Newsletter

Issue 15 | August 2018

IN THIS ISSUE:

QA ACTIVITY | NMC QA FRAMEWORK | TRAINING & RECRUITMENT: NEW VISITORS |
CURRENT REVIEWERS | GOODBYE AND THANK YOU | FAQs | NOTABLE PRACTICE | NMC CORRESPONDENCE | ON CALL AND IT SUPPORT |

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Welcome to the August 2018 Newsletter of the NMC quality assurance framework


QA activity

We are now at the end of the 2017-18 academic year and the fifth year of implementing the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) quality assurance (QA) framework. Since September 2017 we have completed 56 programme approvals, two endorsement events, 105 major modifications, and 173 minor modifications. There have also been three events in this period for higher education institutions to gain approved education institution (AEI) status.

The 2017-18 monitoring period has now concluded. 14 monitoring visits have been completed since December 2017. All monitoring reports are published on the NMC website once signed-off by the NMC QA team.

We will be moving into a new and different phase of QA in 2018-19 as we support the NMC in the implementation of the new QA Framework which we will tell you more about in the next newsletter.

NMC QA Framework

The NMC published the new NMC QA Framework on 16 August 2018.

We are busy finalising the new QA Handbook which sets out the detail of the QA processes to support the new QA Framework which will be available via the homepage of our website the first week of September 2018.

We are also developing a new on-line QA hub which will support the new QA Framework and is the conduit for all the new QA processes, electronic documents, mapping tools and reports. We will be providing QA visitors and AEIs with training in the use of this system.

In the forthcoming weeks, our website will be updated with new materials and guidance information for visitors and AEIs to support the new QA processes. We will let you know as soon as these become available.

Training and recruitment of the new visitors

In the new NMC QA Framework 2018 reviewers will be known as ‘visitors’. Registrant and lay visitors will participate in programme approvals. Recruitment of the new visitors has concluded and training against the new NMC Standards and the QA Framework will take place in Manchester on 5-6 September 2018.

Gentle reminder to current reviewers

When submitting expenses claims please ensure you include relevant receipts otherwise this will delay your payment. We would advise you to keep a copy of your receipts until your invoice has been paid. We have had a small number of instances where an invoice claim has been lost in the postal system and unfortunately whilst we can issue a copy invoice, payment cannot be made without accompanying receipts.

Goodbye and thank you

A number of reviewers have left us this year and we wish to convey our thanks for all of their hard work and commitment in contributing to NMC QA activity. We also say goodbye and thank you to Paul Percival, project officer, who has moved on to work on another project for Mott MacDonald. Paul’s knowledge, expertise and excellent communication skills will be missed by official correspondents (OCs), reviewers and the wider QA teams here at Mott MacDonald and the NMC. We welcome a new member to the Mott MacDonald team: Stephanie Fagg, project officer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Have the English language requirements for programme entry changed in the new standards?

A. The NMC have not changed the English language requirements within the entry requirements in the new programme standards for pre-registration nursing education. The new standards have been written in such a way to provide more flexibility.

It is the AEI’s responsibility to ensure that the student can demonstrate proficiency in English language for entry onto the programme and at the point of registration. It is also the AEI’s responsibility to assess this before the student starts the programme. The NMC expectation is that applicants are able to communicate (speaking, reading, writing and listening), effectively on admission to the programme. They consider this an important public protection issue as students go into practice learning environments early in the programme. The information about the NMC’s English language requirements for registration may be found here.

Q. How long should an AEI retain students records once they have completed an NMC programme?

A. For advice about complying with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and how long records should be retained, the NMC advice is to contact your AEI information governance or legal department. Alternatively, the Information Commissioner’s Office can provide advice about complying with data protection legislation.

It will be for your organisation to determine appropriate data retention periods based on your business requirements and legal obligations.

Q. Are there any other issues AEIs need to be aware of related to the GDPR and the QA of NMC education?

A. OCs will be aware that the GDPR came into effect 25 May 2018 which details changes to data protection and privacy for all individuals in the EU and EEA. This regulation gives individuals and organisations the option to unsubscribe from correspondence from Mott MacDonald. If an OC on behalf of their AEI wishes to unsubscribe to this newsletter, please contact us here.

More detail on the impact of the GDPR on programme approvals and reviews is provided in the new QA Handbook.

Notable practice

There have been a number of examples of notable and innovative practice arising in recent QA events and reported in annual self-assessments. Examples are attached here from the following AEIs:

University of Highlands and Islands – Undergraduate daily mile
Ulster University – Health impact of flooding and related displacement
University of Chester – Practice assessment, review and evaluation
University of Greenwich – Institute of Integrated Care an NHS collaboration
University of Central Lancashire – Salutogenic case based learning

Please contact the AEI directly if you are interested in receiving more information about individual examples.

NMC correspondence

OCs and Lead Midwives for Education received a letter from the NMC on 5 July 2018 providing an update on the programme of change for education including extensions to programmes. To view details of this correspondence, click here.

On call and IT support

Visitors and the staff in AEIs can contact us if they have any queries. We always try to answer your questions promptly to avoid issues that might otherwise cause delay or inconvenience.

For administrative or IT support contact the operations team at Mott MacDonald via email nmc@mottmac.com or telephone 01223 463722.

For professional issues, please telephone or email Judith Porch or Bernie Wallis depending on who is on call. The on-call rota and contact details are available here: http://www.nmc.mottmac.com/

If you have any comments or suggestions related to this latest edition of the newsletter please send them to me at bernie.wallis@mottmac.com

Bernie Wallis | Deputy Director of Reviews

The Mott MacDonald Group is an independent management, engineering and development consultancy with over 12,000 staff working in over 140 countries.

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