Registrant and Lay Visitors - 2023-24 Academic Year
The Nursing and Midwifery Council's QA Framework, went live on 1 September 2018.
To gain programme approval, an approved education institutions (AEIs) must meet the requirements set out in the Standards for education and training and the relevant programme Standards. The gateways and the respective standards are outlined below:
In the QA framework the NMC states that QA of education gives them the confidence that AEIs and new education institutions (EIs) are meeting their Standards for education and training. This helps them to know that students who have successfully completed an approved programme are meeting the standards of proficiency that they require before they join the NMC register. It's one of the ways the NMC fulfil their duty to protect the public.
The Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001 (the Order) is legislation that establishes the NMC and sets out their primary purpose of protecting the public, their functions, and activities. All QA of education and training operate within the Order. This ensures that nurses, midwives and nursing associates are educated to consistently deliver high quality healthcare.
The QA Handbook provides information for QA visitors about the QA of education and supporting processes to make sure that AEIs and EIs provide nursing, midwifery and nursing associate education and training to meet NMC standards.
Programme scrutiny will be undertaken by QA registrant visitors who have active NMC registration. They will be assigned to undertake QA activities for parts of the NMC register in which they hold registration and have a recorded qualification. MM requires QA visitors to declare the currency of their registration on an annual basis.
Under the QA framework, the NMC increased their commitment to the involvement of people: patients, service users, carers and the public in the QA of education. Therefore, lay visitors, who are members of the public, will actively participate in the approval of pre-registration nursing, midwifery and nursing associate programmes with a QA registrant visitor. They are prepared to ensure that people are at the centre of the NMC’s work in education and training, that their voices are heard, and that people know how they can contribute to the QA of education processes. The QA framework emphasises the importance of education and training that’s underpinned by effective partnerships between AEIs, education institutions and practice learning partners/employer partners at all levels. One of the areas of focus for all QA visitors will be the effectiveness of these partnerships.
Please find supportive guidance on how registrant and lay visitors should collaborate here.
Please refer to the Visitor webpages and QA Handbook for additional information.
There are some top tips for QA Visitors in writing their reports in the NMC Tone of Voice Guidance. The following crib sheet is intended to support QA visitors in the completion of the programme approval reports.
Training nurses, midwives and nursing associates: the student voice
The NMC has produced a leaflet for students about the NMC Framework. A Welsh version can be found here.
If you have any queries please contact the Mott MacDonald team on 01223 463 441 or email nmc@mottmac.com.