Welcome to the NES funded Practice Education Programme
Our aim is to:
Develop and promote high quality placement (practice based learning or PrBL) opportunities that will:
We are doing this through Scotland wide approaches to quality assuring student practice based learning and developing modern experiences for students within evolving AHP Practice settings.
NB please note that within this site the terms placement and practice based learning are used interchangeably.
AHP PrBL is an essential part of an AHP students’ journey to qualification in their chosen profession. A PrBL experience or placement is where students apply and consolidate their learning, bringing together academic theory, workplace practice to develop skills and competencies needed to register.
AHPs of the future need to be prepared for working in new ways and in additional settings across health, social care, voluntary and private sectors.
Scottish Government policies and drivers set out a direction that AHPs require to rethink how, where and what services are provided in the future. This has a significant impact on the pre-registration training and the type of practice placement experience required.
On this Learn Site you will find a range of examples of AHP Placement models and modes of delivery designed to support our AHPs of the future.
Following the national event Growing Capacity for AHP Student PrBL in Scotland in 2018 the following consensus statements were agreed by all stakeholders across Scotland involved in PrBL
These statements are the focus for ongoing work across Scotland to provide quality, modern, diverse, and sustainable PrBL opportunities for all students in all AHP professions across all sectors of health and social care.
Please follow links to the left of this page to find a range of information and resources to support you to provide essential PrBL opportunities in your team and organisation.
The principles have acted as both a catalyst and framework for conversations across practice and education as well as amongst many other professions that we work closely with. It is these conversations that have led to the launch of these co-badged principles by 10 professional bodies and renamed the ‘AHP principles of practice-based learning: working together to support our future workforce’. These principles align to current work in Scotland supporting and delivering AHP PrBL.
The AHP professional bodies and NHS Education for Scotland jointly delivered a webinar on 06.02.24 which provided background to these principles, shared examples of their application and connection with work ongoing in Scotland, and offered an opprotunity to ask questions.
A recording of the webinar and supporting slides is available on the webinar series page (https://learn.nes.nhs.scot/30460).
The seven Scotland-based universities that run AHP pre-registration education programmes are:
Edinburgh Napier University,
Glasgow Caledonian University,
Queen Margaret University,
Robert Gordon University,
University of Stirling,
University of Strathclyde, and
University of West of Scotland
The following diagram represents the national infrastructure that supports and delivers AHP PrBL. Those individuals, teams and organisations within this infrastructure all have a key role in ensuring the development of an AHP workforce of the future.
The Scottish AHP PrBL Stakeholder Group meets quarterly. The group membership includes representation from:
The group provides a mechanism for collaboration and governance to ratify decisions related to the AHP Practice Based Learning Partnership Agreements and to act as a source of guidance and influence.
APOC meets bi-monthly. The group works collaboratively to
Membership of the group includes