Assistant Practitioner Apprenticeship

Teaching

The Assistant Practitioner Apprenticeship enables all apprentices to become autonomous learners. The course is designed to support apprentices of varying experiences, needs and background; to develop key/transferable skills and to disseminate good practice in learning and teaching. To achieve this we closely monitor the quality of your experience while training.

You are taught through a combination of:

• Health and care experience in your employing organisation.
• Tutor-led workshops, lectures, seminars, skills and simulations and guest lectures, primarily to introduce underpinning knowledge, theoretical argument, practical skills, central issues, key texts, and inter-professional fields of study.
• Participation in high level professional discussion, peer presentations and debate, to encourage you to actively engage with and critically challenge the field.
• Directed studies and problem-solving tasks provide opportunities to develop approaches that will deepen levels of understanding and professional judgement; development of practice-based competence and skills of critical reflection through guided individual mentoring during placements.
• One-to-one academic and personal tutorial support including access to our first class Firstpoint services.

In addition, there are regular opportunities throughout the year to meet with your personal tutor, where you will have the opportunity to talk about your academic progress, school experience, support with careers and applications.

Contact time

In a typical week you will spend a minimum of 20% of your time engaged in ‘off the job’ training.

Off the job learning* will occur across three terms with the summer term incorporating online resources and tutorials to enhance skills/competencies. Further, asynchronous learning materials will be provided to support independent study. Typically contact time during ‘off the job’ training will be structured around:

• Seminars
• Discussions
• Group work
• Lectures when appropriate e.g. visiting speakers
• Practical tasks
• Research tasks

Online contact hours will be structured around:

• Group tutorials based upon focussed activities.
• Assessment workshops
• Problem-based learning
• Skills development workshops

* Off the job training is training received by the apprentice, during the apprentice's normal working hours, for the purpose of achieving the knowledge, skills and behaviours of the approved apprenticeship

Independent self-study

In addition to the contact time and your off the job hours you are expected to undertake personal study time each week. Independent learning is supported by a range of excellent learning facilities, including the Hive and library resources, the virtual learning environment, and extensive electronic learning resources. Independent study is in addition to the off the job learning requirement. Typically, this will involve completing online activities, reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, undertaking research in the library and online, preparing coursework assignments and presentations, and preparing for tests.

Duration

Normal duration of the FdSc Assistant Practitioner Apprenticeship is 24 months. The apprenticeship’s End Point Assessment (EPA) will account for the final 40 credits of the course. Apprentices will complete an EPA during the final 3 months of the course as part of an EPA module at Level 5. The EPA occurs once Apprentices have progressed through the ‘Gateway’ which requires the employer’s confirmation that the apprentice is working at or above the occupational standards, and have met the knowledge, skills and behaviours set out in the apprenticeship standard. . If resits are required up to six months can be allocated to ensure readiness for the end-point assessment. However, any re-sits are subject to the apprentice employers agreement.

Timetables

Timetables are normally available one month before registration. Please note that whilst we try to be as student-friendly as possible, scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week; and some classes can be scheduled in the evenings. Any changes to the planned timetable would be in consultation with employers.

Teaching staff

You will be taught by a teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on the course. The team includes senior academics, professional practitioners, and work-based learning tutors all with industry experience. Allied Health Professional staff and practitioners will provide input across the 2-years as well as delivery of the pathway specific modules.

Teaching is informed by research and consultancy, and (as at August 2023) 83% per cent of lecturers have a higher education teaching qualification or are Fellows of the Higher Education Academy. You can learn more about the staff by visiting our staff profiles.

Assessment

The course provides opportunities to test understanding and learning informally through the completion of practice or ‘formative’ assignments, tasks completed during lectures and enhancement activities.

Each module has one or more formal or ‘summative’ assessments which are graded and count towards the overall module grade. Assessment methods include written essays and reports, group and individual presentations, open book examinations, assessed skills simulations, case study analysis, placement portfolio, assessment of direct practice while in work.

Gateway and End point assessment: Prior to starting the 40 credit End Point Assessment module, apprentices will be required to progress through the Gateway. The End Point Assessment is triggered by the employer when the Gateway requirements have been met, and after determining the readiness of the apprentice.

End Point Assessment includes the following components:

• Live observation of practice undertaken in the workplace with questions and answers.
• Professional discussion underpinned by a portfolio of evidence.

Full details of Gateway and End Point Assessment requirements can be found here Assistant Practitioner Apprenticeship end point assessment plan