Advanced Clinical Practice (ACP) Trailblazer Sam Foster – Chief nurse – Heart of England NHS FT- Chair –ACP Trailblazer Group

Current Issues with the ACP Role – Accept as a given I am pro this role!

Nuffield Trust – Re-shaping the workforce

Professional Protectionism is a key risk for this role…………

And then came the levy……

An opportunity to review national work and pull it all together to shape this role

What is an Apprenticeship? An apprenticeship combines practical training in a job, with study. It must last a minimum of 12 months. Apprentices are therefore Employees Developing skills in the workplace in a real job Given time away from the immediate work place to study and develop their knowledge

Trailblazers Trailblazer is the means to develop an Apprenticeship Standard and Assessment plan Group of employers Named employer Chair Supported by other stakeholders Sub group(s) to maximise input of experts Implementation plans in parallel

Apprenticeship Standard Short document; easy to use and understand Overview of the occupation Sets out, at a high level, the knowledge, skills and behaviours to become competent Include English and Maths requirements At a single academic level Designed by employers Overseen/approved by the Institute for Apprenticeships

Apprenticeship Assessment Plan Longer document of approximately 10 pages End point assessment only Describes Assessment methods (how) Assessor requirements (who) Grading criteria Quality assurance arrangements May be integrated into a full degree validated for the apprenticeship Bolted onto existing degrees

Trailblazer process Expression of Interest including estimated start figures Development of standard including IfA approval and ESFA funding band allocation Development of assessment plan focussed on end point assessment and IfA approval Agree external quality assurance of the end point assessment organisations that have registered Implementation ‘How To’ Guide at https://www.gov.uk /government/public ations/future-of- apprenticeships-in- england-guidance- for-trailblazers

Roles Employers: Drive the development and lead on content Other stakeholders (HEIs, professional bodies): Advice & guidance, task & finish Skills for Health: Manage the process; project management, consultation, advice & guidance ACP National Steering Group: Comms channel & implementation Institute for Apprenticeships: Approval of products, advice & guidance

Work to date of the group… Refine and expand the ‘occupational profile’ Refine and expand the ‘responsibilities & duties’ section Considered ‘additional requirements’ or ‘entry requirements’ needed? Draft 1 - Knowledge and skills are were generic with overlap with other standards Add/refine advanced clinical skills Contextualise leadership Contextualise education Contextualise research Draft out for national consultation this week……

End-point assessment Apprenticeship standards must have an end-point assessment (EPA) to test an apprentice’s competence against the occupational standard - knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs) EPA is taken at the end of the apprenticeship, after all on- programme learning has been completed and gateway requirements have been met Its duration should be proportional to the length of the apprenticeship Performance in the EPA determines the apprenticeship grade

End-point assessment An EPA plan describes the EPA approach for a particular standard - what, how, when, where, who… You need to clearly explain the requirements for the EPA, so it can be consistently interpreted by assessment organisations You must ensure the EPA approach and plan complies with policy EPA plans need to be approved by the Institute, before the apprenticeship standard can be approved for delivery Assessment organisations must be approved to offer services against a particular standard; approved organisations are listed on the Register of Apprentice Assessment Organisations

The application form Information about the organisation The application has four sets of questions. Each one gives us information about the applicant and their suitability to be an end-point assessment organisation: Information about the organisation Their financial governance & Financial self-assessment The organisations occupational capacity & capability The organisations assessment capacity & capability All applicants: complete the online application form respond to questions, make declarations, complete the financial health self-assessment, including submitting latest financial statements, submit accompanying documents where relevant.

Synoptic The EPA must holistically assess KSBs from across the standard in an integrated way - at least one method of assessment must assess a mix of KSBs It should focus on higher order KSBs, which give assurance that lower order KSBs have been demonstrated The KSBs that will be assessed by each assessment method must be identified .gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-guide-for- employers://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-guide-for- employers Holistic, e.g. if asking a question it should have scope to provide evidence of a range of KSB At least one assessment method must assess a mix of KSB but it would be good practice for them all to do so Some standards only have higher order KSB, so you many need to assess them all Matrix can be useful to map which KSB will be assessed

Use a range of assessment methods Assessment methods must be appropriate for the occupation There must be at least 2 methods, each separately assessing an identified set of KSBs Methods could include a practical assessment, viva or technical interview, project, observation, written test, presentation… A viva or technical interview can only be used to test skills if accompanied by a portfolio/showcase A portfolio/showcase are not classed as a method in themselves, but can be used to support another method e.g. interview Parameters for each method must be clearly stated, including which KSBs each method is assessing, length, location, order of assessments, number of questions, type of questions etc Valid, consistent and reliable .gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-guide-for- employers://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-guide-for-employers Remember the more methods you have the higher the potential cost of assessment Some assessment methods are more expensive than others e.g. MCQ are cheaper to mark than open response questions Assessment methods may have different elements within them e.g. presentation may include a Q&A session, but if they are assessing the same KSB it is one method If portfolio/showcase is being used to support a viva/interview it must be stated as a gateway requirement and guidance given on its content/structure/production

Graded Introduced to encourage and recognise excellence You must have at least one level above pass for each assessment method and for the apprenticeship Pass represents competence against the standard, with higher grades representing performance over and above You need to include clear grading descriptors/criteria that can be consistently interpreted by assessors You need to explain how the outcomes from different methods are combined to determine the grade You should consider including a resit/retake policy Grading exemptions may be given, in some circumstances If restricting grades for resit/retake consider making allowances for situations outside of the apprentices control Don’t restrict individual employer choice in terms of number of resits/retakes Any resit/retakes should be achieved within the assessment period, or otherwise all re-taken

Independent EPA must be conducted by an independent assessment organisation The assessor must be independent i.e. not employed by the same organisation as the apprentice or their training provider or have any connection with the apprentice Employers can have a supporting role in the assessment decision e.g. as a member of an assessment panel Where the standard is aligned to professional recognition, the professional body may have a role in the assessment ov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-guide-for- employers://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-guide-for- employers

Align with profession recognition (where applicable) If the apprenticeship aligns with professional recognition, you must explain how this is achieved in the plan Does the apprenticeship automatically give them professional body status? If not what would they need to do? ://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeshi-guide-for-employers

Affordable You should consider how cost effectiveness in assessments will be delivered, while still meeting the quality objectives The EPA needs to be financially reasonable and not off-putting to employers It should not cost more than 20% of the overall cost of the apprenticeship You need to include the anticipated cost, expressed as a % of the funding band in the plan The actual cost is for employers to negotiate with assessment organisations //www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-guide-for- employers://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-guide-for- employers

Manageable and feasible The approach needs to be deliverable on the scale required for the number of predicted apprentices You need to include anticipated starts per year in the plan s://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-guide-for- employers://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-guide-for- employers

Internal quality assurance (IQA) IQA is carried out by an assessment organisation It involves an assessment organisation ensuring that it is undertaking individual assessments correctly and is assuring others that it is running, marking, standardising and reporting the outcome of the assessment properly You need to set out the specific type of internal quality assurance that each assessment organisation will need to undertake This must include the essential knowledge and skills that EPA assessors must have i.e. qualifications and experience Minimum levels of moderation and standardisation should also be included s://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-guide-for- employers://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-guide-for- employers

External quality assurance (EQA) EQA is undertaken by an external body and covers all of the assessment organisations delivering EPA against a particular apprenticeship standard It ensures consistency of approach to EPA, regardless of which assessment organisation has delivered it and where it is carried out Options: Employer-led Professional body Ofqual Institute for Apprenticeships (QAA) The approach you select needs to be stated in the plan and detail provided where necessary s://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-guide-for- employers://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-guide-for-employers

Integrated degree apprenticeships In an integrated degree, the EPA is part of the degree e.g. final module worth a set number of credits The University awarding the degree will be the assessment organisation and must be on the RoAAO The EPA must still deliver an impartial result e.g. the assessor must come from a third party organisation and must be independent of the on-programme delivery, the apprentice and their employer s://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-guide-for- employers://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-guide-for- employers

The EPA plan: must not include any recommended on-programme training or assessment must signpost to any other support documents you produce, which must be freely available must be organisation neutral (some exceptions), no logos should be in font size 12 is usually 15-20 pages s://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-guide-for- employers://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-guide-for- employers

Top tips: read the guidance involve your relationship manager use the IfA template be clear on your EPA approach before you start writing the plan look at a range of recently approved plans involve potential assessment organisations consult on the plan s://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-guide-for- employers://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-guide-for- employers

Launched 10th May 2017 haso.skillsforhealth.org.uk