Future areas of focus

We have picked these areas out through this report as they are important areas that the sector are or will be considering, which will impact on programme design and delivery.

We are embedding these areas into our requirements of education providers, and will be able to consider how the sector has performed linked to these areas in future reports.

Workforce expansion

• NHS England has developed a Long-Term Workforce Plan, which includes a key aim to increase learner numbers for allied health professional training programmes across the term of the plan (to 2031). This includes expansion of apprenticeship routes.
• The Scottish Government has agreed a series of recommendations, defined by their ‘Allied Health Professions – education and workforce policy review’ working group. This includes introduction of ‘earn and learn’ routes.
• In Northern Ireland, there is an established Health and Social Care Workforce Strategy 2026, which is currently in the delivery phase. Within the strategy, there is recognition of the role that AHPs play in health and social care, and commitments to expand numbers in the AHP workforce
• Health Education Improvement Wales (HEIW) have delivered a Strategic Workforce Plan for Primary Care, which is due for launch in Spring 2024. This plan includes consideration of the AHP workforce, which will impact on education provision in Wales.
• For these initiatives, we expect challenges with:
  • Practice-based learning capacity, which will require education providers and practice partners to think innovatively about practice-based learning; and
  • Education provider resources needing to increase, including the number of academic staff – there is not a simple fix to this challenge, as it takes time and effort to ‘grow’ the academic workforce.
• Our standards should not be seen as a blocker to innovation – due to the outcome focused nature of the standards, innovative approaches can be developed which align to them.
• Our regulatory role needs to be properly considered by the sector, both with approving new programmes and expanding existing provision. We are clear that quality needs to remain high – ultimately, we play a gate keeper role, and will continue to ensure education providers and programmes meet our standards – we will not approve programmes / withdraw programme approval where our standards are not met.
• We will ensure the sector recognises and understands our regulatory role, by producing guidance and information linked to this area, and engaging with the sector to ensure this information is understood.
• We will be a good data and insight partner– we hold unique data about learners and registrants which can be used by the sector to understand the current picture, when developing provision in line with workforce expansion plans.

Final year of performance review assessments

• In the 2023-24 academic year, we will assess all remaining education providers against the requirements of our quality assurance model.
• This will enable us to have a full picture of education within the UK for the professions we regulate.
• It will also enable us and remaining education providers to understand next steps for engagement will be, which will help us and our stakeholders plan our work and interactions.

Implementation of our standards of conduct, performance and ethics

• We have revised our standards of conduct, performance and ethics and accompanying guidance on social media.
• These standards set out how we expect our registrants to behave and let the public know what to expect from their health and care professional.
• Education providers need to deliver the revised standards from September 2024.
• We will review education provider approaches to integrating the revised standards through performance review assessments from the 2024-25 academic year.

Review of our standards of education and training

• We have commenced planning for our review of the SETs, and will begin work to review these standards in the 2024-25 financial year.
• We will consider how the education sector has changed since the SETs were last reviewed, and will ensure these standards enable us to undertake our public protection remit with developments in the sector in this time.
• We will also ensure these standards are future-proofed so they are usable for quality assuring all education provision that might be proposed.