It is the national credit transfer system for education qualification in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. Scotland has its own system - the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework.
Every unit and qualification in the new framework has a credit value. One credit represents 10 hours of learning time. There are three different sizes of qualification:
awards (1 to 12 credits)
certificates (13 to 36 credits)
diplomas (37 credits or more)
The QCF is referenced to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF).