Block Placements

Please find here a link to the Degree apprenticeship Placement website and  placement dates for OT, Physiotherapy and Dietetics https://sites.google.com/my.shu.ac.uk/da-ahp-placement-resource/placement-dates

PROFESSIONAL CHECKS FOR STUDENTS ON DEGREE APPRENTICESHIP COURSES IN HEALTHCARE

Applicants to healthcare courses are required to complete some mandatory checks as outlined by registered bodies such as the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and Social Work England (SWE).

All applicants to healthcare courses must engage in the following checks during the application process and must have engaged in these in order to fully enrol onto the course:

·       Suitability Declaration – this is an online form managed by the University.

·       DBS Check (Disclosure and Barring Service) with Child and Adult Workforce – this is a two-step process: online form managed by a third party and digital ID check.  If applicants are unable to engage in a digital ID check (for example if they do not have a valid passport), they must attend the University for a face to face ID check.

·       Health Questionnaire – this is an online form managed by a third party.

Note that the University is legally required to retain responsibility for checking the criminal and health status of all applicants, even if applicants have already completed a DBS check and Occupational Health assessment as part of their employment.

In addition to the above, employers must ensure that all applicants to healthcare courses meet the following requirements in order to fully enrol on the course:

·       Applicants must have had the required vaccinations and immunisations for working in healthcare settings as stipulated by the Department of Health Green Book.

·       Applicants must have completed the online and practical mandatory training for working in healthcare setting as stipulated by the University.  Students may also need to complete additional mandatory training for specialist placement areas whilst on the programme.

Q. When do the placement blocks take place? 

A. Please see the profession specific pages for placement dates

Q. How are apprentice placements different from BSc (Non-DA)? 

A. Apprentice placements do not come with a paid tariff like BSc placements do. Apprentices can go on placements within or outside of their own organisations, but they must not have a placement within the current setting that they currently work in (please also see profession specific information). Apprentices must be expected to travel to placement, normally this will be up to an hour travel each way but there could be exceptions where travel is up to an hour and a half each way. Apprentices cannot claim travel time/petrol back from the University. Apprentice funding does not professional body subscription or cover uniform costs- this may need to be negotiated with the employer about how this is managed.

Q. How are apprentice placements similar to BSc (Non-DA)

A. Apprentices will be assessed during placement by their educator using the same assessment criteria and paperwork as BSc (Non-DA) students. Expectations should be the same for both DA and non-DA and apprentices marked fairly against levels 4, 5 and 6. Please see course specific pages about assessment criteria and grading systems.

Q. Who is responsible for organising placements?

A. The placement team at SHU are responsible for sourcing, organising and allocating all placement blocks for apprentices. We do not expect you or the apprentice to find and arrange placements. If you do have any local contacts or suggestions please do pass them onto our placement team who will then follow up on this, but please do not (yourself or the apprentice) contact anyone directly- all placement requests and confirmations must come through the central placement team within organisations and SHU.

Q. How do the placements work?

A. The placement team will source and allocate apprentice placements. Apprentices can have placements within their own organisation but not the setting they currently work in. Apprentices can also go outside of their own organisation for placements and where possible reciprocal agreements across regions can help to facilitate this. Placement blocks are part of off-the-job learning and apprentices should be treated as 'student learners', which means that this should be 'new learning' for the apprentice and different than their employed (on-the-job) role. Apprentices will need a named and suitably qualified placement educator to support and assess their learning. Placement blocks should allow apprentices to gain a breadth of experiences across a range of settings and specialities and which addresses all 4 pillars of practice: Clinical, Leadership, Education and Research. Some courses may have specific PSRB requirements that need to be adhered to (see profession specific pages).

Q. What is my role as mentor in placements?

A. As a mentor you do not have to supervise an apprentice on placement, but you can choose to do so. You can be an educator for your apprentice, but they must be working outside of their normal employed setting. Whilst your apprentice is on placement you do not have to meet with them, but it may be that their progress review falls during this time and so you will need to meet (virtually or in person) for this. An apprentice should report sickness on placement to their placement educator and University.  Apprentices should not be taking annual leave during placements (unless exceptional circumstances that is agreed with by both the educator and course leader). Your main role  as WBM is to encourage and support the apprentice to prepare for placement by considering their development needs and addressing KSBs and to reflect on their new learning to transfer back to the workplace. 

Q. How many hours do apprentices need to complete on placement?

A. Apprentices should not be on a contract of less than 30 hours per week. If an apprentice is on a 30 hour contract they can choose to increase their hours on placement if they wish/are able to do so, but this is not expected. If they complete 30 hours per week of placement, they should negotiate with the educator how best this would work. For some courses where number of placement hours are mandated there is the requirement to extend the placement block by one week to ensure the minimum number of placement hours are achieved (see profession specific information). Some time during placement may need to be protected for preparation for assessment (revision, academic writing, research etc) and information on this can be found in the course training plan.

Q. Does placement learning count as off-the-job learning?

A. Yes placement is 'new' learning so this all counts as off-the-job learning and should be recorded on Maytas as such. Evidence of the learning during placement should also be collected and stored within the apprentice's Pebblepad Portfolio. This could be case studies (confidentiality maintained), reflections,  service-user feedback, feedback from educators or MDT etc. Apprentices may also need to record their placement hours and learning on additional documents due to HCPC/PSRB requirements and for module/course assessment.

Q. How are apprentices prepared for placement?

A. Apprentices should be supported by their employer to ensure they meet all the mandatory requirements to complete placements. This includes DBS checks, immunisations, online mandatory training packages ( such as infection control, prevent, safeguarding, Equality) and practical mandatory training such as Basic life support and moving and handling. All apprentices will receive preparation sessions from the course teams before they go out on placement to manage expectations, ensure safety and consider developmental needs. During placements the apprentices and educators receive support from the course teams (this may be in person or online/telephone calls). 

Q. How are learning or additional needs supported during placement?

A. At the start of the course apprentices will complete a placement preference form which contains information about preferences, additional needs (e.g carers responsibilities), number of working hours, driving status etc. If an apprentice has a learning contract for any learning or health (both physical and mental) needs then reasonable adjustments should be discussed with the educator and put in place.