Provisions in the Event of Failure of Assessed Work

Coursework

Any Internal Examiner can recommend the failure of a piece of coursework (ACP, SAQ or CPR). If this decision is supported by the Board of Internal Examiners the trainee may be requested to resubmit that piece of work in the case of a BF, or a new piece of work as a resubmission in the case of a F, within a specified period of time, in addition to other existing coursework requirements. In the case of SAQs, an excess of 4 Borderline Fails in any one set will be considered as an overall fail for that assignment, and a new piece of work may be requested.

Observed Clinical Skills Assessment

Where the two examiners recommend the OCSA is graded as a fail and the Board of Internal Examiners support this decision, then the trainee will be given a single additional opportunity to successfully pass this assessment. 

If a trainee disagrees with an assessment, they may request a review of the work by an External Examiner by writing to the Chair of the Board of Examiners within 14 days of notification of the decision. A trainee may also appeal the mark through the University academic appeals process. (https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/study/policies/appeals-complaints-current-students/procedures) 

Mitigating Circumstances

A request for mitigating circumstances will be made in writing by the Board of Examiners following any BF or Fail grading. In circumstances where written mitigation is submitted, this will be considered by the Board of Examiners in consultation with the external examiner(s) if appropriate. This provides the trainee with an opportunity to present an account of any circumstances during the period of assessment preparation and submission, that the trainee was unable to present before the assessment deadline.

Please note that where there are no mitigating circumstances a trainee will not be expected to submit anything for consideration.

It is also important to note that if a trainee is granted an extension on an assignment, the grounds for that extension will not then be accepted as mitigating circumstances should the assignment be unsuccessful. The purpose of the extension process is to grant the trainee sufficient time to submit their assignment, in light of the circumstances outlined. 

Where mitigation is not accepted by the Board of Examiners the fail grade will remain and appropriate actions will be taken.

If mitigation is accepted by the Board of Examiners the fail grade will be classified as 'not assessed' and a further opportunity to submit the assignment will be granted and a new deadline set. The trainee will be required to confirm that they are fit to submit the assignment.

Withdrawal from the Programme

The annual External Board of Examiners or the Board of Internal Examiners, with the External Examiner(s) present, or following consultation with the External Examiner(s), can inform the Faculty of Science that a trainee be excluded from the Programme due to failure to meet the relevant coursework, placement, or thesis requirement; or because of concerns over attendance, disciplinary matters and/or fitness to practise (see below for details).

Normally a trainee will be withdrawn from the Programme should any of the following occur:

• A repeated fail or borderline fail of the same piece of work or placement

• Two failed placements during training

• The accumulation of 3 fail or borderline fail gradings in total of Academic Clinical Projects, Clinical Practice Reports, SAQs, placements or the OCSA

• Repeated fail of the thesis

The trainee will be notified of withdrawal of University registration due to unsuccessful progression and NHS Trust termination of employment processes will be initiated. The University's appeals procedures are available on the University website.

Disciplinary procedures

In the event of actions which could be considered as serious professional misconduct, in terms of failure to adhere to (i) the Health and Care Professional Council Standards of conduct performance and ethics and the Guidance on Conduct and Ethics for students, (ii) the BPS Code of Ethics and Conduct, (iii) the BPS Professional Practice Guidelines, (iv) the DCP Professional Practice Guidelines, or (v) the BPS Guidance on the use of Social Media, or as defined in the employing authority's guidance on disciplinary procedures, the Chair of the Board of Examiners, in consultation with the Programme Director/Director of Clinical Practice, may request the immediate suspension of a trainee's registration. This would follow consultation with relevant staff in the employing Trust, the Head of the Department of Psychology, the External Examiner(s) and the Faculty of Science. Suspension may occur prior to investigating and any subsequent referral to the University's Discipline Committee. University procedures related to disciplinary issues are outlined in the Regulations as to the Discipline of Students (https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/sss/sas/conduct) . The trainee's employer (or sponsor), supervisor and relevant Psychology Service Leads would be notified accordingly. 

Following University disciplinary procedures suspension or dismissal from employment or termination of sponsorship may commence. Similarly, the University reserves the right to exclude a trainee, if their employment is terminated with their employer or sponsor, either due to dismissal or resignation. It is also likely that the Board of Examiners would institute procedures under the Fitness to Practise Regulations.

Fitness to Practise Standards

The University of Sheffield has a policy of ensuring fitness to practise for those completing professional training courses including the DClinPsy. This policy is outlined in the General Regulations relating to Fitness to Practise in the University Calendar.

Trainees must also uphold appropriate standards of behaviour in all aspects of their training and in both the education setting and practice placement setting as indicated below. Monitoring of professional aspects of practice is integral to the assessment procedures for the Programme. Where trainees fail to meet these standards they will not be allowed to complete the Programme and enter the profession.

1. During the Programme trainees must liaise in a positive and constructive way with many different people including clients, supervisors, other staff on placement, Programme staff, teachers, administrative staff, peers and others. This includes demonstrating respect and consideration for others and taking responsibility for their own actions and management of their work. This is a fundamental requirement of clinical psychology practice and must be consistently shown by individuals in training. Where fitness to practise concerns are raised in relation to this aspect of conduct then interpersonal difficulties should be clearly demonstrated with a variety of different individuals and typically across several different settings.

2. Training as a clinical psychologist requires individuals to acquire new skills and knowledge and take on new roles. It requires respect for others' opinions, an openness to learning and an ability and willingness to use feedback constructively. Concerns relating to fitness to practise may involve an inability or unwillingness to acknowledge and use feedback on practice issues or interpersonal difficulties in a constructive way. Any feedback given and the responses of the trainee should be clearly documented.

3. Trainees are required to demonstrate throughout their training, attitudes and behaviour in keeping with the statements of values and standards of clinical psychologists as outlined in HCPC Standards of conduct performance and ethics and the Guidance on Conduct and Ethics for students. They must also adhere to the standards of the British Psychological Society Code of Ethics and Conduct (2018). The Code is based on the principles of respect, competence, responsibility and integrity. 

4. The domain of integrity requires that honesty must underpin all aspects of training in relation to documentation, assessed work and liaison with staff and supervisors. Trainees must also adhere to the standards of behaviour as outlined in the Entry Agreement (see Appendix 9)

5. Concerns may be raised about fitness to practise under any of the above areas where a trainee's behaviour on placement may not itself have contravened (i) The Health and Care Professions Council Standards of conduct performance and ethics and the Guidance on Conduct and Ethics for students, (ii) the specific BPS Code of Ethics and Conduct, (iii) the BPS Generic Professional Practice Guidelines or (iv) the DCP Professional Practice Guidelines at a level of serious professional misconduct. However a series of more minor events may have occurred, usually across settings and with more than one person, which call into question the suitability of a candidate through their attitudes or behaviour to continue their training to enter the profession of clinical psychology. Such difficulties may lead to significant problems in training which, by themselves, have not led to repeated placement failure or failure of a resubmitted piece of work but may indicate lack of fitness to enter the profession.

6. As a condition of acceptance onto the Programme trainees must undergo and have received a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check (or equivalent in the case of international trainees). It is a condition of continued registration that any police cautions or criminal convictions occurring after offer of a place but prior to termination of the Programme are notified to the Programme Director or Director of Clinical Practice as soon as possible and within 7 days of occurrence. Failure to do so will be considered as a concern about fitness to practise. The content of any disclosure may lead to University Fitness to Practise or Disciplinary Procedures being invoked. (https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/ssid/complaints-and-appeals/fitness-procedures) 

7. The Programme, wherever possible, attempts to ensure that candidates successfully complete their training. The Programme Team is committed to helping trainees who encounter difficulties through (i) clear communication about the identification of problems and (ii) provision of support to a trainee in their attempts to meet the requirements.

8. Should concerns be raised about a trainee's fitness to practise then procedures outlined in General Regulations relating to Student Fitness to Practise will be followed.

9. Where the University upholds concerns over Fitness to Practise a trainee may be excluded from the Programme and their registration terminated. University registration on the DClinPsy Programme at the University of Sheffield is a contractual requirement with NHS Trusts and any decision that upholds the recommendation for termination of registration will normally lead to the termination of the trainee's contract of employment and discontinuation of financial support. In the event of termination of the contract of employment, the usual NHS appeals procedures will be available to the trainee.

10. The University has a duty of care to inform current and subsequent supervisors of any referrals for Fitness to Practise and their outcomes, since the NHS Trust is liable for the clinical work conducted by trainees.

University Academic Appeals

Trainees can make an academic appeal (https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/study/policies/appeals-complaints-current-students/academic). This process allows a trainee to apply for a reconsideration of a recommended grade for assessment. Trainees must apply in writing within 30 working days of receiving their marks.

Leave of Absence

The University recognises that, during a research degree, students may encounter difficulties that are outside of their control and that significantly affect their ability to undertake their research, for example, illness or serious personal problems. The University enables students to take an authorised break from their programme of research, where there is good reason, to overcome these difficult circumstances, through a leave of absence.

The minimum leave of absence that will normally be granted is four weeks (i.e. 28 days or over in length). For a trainee's learning and research to remain viable for the award of the degree to be feasible the maximum amount of leave of absence that can be granted, by regulation, is normally no more than two years. Full details regarding this process can be found here: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/rs/code/loa  

Complaints

The University has a comprehensive system for dealing with complaints. The emphasis of the procedure is on informal resolution of problems at a local level. If a complaint remains unresolved then there is a formal stage involving submitting a written complaint in this case to the Programme Director. Again, if there is a failure to resolve the complaint, the next recourse would be the Head of Department. Further stages would be via writing to the University Council, who have the power to investigate and, if thought fit, redress student grievances. The University of Sheffield website has a section devoted to 'Complaints, grievances and appeals regulations and procedures relating to students' (https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/study/policies/appeals-complaints-current-students/complaints-procedures) . This covers in detail complaints procedures, as well as appeals relating to academic work and discipline. It fully outlines the contact persons, purpose, grounds and process for each channel. 

Sheffield Health and Social Care Trust Grievance Policy (https://www.shsc.nhs.uk/about-us/policies)  is also available to support employees in addressing concerns, problems or complaints regarding management actions which cannot be resolved informally. Employees have the option to seek support and advice from the Trust's Freedom to Speak Up Guardian where the issue is one of concern for service user or patient safety.

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