Always start on the internet at http://www.spectrumcourses.co.uk
Frequently Asked Questions
Our courses are built for people who aren’t confident in IT.
Don’t worry – hundreds of people just like you, pass out courses each month.
What do I need?
An individual email address
Access to a smart phone, PC, tablet or laptop
A reliable internet/WIFI connection
I don’t have an email address:
You must have your own individual email address.
Ask your employer/line manager or a friend to help you set one up.
Several popular email providers offer free email addresses, including Google’s gmail, Microsoft’s Outlook and Yahoo Mail.
Smart phone compatibility:
Most modern smartphones can be used but your operating system will need to be:
- Android – version 8.0 or higher recommended
- iOS – version 12 or higher for best performance
What if I don’t have a smart phone?
Don’t worry – you can access your course on a computer, laptop or tablet. It doesn’t need to be your own, but you must sign in to your own account.
I’ve changed my email address since I last did my training – what should I do?
Do NOT create a new account because it won’t be able to find your training record.
Sign in with your OLD email address.
Go to Dashboard > Edit Account and update your password.
NB: For security reasons, this can only be done yourself. Other trainees cannot do this for you.
English isn’t my first language:
Don’t worry – you can read or listen to our courses in a choice of 72 languages. You can watch our video tutorials in a choice of 6 of the most spoken languages.
To find out how to do that: go to our Accessibility page
Why does Spectrum have annual refresher courses?
Spectrum Courses recommends annual safeguarding refresher training for all home-to-school drivers and passenger assistants, in line with DfE best practice and local authority expectations.
Our refresher courses are accredited, certificated and reflect new statutory guidance.
Statutory Guidance: Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) — while mainly for schools, this document strongly influences Local Authority expectations. It recommends regular safeguarding training with annual updates.
Working Together to Safeguard Children — calls for continuous professional development, especially for those with regular contact with children.
Local authorities often require annual safeguarding refreshers for home-to-school drivers and escorts.
I would like a Company account:
Company accounts (known as Group accounts) offer operators an excellent online toolkit to see progress and view certificates of all their trainees.
Please email contact@spectrumcourses.co.uk with your company’s name, address, telephone number and the Local Authorities you work for.
How to Register
Go to www.spectrumcourses.co.uk
Click LOG IN > Register
Please complete your details very carefully.
Your email address must be your own.
Click on the password eye so that you can see what you are typing.
Click on the calendar icon to enter your date of birth.
Tick the box to confirm Terms of Service.
Click Register
You will then see a Congratulations page.
How to Register by Invite
(If your training course is being purchased for you by your employer, you will receive an email invitation to join their Group account.)
Go to www.spectrumcourses.co.uk
Create an account.
If this is your first time training with us, fill in the registration information.
You must use the same email address you received the invite to.
(Please check junk/spam folder, and check your employer has the exact email address for you, which must be your own email)
Once logged in, you should see your course on the front page of the website.
How to Log In
(You will need to REGISTER with us the first time you use our website)
Go to www.spectrumcourses.co.uk
Click Log In and fill in your email address and password.
You can tick the box Remember Me
Click Login to access the website
Resetting your password
Go to www.spectrumcourses.co.uk
Click LOG IN > Lost your password?
When prompted enter the email address registered with us.
You will receive an automated email in a few minutes to reset a new password.
Buying a Course for yourself
(If you are buying a course(s) as a Group Leader for a company account, you must refer to Group Leaders Guide.
Go to www.spectrumcourses.co.uk
Click LOG IN > Buy Course > Select Course you wish to purchase > BUY
Fill in purchase details by following instructions on screen > Click on box to agree Terms of Service > Click BUY NOW
Once purchase is made you will automatically be taken to the start of your course.
Start your course by clicking Blue Button “Get Started”
Please note: you can pay for other individuals courses, but each account must be registered with their name and email address.
Taking Your Course
Go to www.spectrumcourses.co.uk
Click LOG IN
Once logged in, click on Course you wish to start or continue
Top Tips for Taking Your Course
- Make sure you click NEXT QUESTION or MARK COMPLETE buttons on every page to progress through the Course.
- Make sure you scroll to the bottom of the screen.
- If a Quiz Question says “Select all that Apply” it requires more than one answer.
- Your Course automatically saves after each lesson passed successfully.
- Take a break rather than carry on when you’re tired
- You can access your Certificate as soon as you have successfully completed your course.
Accessing Your Certificates
(If you are buying a course(s) as a Group Leader for a company account, you must refer to Group Leaders Guide.
Click LOG IN
Once logged in, click on View Certificate you wish to view or share.
Follow onscreen instructions to Print, Download or Copy Sharable Link.
If you select Copy Sharable Link you can then paste it in an email to the person who needs to see it.
Please ensure you keep your own certificates safe.
They contain the date when your refresher training is due.
Please note: If you still need to access your certificates from our original website (2018-2024) please send your name and email address to contact@spectrumcourses.co.uk
Accessing Cause for Concern forms
Go to www.spectrumcourses.co.uk
Click LOG IN > Dashboard > Free Resources > Cause for Concern Form
Download and/or Print
A Group (or Company) Account has lots of advantages for you.
As a Group Leader, you’ll be able to purchase course seats, allocate them to Group Members, check and support their progress, View Certificates and send your Group’s successful training records through to local authorities you operate routes for.
If you would like a Group Account, please email contact@spectrumcourses.co.uk
Log In to My Group
Go to www.spectrumcourses.co.uk
Click LOG IN > Dashboard > Select Group you wish to manage
Managing your Group Members
Members are people who work for the Group.
The Group buys their Courses.
Log In > Dashboard > My Groups > Select Group/Course > Select Members Tab
Members Tab: Buying Course Seats
“Seats Available” displays the number of remaining course seats.
“Seats Used” displays how many seats are taken on the course.
To purchase seats as a Group Leader you can Pay As You Go online, or buy (in bulk) by Invoice.
- To purchase online, scroll to the bottom of the Members page to Purchase More Seats. Select how many Seats you wish to purchase (1 to 100). Complete the payment information, and seats will automatically be added to the group page.
- If you purchase by invoice, email us and advise how many seats you require, and on which group and course. Once the invoice is paid, we will add the seats to the group for you.
Once purchased, SEATS never expire, but when assigned to a Member the trainee has 30 days to complete the Course.
Members Tab: Allocating Course Seats
Log In > Dashboard > My Groups > Select Group/Course > Select Members Tab
Check there are Seat(s) spare to assign.
Allocate a seat by adding a Member using their correct email address.
To do this, move your cursor to the right hand side of the word Members to the grey pencil icon and click on Add Member.
This is an automated system and as you add someone they will appear as a pending invitation, and you’ll use up one of your seats.
The Member will receive an automated email asking them to Accept Invitation to join your Group. They must do this to enter the Group and access their free Course
When a Member Logs In, they must access the Course purchased via Dashboard and My Groups
Once they accept the invitation to join your Group account, the person will disappear from the Pending Invitation box and will be visible as a group Member of the Course.
Members Tab: Resending an Invitation to join the Group
Go to Members tab. Look in Pending Invitations
Click the copy icon on the right of email address to copy the unique invitation link.
Email it direct to your colleague – by pasting the link directly into the email.
Members Tab: Delete someone from your Group
Perhaps the email address is incorrect, or they leave the Company.
For a Pending Invitation click the bin icon next to their email address
This gives your Group a Seat back. (Refresh the page to see the seat number change)
If your colleague says they haven’t received their email, please ask them to check their junk or spam folder, and also check the email address you have typed is exactly correct. If it isn’t, delete them and add the exact email address!
To delete a group Member, click on the Remove Members button near the bottom of the page.
Select the users you wish to delete > Remove Selected Members > Confirm
The member will be deleted from your group, and the seat removed
Managing your Group Reports
Log In > Dashboard > My Groups > Select Group/Course > Select Reports Tab
- Here you see Members’ progress through each course and know when it is successfully completed. When it is, you can view member’s certificates. You have the option to download and print each certificate.
- This table can be searched and sorted using the tools provided.
- Clicking the Members’ name will take you to their full progress report.
- You can also export a CSV of the above table for use within your own systems.
- email a link to anyone: perhaps the organisation who commissioned transport.
Reports Tab: Batch downloading of Certificates
From the Reports Tab, you can select up to 20 certificates to download at once.
Select Certificates (Using right hand selection column)
Click > Download selected certificates (ZIP)
Wait while the Zip of certificates is built
Save the download to your computer
Reports Tab: Compliance Reports
Click > Produce Compliance Report to download a csv file containing a full list of Members and additional members, including names, email addresses, and renewal dates.
Select the correct Group from dropdown list > Retrieve Data
The table shows the complete training record for your Group Members.
You can search by using the search box
You can sort the columns by clicking the heading (eg Renewal Date)
Click > Export CSV at bottom of table to download the information.
A CSV file can then be opened as a spreadsheet (usually Excel). You can then email this spreadsheet to your local authority to prove your training is complete and compliant.
Remember that a group report refers to each COURSE. If you have people completing HST1, HST2 and HST3, you will need to download each report via Dashboard > My Groups > Select Group/Course
Reports Tab: Additional Individuals
Additional Individuals are people who work for you and buy their own courses. They are NOT members of your group.
Type in their email address > Add
If added to the list, they will then appear in the full Compliance Report generated using the Produce Compliance Report button at the bottom of the page.
You can remove them from the report be selecting their email address from the list > Remove Selected
Group Payment History
When you purchase seats for your group, you will be sent an invoice automatically to the email address you purchased with.
All invoices can be found in the Group Payment History page.
Log In > Dashboard > Group Payment History > Select invoice to download