Practice Education

Clearances

Before beginning your first placement, you will need to complete various clearances as part of achieving your Fitness to Practise:

• Healthcare programmes Clearances Checklist
• Social Work Clearances Checklist
• Completing the DBS check
• Occupational Health Student Information

Standards of conduct: fitness to practise

• Standards of conduct for pre-registration students
• Standards of Performance and Conduct: Continuing Professional Development Students and Apprentices Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
• Learning professional behaviour
• Letter of fitness to practise
• Fitness to practise flowchart
• Disclosure and Barring Service Checks Process (including Rehabilitation of Offenders Declarations)
• Setting professional behaviour objectives

Faculty Attendance and Placement Requirements

• Additional Faculty requirements with regard to placing students studying for pre-registration Health and Social Work programmes.
• Faculty attendance policy
• Nursing programmes - pre placement agreement
• Occupational Therapy - pre placement agreement
• Paramedic Science - pre placement agreement
• Sharing of ongoing record of achievement

Dress code

Students on placement/ in the practice setting are considered to be ‘employees' of the placement provider and must adhere to all local policies e.g. Dress code for employees or Uniform and Dress Policy for clinical staff.

• Dress code and appearance for students in practice

Religious practices

Meeting the religious and cultural practices of health and social work students

A student’s identity can have a significant and profound impact on their placement learning experience and assessment in practice, these guiding principles help to explain how the faith/non-faith traditions, cultural practices, and linguistic diversity of students can be met in practice placements.

• Meeting religious and cultural practices of students in placement guide

Expenses from the NHS Learning Support Fund

Pre-registration healthcare students who qualify for student finance from Student Finance England, Student Finance Wales, the Student Awards Agency Scotland or Student Finance Northern Ireland are entitled to claim reimbursement of expenses incurred whilst attending placement from the NHS Learning Support Fund.

• Placement expense claims - Learning Support Fund (LSF)
• LSF Placement Expenses - a guide to completing your claim form
• If you need additional pages to include more placement locations, dates of travel or dual accommodation with your LSF claim, please click on the links below and download additional blank pages:
  • Section 4 - placement details
  • Section 5 - journeys to placement
  • Section 6 - additional accommodation
• Indebtedness statement
• Learning Support Fund website: travel and dual accommodation expense (TDAE) guidance

Expenses from Oxford Brookes University (OBU)

Pre-registration healthcare students who do not qualify for student finance from the four main British Student Finance organisations can claim reimbursement of expenses incurred whilst attending placement directly from the university.

• OBU TDAE Expenses for Healthcare Students - guidance on how the scheme works
• Placement Expenses from Oxford Brookes - a guide to completing the claim form
• OBU TDAE Expenses for Healthcare Students - Frequently Asked Questions
• Flowchart of the OBU Placement Expenses process

Financial support

• Sources of financial support for students

Personal safety and incident guidance

Advice for Students about Personal Safety

• Oxford Brookes Student Union Advice Centre
• Suzy Lamplugh Trust
• Student travel pages
• Improving safety for lone workers : a guide for lone workers
• Government stay safe video (rare event of a firearms or weapons attack)

Incident guidance

• Principles to follow if a pre-registration student is involved in an incident
• Guidance for students: writing a statement about an incident or issue in practice

Raising concerns about practice

• Guidelines for Learners and those supporting them when they want to Raise and Escalate Concerns (Whistleblowing) in Healthcare and Social Work Settings
• REC diagram
• Oxord Brookes: Effective management of persistent or serious issues of practice assessor/practice supervisor performance
• NHS England: Freedom to speak up
• Thames Valley students only: HEE supporting and escalating concerns: pathway for learners
• Oxford Health (Only) - Raising Concerns about practice
• Oxford Health (only) freedom to speak up

Giving feedback

• Student feedback direct to the person supporting them in practice
• Quick feedback sheet for practice assessors

Preparation requirements

• Academic Assessor preparation
• Practice supervisor and practice assessor preparation
• Practice Assessor preparation 
• Practice Supervisor preparation 
• Routes of preparation for becoming a practice assessor and/or a practice supervisor

Transitioning from being a mentor

• Practice assessor and practice supervisor: transitioning from being a mentor
• Practice supervisor and practice assessor: transitioning from being a mentor workbook

Allocating nursing practice assessors and practice supervisors to students

• Principles document related to allocation of PA PS
• Statement of “overseers” and “nominated practice support person”
• Statement of practice supervisors and practice assessors for any single student
• Statement of definition of practice learning hours
• Sharing of ongoing record of achievement
• NMC standards 2018 key programme information

PA and PS updates and Nursing BePAD information sessions

• Nursing BePAD 2020 Training & Updates for Practice Assessors (PA) and Supervisors (PS) Oxford and Swindon (booking for 2024-2025)
• Practice assessor and supervisor workshops (Adult Nursing Swindon)
• Practice assessor preparation course February 2025 (Swindon)

Current practice supervisor / practice assessor guidance

• Statement of how/when practice assessors are required to observe/work with students
• Student practice supervision and assessment journey
• Supporting students during service reconfiguration or departmental moves
• GW2 standards for student supervision and assessment key information

Development and updates

• Developing and maintaining your role as a practice supervisor and/or practice assessor
• Partner evidence of ongoing development of practice assessors / practice supervisors
• Evidence of completing a practice assessor / supervisor clinical update
• Partner evidence of ongoing development of practice assessors practice supervisors
• Reflection for mentors
• Facilitator guidance notes
• Mentor update facilitating evidence based practice

Communication pathways

• GW2 Practice Supervision and Assessment Support and Communication Pathways

Time

• Time for practice assessment and mentorship activities for pre-qualifying Health and Social Care programmes
• Supported time for practice assessors and supervisors