Accreditation through partnership handbook Guidance for clinical psychology programmes

Transcription

1 The British Psychological Society Promoting excellence in psychology Accreditation through partnership handbook Guidance for clinical psychology programmes September

2 If you have any questions about accreditation through partnership, or the process that applies to you please feel free to contact the Partnership and Accreditation Team: Tel: +44 (0) Our address is: Partnership and Accreditation Team The British Psychological Society St Andrews House 48 Princess Road East Leicester LE1 7DR If you have problems reading this handbook and would like it in a different format, please contact us with your specific requirements. Tel: +44 (0) ; [email protected]. Printed and published by the British Psychological Society. The British Psychological Society 2012 Incorporated by Royal Charter Registered Charity No

3 Contents 5 Introduction 5 Benefits of Society membership 7 Background and principles 11 Our standards 12 Our standards for Doctoral programmes in Clinical Psychology 13 Preface: Relevant policy statements 14 Programme standard 1: Learning, research and practice 31 Programme standard 2: Working ethically 32 Programme standard 3: Selection and entry 34 Programme standard 4: Society membership 35 Programme standard 5: Personal and professional development 37 Programme standard 6: Staffing 39 Programme standard 7: Leadership and co-ordination 40 Programme standard 8: Physical resources 41 Programme standard 9: Quality management 45 Our processes 46 a. New programmes 49 b. Existing programmes 49 Planning for a partnership visit 50 The partnership visit process and some planning tips 52 Evidence: A guide 53 The visit timetable 54 Outcomes 55 Our reviewers 56 a. The approach 58 b. The team 58 c. The practicalities 59 d. Conflicts of interest 59 e. Getting involved 61 Our stakeholders 62 a. Education providers 63 b. Students and trainees 63 c. Employers 64 d. Service users 64 e. Visiting team members 65 f. The Society accreditation through partnership 3

4 67 Additional information 68 a. Information for students and trainees 68 Education and training pathways 70 b. Information for education providers 70 Advertising and promotion 70 Approval of continuing professional development programmes 70 Validation 72 Accreditation of programmes offered internationally 72 Deferral or cancellation of visits 73 Governance 74 Responding to our reports 75 Changes to accredited programmes 76 Withdrawal of accreditation 76 Appealing against an accreditation decision 76 Feedback 76 Complaints about an accredited programme 76 The cost of accreditation through partnership This handbook supersedes the following publications: Accreditation through partnership handbook: Guidance for clinical psychology programmes (September 2010). Quality Assurance Policies and Practices for Postgraduate Training (October 2008). Committee for Training in Clinical Psychology: Criteria for the accreditation of programmes in clinical psychology (October 2008). Committee for Training in Clinical Psychology: Information pack for colleagues participating in an accreditation visit (October 2008). 4

5 Introduction The British Psychological Society ( the Society ) is the learned and professional body, incorporated by Royal Charter, for psychologists in the United Kingdom. The Society has a total membership of approximately 48,000 and is a registered charity. Under its Royal Charter, the key objective of the Society is to promote the advancement and diffusion of the knowledge of psychology pure and applied and especially to promote the efficiency and usefulness of members by setting up a high standard of professional education and knowledge. The Society has been involved in the accreditation of programmes of education and training in psychology since the early 1970s. The Society currently accredits programmes at both undergraduate (and equivalent) and postgraduate levels. Undergraduate and conversion programmes are accredited against the requirements for the Society s Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC), the curriculum requirements for which are derived from the Quality Assurance Agency s subject benchmark statement for psychology. Postgraduate programmes are accredited against the knowledge, practice and research requirements for Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol) status in a range of domains of practice. A number of the postgraduate programmes that are accredited by the Society are also approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), the statutory regulator of practitioner psychologists in the UK. This handbook has been created to provide information and guidance for education providers seeking accreditation for programmes of education and training in psychology from The British Psychological Society. It contains information on our standards and also details the accreditation through partnership process, both for programmes seeking accreditation for the first time, and for more established programmes preparing for a partnership visit. We are keen to ensure that programmes are able to promote the benefits of Society membership to their students and trainees, and a summary of these is provided overleaf. Accreditation through partnership is our model of accrediting programmes which maintains and promotes standards whilst encouraging collaboration between the Society, the education provider, and other interested parties. It is an opportunity for all those involved to ensure a high standard of psychology education and training by building on positive and constructive relationships, and by engaging in ongoing, solution-focused support and development. Benefits of Society membership Our standards include an expectation that education providers offering accredited programmes provide their students and trainees with information on Society membership and its benefits. In view of our partnership approach, we are working hard to provide a toolkit for education providers and as part of this we encourage you to reproduce the following page within your Student Handbooks. accreditation through partnership 5

6 The British Psychological Society: Your professional body The British Psychological Society is the representative body for psychology and psychologists in the United Kingdom. We promote excellence and ethical practice in the science, education and practical applications of psychology. As a postgraduate student on an accredited programme, Graduate membership of The British Psychological Society will broaden your appreciation and understanding of psychology, and open up a network of like-minded students, academics and professionals, not to mention future opportunities. Membership of the Society also reflects your aspiration to represent the highest possible professional standards. Completing an accredited programme gives you a route for progressing to Chartered Psychologist status, the gold standard within the discipline. Only Chartered members of the Society can use the designation CPsychol after their name and the Chartered Psychologist logo. Our membership has a powerful voice in raising the profile of psychology, developing standards and advancing the discipline. We champion the work of our members and the contribution psychology can make to society. We support our members by providing guidance, career development and networking opportunities. Our members matter to us and Graduate members have a competitive advantage in the jobs market with: MBPsS, your designation as a Graduate Member in recognition of your academic achievement and professional status our monthly flagship publication, The Psychologist, keeping you up-to-date with the very latest research, news and views our Member Networks: Providing a rich web of personal and professional contacts that enable you to stay informed with your areas of interest invaluable rates on professional development opportunities, conferences and events, designed to inspire and guide you throughout your studies and career PsychSource, a single access point to our 11 journals and 32 other titles published by Wiley-Blackwell. This facility also includes full-text journal articles, journal abstracts, BPS Blackwell books and multimedia content. PsychSource is fully searchable and personalisable according to Member interests A wide range of guidelines, guidance documents and support in professional practice and ethical decision-making Opportunities to join specialist registers and promote your competence and expertise. To find out more and hear what benefits of belonging to the Society our members enjoy most, watch our videos on Our membership team is available at [email protected] or +44 (0) Download a one-page flyer from our website 6

7 Background and principles accreditation through partnership 7

8 Background and principles Accreditation through partnership is the process by which The British Psychological Society works with education providers to ensure that quality standards in psychology education and training are met by all programmes on an ongoing basis. It aims to facilitate quality enhancement and to promote a constructive dialogue that allows space for both exploration and development. It focuses on working collaboratively with education providers and their stakeholders, and includes an interactive approach to planning visit agendas. This will lead to a better quality of dialogue with programmes and Departments about the nature of the relationship they wish to have with the Society. It is an approach based on partnership rather than on policing, and with this in mind we work hard to reduce the administrative burden associated with the process, through a greater emphasis on streamlining, and by relying explicitly upon existing documentation and education providers established internal monitoring processes. The process also avoids duplication with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and other internal or external agencies by offering education providers the opportunity to hold concurrent events. Accreditation through partnership is an approach that focuses on promoting psychology as a science, and on the development of transferable skills to enhance graduate employability. It promotes a spirit of supportive enquiry, rather than prescribing a particular approach to student development or programme delivery. Why should I bother with BPS accreditation? It s a fair question! There are lots of reasons why we think Society accreditation of your programme(s) is worth your investment of time and money: it is a valuable marker of quality that prospective students and employers understand and value; it enhances the marketability of your programme(s) in a competitive market place, enabling you to use the Society s logo and include comments made by our reviewers in your marketing materials; it gives your graduates a route to Society membership. Belonging to the Society is an integral part of being a psychologist. It recognises graduates qualifications and reflects their aspiration to represent the highest possible professional standards; it is a high-quality benchmarking process that is defined by psychologists, and delivered in partnership with psychologists; it is aimed at getting the best out of programmes, through promoting psychology as a science, facilitating quality enhancement and providing solution-focused support; and it provides a direct opportunity for you to influence the Society, its support for education providers and students, and its policies for the future. Together we have a powerful voice in raising the profile of psychology, developing standards and advancing the discipline 8

9 Promoting Psychology as a Science The Society believes that teaching and research are symbiotic, and recognises the value of both activities for the other. Teaching is research led; and excellent research depends upon high quality teaching. In disciplines such as psychology, development of research skills is a fundamental part of learning, and a pre-requisite for professional training. In all accredited programmes, each student or trainee will undertake an individually supervised research project that takes up many contact hours with a member of staff with established research skills and training who is responsible for that student, and for their progress and development as a researcher. More generally, the rigorous scientific training provided by psychology degrees enables graduates to become skilled in evaluating evidence and in making evidence-based decisions in a range of areas of their everyday lives. Students and trainees on accredited programmes are also supported in developing a coherent set of knowledge, skills and values that underpin their psychological literacy and which enable them to apply psychology to real life contexts. Those scientific, critical thinking and ethical skills encapsulate the contributions a psychology graduate can make to the workplace and to society more generally. accreditation through partnership 9

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11 Our standards accreditation through partnership 11

12 Our standards for Doctoral programmes in Clinical Psychology Our standards are organised around nine overarching areas, and have been derived following extensive consultation between the Society and education providers; these comprise our programme standards, and must be achieved by all accredited programmes. Each overarching standard is followed by a rationale for its inclusion, together with an outline of the factors that education providers might wish to consider in confirming their achievement of each standard. The information provided is not intended to prescribe a particular approach to meeting our standards; rather it is intended to reflect the likely areas of interest for visiting teams or reviewers when exploring achievement of the standards with education providers, students/trainees, employers, and other stakeholders. During partnership visits, the questions that visiting teams will ask will be designed specifically to give education providers every opportunity to confirm their achievement of the standards. Some of our nine overarching standards are complemented by a series of further standards that are of specific relevance to Doctoral programmes in Clinical Psychology. These represent the benchmark level of quality that the Society expects all accredited programmes of this kind to attain. Overall, our standards are designed to support education providers offering programmes of training leading to eligibility for Chartered Membership of the Society (CPsychol) and full membership of the Division of Clinical Psychology. Such programmes will seek to prepare trainees for professional practice as a Clinical Psychologist. Practitioner psychologists are statutorily regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), and it is a legal requirement that anyone who wishes to practise using a title protected by the Health Professions Order 2001 (e.g. Clinical Psychologist) is on the HCPC s Register. As such, programmes will need to seek approval from the Health and Care Professions Council. The information contained within this handbook is also intended to inform that process. Our standards framework is organised as follows: Psychology 1. Learning, research and practice 2. Working ethically Quality management 9. Periodic review Access to education & training 3. Selection and entry 4. Society membership Resourcing psychology 6. Staffing 7. Leadership and co-ordination 8. Physical resources Developing psychologists 5. Personal and professional development 12

13 Preface: Relevant policy statements The statements in this handbook form a policy statement by the Society on what programmes should achieve and, by inference, the minimum requirements for those who seek Chartered Membership of the Society and full membership of the Division of Clinical Psychology. Programmes should also note the following: 1. The aim of this handbook is to specify the minimum standards that programmes should achieve. It is not the Society s intention to reduce the diversity between programmes or impair their flexibility to respond to local and changing circumstances. 2. In reading this handbook, it is essential to recognise that although the various aspects of working as a competent clinical psychologist are described separately, it is the combination and integration of these components that are particularly important. This is true for both the required outcomes of training and for the process of training. 3. In meeting the requirements of a professional training in clinical psychology, programmes should be sufficiently flexible in content and structure to adapt readily to current and future needs and to the emergence of new knowledge in clinical psychology and related fields. They should also play a major part in the identification of such needs and the development of innovative practices. Programmes should refer to the minimum standards which are identified and revised from time to time by the Division of Clinical Psychology s Faculties and Special Interest Groups (SIGs) for guidance in relation to the expected capabilities which a trainee should gain to fit them for work with specific populations and groups. 4. Education providers may offer two or more programmes in the same branch of applied psychology, and these will be considered as separate programmes. accreditation through partnership 13

14 Programme standard 1: Learning, research and practice The programme must reflect contemporary learning, research and practice in psychology. The programme must be able to document its intended learning outcomes, the ways in which these reflect the relevant domain-specific requirements, the learning and teaching strategies that will be used to support students achievement of the learning outcomes, and the assessment strategies that will enable students to demonstrate those achievements. Students successful fulfilment of the programme s requirements must be marked by the conferment of a named HE award at the appropriate level. Education providers will normally demonstrate their achievement of this standard through production of a programme specification. Whilst programme specifications are a standard feature of quality monitoring for education providers, inclusion of this standard here offers an opportunity for the Society to identify innovative and creative practice in relation to teaching, learning and assessment. A Required competencies for Doctoral programmes in Clinical Psychology The HCPC s Standard of Education and Training (SET) 1 specifies the threshold level of qualification for entry to their Register as: Professional doctorate for clinical psychologists. Doctoral programmes that are able to demonstrate that their graduates achieve the relevant Standards of Proficiency can demonstrate their fulfilment of SET1. 1. WHAT DO CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGISTS DO? Clinical psychologists aim to reduce psychological distress and to enhance and promote psychological well-being by the systematic application of knowledge derived from psychological theory and research. Clinical psychology services aim to enable service users to have the necessary skills and abilities to cope with their emotional needs and daily lives in order to maximise psychological and physical well-being; to develop and use their capacity to make informed choices in order to enhance and maximise independence and autonomy; to have a sense of selfunderstanding, self-respect and self-worth; to be able to enjoy good social and personal relationships; and to access commonly valued social and environmental facilities. Clinical psychology services aim to enable other service providers to develop psychologicallyinformed ways of thinking; to use psychological knowledge to enhance and develop their professional practice to the benefit of their clients; to be able to enhance their sense of selfunderstanding, self-respect and self-worth; and to use psychological data to aid decision-making at a clinical, organisational and societal level. 14

15 Clinical psychologists also work with staff from other professional groups, including psychological therapists, to develop, monitor and improve practice, basing this on a breadth and depth of understanding of relevant psychological theory, and on the psychologist s evaluative and reflective competencies. Clinical psychologists as scientist practitioners Clinical psychologists are more than psychological therapists. While many do practise psychotherapy at a high level, this is not a skill distinct to clinical psychologists, nor should it be. The background and training of clinical psychologists is rooted in the science of psychology, and clinical psychology is one of the applications of psychological science to help address human problems. The ability to design and carry out innovative applied research is a skill developed to doctoral level in training and is important for the development and delivery of evidence-based practice. In addition, one element of research competence is critical evaluation of research activity. While there are data that support many clinical activities, there are still major gaps in the knowledge base. One of the contributions made by clinical psychologists is the development and testing of new interventions and activities, based on psychological theory. Thus practice feeds and draws on research and theory that in turn influences practice. Clinical psychologists as reflective practitioners Clinical psychologists are cognisant of the importance of self-awareness and the need to appraise and reflect on their own practice. They are also aware of the importance of diversity, the social and cultural context of their work, working within an ethical framework, and the need for continuing professional and personal development. Use of clinical psychology services Clinical psychologists work with individuals, couples, families, groups (therapeutic, staff, informal carers) and at the organisational and community level. They work in a variety of settings, including hospital wards, day centres, Community Mental Health Teams, NHS Trusts, primary and social care contexts and forensic settings, and with all age groups from very young children to older people. They work with people with mild, moderate and severe mental health problems, developmental and learning disabilities, physical and sensory disability, and brain injury; people who have substance misuse problems and people with a range of physical health problems (including HIV and AIDS, cancer, heart disease, pain, diabetes). Required capabilities and competencies This section of the handbook has explained what clinical psychologists do, or in other words, the capabilities they demonstrate by using and applying their competencies and knowledge base. The statements on page 16 set out the skills, knowledge and values trainee clinical psychologists need to develop during the course of their training, and, on page 16, the learning outcomes that training programmes will need to have in order to enable trainees to achieve these goals. The competencies that clinical psychologists need in order to be able to work in the ways described are outlined in further detail on page 17. Page 21 provides additional information on the knowledge base clinical psychologists draw on in their practice. accreditation through partnership 15

16 2. REQUIRED LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR ACCREDITED DOCTORATES IN CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY 2.1 Programmes must enable trainees to work as clinical psychologists with the range of clients and services specified below in a range of settings, especially those seen as having high priority within the National Health Service. Newly qualified clinical psychologists should understand and embrace the core purpose and philosophy of the profession as described in the document prepared by the Division of Clinical Psychology (DCP). They should be committed to reducing psychological distress and enhancing and promoting psychological well-being through the systematic application of knowledge derived from psychological theory and evidence. Their work will be based on the fundamental acknowledgement that all people have the same human value and the right to be treated as unique individuals. Programmes that meet these criteria will be considered to appropriately reflect current NHS policies such as The Ten Essential Shared Capabilities. Thus by the end of their programme, trainees will have: 1. The skills, knowledge and values to develop working alliances with clients, including individuals, carers and/or services, in order to carry out psychological assessment, develop a formulation based on psychological theories and knowledge, carry out psychological interventions, evaluate their work and communicate effectively with clients, referrers and others, orally, electronically and in writing; 2. The skills, knowledge and values to work effectively with clients from a diverse range of backgrounds, understanding and respecting the impact of difference and diversity upon their lives; 3. The skills, knowledge and values to work effectively with systems relevant to clients, including for example statutory and voluntary services, self-help and advocacy groups, user-led systems and other elements of the wider community; 4. The skills, knowledge and values to work in a range of indirect ways to improve psychological aspects of health and healthcare; 5. The skills, knowledge and values to conduct research that enables the profession to develop its knowledge base and to monitor and improve the effectiveness of its work; and 6. High level skills in managing a personal learning agenda and self-care, and in critical reflection and self-awareness that enable transfer of knowledge and skills to new settings and problems. 2.2 In order to achieve these goals programmes will have the following learning outcomes: 1. Knowledge and understanding of psychological theory and evidence, encompassing specialist client group knowledge across the profession of clinical psychology and the knowledge required to underpin clinical and research practice. 16

17 2. A professional and ethical value base, including that set out in the BPS Code of Ethics and Conduct, the DCP statement of the Core Purpose and Philosophy of the profession and the DCP Professional Practice Guidelines. 3. Clinical and research skills that demonstrate work with clients and systems based on a scientist-practitioner and reflective-practitioner model that incorporates a cycle of assessment, formulation, intervention and evaluation. 4. Professional competence relating to personal and professional development and awareness of the clinical, professional and social context within which the work is undertaken. 2.3 The following statements are intended as broad, high-level summaries of the required objectives that demonstrate competence Transferable skills 1. Deciding, using a broad evidence and knowledge base, how to assess, formulate and intervene psychologically, from a range of possible models and modes of intervention with clients, carers and service systems. 2. Generalising and synthesising prior knowledge and experience in order to apply them critically and creatively in different settings and novel situations. 3. Demonstrating self-awareness and sensitivity, and working as a reflective practitioner. 4. Ability to think critically, reflectively and evaluatively. 5. Making informed judgements on complex issues in specialist fields, often in the absence of complete information. 6. Ability to communicate psychologically-informed ideas and conclusions clearly and effectively to specialist and non-specialist audiences, in order to facilitate problem solving and decision making. 7. Exercising personal responsibility and largely autonomous initiative in complex and unpredictable situations in professional practice. 8. Drawing on psychological knowledge of complex developmental, social and neuropsychological processes across the lifespan to facilitate adaptability and change in individuals, groups, families, organisations and communities. 9. Ability to work effectively whilst holding in mind alternative, competing explanations Psychological assessment 1. Developing and maintaining effective working alliances with clients, including individuals, carers and services. 2. Ability to choose, use and interpret a broad range of assessment methods appropriate: accreditation through partnership 17

18 to the client and service delivery system in which the assessment takes place; and to the type of intervention which is likely to be required. 3. Assessment procedures in which competence is demonstrated will include: formal procedures (use of standardised psychometric instruments) systematic interviewing procedures other structured methods of assessment (e.g. observation, or gathering information from others); and assessment of social context and organisations. 4. Conducting appropriate risk assessment and using this to guide practice Psychological formulation 1. Developing formulations of presenting problems or situations which integrate information from assessments within a coherent framework that draws upon psychological theory and evidence and which incorporates interpersonal, societal, cultural and biological factors. 2. Using formulations with clients to facilitate their understanding of their experience. 3. Using formulations to plan appropriate interventions that take the client s perspective into account. 4. Using formulations to assist multi-professional communication, and the understanding of clients and their care. 5. Revising formulations in the light of ongoing intervention and when necessary reformulating the problem Psychological intervention 1. On the basis of a formulation, implementing psychological therapy or other interventions appropriate to the presenting problem and to the psychological and social circumstances of the client(s), and to do this in a collaborative manner with: individuals couples, families or groups services/organisations 2. Understanding therapeutic techniques and processes as applied when working with a range of different individuals in distress, including those who experience difficulties related to: anxiety, mood, adjustment to adverse circumstances or life events, eating, psychosis and use of substances, and those with somatoform, psychosexual, developmental, personality, cognitive and neurological presentations. 18

19 3. Ability to implement therapeutic interventions based on knowledge and practice in at least two evidence-based models of formal psychological therapy, of which one must be cognitive-behaviour therapy. 4. Having an awareness of the impact of psychopharmacological and other clinical interventions. 5. Understanding social approaches to intervention; for example, those informed by community, critical, and social constructionist perspectives. 6. Implementing interventions and care plans through and with other professions and/or with individuals who are formal (professional) carers for a client, or who care for a client by virtue of family or partnership arrangements. 7. Recognising when (further) intervention is inappropriate, or unlikely to be helpful, and communicating this sensitively to clients and carers Evaluation 1. Selecting and implementing appropriate methods to evaluate the effectiveness, acceptability and broader impact of interventions (both individual and organisational), and using this information to inform and shape practice. Where appropriate this will also involve devising innovative procedures. 2. Auditing clinical effectiveness Research 1. Identifying, reviewing and critically appraising a substantial body of research evidence which is at the forefront of clinical psychology practice. 2. Understanding applicable techniques for clinical research and advanced academic enquiry, including quantitative and qualitative approaches. 3. Conducting service evaluation and small N research. 4. Conducting collaborative research. 5. Conceptualising, designing and conducting independent, original research of a quality to satisfy peer review, extend the forefront of the discipline, and merit publication: including identifying research questions, demonstrating an understanding of ethical issues, choosing appropriate research methods and analysis, reporting outcomes and identifying appropriate pathways for dissemination. 6. Understanding the need and value of undertaking clinical research and development post-qualification, contributing substantially to the development of theory and practice in clinical psychology. accreditation through partnership 19

20 2.3.7 Personal and professional skills and values 1. Understanding of ethical issues and applying these in complex clinical contexts, ensuring that informed consent underpins all contact with clients and research participants. 2. Appreciating the inherent power imbalance between practitioners and clients and how abuse of this can be minimised. 3. Understanding the impact of differences, diversity and social inequalities on people s lives, and their implications for working practices. 4. Understanding the impact of one s own value base upon clinical practice. 5. Working effectively at an appropriate level of autonomy, with awareness of the limits of own competence, and accepting accountability to relevant professional and service managers. 6. Managing own personal learning needs and developing strategies for meeting these. 7. Using supervision to reflect on practice, and making appropriate use of feedback received. 8. Developing strategies to handle the emotional and physical impact of own practice and seeking appropriate support when necessary, with good awareness of boundary issues. 9. Working collaboratively and constructively with fellow psychologists and other colleagues and users of services, respecting diverse viewpoints. 10. Monitoring and maintaining the health, safety, and security of self and others Communication and teaching 1. Communicating effectively clinical and non-clinical information from a psychological perspective in a style appropriate to a variety of different audiences (for example, to professional colleagues, and to users and their carers). 2. Adapting style of communication to people with a wide range of levels of cognitive ability, sensory acuity and modes of communication. 3. Preparing and delivering teaching and training which takes into account the needs and goals of the participants (for example, by appropriate adaptations to methods and content). 4. Understanding of the supervision process for both supervisee and supervisor roles. 5. Understanding the process of providing expert psychological opinion and advice, including the preparation and presentation of evidence in formal settings. 6. Understanding the process of communicating effectively through interpreters and having an awareness of the limitations thereof. 7. Supporting others learning in the application of psychological skills, knowledge, practices and procedures. 20

21 2.3.9 Service delivery 1. Adapting practice to a range of organisational contexts, on the basis of an understanding of pertinent organisational and cultural issues. 2. Providing supervision at an appropriate level within own sphere of competence. 3. Understanding of consultancy models and the contribution of consultancy to practice. 4. Understanding of leadership theories and models, and their application to service development and delivery. 5. Awareness of the legislative and national planning context of service delivery and clinical practice. 6. Working effectively with formal service systems and procedures. 7. Working with users and carers to facilitate their involvement in service planning and delivery. 8. Working effectively in multi-disciplinary teams. 9. Understanding of change processes in service delivery systems. 10. Understanding quality assurance principles and processes. 3. THE STRUCTURE OF TRAINING 3.1 It is essential that programmes provide a holistic experience of training that enables trainees to develop an integrated set of learning outcomes. 3.2 Programmes must provide a balanced and developmental set of academic, research and clinical experiences throughout training. The academic component needs to provide an integrated curriculum supporting the clinical and research training. The research training needs to be carefully planned and have sufficient time devoted to it to enable trainees to conduct research at a postgraduate level and to be in a position to contribute to the knowledge base of the profession. The clinical experience component of training needs to be delivered within the following framework. 3.3 The parameters described below aim to provide the framework for pathways through training, delineating client populations, clinical contexts and learning outcomes which contribute to a generic training in clinical psychology. It is important to recognise that the scope of clinical psychology is so great that initial training provides a foundation for the range of skills and knowledge demonstrated by the profession. Further skills and knowledge will need to be acquired through continuing professional development appropriate to the specific employment pathways taken by newly qualified psychologists. 3.4 Clinical experience will be gained in service delivery systems that offer a coherent clinical context. This will usually be a setting oriented towards a population defined by age (e.g. child, adult, older people), by special needs (e.g. learning disabilities, serious mental health problems, health-related problems, substance abuse), or by a service delivery focus (e.g. psychological therapy). In addition, clinical experience will be gained in a range of service contexts (primary, secondary and tertiary care, in-patient, out-patient, community), with service delivery models ranging from independently organised work through to integrated inter-professional working. accreditation through partnership 21

22 3.5 Programmes will be expected to structure the training patterns of their cohorts so that they reflect workforce-planning requirements within the NHS. These requirements will be shaped in part by National Service Frameworks and national policies, as well as by evidence of recruitment problems (for example, vacant posts) paying particular attention to specialities which have recruitment difficulties. National standards as set out by the Division of Clinical Psychology s Faculties and Special Interest Groups must also guide training patterns for each cohort of trainees (see for a list of current documents). Not all trainees will necessarily follow the same pathway through training. Programmes therefore need to ensure, in consultation with local Faculties and SIGs and local placement providers, that across the trainee cohort there is optimum, effective and efficient use of all available placements. 3.6 Clients, services and modes of work: The learning outcomes described above need to be demonstrated with a range of clients and across a range of settings. These are not defined prescriptively, and there are multiple pathways through which the required goals may be achieved. The range of clients and settings is outlined below, together with an outline of the knowledge base that trainees need to develop to support their practice Clients A fundamental principle is that trainees must work with clients across the lifespan, such that they see a range of clients whose difficulties are representative of problems across all stages of development. In this context, trainees must demonstrate competence to be able to work clinically with: a wide breadth of presentations from acute to enduring and from mild to severe; problems ranging from those with mainly biological and/or neuropsychological causation to those emanating mainly from psychosocial factors; problems of coping, adaptation and resilience to adverse circumstances and life events, including bereavement and other chronic, physical and mental health conditions; and clients from a range of backgrounds reflecting the demographic characteristics of the population. Trainees will need to understand the impact of difference and diversity on people s lives (including sexuality, disability, ethnicity, culture, faith, cohort differences of age, socio-economic status), and their implications for working practices. It is also essential that trainees work with: clients with significant levels of challenging behaviour; clients across a range of levels of intellectual functioning over a range of ages, specifically to include experience with clients with developmental learning disabilities and acquired cognitive impairment; clients whose disability makes it difficult for them to communicate; and carers and families. 22

23 Service delivery systems Trainees must undertake substantial pieces of clinical work over a substantial period of time in each of a range of settings, including: in-patient or other residential facilities for individuals with high dependency needs, both acute and long term; secondary health care; and community or primary care Modes and type of work direct work; indirect, through staff and/or carers; work within multi-disciplinary teams and specialist service systems, including some observation or other experience of change and planning in service systems; work (practice, teach, advise) in at least two evidence-based models of formal psychological therapy, of which one must be cognitive-behaviour therapy. work with complexity across a range of perspectives, demonstrating flexibility in application of whichever approach is most appropriate for the client or system; and be critical of their own approach, and aware of how to practice in the absence of reliable evidence, as well as being able to contribute from their work to the evidence base The UK health care context and the application of clinical psychology Trainees work will need to be informed by a substantial appreciation of the legislative and organisational contexts within which clinical practice is undertaken, including for example: legislation relevant to England and the devolved nations (e.g. Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act, Children Act, Disability Discrimination Act, Health and Social Care Act, Data Protection Act, employment legislation, etc.); Government policy statements (e.g. National Service Frameworks, Ten Essential Shared Capabilities, Knowledge and Skills Framework, etc.); and organisation of the NHS and social care in England and the devolved nations. 3.7 Of the total programme time (exclusive of annual leave), at least fifty per cent must be allocated to supervised clinical experience. In addition, at least ten per cent must be available to trainees for self-directed study throughout the programme. Of the remaining time there must be an appropriate balance between research activity, and learning and teaching. accreditation through partnership 23

24 B Teaching and learning This part of our standards relates to Section 4 of the HCPC s Standards of Education and Training, which focuses on the ways in which those completing a programme develop the required professional skills and knowledge, and are fit to practise. In addition to HCPC s requirements, accredited programmes must meet the standards outlined below: Programme specification 1. Programmes must have a clear programme specification that provides a concise description of the intended learning outcomes of the programme, and which helps trainees to understand the teaching and learning methods that enable the learning outcomes to be achieved, and the assessment methods that enable achievement to be demonstrated. The programme specification must include the competencies outlined in this document. 2. Programmes must have a statement of orientation and values that underlie the programme specification. 3. The programme specification should be widely discussed and accepted by the major stakeholders in the programme. This will probably be achieved through the various committees and management structures that have been set up to plan, organise and monitor the programme. The content and organisation of the programme must reflect the orientations and values and the programme specification, which will need to be reviewed regularly. 4. Each programme must be able to highlight its own particular strengths in order to communicate these to both prospective candidates and the profession as a whole. These strengths might be related to (a) teaching and practice with a particular client group or in a particular clinical setting, (b) teaching and implementation of a particular conceptual model, (c) a discrete area of clinical research or perhaps (d) general all round strength. 5. Each programme must be able to identify its own limitations and to indicate how it hopes to rectify these. This might include any limitations in providing learning and placement experiences with particular client groups or in particular clinical or service settings, and should indicate the likely impact of this for prospective trainees, commissioners and employers. Teaching and learning 6. Programmes must have an academic syllabus and a coherent plan for organising and presenting the material to be covered. The academic syllabus and plan will reflect the programme specification (see above) and will be designed to help trainees achieve the learning outcomes set out in page 16 above. The development of the syllabus should be informed by consultation with DCP Faculties and Special Interest Groups. The plan for delivering the academic syllabus must ensure that trainees receive adequate preparation for their clinical placements and that there are adequate links between the taught material and contemporaneous placements. This will mean that the plan takes account of the likelihood that trainees in the same cohort will be working in different clinical specialties at any one time. 24

25 7. While it is appropriate that programmes should differ in their emphases and orientations, they must all ensure that sufficient opportunities for learning and teaching are provided to underpin trainees work with the expected range of clients and settings. This must include coverage of basic psychological models, models of psychological difficulty and wellbeing, and therapeutic process, for the client groups and settings described. 8. Programmes must provide substantial learning opportunities that use a range of educational methods, adapting the style of these to the stage a trainee has reached. In general, methods should be used which require substantial trainee participation. 9. The majority of the learning opportunities should be provided by clinically qualified psychologists, though some teaching by other psychologists and other professions, and service users and carers is to be encouraged. 10. Programmes must have a satisfactory introductory programme that addresses practical issues and is geared to familiarising the trainee with skills in assessment methods, including interviewing, observational techniques and psychometric assessment. 11. Programmes must provide an adequate theoretical coverage (knowledge and theory) of the needs and problems of the full range of client groups relevant to clinical psychology. 12. Programmes must provide substantial teaching on the theory and practice of psychological assessment methods, including the interpretation of findings and the formulation of clinical problems. There must be explicit consideration of the relationship between assessment, formulation, intervention and evaluation. 13. Programmes must provide a substantial coverage of psychological therapies and this must include more than one orientation and approach. Content should include the philosophical and theoretical bases of therapies, their practical application to various client groups, and their current empirical status. 14. Programmes must provide opportunities for learning about professional and organisational issues. This should include the organisation of the Health Service and the profession, and the work of related professions and agencies. The Society s Code of Ethics and Conduct and ethical issues in clinical work should be covered, as well as the impact of major legislative frameworks, statutory regulation, and other significant developments affecting the profession. 15. Programmes must ensure that issues concerning the influences of society, and cultural and other areas of diversity are integrated throughout the academic programme, demonstrating the relevance to clinical practice. 16. Programmes should be responsive to new developments and areas of concern within the profession and aim to incorporate learning opportunities in such areas within the programme as and when appropriate. Research 17. Programmes must have an explicit and written statement of aims and objectives for a programme of research training throughout the programme. This should be developed in discussion with supervisors and should include the aim of encouraging clinical research during placements. Where appropriate, collaborative research should be encouraged. accreditation through partnership 25

26 18. Programmes must provide sound teaching and training in research methodology. This will include: (a) formal teaching of research design and methods including small N designs and those methods, both quantitative and qualitative, that are most useful in the conduct of applicable clinical research including service evaluation; (b) ethical issues in research; (c) statistical analysis including both exploratory and hypothesis testing methods; (d) critical appraisal of published research; and (e) supervised research work involving not only a major project but also some smaller scale evaluation. 19. Trainees must complete at least one formally assessed small-scale project involving the use of audit, service development, service evaluation or applied research methods within a clinical placement setting. 20. Trainees must have access to computer facilities for data analysis and have adequate training in their use, including guidance on data protection and confidentiality. 21. During the programme trainees must undertake an independent research project that requires them to conceptualise, design, carry out and communicate the results of research that is relevant to clinical psychology theory and practice. 22. All research projects must demonstrate that they conform to the appropriate relevant local ethics committee procedures and to the Society s guidelines on the conduct of research. 23. Each trainee must have a research supervisor who is competent in research supervision. The Programme Director or research co-ordinator must be responsible for approving the allocation of research supervisors. Supervisory loads must be monitored and be such that adequate supervision is provided to trainees. There should be a research agreement between supervisor and trainee that covers matters such as a schedule of regular supervision meetings and progress reviews, written feedback on drafts and a timetable for the project. 24. Great care must be taken to allow trainees to plan and organise their research project in good time, such that there is the opportunity to complete it successfully. Time must be set aside early on in the programme for discussion of the proposed project. Regular monitoring of trainees progress and the quality of the research must be carried out throughout the programme. 25. Programmes must be sensitive to the problems that may arise in carrying out applied research. Care must be taken to anticipate common difficulties and take preventative action. 26. The research curriculum must be designed to promote post-qualification practice that includes research activity through conducting and facilitating research, and applying research to inform practice. C Supervised practice This part of our standards relates to Section 5 of the HCPC s Standards of Education and Training, which focuses on programmes practice placements. For Society-accredited Doctoral programmes in Clinical Psychology, supervision is defined as a personal interaction between the trainee clinical psychologist and their supervisor for the purpose of addressing the trainee s needs and performance in relation to the requirements of the accredited programme. In addition to HCPC s requirements, accredited programmes must meet the standards outlined below: 26

27 Clinical experience 1. The aims of clinical placements are to ensure that trainees develop their core skills through experiences with different client groups and have a full range of psychological work in health and other settings. Requirements for this are described in section 1.3 above, which outlines the structure of training in terms of clients, services and modes of work. Trainees must gain an understanding of the psychological services in which they are working and the NHS generally. In addition there is an important need for setting the experience of clinical practice in as wide a range of social and cultural contexts as possible. 2. The national standards as set out by the Division of Clinical Psychology s Faculties and Special Interest Groups (see section 1.3.5) will provide the reference information for the minimum supervised practice commensurate with competence in an area of work. Based on this reference information programmes must develop, in consultation with local psychologists, their own guidelines on required experience, recommending an appropriate amount of clinical work. Programmes must identify gaps in placement experiences provided, both individual and across the trainee cohort, and plan how they will structure the pattern of clinical training to overcome any deficiencies. 3. Programmes must ensure that each trainee has a balanced programme of clinical experience building up over the course of their training. Each trainee must have a set of clinical placement experiences that enables them to gain a range of clinical experience and achieve the learning outcomes described in sections 1.1 and 1.2 of this handbook. The length of time in a placement, the number of clients seen and the length of time involved with clients must be sufficient to allow this. An adequate balance of time must be allocated across services and client groups, and optimum use made of available placements, so that the required range of experience across the lifespan may be gained. 4. The programme of supervised clinical experience needs to be planned for each trainee in order to ensure that all trainees will gain the required experience. The Programme Director or Clinical Tutor is responsible for monitoring each individual plan and making adjustments as necessary. Trainees must be fully involved in monitoring their individual plan. Trainees clinical experience needs to be monitored carefully to ensure that any gaps or problems are identified so that they can be resolved later in training. 5. Trainees must keep a log of their clinical experience to enable their training plan to be monitored. The main requirement is that over the period of the programme trainees must gain the required experience, rather than spending specified lengths of time in particular placements. Flexibility in placement planning is needed to ensure this. 6. Programmes should ensure that within clinical placements trainees have experience of working with other professions, and that the opportunities for inter-professional learning are maximised. Clinical supervision 7. Trainees must be supervised either by: (i) (ii) A clinical psychologist who is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council, and/or who holds Chartered Membership of the Society and full membership of the Division of Clinical Psychology; or Any other appropriately qualified and experienced psychologist who is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council, and/or who holds Chartered Membership of the accreditation through partnership 27

28 Society; or (iii) An appropriately qualified and experienced member of another profession who is registered with a professional or statutory body which has a code of ethics, and accreditation and disciplinary/complaints procedures All supervisors will normally be expected to have completed introductory or higher training in supervision as recognised by the Society or provided by the education provider. 8. In the case of 7(ii) or 7(iii) above, the quality and quantity of supervision that is received by the trainee must be monitored carefully by the programme, and a co-ordinating supervisor who meets the standards specified in 7(i) above should be identified to oversee the totality of that placement experience. 9. Supervisors should normally have clinical responsibilities in the unit in which the placement work is carried out, with the exception of co-ordinating supervisors (as specified in 8 above) who do not necessarily need to hold clinical responsibilities at the placement site. 10. It is expected that all trainees will have supervision with a qualified clinical psychologist (as defined in paragraph 7(i) above) for the majority of their training. Where the programme involves supervisors who do not hold this status, they will be expected to demonstrate the ways in which alternative arrangements are managed effectively. 11. All clinical supervisors must be fully aware of their responsibilities. No placement should be arranged unless the supervisor has indicated her or his willingness to provide full supervision and take responsibility for the trainee. The programme must have written guidelines on clinical supervision, or, alternatively, utilise the Society s guidelines, which are available at The guidelines on supervision must be circulated to all supervisors. 12. A variety of supervisory arrangements is acceptable. These include trainee to supervisor ratios of 1:1 and 2:1 and various forms of team supervision for groups of trainees. The programme must ensure: (i) (ii) that each trainee has a named supervisor who is responsible for the co-ordination of their supervision and who formally assesses the trainee in consultation with the other supervisor(s) involved; and that individual supervision provides opportunities to discuss personal issues, professional development, overall workload and organisational difficulties as well as ongoing case work. 13. Supervision in all placements must meet the following standards: (i) (ii) The general aims of the placement should be established prior to or at the very beginning of the placement. A written placement contract should be drawn up within two weeks of the start of the placement. (iii) The trainee must have an appropriate amount of individual supervision in addition to any group supervision. (iv) Total contact time between supervisor(s) and trainee(s) must be at least three hours per week. 28

29 (v) There must be a formal, interim review of the trainee s progress in the placement, and of the experience provided. (vi) Full written feedback should be given on the trainee s performance on placements. (vii) The trainee must see and comment on the full report. (viii) Trainees must have the opportunity to observe the work of their supervisors, supervisors must observe the work of trainees. (ix) Supervisors should be sensitive to, and prepared to discuss, personal issues that arise for trainees in the course of their work. (x) Supervisors should closely monitor and help develop trainees communications (oral and written). 14. There must be a formal process whereby the programme team monitors the clinical experience of trainees and the supervision provided, and helps to resolve any problems that may have arisen. This process must be timed such that if there are problems there will be still be time available in the placement to overcome the problems, if this is feasible. The process must include the opportunity for a member of the programme team to hold discussions in private with the trainee and supervisor individually prior to a joint discussion. A written record of the monitoring and any action plan agreed must be held on file. 15. Regular workshops on supervisory skills and other training events for supervisors must be organised by the programme to ensure effective supervision. Supervisors should be encouraged to attend workshops and training events periodically. Programmes must ensure that the training events offered meet the needs of both new supervisors and more experienced colleagues. Suggested learning objectives for introductory supervisor training are provided at Trainees must have the opportunity to provide feedback on the adequacy of placements and supervision, and programmes should ensure that it is possible to change important aspects of placements that are found to be unsatisfactory. 17. Programmes must have a formal, documented audit process for clinical placements and supervision in partnership with Heads of Service and supervisors. The Programme Board/Training Committee must have mechanisms for considering the outcomes of each audit, and procedures for seeking to overcome any problems that are identified. Integrating theory and practice 18. During the periods when trainees are on clinical placements, supervisors should guide trainees to read relevant literature and use their knowledge of the literature to inform their clinical work, particularly formulation of clinical problems. 19. It is important that supervisors and programme staff keep abreast of theoretical, research and professional developments in their fields of work, and participate in continuing professional development. 20. During the academic programme, teachers should be encouraged to use clinical material of their own and of the trainees as a means of elucidating theoretical and research issues. 21. The learning and teaching programme should include workshops on clinical skills training throughout the programme. accreditation through partnership 29

30 22. Programmes must consider how they integrate theory and practice throughout the clinical training programme. This should include consideration of issues such as the use of academic knowledge on placement, the use of clinical examples in teaching and how the academic programme as a whole relates to the clinical experience. 23. Since trainees may not all follow the same pathway through training, programmes should have a system for monitoring the level of integration that is achieved between academic teaching and placement training and for developing an action plan to deal with problems. D Assessment This part of our standards relates to Section 6 of the HCPC s Standards of Education and Training, which outlines the standards that programmes need to meet in relation to assessment. In addition to HCPC s requirements, accredited programmes must meet the standards outlined below: 1. Assessments must give appropriate weighting to professional competence. The Programme Director(s) must take responsibility for ensuring that there are adequate procedures to ensure that trainees who are incompetent or whose behaviour is unethical do not obtain a qualification in clinical psychology. There must also be mechanisms to ensure that such trainees should be identified as early as possible in the programme, and are not allowed to continue if remedial action is ineffective. These procedures should, as far as possible, be consistent across those used by the University and trainees employers. 2. Assessment rules, regulations and criteria should be published in a full and accessible form and made freely available to trainees, staff and external examiners. 3. Assessment practices should be fair, valid, reliable and appropriate to the level of award being offered. Assessment should be undertaken only by appropriately qualified staff, who have been adequately trained and briefed, and given regular opportunities to update and enhance their expertise as assessors. 4. Programmes must provide written guidelines on criteria for failure in the assessment of all components of the programme. The criteria must be clearly related to the programme s required learning outcomes. In general, the whole period of training should comprise work that is of an acceptable standard. If a trainee has failed an assessment of competence, but been allowed to continue in training, then there must be a clear mechanism for extending the period of training, if necessary, to ensure that there is an opportunity for acceptable standards of practice to be reached and for core competencies to be acquired. 5. Programmes must have an explicit appeals procedure, consistent with University and employers procedures, for considering formal appeals from trainees who fail to satisfy the examiners. Trainees should be made aware of these at the beginning of the programme. 30

31 Programme standard 2: Working ethically The programme must include teaching on the Society s Code of Ethics and Conduct, and evaluation of students understanding of working ethically, as appropriate to the level of study. The inclusion of this standard reflects the particular importance of ethics and ethical practice to psychologists. The Society s Code of Ethics and Conduct and supplementary ethical guidelines provide clear ethical principles, values and standards to guide and support psychologists decisions in the difficult and challenging situations they may face. Further information can be found at The Society s Ethics Committee has commenced work on the development of a framework for the specification of ethical competencies, and how these may be taught and assessed. Its aim will be to provide guidance for psychology educators and professional psychology programmes in due course. Students need to understand the ethical frameworks that apply to their research, and how to engage with these, as well as understanding the ethical implications of the research that they encounter and working with people more generally. In evaluating students understanding of working ethically, education providers should have in place mechanisms for identifying and dealing with academic and professional misconduct, as appropriate to the programme(s) offered. The programme should consider the ways in which these mechanisms are publicised to students. accreditation through partnership 31

32 Programme standard 3: Selection and entry The programme must apply appropriate selection and entry criteria that are consistent with promoting equality of opportunity and access to psychology to as diverse a range of applicants as possible. Education providers have certain obligations in relation to equality of opportunity and access in relation to UK legislation and the requirements of the Office for Fair Access ( The Society is interested in the ways in which education providers implement their equality and diversity policies for the benefit of prospective and current psychology students/trainees. This standard is included because it is particularly important that those progressing to undertake professional training in psychology, and therefore those moving into employment as psychologists, reflect the demographics of the populations with whom they will be working. Similarly, the Society is keen to promote diversity in psychology students progressing towards careers as academics or researchers. Overall, it is important that psychological knowledge and expertise is reflected across a diverse range of people, and that this diversity is ultimately reflected throughout the Society s membership. This part of our standards relates to Section 2 of the HCPC s Standards of Education and Training, which outlines the standards that programmes need to meet in relation to their selection and admission procedures. In addition to HCPC s requirements, accredited programmes must meet the standards outlined below: 1. The Society normally expects entrants to accredited Doctoral programmes to be eligible for the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC). Alternative qualifications may also be acceptable. Programmes that choose to accept such qualifications should have a clear rationale for doing so. Programme providers must bear in mind that graduates of accredited Doctoral programmes who do not hold GBC will not be eligible to progress to Chartered membership of the Society because they will not have followed the required training route. Potential applicants and students must be properly advised of this. Alternatively, programme providers may decide that, on balance, it is more appropriate for their programme to stipulate GBC as an entry requirement. 2. Programmes wishing to admit trainees with advanced standing may operate procedures for the accreditation of prior learning (APL) or existing competence (AEC) against the learning outcomes of the accredited award. For Doctoral programmes in Clinical Psychology, exemptions may only be granted on the basis of learning undertaken or competence gained following the trainee s achievement of eligibility for the GBC. 32

33 3. Both teaching staff and clinical supervisors must be fully involved in the selection of trainees. There must be opportunities for short-listed applicants to meet existing trainees. 4. Trainees should normally be paid on Agenda for Change terms and conditions or equivalent. Where this is not the case, funding bodies need to ensure that the pay of trainees is sufficient to enable them to meet training requirements, and the Programme Board/Committee must regularly review the situation. 5. Programmes should take active steps to widen access to entry to the profession of clinical psychology, aiming for diversity within trainee cohorts, and must produce documentary evidence of these strategies. Programmes must periodically review their entry requirements and the ways in which potential to achieve competence is assessed at selection, to ensure that these are consistent with the overall aim of widening access to the profession, and are not discriminatory. 6. The Programme Director(s) must ensure that any additional honorary contracts that are required for trainees above and beyond their contracts of employment are in place at the appropriate juncture. This may include, for example, contracts that are required if trainees are undertaking clinical placements or research outside of their employing Trust, but will be dependent upon local circumstances. Trainees who are not NHS employees must hold honorary contracts or a letter of access with the appropriate NHS Provider, issued before they take up their appointments, and with other agencies where applicable. accreditation through partnership 33

34 Programme standard 4: Society membership The programme must provide students with information on gaining membership of the Society at the appropriate level. This standard is included because it is important that education providers communicate the benefits of completing an accredited programme to their students. Programmes should familiarise students with the distinct role of the Society as the professional body and the Health and Care Professions Council as the statutory regulator for practitioner psychologists in the UK. The Society s role is to develop and support the discipline of psychology, and to disseminate psychological knowledge to the public and policy makers. Belonging to the Society is an integral part of being a psychologist. It recognises graduates qualifications and reflects their aspiration to represent the highest possible professional standards. Programmes are encouraged to share the benefits of belonging to the Society with their students and trainees, for example by including the information provided on page 6 in student handbooks. Completion of an accredited programme offers graduates a clear route to Society membership at the appropriate level, and therefore access to the full range of membership benefits, including a variety of services, publications, conferences, training and networking opportunities. Society membership also presents graduates with opportunities for developing and influencing the profession as leaders in their field in the future. For more information on the benefits of Society membership, see

35 Programme standard 5: Personal and professional development The programme must be able to articulate a strategy for supporting students development as psychologists, in a way that is appropriate to their level of study. The programme must have in place mechanisms for the support of students personal and/or professional development, as appropriate. This standard is included because close attention to students personal and professional development is key to their employability. Education providers may link with local and/or national employers in a variety of ways, and the Society is keen to develop its understanding of these approaches through partnership visits. Psychology graduates should explicitly understand how their training equips them with transferrable skills that are of value to employers. In particular, providers of postgraduate professional training programmes should consider the ways in which their students are supported in developing an identity as practitioner psychologists of the future, and be able to outline the resources that are allocated to leading and co-ordinating this aspect of their provision. Postgraduate programmes should also pay particular attention to professional development where students on accredited programmes are taught alongside other student groups (for example, those that do not hold eligibility for the GBC, or other professional groups). Opportunities for interdisciplinary working can enrich the learning experience, however, and where these exist education providers should clearly outline their availability for the benefit of students. The Society does not advocate a particular approach to programme delivery, and interdisciplinary or interprofessional learning may be more or less appropriate depending upon the organisational context within which the programme is operating. However, the Society is keen to collate clearer information on the range of approaches that are taken to learning and teaching through exploration and enquiry with education providers at partnership visits. This part of our standards does not relate directly to the HCPC s Standards of Education and Training. However, the steps outlined below will have a positive impact on the learning experience of trainee clinical psychologists. 1. Programmes must have a system for monitoring trainees progress on an annual basis in clinical, academic and research work and in developing professional roles, that is consistent with relevant NHS recruitment and performance management policies and procedures (see for an indication of the ways in which these standards relate to the Knowledge and Skills Framework). This monitoring should look at a trainee s work as a whole and lead to guidance on future development, including both specific goals and career guidance. There must be shared documentation for recording this information that demonstrates that each aspect of the trainee s progress, as outlined above, is explicitly and consistently considered. accreditation through partnership 35

36 2. Education providers should ensure that detailed and up to date records on student progress are kept. Throughout a programme of study, students should receive prompt and helpful feedback about their performance and progress in relation to assessment criteria so that they can appropriately direct their subsequent learning activities. 3. Programmes should ensure that trainees monitor and review their own progress and develop skills in self-reflection and critical reflection on practice. 4. Programmes must have mechanisms for helping trainees to manage their own personal learning needs and to develop strategies for meeting these. This will include using supervision to reflect on practice, and making appropriate use of feedback received. 5. Programmes must have plans for enabling trainees to understand the impact of difference and diversity on people s lives and its implications for working practices. 6. Programmes must have arrangements for ensuring that trainees with special needs are supported in undertaking the requirements of the programme. 7. Programmes should ensure that trainees develop strategies to handle the emotional and physical impact of their own practice and to seek appropriate support when necessary, with good awareness of boundary issues. 8. Programme Directors, Tutors and Supervisors should be alert to personal issues that bear on a trainee s professional performance and academic achievement, and which often arise from the stresses of taking part in a clinical training programme. Programmes must make provision for such matters to be discussed with trainees routinely, and have in place written procedures on the systems that provide opportunities for such discussions. Trainees must have access to a range of support mechanisms including those available outside the programme team. 9. Trainees who experience stress or psychological disturbance should be given assistance in obtaining appropriate help. 10. Programmes must have a written policy on health and safety matters and ensure that this is brought to the attention of trainees, and that adequate training is provided. This policy will need to draw attention to the various health and safety policies that will be applicable to trainees; e.g. those of the programme base, the trainees employer(s) and the organisations within which clinical placements are undertaken. 11. Towards the end of their training, trainees should be helped to identify their continuing professional development needs. In particular, programmes must ensure that issues relating to the transition from trainee to qualified clinical psychologist are explicitly addressed. 36

37 Programme standard 6: Staffing The education provider must have appropriate human resources in place to support the effective delivery of the programme. Specifically, postgraduate programmes should normally operate a minimum staff student ratio of 1:10, although there are specific instances where variance from this standard is appropriate and acceptable. This standard is included as contact with and support from sufficient numbers of appropriately qualified staff will contribute significantly to the quality of the overall experience of psychology students. Education providers should provide a calculation of their current staff student ratio in the evidence they submit in support of an application for accreditation, or in advance of a paper-based review or partnership visit. There are key roles and functions that the Society considers are essential to the effective and efficient delivery of an accredited programme. Programmes must therefore have sufficient staff with enough time allocated to carry out tasks that are normally associated with: management; teaching; organising, co-ordinating and monitoring placements (if appropriate); training and supporting supervisors or other assessors; research supervision; marking; providing personal support to students; supporting their professional development; and liaising with employers, visiting speakers and other external stakeholders. All programmes must pay particular attention to ensuring that staffing levels are such that trainees receive research supervision at a level consistent with the programme s aims and that research supervision loads for staff are appropriate to enable them to provide adequate supervision at the required level. Where staff have other duties (e.g. other teaching or practice commitments) these must be taken into account in setting staffing levels and must be such that they do not interfere with the execution of the major responsibility of programme delivery. Programmes with small cohort sizes are likely to require an enhanced staff student ratio in order to be able to fulfil the key roles and functions required above. Programmes must have access to sufficient administrative, technical or other learning support staff to support their effective delivery. However, the contributions made by such staff, and those of visiting lecturers and supervisors of trainees professional practice, should not normally be included in any calculation of staff student ratio. This part of our standards relates to Section 3 of the HCPC s Standards of Education and Training, which outlines the standards that programmes need to meet in relation to their management, and the resources that should be available to staff, trainees and others contributing to the programme. In addition to HCPC s requirements, accredited programmes must meet the standards outlined below: 1. Programmes must have adequate staffing to provide effective training that reflects this guidance. This means sufficient staff with enough time allocated to carry out the required tasks: management; teaching; organising, co-ordinating and monitoring clinical placements; accreditation through partnership 37

38 training and supporting supervisors; research supervision; assessment and monitoring of trainees; and liaison with NHS staff. In particular, staffing levels must be such that trainees receive research supervision at a level consistent with the programme s aims and that research supervision loads for staff are appropriate to enable them to provide adequate supervision at the required level. The Programme Director(s) should ensure that the academic, clinical and research components of the programme are appropriately coordinated. Where staff have other duties (e.g. undergraduate teaching or clinical commitments) these must be taken into account in setting staffing levels and must be such that they do not interfere with the execution of the major responsibility of programme delivery. 2. The programme team (Programme Director(s) and those staff with a major commitment to the programme) must have an adequate range of skills and experience in order to fulfil the tasks identified in 3.9. The selection of staff must ensure that an appropriate balance is maintained in terms of staffing resources for the various components of the programme. 3. Staff are entitled to expect an institutional culture which values and rewards professionalism and scholarship, and which provides access to development opportunities which assist them in their support for trainee learning. Institutions should support initial and continuing professional development for all staff, and encourage self-evaluation as an essential element of reflective professional practice. 4. All core members of programme teams are expected to undertake continuing professional development that is relevant to their role within the institution and, where appropriate, to their professional practice as a clinical psychologist. It is expected that this would include undertaking relevant research and other scholarly activity, and attendance at relevant conferences. Opportunities for development should be available to all staff who are engaged in, or are supporting, teaching, research and scholarship. Additionally, the programme team should be involved in regular work which has relevance to the programme. 5. Where staff external to the core team contribute to the programme, the nature and level of their involvements should be clearly stated. This refers both to other academic staff and contributors from external organisations. The nature and level of involvement of staff who are part-time or visiting also need to be clearly specified. 6. The programme must be able to demonstrate that it has access to sufficient administrative and clerical support to support its effective delivery. 38

39 Programme standard 7: Leadership and co-ordination The education provider must appoint an appropriately qualified and experienced director or co-ordinator for the programme. The leadership and co-ordination of the programme is central to shaping students experience of psychology and their development as psychologists. For postgraduate programmes, the Director should be either a Chartered Psychologist holding full membership of the Division within whose domain the programme falls, or otherwise appropriately qualified and experienced (for example, registered with the Health and Care Professions Council, or eligible for Chartered Psychologist status and membership of the relevant Division). The Programme Director must normally have appropriate academic, professional practice, research and managerial skills, in addition to prior knowledge and experience of training in the relevant area of applied psychology. The skills required will differ according to the nature of the accredited programme. Programmes offering underpinning knowledge and/or research (stage one of the requirements for Chartered Psychologist status) must normally be managed by an individual with clear academic and/or research expertise; the management of programmes providing full training from GBC to eligibility for registration as a Chartered Psychologist (stage two and integrated Doctoral programmes), or other training with a substantial focus on professional practice (educational psychology programmes in Scotland) will also require appropriate professional practice skills and experience. Where appropriate, Programme Directors may also be supported in aspects of their role by colleagues with complementary skills and experience to their own. Education providers may wish to consider the roles that other programme team members may take in relation to the leadership and co-ordination of the programme as part of their staff development strategy, particularly in connection with longer-term succession planning or to support the development of leadership potential. The Programme Director must be of an appropriately senior academic status within the education provider, such that the Society may be confident that they can take overall responsibility for, or make a significant contribution to, the programme s day-to-day management and strategic direction. This part of our standards complements Section 3 of the HCPC s Standards of Education and Training, which includes HCPC s requirements in relation to the directorship of the programme. Accredited programmes are expected to meet the additional standard below: 1. Programmes must be managed and organised by a Programme Director who meets the Society s expectations, who has the programme as his/her major commitment, and is free to devote sufficient time to ensure its effective and efficient running. Additionally, the Programme Director must have sufficient time to conduct research, knowledge transfer, consultancy/organisational and/or clinical work; normally this will be at least one day per week. accreditation through partnership 39

40 Programme standard 8: Physical resources The education provider must have appropriate physical resources in place to support the effective delivery of the programme. This standard is included because the student experience must be underpinned by access to physical resources that are appropriate to the psychology programme(s) offered by the education provider. The availability of appropriate resources is key to the delivery of psychology as a science, with associated levels of practical work culminating in students completion of individual research at the appropriate level. Physical resources will normally include teaching, tutorial and laboratory space, learning resources (such as texts and journals, available in hard copy and/or electronically, computing facilities), psychological testing materials, specialist equipment supporting psychological research, software supporting data collection and analysis in psychology research, and other IT facilities. Education providers should consider how students are advised of the physical and learning resources to which they have access. This part of our standards complements Section 3 of the HCPC s Standards of Education and Training, which includes HCPC s requirements in relation to the physical resources and facilities underpinning programmes. Accredited programmes are expected to meet the additional standard below: 1. When trainees are on clinical placements they must have access to (at least) a shared office and telephone with their own desk on placement days. There must be adequate arrangements for secretarial and IT support for their placement work, and trainees must be given guidance on the facilities available. 40

41 Programme standard 9: Quality management The education provider s quality management systems must make regular provision for the periodic review of the validity and relevance of the programme, such that it continues to reflect our standards. This standard is included because accreditation through partnership relies upon education providers having in place robust quality management mechanisms that facilitate self-evaluation against the Society s standards. The Society recognises education providers quality management mechanisms as a reliable source of evidence of continued achievement of the standards. Whatever the mechanisms that are in place, they should provide for periodic review of the programme s aims and intended learning outcomes and content, the strategies associated with programme delivery, and the assessment methods that are used to evaluate students achievement of the learning outcomes. Overall, they should ensure that the programme continues to reflect contemporary learning, research and practice in psychology. Students should have the opportunity to provide feedback via the quality management mechanisms that are in place. Programmes should identify ways in which any difficulties identified may be satisfactorily resolved, and changes to current systems and practices made where appropriate. Programmes should also consider the ways in which employer feedback might be harnessed. Programmes will appoint appropriate External Examiner(s) whose expertise will be of relevance to the breadth and depth of provision being offered. External peer review offers a valuable perspective upon the ways in which the programme compares to others of a similar nature nationally. With this in mind, enabling the Society to have sight of External Examiners reports, and the programme s response to these, allows our reviewers to gain insight into the extent to which the education provider s quality management mechanisms function effectively for the benefit of students, and the discipline as a whole. This part of our standards relates to Section 3 of the HCPC s Standards of Education and Training, which includes HCPC s requirements in relation to programme management, and to Section 6, which relates to assessment. In addition to HCPC s requirements, accredited programmes must meet the standards outlined below: Programme management: organisation and governance 1. The overall organisation of the programme (for both full-time and part-time programmes) must ensure the effective planning, delivery and monitoring of the programme. Whatever the structure, it must be sufficiently clear to work effectively. accreditation through partnership 41

42 2. There must be a clear channel of accountability for the work of the Director(s), acceptable to both the academic institution and the local NHS psychologists. A programme based in a University must be regarded as a joint enterprise between the NHS and the services associated with the programme and other relevant stakeholders. 3. The programme must have a Programme Board/Training Committee on which the Director(s), teaching staff, clinical supervisors, DCP Faculties and Special Interest Groups, heads of services, trainees, and purchasers of training are represented in a way that reflects the joint enterprise upon which the programme is based. The Programme Board/Committee must have a written constitution and terms of reference. It must ensure that the interests of the different stakeholder groups are respected; it must be involved with the overall policy of the programme and the long-term objectives, and should oversee the work of the programme team and any sub-committee structure. It must be acceptable to the different groups involved in the programme and have wide support. 4. Programmes must work collaboratively with service users, carers and community representatives to identify and implement strategies for the active participation of these stakeholders in the programme. These strategies, and the practical support available to implement them, must be acceptable to the different groups involved in the programme and have wide support. 5. Programmes will normally be associated with a particular geographical area and it is expected that the major part of the funding, teaching and placement resources required by the programme will be provided from that area. Development of any new programme or a major change in any existing programme (which could affect other existing programmes) must be made in consultation with other programmes and local psychologists within the area to avoid impairing the viability of existing programmes. Such consultation must be undertaken from the earliest stage of programme development. 6. Funding arrangements must be clear and transparent. Programmes must have sufficient core funding, such that there is normally an agreed minimum number of funded places in order to ensure stability and predictability in planning the programme. The budget must include funding adequate for agreed expenditure. The budget should be held by the Programme Director(s), or if there are other arrangements they must be clear and acceptable to the Programme Director(s), Programme Board/Committee and purchasers. The programme must have a financial plan detailing the funding available and how resources are/will be allocated. When a programme is expanding it is essential that the necessary additional resources required are identified and agreed with the purchasers before new trainees are accepted on to the programme. Similarly, any contraction of a programme must be managed in a clear and transparent way. 7. Regular reviews, informed by appropriate external benchmarks, should be undertaken to monitor the effectiveness of learning, teaching and assessment strategies. Through evaluation of the impact of its policies and practices, an education provider should seek to implement continuing improvement of the learning environment, the educational opportunities available to its trainees, and the quality and academic standards of learning in the education it provides. 42

43 External examination 8. External Examiners of programmes should normally be qualified clinical psychologists. Where programmes make use of more than one External Examiner, they must ensure that an External Examiner with responsibility for maintaining an overview of the programme in question is identified and appointed. Programmes must make explicit the nature of the External Examiners role and duties. Policies and procedures for the nomination and appointment of External Examiners must be explicit, and clear and transparent criteria for the appointment of an individual who is not a clinical psychologist must be in place (for example, for the individual external examination of trainees research theses). External Examiners must be provided with adequate information to support their role. accreditation through partnership 43

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45 Our processes accreditation through partnership 45

46 Our processes a. New programmes The flowcharts below outline the steps associated with gaining Society accreditation for a new Doctoral programme. Most education providers have indicated that, given the need for Doctoral programmes to gain HCPC approval prior to accepting a student intake, they would value the opportunity to undergo Society accreditation at the same time in order to minimise duplication of effort. However, this is not a requirement. Flowchart 1 follows a concurrent approval/accreditation model; flowchart 2 outlines the process to follow if you wish to seek Society accreditation separately from HCPC approval. 46

47 Flowchart 1: Concurrent Society accreditation and HCPC approval First contact Register interest with the Partnership and Accreditation Team (this will ensure we can let you know about any planned changes to our standards or processes). Familiarise yourself with our standards and processes, and those of the HCPC, and get in touch with any questions. Visit planning Complete HCPC visit request form, indicating that you wish to plan for a joint visit. Forward a copy of the form to us, so that we can establish a visiting team who are available on your preferred visit dates. Remember it is your responsibility to co-ordinate a joint event. We cannot do this on your behalf. Evidence Produce documentary evidence as specified by HCPC (to be submitted to HCPC eight weeks before visit date). Submit five copies plus an electronic copy to the Society (submit at same time, or no later than six weeks before visit date). Visit Ensure shared visit agenda is agreed by both HCPC and BPS teams (see appendix). Visit takes place over two days. BPS visiting team will feed back recommendation on accreditation at the end of the visit, and give indicative feedback on what is likely to appear in the visit report. Outcome Visit report produced. Accreditation outcome confirmed, including any conditions of accreditation. Subsequent review period will be proposed. This may depend on review arrangements/timescales for other programmes you offer. accreditation through partnership 47

48 Flowchart 2: Separate Society accreditation and HCPC approval First contact Register interest with the Partnership and Accreditation Team (this will ensure we can let you know about any planned changes to our standards or processes). Familiarise yourself with our standards and get in touch with any questions. Evidence Complete self-evaluation questionnaire for Doctoral programmes (see appendix). Compile supporting evidence. Submit five copies plus an electronic copy to the Society. Evaluation Submission evaluated independently by two reviewers. Reviewers report back individually within one month. Reviewers decisions collated by Partnership and Accreditation Team. If any aspect of the submission or the reviewers comments requires clarification, we will seek further information to enable us to reach a decision (either in writing or by phone). Outcome Brief report produced by reviewers and Partnership and Accreditation Officer. Includes decision on accreditation for the first trainee cohort on the new programme, and any conditions of accreditation that need to be met. You will be invited to propose dates for a visit during the following academic year. Once you have been through the new programme process, the processes for existing programmes apply. These are outlined in the next section of this handbook. 48

49 b. Existing programmes Accreditation through partnership encourages education providers to propose an approach to planning a partnership visit that best suits the context in which their provision is delivered. Institutions have been asked to advise the Partnership and Accreditation Team of their preferred approach to partnership visits, and have been invited to consider the following options: a visit to an individual programme; a combined visit to multiple programmes within the Department or across the institution as a whole (e.g. stage 1 MSc and stage 2 Doctorate, or to different types of programmes including those in different areas of psychology, or a combination of both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes within a single event); an event held concurrently with an HCPC approval visit and/or internal validation; or any other arrangement that the education provider wishes to propose. If you wish to discuss the options available and how they best suit your circumstances, please contact the Partnership and Accreditation Team. Once a programme is fully established, accreditation is awarded on an open-ended basis, rather than being limited to a fixed number of cohorts; this is because the risk of an accredited programme failing to continue to meet our standards is low. However, maintaining accreditation will be subject to regular partnership visits between the education provider and the Society. These will normally take place every five years, but in the event that the education provider wishes to propose a change to future visit arrangements along the lines suggested above, we are able to build some flexibility into our schedule. Please feel free to contact the Partnership and Accreditation Team to discuss your visit schedule and arrangements, and we will do our best to accommodate your preferences. Planning for a partnership visit The flowchart on the following page sets out the stages involved in planning for a partnership visit. For first visits to new programmes that have been considered following a paper-based submission, we will ask you to get in touch with us to organise a date for your visit when we issue our initial accreditation decision. For established programmes, we will be in touch during the year before your visit is due (usually during the fourth year of the five year review period). However, please get in touch at any stage if you wish to begin planning for your visit at an earlier point in time: the earlier we are able to book in a visit date, the easier it will be for us to establish a visiting team well in advance. accreditation through partnership 49

50 The partnership visit process and planning tips Planning We will invite you to put forward your preferred visit dates and arrangements up to one year in advance (usually in the November of the preceeding academic year). Alternatively, please get in touch with us if you wish to plan further in advance. Familiarise yourself with our standards and get in touch with any questions. Evidence Complete relevant self-evaluation questionnaire available from Compile supporting evidence. Submit five copies plus an electronic copy to the Society at least six weeks before the visit. Agenda Propose a timetable that best meets your needs (see appendix). Identify key discussion items that you would like to explore in partnership with the visiting team. Look at the suggested questions on our website and use these to prepare colleagues who will be participating in the visit. Visit Visit will usually take place over one day, or two if conducted alongside an HCPC visit. BPS visiting team will feed back their decision at the end of the visit, and give indicative feedback on what is likely to appear in the visit report. Outcome Visit report produced. Ongoing accreditation decision confirmed, including any conditions of accreditation. Future review period confirmed. 50

51 When planning your partnership visit, you may find it useful to bear the following points in mind. 1. You will be asked to provide a number of preferred dates for your visit, in order that the Partnership and Accreditation Team can liaise with potential visiting team members to secure a visit date. 2. Whilst it is not impossible to arrange visits outside of term time, it can be difficult to establish visiting teams, and to ensure the availability of staff and students. 3. Although our accreditation activities are spread across the academic year, the period between March and June is often our busiest time. It would assist us if you could consider proposing dates outside of our peak period. Wherever possible we will endeavour to accommodate your preferences, but we will confirm visit arrangements on a first come, first served basis. Visits cannot generally be arranged for Mondays. 4. Once we have received dates from you and identified visiting team members for whom those dates are convenient, we will write to you to confirm the date of the visit and the membership of the visiting team. 5. It is useful for us to have one central point of contact when planning visits to multiple programmes. This contact can liaise with the Partnership and Accreditation Co-ordinator and also the Director(s) of the programme(s) being visited. Remember that if you are planning for your partnership visit to be undertaken at the same time as your HCPC approval visit, it is your responsibility to co-ordinate the date and the agenda. We cannot do this on your behalf. HCPC require education providers to submit a visit request form indicating preferred visit dates. We would suggest that you forward this to us, and keep us informed along the way as and when HCPC are in a position to confirm a visit date. accreditation through partnership 51

52 Evidence: A guide Accreditation through partnership explicitly relies upon existing documentation and education providers own internal monitoring processes as the sources of evidence relating to achievement of our standards. We are keen to retain as much flexibility as possible for education providers to compile an evidence submission that best reflects their existing practice. However, feedback indicates that colleagues welcome clarity about our minimum expectations in terms of evidence sources. Our self-evaluation questionnaires incorporate some suggested sources of evidence (see appendix); please feel free to provide us with different evidence sources if our suggestion does not meet your needs. Because our processes rely on existing, live documentation, the self-evaluation questionnaires should be used only as a framework for preparing both your staff team and our visiting team for the partnership visit. For new programmes, it is important that we are able to consider quite a detailed critical self-review as well as detailed mapping of the context of the programme against our standards in order to reach an initial accreditation decision with confidence. For existing programmes, we are confident that your internal quality management systems allow for selfreview against our standards; therefore there is less need for a detailed self-review document, and the questionnaire should be considered only as a map with which to orientate the visiting team to your key evidence sources. However, it is also extremely helpful for reviewers to be able to understand any significant changes that the programme has undergone since its previous review. A clear and easy to navigate evidence submission is a really important part of the accreditation through partnership process it allows our visiting team to avoid duplication by not pursuing areas that are already clearly evidenced in the documentation. It also enables them to plan for the visit in a way that makes best use of the time available, achieves an appropriate balance between quality assurance and quality enhancement, and meets your needs as well as those of the Society. For programmes being visited for Society accreditation alongside HCPC approval, there is no need to complete a self-evaluation questionnaire. This is because you will already need to complete two mapping documents for the HCPC one to demonstrate how your programme meets the Standards of Proficiency (which correspond broadly to our required competencies), and one to demonstrate fulfilment of the Standards of Education and Training (we reflect links HCPC SETs within our own standards). For such visits, please compile the evidence required by the HCPC and send exactly the same documentation to us. However, you will need to remember to separately outline anything that you specifically wish to explore with the visiting team; we would suggest that you reflect this in your visit agenda, or in a brief standalone document. Your documentation will need to arrive with us no later than six weeks before the visit. Unfortunately, if we do not receive your documentation in time, we may need to postpone the visit. Please see the notes regarding the deferral of visits on page

53 The visit timetable We have a set of suggested timetables for visits (see appendix) but we are keen for you to propose a timetable that best meets your needs: this is a shared agenda and to that end we would also encourage you to suggest any specific matters for discussion with the visiting team, whether in relation to particular challenges the programme is facing, or to areas of good practice that you would like to highlight. The self-evaluation questionnaire includes a section that you can use to highlight specific agenda items to the visiting team. Outlining these items in advance allows us to plan meetings effectively, and ensures that we are fully prepared to discuss the things that you will find of most value. Additionally, if you would like us to recruit visiting team member(s) with a particular interest in the areas you would like to discuss, please let us know and, where possible, we will endeavour to take account of this in our planning. You should also ensure that you invite relevant stakeholders to participate in the visit. We outline the benefits of accreditation through partnership to key stakeholder groups later in this handbook, but recognise that those with an interest in programmes will vary dependent upon the nature of the programme in question. Remember as a partner to this process, you have considerable influence over both its structure and content. The questions that our visiting team is likely to ask different groups are available on our website, at and we would encourage you to share these as widely as you see fit. Why would I want to highlight the challenges my programme is facing to a visiting team? We understand that accreditation visits can be anxiety-provoking at the best of times, without giving the visiting team a clue to the chinks in your armour! However, accreditation through partnership aims to take a realistic approach to understanding programmes in their own context, and that means getting to grips with the challenges that all programmes face. Because accreditation through partnership places emphasis on your own quality management mechanisms as a good source of evidence for fulfilment of our standards, we would find it unusual if those processes did not identify challenges or areas for development. The team that will be visiting you will be able to draw upon a wide range of experience to explore those areas with you and your colleagues, including potentially examples of positive or innovative practice observed in relation to other programmes they have visited. It is also important that visiting teams are able to build a clear picture of the main difficulties that programmes are dealing with, as we are keen to ensure that those experiences inform future discussion of our standards, including any potential revisions that may need to be made in response to the changing contexts in which programmes are delivered. accreditation through partnership 53

54 I m a bit confused and I really don t know what I m meant to send you! Help! We appreciate that you want to get your submission just right, but that you don t want to overload yourself with work, so if you re stuck, or if you just want to check a few things out with us, please give us a ring or send us an . It s in all of our interests to work towards a positive visit, and please believe us when we say that there is no such thing as a silly question! The quality of your documentation plays a key role in determining the success or otherwise of the visit, so if we can help in any way, please get in touch. How should I prepare our students for meeting the BPS visiting team? We often hear from education providers that they would welcome more support from the Society in preparing students for their meeting with the BPS panel, so we have produced an information sheet that can be downloaded from This includes information about who our reviewers are, what their role is, and what questions they are likely to ask. It also provides some information about the potential outcomes of the visit, and tells students how we will use their feedback. Outcomes A visit report will be produced after the event, and you will be asked to comment on this before a final version is approved. Comments may pertain to matters of factual accuracy, or to more substantive issues, and the visiting team will agree any changes to the draft report on this basis. We appreciate that sometimes there may be more helpful ways of phrasing particular observations in our reports, and although it may not be possible to revise our wording in every case, we would invite you to let us know if you wish to propose any amendments to the report text. We would normally expect comments to be provided within two weeks of receipt of the draft report; if we do not hear from you within this timescale we will assume that you are happy with the report as it stands. When we issue the approved report to you, it will confirm the continuation of accreditation for your programme, and will give an indication of the timing of the next partnership visit. Continuing accreditation may be dependent upon you meeting certain conditions that relate to our standards. Where this is the case, we will outline the action we expect you to take, and will agree with you an appropriate timescale. Further information is provided in the Additional information section of this handbook. 54

55 Our reviewers accreditation through partnership 55

56 Our reviewers are Society members with expertise in running or contributing to programmes of psychology education and training. They are drawn from courses and (where applicable) practice settings across the UK. We appoint reviewers whose experience best corresponds to the programme(s) under consideration. If you ask us to visit a range of different programmes at a single visit, we will make sure that our visiting team comprises members with expertise in the full range of programmes that you have put forward for consideration. Our reviewers The notes below outline the role of the reviewer. They refer primarily to preparing for taking part in a partnership visit, but apply also to paper-based reviews of new programmes. This information is provided both for the benefit of those undertaking the role, and for the education providers with whom our reviewers will be working. The Partnership and Accreditation Committee, which has responsibility for managing accreditation through partnership, is committed to ensuring that members undertaking partnership visits or review work on behalf of the Society are properly supported in their role. We are developing our programme of reviewer training and will make additional support materials available to reviewers in due course. a. The approach We really value the input of our members in contributing to the delivery of accreditation through partnership. You should familiarise yourself with the standards contained in this handbook prior to any visit or (for new programmes) paper-based review. The Partnership and Accreditation Officer will, of course, be able to advise on these in detail. The focus of the visit will be one of partnership with between the Society (as represented by you, our reviewers), the programme, the education provider, and key stakeholders. We aim to take a collaborative approach to both the structure and the content of the visit, and look to improve quality where there is an opportunity to do so. Therefore, both the timetable and the agenda could look quite different for each visit you take part in. We will hold a pre-visit meeting (either on the evening before the visit or on the morning of the first day, dependent on the agreed timetable) and at this point your Partnership and Accreditation Officer will brief you on the timetable and any key discussion items that have been suggested by the education provider. Your reading of the documentation should be focused towards identifying the questions and areas for exploration that are most important to you; it is likely that these will overlap with areas identified by other members of the team. We have also developed a series of lines of enquiry based upon our standards that aim to formulate some suggested questions in a way that is consistent with our partnership approach. A summary of these is available on our website, at You will be able to develop, as a team, a plan of the areas you would like to explore over the course of the visit, and agree who within the team may wish to lead on particular lines of enquiry. Please be prepared to share the questions you ve identified with the rest of the team at the pre-visit meeting. 56

57 Approaches we would encourage: Giving the education provider an indication up front of the visiting team s overall impression of the programme, including any key areas of interest. Explicit acknowledgement of and engagement with the areas for exploration proposed in advance by the education provider. A relaxed, conversational approach, rather than a more formal question-and-answer format. An inquisitive, curious attitude to understanding why the education provider approaches things in a particular way, and how effective those approaches might be. An enthusiastic, constructive approach to delivering feedback at the end of the day, including inviting comments from the education provider on the observations that the visiting team have fed back. Active encouragement for the education provider to offer feedback on their experience of the accreditation through partnership process. Approaches we would prefer to avoid: Raising anxiety unnecessarily by raising issues rather than areas for exploration. Asking for additional documentation on the day of the visit it is not helpful for the team to have additional reading to fit in, and it creates anxiety for the programme. Teams should be able to rely on what education providers say (and on reflecting this in the visit report after the event), or, if absolutely necessary, include completion of any documentary requirements in the action to be taken after the visit has taken place. Making impromptu changes to the visit timetable education providers will have been planning for the day for a long time, and it s best not to ask for changes to be made at short notice, unless this cannot be avoided. Drilling down too closely into aspects of the programme that are already evidenced in the paperwork, unless there is a clear reason to do so. accreditation through partnership 57

58 b. The team The review or visiting team will usually comprise two or more members with expertise in the relevant domain. There may also be an observer participating in the review or visit - usually a new reviewer gaining experience of the process before being asked to contribute independently. For paper-based reviews of new programmes, a third reviewer may be appointed in the event that the two initial reviewers are unable to agree their recommendation. For visits, one member of the team will be appointed as the convenor of the visit. The convenor will be asked to manage both the process and the team and provide a verbal introduction and conclusion to the day. The role of the convenor will differ slightly in visits undertaken concurrently with HCPC (or potentially other internal or external processes), where an independent Chair is appointed by the education provider to manage the process of the visit (for further guidance visit The team will be supported by a Partnership and Accreditation Officer, who will take notes during the visit, advise on policy and appropriate lines of enquiry, and also produce the visit report. The Partnership and Accreditation Officer will have undertaken numerous visits in the past, and will be a good source of information on how teams have approached common matters for discussion in other contexts. They will also be responsible, with the convenor, for working with other team members to agree the team s recommendations. c. The practicalities You will be sent the documentation submitted by the institution, and a copy of this handbook, around six weeks before a partnership visit is due to take place. At this point you will also be sent other team members contact details, and details of the accommodation arranged for the team. Please let us know if you do not require accommodation or if you have any needs or requirements that we should bear in mind when making these arrangements. You should make your own travel arrangements to and from the visit. The Society will reimburse expenses incurred by you in participating in the visit. Guidelines for this can be found on the back of the expenses claim form that you will be sent. You should make contact with the other visiting team members ahead of the visit taking place, to exchange initial views on the paperwork, or simply to say hello. Their contact details will be provided with the paperwork you ll be sent. When working through the documents, you should work through the nine standards headings in order, with a view to identifying specific points for clarification, or areas of interest that you would like the team to explore further during the visit. When you meet as a team, you can decide how best to structure your questions, and who should lead on particular lines of enquiry. After the visit, the Partnership and Accreditation Officer will send you the draft report so that you can agree it before it is sent to the education provider. 58

59 d. Conflicts of interest Potential review or visiting team members will have completed a declaration of interest form but are expected to update the Partnership and Accreditation Officer about any personal or professional relationships they have that may present a conflict of interest (including external examining within the preceding three years, employment or significant contribution to the programme in question within the preceding three years, undertaking training at the education provider in question within the preceding three years, or personal or business relationships that may have an impact on an individual s ability to maintain an independent perspective on the programme in question). We will invite you to declare any conflicts of interest that may exist at the point of confirming the review or visit. We would also expect you to advise us of any conflicts of interest that arise following confirmation of your membership of the team, at the earliest opportunity. This is particularly important as, depending on the nature of the conflict of interest in question, it may be necessary for us to review your involvement in the review or visit. Team members who are unsure whether a conflict of interest exists should raise this with the Partnership and Accreditation Officer. We may also revise team membership if we are advised of a potential conflict of interest that team members, themselves, have not declared. e. Getting involved We feel that participating in the accreditation process is an excellent opportunity for shared learning, and is extremely valuable. Colleagues who are involved in the delivery of accredited programmes often find contributing to the accreditation process as a reviewer highly beneficial. If you would like to be involved in accrediting other programmes, please do get in touch with the Partnership and Accreditation Team to discuss your involvement. We rely greatly on the hard work of our volunteers: thank you. accreditation through partnership 59

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61 Our stakeholders accreditation through partnership 61

62 Our stakeholders Accreditation through partnership seeks to meet the needs of a range of stakeholders, both through partnership visits and through ongoing dialogue between the Society and the education providers whose programmes it accredits. Its primary objective is the continued assurance of high standards of psychology education and training; it also aims to promote quality enhancement across the sector, building on the solid foundations provided by well-embedded quality assurance practice. However, a series of additional benefits is outlined below. Education providers should ensure that those stakeholders they consider to be important to the delivery of their programme are involved in their partnership visit(s). a. Education providers Accreditation through partnership offers: A valuable marketing tool for education providers wishing to attract a diverse range of students to psychology education and/or training. A targeted process which allows education providers and their Departments to gain external recognition for the quality of the range of programmes that they offer without creating an unnecessary administrative burden. A process that promotes quality enhancement, above and beyond quality assurance. Continued access to a high quality benchmarking process that is well defined (by psychologists) and delivered in partnership (with psychologists). Improved access to solution-focussed support and advice from psychologists who bring a wide perspective on the ways in which standards are met across the country, and utilise this to facilitate quality enhancement. A process that is focussed on getting the best out of programmes, by providing space to explore alternative ways of achieving results. A process that is responsive to education providers and Departments feedback, utilising this to inform future standards development. We recognise that the priorities of programme teams and education providers senior managers may not always be the same. All of those involved in the delivery and management of programmes are encouraged to view themselves as active partners to this process programmes will be asked to highlight specific areas of focus in their initial documentary submission, and visiting teams would also welcome discussion during partnership visits about the ways in which programme teams and senior managers would like to see their relationship with the Society develop in partnership over time. We have also developed a logo for use by education providers when advertising accredited programmes (see page 70). 62

63 b. Students and trainees Accreditation through partnership offers: A more streamlined process for considering new programmes for accreditation before they take a student intake, widening student choice. Assurance that existing accredited programmes continue to achieve nationally agreed minimum quality standards, better informing student choice in relation to applying to undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. Access to a range of potential career opportunities: undertaking accredited programmes will continue to support students access to the full range of professional training in psychology. Access to Society membership and to a range of member benefits (see the Additional information section), and the opportunity to discuss these with partnership visit teams. A central place for the student voice within the accreditation through partnership framework. We will be exploring ways of communicating directly with students and trainees ahead of partnership visits to ensure that they understand the benefits of contributing to the process, and are prepared to bring questions of their own to their discussion with the visiting team. c. Employers Accreditation through partnership offers: A consistent articulation of the standards that graduates of accredited programmes (at any level) are expected to have achieved, particularly those for which no other external benchmark statements are available. An opportunity to engage in dialogue with education providers and the Society in relation to ways in which psychology education and training may need to change over time to respond to market needs. The current accreditation process incorporates liaison with employers in certain domains (particularly for clinical psychology and educational psychology, for example). However, we are keen to develop accreditation through partnership over time as a means of promoting direct engagement with a wider range of employers. We would encourage education providers to consider ways of including employer perspectives in their own quality management mechanisms, and to explicitly reflect these in visit documentation (for example, through self-evaluation). accreditation through partnership 63

64 d. Service users Programmes will differ in the ways in which they conceptualise and work with service users. Broadly speaking, when we use the phrase service users in the context of accreditation through partnership, we are referring to people who use, or potentially have access to, the services of professional psychologists. This may include, for example, individual clients, their families or carers, or organisations (including community projects or other voluntary groups). For some programmes, direct working with service users may not be appropriate to the type of programme being delivered. For others, service user participation may best be co-ordinated at a wider School or Faculty level. Some programmes (for example, those in clinical psychology), are required to demonstrate the strategies they have in place for involving service users in what they do. Whatever the context in which your programme is delivered, you may wish to consider whether/how to involve service user colleagues in the partnership visit process. Our experience is that, where they are involved, service users make a valuable and varied contribution to trainees understanding and development as practitioner psychologists of the future. e. Visiting team members Visiting team membership is drawn from Society members working within the wider education and training community, and other areas of professional practice, and more information on our reviewers is provided in the Our reviewers section of this handbook. Our members have identified a number of benefits associated with involvement in accreditation through partnership: For members involved directly in education or training: The opportunity to engage with other education or training provision and explore alternative approaches to common challenges. The opportunity to stay up-to-date with current practice in a range of areas (research, learning and teaching, assessment), particularly those that differ from their own employer s strategic priorities. For members in other practice environments: The opportunity to ensure that programmes of education and training take appropriate account of practitioner and employer perspectives. The opportunity to refresh one s knowledge of what students and trainees are learning, and what skills they are being equipped with. For all members: Valuable networking opportunities. Space and time to debate wider professional issues. Effective cross-fertilisation of ideas. Ongoing support for continuing professional development. 64

65 f. The Society Accreditation through partnership offers: The opportunity to actively solicit feedback from education providers on matters of mutual interest. The opportunity to gain a broader perspective on the ways in which the discipline and the profession are developing, and to contribute to those developments in collaboration with education providers. Continued assurance of high standards in psychology education and training. Access to information on psychology students and graduates, which can be used to focus on employability, diversity, and to enhance the Society s careers promotion services and other member benefits. Opportunities to promote Society membership to a range of individuals. The meetings that take place on partnership visits will provide an opportunity to ask education providers about their key areas for development in psychology. They will also allow visiting teams to explore with education providers their approach to student employability. For example, how are students supported in marketing the transferability of the subject-specific and generic skills that their psychology degree has equipped them with? Are there any steps that the Society could take to support education providers and students in this area? Accreditation through partnership also intends to encourage an improved quality of dialogue between education providers and the Society, so that we are better able to act on the feedback that education providers offer. We would invite education providers to comment on their experience of accreditation through partnership to enable us to identify and respond to specific training issues, and provide a better quality service. You can download our feedback form at: accreditation through partnership 65

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67 Additional information accreditation through partnership 67

68 Additional information a. Information for students and trainees It is important that students and trainees have access to accurate and comprehensive guidance in order that they are able to make well-informed choices, whether in relation to future study, or when considering future employment options. We are keen to ensure that education providers have access to clear information to support them in advising students on the choices and opportunities available to them. This section outlines, firstly, the importance of undertaking Society-accredited programmes in relation to access to professional training; and secondly, the benefits of Society membership for students and graduates. The information below may be used in student handbooks or other materials as appropriate. Education and training pathways Until the statutory regulation of practitioner psychologists was introduced in July 2009, the centrality of completing Society-accredited programmes as part of the route to qualification and practice was a given. The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), as the regulator, does not itself specify entry requirements for the programmes it approves. Understandably, this has led some education providers to question the value of the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) and Society-accredited postgraduate programmes as integral training components for those wishing to practise as psychologists. GBC provides an important verification of the breadth and depth of psychology graduates knowledge and skills. It is also a validation of graduates readiness to undertake independent research in psychology. A student s completion of an accredited stage one programme indicates that they have gained an appropriate breadth and depth of knowledge in the relevant domain, which will underpin their further development as practitioners. It also indicates their development as independent researchers. Completion of an accredited programme at any level contributes towards graduates understanding of the key bodies of knowledge which are relevant to the profession-specific Standards of Proficiency specified by the Health and Care Professions Council. Importantly, it also indicates that knowledge and skills have been gained as a result of work with and support from appropriately qualified people. The HCPC approves programmes that meet its Standards of Education and Training (SETs). By meeting the Standards of Education and Training, approved programmes will also enable their graduates to meet the relevant Standards of Proficiency (SoPs), meaning that graduates will be eligible to apply to join the HCPC s register of practitioner psychologists. Under existing training routes, the programmes approved by HCPC include Stage Two programmes, integrated Doctoral programmes, and Society qualifications. Whilst no minimum entry requirements are set by HCPC as the regulator, education providers offering HCPC-approved programmes may (and usually do) choose to set completion of a Society-accredited programme at the appropriate level(s) as a criterion for selection. Our advice to students is to always choose a Society-accredited programme over one which does not carry accreditation, as this is a way of maximising the options available to them in the future, including the option to progress to Chartered Psychologist status should they so wish. More information on benefits of Society membership is provided below. Education providers considering applications from students for their postgraduate programmes may establish applicants eligibility for the GBC, and the accreditation status of postgraduate 68

69 programmes they may have taken, either through reference to the Society s database of accredited courses (see or by the individual student making an application to the Society s Membership team (see or [email protected]). The Society normally expects entrants to accredited postgraduate training programmes to be eligible for the GBC (or, for accredited Stage Two programmes, to have gained eligibility for the GBC and have completed a Society-accredited Stage One programme). However, education providers may also wish to accept applicants with alternative qualifications, particularly those from overseas. Education providers who choose to accept such qualifications as a basis for entry to their programmes should have a clear rationale for doing so, and must ensure that the information made available to potential and current students clearly outlines the implications in relation to further training, employment as a practitioner psychologist, and access to Chartered Membership of the Society. Alternatively, they may wish to establish a parallel programme with an alternative award title as a means of distinguishing different student groups and the different advice that may need to be given to each. accreditation through partnership 69

70 b. Information for education providers Advertising and promotion Education providers developing new programmes for accreditation who have made initial contact with the Partnership and Accreditation Team, as suggested in the Our processes section of this handbook, are free to advertise their programme as application for accreditation submitted to The British Psychological Society. Education providers whose programmes have been successfully accredited by the Society are encouraged to use our logo in their advertising and promotional materials. Copies of our logo can be downloaded from our website, at Approval of continuing professional development programmes The Society s CPD Approval Scheme approves professional development programmes, courses, workshops, conferences, and events offered by universities and external commercial providers as meeting the Society s professional development standards. The CPD Approval Scheme enables CPD providers, including universities, to have programmes or events that are of relevance to psychology and/or psychologists and which may be of interest to qualified and aspiring psychologists approved and advertised to Society members. The standards are structured around five key areas: Learning, research and practice Ethical practice and professional values Personal and professional development Delivery Quality management University providers offering accredited programmes will be familiar with these standards, and can join the scheme at no cost. Does your University offer postgraduate programmes or make individual modules of study available for the purposes of CPD? To find out about how to get your own training provision approved by the Learning Centre, please see Validation One of the aims of accreditation through partnership is to reduce demands placed upon education providers by placing greater reliance on other quality management processes in which they are involved. In particular, education providers often ask us whether there is scope to combine the accreditation process with university validation, re-validation or periodic review. We are happy for education providers to propose an approach that best meets their needs. However, it may be useful to consider the following points: Validation first, accreditation later: This approach to planning your review activity means that your programme(s) will have been closely scrutinised in advance of your partnership visit, meaning that you will be in a good position to identify aspects of your provision that may require development, key areas of strength, as well as any specific challenges that you think may benefit from more detailed discussion with the visiting team. It also means that you are likely to have in 70

71 place a complete and current set of documentation (for example, self-evaluation document, programme specification, programme handbook) that you can easily collate for the purpose of your partnership visit. Because it is likely that less external people will be involved in each individual process, this is potentially more straightforward from a logistical point of view, although does draw on education providers time twice rather than once. Combined validation event and partnership visit: This approach offers the advantage of enabling education providers to plan for a single event, requiring a single set of documentation. It requires careful management both in the run up to the event and on the day, however, particularly to ensure that the aims and intended outcomes of the validation/review process and those of accreditation through partnership complement each other. Timetabling arrangements for such an event need to ensure that sufficient time is set aside, especially with the core programme team, to balance coverage of finer points of detail with the wish to facilitate a more enhancement-led discussion. An agreed, shared approach to chairing the event will be important in ensuring that the larger number of individuals involved in the combined review panels does not impact upon the extent to which participants in the event may speak openly and honestly about their contribution to or experience of the programme(s) in question. Education providers considering this option may wish to consider whether accreditation through partnership fulfils any requirement for validation or periodic review to incorporate an external academic and/or professional perspective. Alternatively, if the process does not in itself meet the education provider s needs, there may be scope to ask the reviewers acting on behalf of the Society to act in a specified dual role. Any engagement of reviewers of this kind may be negotiated on an individual basis through the Society s office. Programmes seeking accreditation for the first time are required to complete a paper-based submission, on which basis a decision about the accreditation of the first cohort will be made. New programme submissions may either be made following validation of the programme in question, or beforehand. However, if a submission for accreditation is made before the programme in question has been validated, you will need to let us know: the timescale within which your validation process is likely to be complete, including the date for your validation event; the outcome of your validation event; and any changes made to the programme as a result of the validation process. Generally the most straightforward approach is to seek accreditation after a programme has been validated. However, we appreciate that the validation process itself can often be a more constructive experience if an in-principle decision to accredit has already been reached, and are happy to be guided by education providers in this regard. accreditation through partnership 71

72 Accreditation of programmes offered internationally The Society currently only accredits programmes offered by UK education providers that are delivered in the UK. This includes programmes that are delivered via distance learning, where students may be based outside of the UK. Accreditation of programmes delivered internationally by our UK university partners, whether at international campuses or through partnership or franchise agreements, is currently being reviewed with a view towards developing a set of policies and procedures to support the accreditation of such programmes in the near future. If you currently deliver any of your programmes internationally and would like to explore potential future accreditation options, please get in touch with us at [email protected]. Deferral or cancellation of visits Unfortunately, if we do not receive your documentation six weeks before the visit, we may have to defer or cancel the visit. When documentation is late, the Partnership and Accreditation Officer will write to the Programme Director and Head of Department to advise that unless the documentation arrives at least four weeks before the visit, the visit will not be able to go ahead. The visiting team will also be contacted. If a visit has to be cancelled, then we will work with the programme to find another mutually convenient time for a visit. I am planning for a partnership visit to my programme(s). When can I expect to receive my approved report? The reviewers who work with you during your partnership visit will be able to feed back their indicative decision to you at the end of the visit. This will then be outlined in a written report. We would normally expect to get a draft report out to you within four weeks of a visit, although during particularly busy periods this can take longer. We will then give you two weeks during which you will be asked to comment on the report. Once we receive your comments, we will make them available to our reviewers alongside the draft report. If you do not respond to us we will assume that you are happy with the report. Any comments you do make will be integrated into the report and a final version will be issued to you. On very rare occassions, the Partnership and Accreditation Committee (PAC) may be asked to consider any aspect of your decision or report, for example if it highlights any aspect of our standards that requires discussion or revision. If this is the case, we will advise you accordingly, particularly if it means that there may be a delay in communicating the final outcome of the visit to you. I don t think I m going to be able to respond within the deadline we originally agreed. What should I do? Please get in touch with us as soon as you can to propose an alternative timescale that meets your needs. We will consult with the reviewers to establish whether the revised schedule is suitable. 72

73 I m not sure I understand what you re asking for. Can I get some clarification please? We pride ourselves on producing visit reports that offer an accurate, detailed reflection of our visiting team s discussions during a partnership visit, and we would hope that this gives you enough information to inform the work you may need to undertake in relation to any conditions or recommendations for enhancement that may appear in the report. However, we realise that this isn t always the case! If you would like further clarification, please contact the Partnership and Accreditation Officer who produced the original report on behalf of the team. They should be able to answer most questions you might have. If necessary, they may be able to arrange for you to have a further discussion with a member of the visiting team if that would be the most helpful course of action. Governance Accreditation through partnership is overseen by the Society s Partnership and Accreditation Committee (PAC), on behalf of the Membership Standards Board. PAC comprises representatives from each of the Society s Committees with an involvement in accreditation, with expertise in a range of areas of psychology education and training at graduate and postgraduate levels. This ensures that the Society s standards for accreditation, as defined by the Membership Standards Board, are implemented appropriately and consistently across all programmes and education providers. PAC has oversight of the overall schedule of partnership visit and review activity, and ensures that Committees carry out partnership visits in accordance with that schedule, and in a way that is consistent with the principles of accreditation through partnership. Committees are established on the basis of the experience of their members in relation to specific fields of psychology education or training. They have oversight of the accredited programmes within their field, and deliver accreditation through partnership. This means that they establish review teams and support them in reaching decisions in relation to initial or ongoing accreditation, including any conditions of accreditation that may need to be met by the education provider for accreditation to be maintained. PAC will receive regular reports of the decisions taken in relation to accredited programmes, and will use this to manage accreditation through partnership by monitoring trends and shaping its own strategic priorities. This may include providing clarification to Committees on the way they are applying the standards for accreditation; identifying and considering any proposed amendments to standards; identifying general and specific training objectives for reviewers; or recognising the need for targeted communication or consultation with education providers in relation to our shared standards and partnership working. accreditation through partnership 73

74 Responding to our reports Accreditation through partnership aims to place greater emphasis on education providers own quality management processes, and our standards include an expectation that those quality management systems make regular provision for the periodic review of the validity and relevance of the programme, such that it continues to reflect our standards. However, in order that we can be confident that all of our standards continue to be met, it is often necessary to set conditions of accreditation following a partnership visit or paper-based review. Recommendations for further enhancement and commendations may also be identified. We will propose a timescale within which you should expect to respond to any matters raised, but you should let us know if you wish to propose an alternative time-frame that better suits your particular circumstances (for example, to tie in with meeting schedules for relevant university or other stakeholder committees). Education providers are not required to respond to any commendations made, but we hope that, along with visiting teams other observations, these continue to inform the development of the programme. Education providers are asked to provide an electronic copy of their response to any conditions of accreditation, which must outline action taken to meet each condition. Where an education provider wishes to submit any particularly large documents as evidence that conditions of accreditation have been fulfilled (for example, a copy of the Programme Handbook), three hard copies should be provided. Conditions must be met in order for accreditation to continue. Responses will be considered by members with expertise in the given domain and education providers will be informed whether the conditions have been met or whether further information/action is required. Should I get in touch with you before I make a change, or afterwards? This process can be used prospectively or retrospectively it s entirely up to you. In relation to curriculum changes, however, we would normally expect at some stage in the process to receive confirmation that the changes we have been told about have been validated by the education provider. If you are not able to provide this at the point of notifying us of the change in question, we will ask you to outline a likely timescale within which your internal approval process will be complete. My programme is also approved by the Health and Care Professions Council. How do I know which changes they need to know about, and which changes the Society needs to know about? The Health and Care Professions Council s approvals and monitoring processes include a process through which education providers are required to notify the HCPC of any major changes to their programme. Details of this process can be found at We would suggest that you forward a copy of any correspondence notifying the HCPC of major changes to your programme to ourselves. We hope that this will help to avoid any confusion or complication, and will enable us to get in touch with you directly in the unlikely event that we require further information from you. 74

75 Additionally, education providers are asked to provide an electronic copy of their response to any recommendations for further enhancement that are made. This may take the format of either a brief narrative, or a quality management action plan indicating how the recommendations identified by the visiting team have been/will be considered, by whom, and over what timescale. Recommendations are made based on the principles of accreditation through partnership and aim to promote quality enhancement and the development of the discipline through the programme. Changes to accredited programmes We expect education providers to have in place their own mechanisms for managing change, and do not usually need to be notified about the changes that you make on an ongoing basis. However, there are some types of change on which we are often asked to advise and you must tell us about these: New Programme Director/Co-ordinator: We expect you to pay due regard to the expectations outlined in our standards when making appointments to senior roles such as these. However, it is important that you inform us of any changes to your programme directorship arrangements so that we can update our records, and to make sure that you don t miss out on any key communications. We acknowledge that there can be occasions when posts are vacant for a period of time. In such cases, we would ask you to advise us of your plans for dealing with the management of the programme on an interim basis, so that we can be confident that our standards continue to be met. Additionally, maintaining dialogue with us during times of change will mean that we will be well placed to provide support and guidance to you and your colleagues (particularly incoming Programme Directors) on an ad hoc basis. Staffing: Staffing on accredited programmes often fluctuates, and the speed with which vacant posts may be replaced varies across education providers. We would like to know, however, if staff turnover on your programme is such that you are not able to achieve the expected staff:student ratios outlined in our standards. We would normally expect any dialogue with education providers in such instances to be focused on production of an action plan outlining steps to be taken to ensure that appropriate staffing levels are retained. This may include, for example, working towards a recruitment and/or retention strategy, creative use of other posts to ensure appropriate support for psychology students and staff, or other solutions that may be appropriate to your local circumstances. Curriculum redesign: We do not need to know about changes you make to your modules or other aspects of programme delivery, unless they impact significantly upon coverage of the required curriculum (undergraduate and conversion programmes), knowledge base (Masters programmes) or competencies (Doctoral programmes). This is particularly important for undergraduate and conversion programmes, which tend to comprise a blend of modules that must be taken for students to have met the requirements for the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership, and those that may be taken on an optional basis. Masters and Doctoral courses would normally only need to notify us of curriculum changes in the event that their provision is significantly redesigned. accreditation through partnership 75

76 Withdrawal of accreditation Open-ended accreditation offers recognition of the low risk of an accredited programme failing to demonstrate its continued achievement of the required standards. Programmes will however, be expected to participate in regular partnership visits once initial accreditation has been achieved. If the programme is found to no longer demonstrate the required standards, the Society may be unable to confirm the continuing accreditation of the programme. Accreditation may also be withdrawn if a programme fails to meet any conditions of accreditation set. Any decision to withdraw accreditation will be taken with the interests of current and perspective students in mind. As such, withdrawal of accreditation would normally apply to future student cohorts and only after a process of working in partnership with the education provider to seek resolve the concerns in question. In the rare event that continuing accreditation cannot be confirmed, we will indicate clearly the student cohort(s) to whom this decision applies, and the steps that need to be taken in order that accreditation may be reinstated. We would typically expect to work with you to agree an action and monitoring plan to ensure that you have access to appropriate support and advice from the Society during what can, unfortunately, be experienced as a very difficult period. Appealing against an accreditation decision Should you wish to appeal against a decision in relation to accreditation of a programme, details of the Society s appeals process can be found on our website at Appeals must be submitted in writing within two calendar months of the date of the letter informing you of the decision against which you wish to appeal. Please note that a fee of 500 will be charged for the assessment of appeals against a decision of the Society s accreditation process. In the event that the appeal is upheld the Society will refund this fee. Feedback Accreditation through partnership has been developed over a number of years and continues to be refined on the basis of your feedback. Whenever we provide you with an approved visit report or paper-based review outcome, we will ask you to provide us with feedback. If you want to comment on any aspect of accreditation through partnership, or make a suggestion as to ways in which we might improve the services and products we offer to you, please feel free to get in touch with the Partnership and Accreditation Team. Contact details are provided at the front of this handbook. Complaints about an accredited programme Whilst we are not able to intervene in individual disputes, we are able to take a view on the extent to which the programme s fulfilment of our standards may be compromised. The details of this process can be found on the Society s website at The cost of accreditation through partnership Full information on the cost of accreditation through partnership can be found on our website at The Society s accreditation function is currently funded through a combination of annual subscriptions, charged to each department that offers accredited programme(s), and fees to contribute to the costs of undertaking on site visits. We do not charge for visits that we undertake to undergraduate programmes, but do charge fixed fees for one and two-day partnership visits to postgraduate programmes. 76

77 The British Psychological Society St Andrews House, 48 Princess Road East, Leicester LE1 7DR t: +44 (0) e: INF146 /