Hey SD,
Hope the further education works out well whoever you decide to go with!
I'd suggest that your first step is to look closely at the individual courses. Most employers will agree that the areas you study (individual modules etc) are of far more importance than where you study them (I'm sure some traditional snobbery still exists but companies who retain this shouldn't really be the sort you'd aim to work for).
I can't say I know Nottingham U but a search through Google may provide some information. OU have a very good reputation, but the courses can be a little (or a lot) more expensive than the more traditional colleges.
When looking at DL courses do a good investigation of the facilities that are used (web forums, software tools... ). I got in contact with the head of the department in a course I was looking at and was able to contact a couple of former students to chat about the facilities, the pros, the cons, etc. It really can put your mind at rest regarding the course and the institution.
For what lies ahead.... if you mean regarding distance learning Google again would be a good bet. Many of the colleges provide excellent information and "tests" to see if your suited to this (some give feedback on individual areas you may want to examine before commiting). If you ment for the individual course.... keep your fingers crossed and hope some AAM'ers have some further info! (if the college were in a position to provide details from former students [remember, if suggested by the college they will be the students looking through rose tinted glasses, but biased info is still better than no info] you would get a great view into the time requirements, benefits, life cycle of the course).
Hope it all works out well whichever path you decide!