Reflecting back to the sector – insight on education and training for our professions

Our key findings are:

• Quality assurance is central to the work of education providers

  There is a strong quality assurance mindset at education providers, and a focus on the quality of new and existing education programmes was prevalent in all of our assessment activities.

• Education providers actively seek to understand and respond to challenges

  The sector is outward facing, with their eyes open to current challenges and initiatives from within and outside of the sector, such as cost of living, industrial action, emerging technology, and an aging population.
  
  Challenges that directly or indirectly affect delivery of programmes were often well thought through, and flexibly considered in line with established standards and frameworks (such as our education standards).

• There are continued challenges with the financial sustainability of education providers and programmes

  These issues are not new within the sector. From our reviews, there were continued and at times acute issues with financial sustainability, which led some education providers to consider staffing models and other areas linked to resourcing.
  
  Despite this, education providers often noted investment in their provision, particularly in physical resources. Some education providers referenced that international students were a key part of their financial plans, with the higher fees that international students pay.

• Partnership working is integral to the delivery of high-quality programmes

  Strong partnerships are integral to the sustainability and quality of programmes. We found that good partnership working is underpinned by formal arrangements which clearly defined objectives, expectations, and responsibilities, which are supported by well-defined engagement frameworks.

• Education providers are enabling workforce expansion by developing new and existing programmes

  The pipeline of future professionals has grown. Education providers recognised the key role they play in suppling the UK workforce with highly skilled individuals who focus on the needs of service users, and have overcome challenges presented, often in innovative ways which align with our flexible standards.
  
  However, there are recruitment challenges to some professions, so increasing programme capacity alone is not the only solution to developing a sustainable workforce.

• There were increases in overall programme capacity for most professions, but capacity was not filled for all programmes

  We worked with education providers to identify the challenges which needed more thought and attention to increase capacity across professions and nations / regions.
  
  Challenges included growing practice-based learning opportunities, education provider resources, and growing the pool of academic staff. Through our assessments, we were confident that education providers had grown programme capacity in a reasonable way, considering broader sector and external constraints.
  
  Related to specific programmes not recruiting to intended numbers, workforce development is not just about ensuring capacity numbers increase, but it is also important to work upstream with potential future professionals, to ensure HCPC professions are seen as attractive career options.

• Education providers are responding to challenges with practice-based learning capacity

  We increasingly hear from sector stakeholders that practice-based learning capacity is being reached.
  
  Through our assessments, education providers were able to show us how they have secured capacity for additional learners, by driving forward innovations in practice-based learning, simulation in practice, and smart timetabling.
  
  Even considering innovations in practice-based learning, there is a finite pool of practice opportunities, which is a key challenge for the sector to consider moving forwards.

• Challenges with the number of academic staff available

  There are known issues with the number of academic staff available for programmes, which means that recruiting replacement or additional staff is sometimes difficult for education providers.
  
  Education providers recognised their own contributions to developing the pipeline of academic staff, but this is a system wide issue with solutions needed across the system.
  
  This area is currently being worked on by relevant organisations, such as NHSE.

• Education providers routinely use data to inform decision making

  All education providers use data in some way to inform their operations, whether that be applicant and learner data to inform widening participation and learner support, financial data to plan, and / or other data sources and uses.
  
  However, there were problems with feedback fatigue, which impacted internal education provider feedback mechanisms (such as module feedback), and external mechanisms (such as the National Education and Training Survey).

• More education providers are considering the use of artificial intelligence (AI) within education and training

  We saw good engagement and understanding of our advice about AI in education, with many education providers explicitly drawing out how they are managing increased access to artificial intelligence for learners, particularly how they uphold academic integrity, and support staff and learners in this area.

• Revisions to programmes triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic have become the ‘new normal’

  The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on education providers and learners, and responses to the pandemic were often used as a catalyst for positive and long-lasting change to approaches for education and practice-based learning.
  
  We saw good innovation in areas such as delivery of teaching, practice-learning environments, simulation, and learner support, which aligned with our standards.
  
  With post pandemic arrangements becoming the ‘new normal’ we now consider that the sector should move past relying on the impact of the pandemic in explaining past or current issues.

• There are different approaches and challenges for higher education institutions (HEIs) and non-HEI education providers

  We approve programmes at HEIs and many other types of organisations. Due to the commonalities and supporting structures present for HEIs, non-HEIs often needed to work harder to meet our standards and show continued good performance.

• Education providers have aligned with our revised standards of proficiency (SOPs)

  Our revised SOPs became effective in September 2023, and from this date, education providers needed to deliver the revised SOPs to all new learners. The revised SOPs set out what is needed for safe and effective professional practice.
  
  All education providers assessed demonstrated alignment with the revised SOPs, and showed us how they reviewed their programmes to do this. This was pleasing to see, as it provides a tangible outcome of our review exercise, linked to our public protection duties.

• Good forward planning by education providers is required to ensure intended programme start dates can be met

  We found that education providers who do not run existing HCPC-approved programmes, and / or particularly innovative or complex programmes, led to longer assessments against our standards.
  
  Education providers should be aware of this, and ensure they plan regulatory engagement in good time to meet our standards by their intended start date.