• Level 3 professional programme
• 120 hours
• 8 modules, 32 lessons
• 12 to 16 weeks recommended
• Six months’ access

Welcome to the Level 3 DELSA Programme

DELSA stands for Dynamic Emotional Learning and Strengths Assistant. This 120-hour professional programme from NeuroLearn Online prepares adults to support the emotional wellbeing, regulation and strengths of neurodivergent children and young people.

DELSA is built on Lane Anthony’s Awakening Approach and the Dynamic Development Plan (DDP). You will learn to understand the whole young person, to connect before you intervene, to change the environment rather than only the child, and to keep the young person’s own voice at the centre of everything you do. Strengths and support needs are treated as equally valid. No one is asked to disclose a diagnosis or to take on a particular identity, and that includes you.

When you start, you will complete an accessible skills review. It helps us understand how you learn best. It is not a test.

The eight modules

Each module has four lessons and a live tutor workshop. Work through the modules in order. Each one builds on the one before.

• Module 1 · KnowBecoming a DELSANeurodiversity, the Awakening Approach, the DELSA role, ethics and safeguarding.
• Module 2 · Know and UnderstandUnderstanding the Whole Young PersonThe Dynamic Development Plan, and strengths, communication, sensory and regulation profiles.
• Module 3 · ConnectConnection Before InterventionRelational safety, becoming a trusted adult, communication without compliance, and masking.
• Module 4 · UnderstandUnderstanding the Emotional WorldEmotional literacy, interoception, anxiety and rejection, and loss and change.
• Module 5 · RegulateRegulation Before BehaviourThe nervous system, sensory overload, shutdown and meltdown, and co-regulation.
• Module 6 · StrengthenDiscovering and Building StrengthsStrengths-based practice, interests, identity and belonging.
• Module 7 · AdaptChange the Environment, Not Just the Young PersonAccessible environments, transitions, and working with families and the wider team.
• Module 8 · Empower and ReviewEmpowerment and DELSA PracticeSelf-advocacy, designing support, measuring what matters, referral and escalation.

How you will learn

DELSA is a blended programme. It has three parts.

• Online lessons. You study 32 self-paced lessons here, each about 1.5 hours, with worked examples, activities and a short Knowledge Check after each module. The Knowledge Checks are there to help you learn: they have no pass mark and you can take them as often as you like.
• Live tutor workshops. Each module has a 3.5-hour workshop, held by video. Recordings have captions and transcripts.
• Supervised practice. You complete 20 hours of directly supervised practice in your own setting, with your practice supervisor. This starts only after your readiness has been approved at the end of Module 1.

Of the 120 hours, 48 are guided: 28 hours with your tutor and 20 hours of supervised practice. The rest is independent study, activities, reading, building your portfolio and preparing your final assessment. We recommend completing the programme in 12 to 16 weeks, and you have six months’ access.

How you will be assessed

Your assessor looks at five pieces of evidence:

1. Lesson evidence for all 32 lessons, judged against 64 assessment criteria.
2. A practice portfolio, including a verified log of your 20 hours of supervised practice.
3. At least two observations of your practice by your supervisor.
4. An applied case study of 2,500 to 3,000 words, or an agreed equivalent format.
5. A professional discussion of 30 to 45 minutes with an assessor.

The result is Pass or Refer. If something is referred, you will be told exactly what to add or change, and there is a clear route for reassessment and appeal. Your certificate is issued after the assessor’s decision. It is never issued automatically by this website.

Adjustments and support

The programme is designed to be accessible. In most lessons you can choose to give your evidence in writing, by speaking or in a visual format. If you need more time, a different way of studying or another adjustment, talk to your tutor. Asking for an adjustment is always welcome and never counts against you.

Fictional examples and keeping young people safe

All the examples in the lessons are fictional. Until your supervised practice is approved, you complete every activity using fictional examples only. Never upload real pupils’ names or identifying details. If anything you learn or see raises a concern about a child’s safety, report it to your setting’s designated safeguarding lead straight away. Coursework, supervision and deadlines never delay a safeguarding report.

Fees and enrolment

The programme costs £695 per learner. This covers all 32 online lessons, the eight live tutor workshops, assessment of your portfolio, observations, case study and professional discussion, and six months’ access. Use the button below to buy the programme and enrol. Once you have enrolled, the full course, starting with Start Here and Module 1, opens on this page.

Getting started

Begin with Start Here: Induction and Practice Readiness. It explains how the programme works, your privacy and safeguarding responsibilities, how to set up your supervisor agreement and how to submit evidence. Then move on to Module 1.

Questions before you start? Email us at info@neurolearn.online.

The Level 3 DELSA Programme is an independently developed NeuroLearn Online professional programme. It is not an Ofqual-regulated qualification and carries no awarding-body approval, credits or official ELSA affiliation. Safeguarding content is written for settings in England.