This page summarises our findings from reviewing education providers and programmes in recent years.
It provides our view on how education providers have embedded the revised standards of proficiency (SOPs), including our regulatory requirements, and what we commonly see in programme delivery.
This information should be considered by education providers when developing new and existing programmes linked to this area.
Our threshold requirements
Our profession-specific standards of proficiency (SOPs) are important because they are the threshold competencies for safe and effective practice. Our standards of education and training (SETs) require that the SOPs are delivered (SET 4.1) and assessed (SET 6.1), to ensure those who complete programmes are fit to practise. Our standards also require that curricula are kept up to date (SET 4.4).
All approved pre-registration programmes needed to deliver the revised SOPs for learners commencing from September 2023.
Through our regular performance review monitoring process, we asked education providers to consider and define:
- their approach to reviewing their programmes to embed the revised SOPs;
- the key development themes, and how these are or can be embedded within and across their provision. These themes are:
- active implementation of the standards;
- promoting public health and preventing ill-health;
- equality, diversity and inclusion;
- further centralising the service user;
- registrants’ mental health;
- digital skills and new technologies; and
- leadership.
- profession specific changes; and
- whether changes were required to provision – we recognised that education providers may already be delivering SOPs to the level required by the revisions.
Summary reflections
It was clear from the reflections that education providers implemented effective processes to conduct the review and implementation the revised SOPs in a structured way. Through our review, we were satisfied that all education providers assessed would deliver and assess the revised SOPs from September 2023.
We will continue to review this area over the coming academic years for all education providers and programmes not assessed to this point. This programme of work will be completed in the 2026-27 academic year.
Education provider approaches
Broadly, there were two mechanisms used to ensure that that the revised SOPs were fully implemented by September 2023:
- centrally driven mechanisms, such as workshopping how to embed revisions and gap analysis tools; or
- programme / profession led mechanisms (such as programme leaders tasked with reviewing programmes, then reporting upwards for scrutiny).
Education providers recognised how important learner input was when embedding the revised SOPs, and to keep learners updated with regards to the changes being made. Education providers put processes in place to support learners to understand and apply the revised SOPs.
Many education providers noted that existing arrangements meant they already integrated some elements or parts of the revised SOPs. For example, themes relating to promoting public health and preventing ill health, leadership, and equality, diversity and inclusion were often already integrated.
Where changes were made or planned, education providers submitted detailed explanations and evidence of how they had updated their learning outcomes. They also defined how existing arrangements meant they already delivered new requirements through existing arrangements.
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We changed the wording of the standards to move registrants away from a passive understanding of the standards towards active implementation of them. We did this to reflect the importance of registrants being autonomous and caring professionals. More active wording makes clear the expectations on registrants. Education providers already considered the SOPs as ‘active’ when teaching and assessing. This is because they needed to deliver and then actively assess competence to ensure learners are fit to practise. Learners needed to actively demonstrate how they meet each SOP through existing programme assessments – it is not possible to do this in a passive way.
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We introduced new standards about promoting public health and preventing ill-health. We did this because registrants are part of a larger healthcare system and play an important role in promoting good health in their professions.
Education providers often referenced existing modular content when addressing this theme, with most education providers having existing modules which already contained or were updated in line with our requirements. This theme was usually contained in professional practice modules, and some education providers had specific modules focused on public health and wellbeing.
Inter-professional education was often noted as important, as understanding of the wider healthcare system is key to professionals being able to understand the roles of other professionals and refer when needed. Education providers also referenced work with service users and carers, to help learners to understand the whole patient rather than a set of needs linked to their own professional area.
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We significantly expanded the role of EDI, placing specific importance on making sure that practice is inclusive for all service users. We did this because we are committed to ensuring that our registrants can provide healthcare to all their service users. We already had EDI requirements in the SOPs and the standards of conduct, performance, and ethics, and with these changes we have strengthened our EDI commitment.
Many education providers considered that their existing practices already covered the changes in this area, with existing approaches to ensuring practice is inclusive. Some education providers had developed specific modular content and learning materials, such as sessions on gender identify, and developing case studies from a fuller range of service user backgrounds.
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We improved the central role of the service-user. This includes registrants understanding the importance of valid consent and effective communication in providing good care. We did this because how we understand a service user’s consent has been evolving and our new standards ask registrants to take a wider range of circumstances into account when determining consent. Standards on confidentiality have also been strengthened and reference emerging technology implications.
Education providers often referenced existing modular content when addressing this theme, with most education providers having existing modules which already contained or were updated in line with our requirements. They also referenced how service users contact informed learners when developing their practice.
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We emphasised the importance of registrants looking after their own mental health and seeking help where necessary as a part of maintaining their fitness to practise. We did this because the previous standards were less about the registrant and their health and more focused on fitness to practise. This wording reflects our position as a compassionate regulator and our understanding of the centrality of registrant wellness.
Education providers reflected on the actions they took to embed this area into programme curricula, and also highlighted the importance of ensuring appropriate support for learner mental health. Some explained how in addition to integrating changes within their curriculum, they implemented further support mechanisms across their institution. We considered this good practice to provide an underpinning to support future registrants for managing their own mental health.
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We emphasised the need to be able to keep up to date with digital skills and new technologies. We did this to because technology continues to play an expanding role in the work of our registrants. We have made it clear that we expect registrants to maintain their ability to use new technology relevant to their practice.
Education providers discussed how inclusion of this area within the revised SOPs linked with work underway through digital strategies and curricula review. Many education providers recognised that digital literacy required to undertake education and training was linked to digital literacy in practice. Education providers noted that mechanisms to review curricula were used to consider and update modules and learning materials with this area in mind.
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We emphasised the role and importance of leadership at all levels of practice. We did this because we believe in the importance of registrants being autonomous professionals and in displaying leadership without needing to be in a management role.
Most programmes already had leadership embedded in some way, with some, usually masters level, programmes explicitly focusing on growing the next generation of leaders in practice. There was a focus on leadership through practice-based learning opportunities – usually final placements had leadership embedded in some way, as these were the placements where learners started to feel more autonomous in practice. Education providers had reviewed their teaching and learning in line with the requirements of the revised standards, and had made changes to embed those requirements where needed.
Some education providers referenced the ability for learners to take up leadership roles within the programme, such as programme rep roles, or contributing to committees. Although these were good opportunities for learners, they did not develop competence in a structured way for all learners, and so we did not consider them as contributing to addressing this area.
Areas commonly explored further through our assessments
We needed to explore this area further for some education providers. This was normally when they had not met the requirement to consider (and where required) revise their curricula for learners commencing programmes from September 2023.
In these cases, we worked with education providers to support their understanding of the requirements of the SOPs, and to ensure remedial action was put in place where curricula had not been updated, to ensure there are no issues with learners meeting the revised SOPs on completion of the programme.