What you need to do
The HCPC’s standards of proficiency set out the technical requirements and competencies – the proficiencies – that all registrants are required to be able to demonstrate on entry to their profession. All approved education programmes must ensure graduates can meet these standards for their profession. The revised sets of standards of proficiency must be delivered to all new cohorts starting from 1 September 2023.
We have produced guidance and information to help you embed the revised standards into your programmes, and to engage with our regulatory requirements:
- Key information briefing – sets out what you need to do to embed the revised standards into your programmes
- Key changes document – sets out key changes across the standards
- e-learning module – information provided in an alternative format
- Web information – this including the revised standards themselves, and further profession specific documents setting out the changes
What to do if you have queries
You may have questions or queries as you begin to review your provision. In autumn 2021, your institution nominated a key quality assurance contact. We suggest that you work internally with them on any areas where you would like further support. This will help ensure consistency across your institution, which will in turn help you to embed the standards into your programmes and engage effectively with HCPC processes.
Your quality assurance contact may approach your named HCPC contact with any queries from your institution.
We would like to thank you for your support and engagement, both in the development of the revised atandards of proficiency and in ensuring new registrants can meet these standards. The delivery of HCPC standards to learners through your programmes is fundamental to ensuring highly-quality professional healthcare practice that keeps the public safe.
Frequently Asked Questions
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You need to deliver the revised standards of proficiency to new cohorts from September 2023. You do not need to deliver the revised standards to any learner who starts your programmes before that date.
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The revised SOPs become ‘effective’ from September 2023. This means that any individual entering the Register from this data will need to meet the revised SOPs.
Programmes must deliver revised SOPs to new cohorts from September 2023. This means learners starting programmes before September 2023 may not have been explicitly taught against the revised SOPs.
Upon entry to the Register, registrants need to be aware of the most recent version of the SOPs, and undertake CPD where required to develop their skills and knowledge.
This is the approach taken with existing registrants, and will also apply to new registrants – the existing version of the SOPs ensure that graduates of programmes are autonomous and able to develop their practice in line with professional and regulatory expectations, so we are confident new registrants have the ability to develop in the areas needed to meet the revised SOPs.
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You do not need to provided changes as they happen – we no longer run a ‘major change’ process.
Instead, we will ask you reflect on the changes through your next engagement with our performance review process.
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We will ask you reflect on the changes through your next engagement with our performance review process. We will ask for reflections on the key areas of change through this process.
We will not require provision of module descriptors or mapping documents to demonstrate granular changes at a programme level. We may explore your reflections through normal process interactions.
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The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfA) are reviewing all relevant versions of their standards for HCPC professions from October 2022.
Any development activity requested or required by the IfA will be communicated through their networks.
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No – prescribing programmes deliver the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Competency Framework for all Prescribers, which has not changed as part of this review. However, the RPS updated this framework, which came into effect from September 2022, so we will ask you for reflections on these changes through your next performance review.