licensing bodies underpin credit based learning within the United Kingdom and allow students to transfer credits between educational establishments which are linked directly or indirectly to that regulatory body.

In the context of Mandala Complementary Studies there are three levels between the Government’s Department of Education and the each individual student.

The regulatory authority in England is the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority or QCA which is authorised by the Government to:

• Be responsible for the accreditation and ongoing monitoring of educational qualifications
• Publish criteria and codes of practice for awarding bodies
• Establish sets of requirements that awarding bodies must have of their awarding centres

All the accredited qualifications which QCA supports are contained in the National Qualifications Framework, which sets out the different levels at which qualifications can be recognised.

Beneath QCA comes a range of different awarding bodies, of which the National Open College Network is one, and NOCN is itself subdivided into regional Open College Networks.

In turn, each awarding body has a number of awarding centres which they have approved to deliver OCN courses.

Mandala is one such awarding centre and it is affiliated to OCN South West.

The role of an awarding body, such as OCN South West, is to:

• Maintain the quality assurance criteria established by QCA
• Approve and register awarding centres
• Approve the courses of run from the awarding centres
• Ensure all awarding centres follow established processes and regulations in regards to learning levels, assessment, evidence, moderation, standardization and quality control

In turn, the awarding centre, which actually teaches the students and issues the award certificates, is responsible for:

• Accountability – Centres must have a named point of contact for the qualifications they provide, who is contactable by both students and awarding body
• Authentication – Centres must ensure that student’s work is their own work
• Certificates – Centres must have in place effective processes to prevent against the awarding of fraudulent and mistaken certificates
• Enquiries and Appeals – Centres must ensure that they understand the enquiries and appeals process of the awarding body
• Documentation & Processes – Centres must have well documented procedures
• Accessibility & Confidentiality – Centres must uphold the Freedom of Information Act while maintaining student confidentiality, and the security and confidentiality of all assessment records and materials
• Quality Reviews – Centres must have efficient internal assessment and moderation / verification processes
• External Review - Centres must be open to monitoring by the awarding body
• Registration – Centres must be able to register and assess candidates in a reasonable manner / time period
• Adequate Resources – Centres must have adequate systems and resources in place to support tutors and students
• Equal Opportunities – Centres must have effective equal opportunity policies and procedures to prevent discrimination and ensure their courses are inclusive

Website: www.nocn.org.uk