Nursing Associate Apprenticeship - Level 5

Kickstart your career

You will receive a Level 5 Foundation Degree

Healthcare ready

There are a variety of assessments within the course to meet the outcomes required of a Nursing Associate

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Benefit from the real-world expertise of our academics and healthcare colleagues.

This 2-year apprenticeship has been developed by Staffordshire University to cater for the new role of Nursing Associate which was put in place to help ensure continued high-quality care within the health environment.

The apprenticeship recognises, develops and maximises the talents of staff, building on these to produce highly trained Nursing Associates that are job-ready and meet the standards for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Who is it for?

The Nursing Associate is a new role created in response to political initiatives to continually improve the way care is delivered. The training is primarily aimed at staff that that are currently providing care to patients and their relatives across the NHS and want to progress and become better equipped to deliver high quality care.

On successful completion of study, we will issue the following award: Level 5 Foundation Degree

Location: Stoke-on-Trent campus, Centre for Health Innovation Stafford
Duration: Typical duration for this apprenticeship is 2 years.
Start date(s): Typical start dates are September and or March.

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Course content

In collaboration and agreement with partner organisations, the structure and delivery time will reflect the apprenticeship standard requirements and the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Standards for pre-registration nursing associate programmes. The course will be delivered over 2 years with 12 months duration for each level of study (level 4 and 5). The programme length in total is 2,300 hours and this provides an equal balance of theory and practice learning. These hours are those which are protected for learning, in theory and practice. Any hours which are not protected for learning, in which you are in effect working in your substantive place of work, do not count towards programme hours

Work Based/Placement learning:

Trainee Nursing Associates are not required to have placements in each field of nursing. You will however, benefit from placement learning opportunities that will allow you to develop and meet the Standards of proficiency for nursing associates to deliver safe and effective care, to a diverse range of people, across the lifespan and in a variety of settings. These placements will expose you to children and adults, and patients/service users with mental health conditions and learning disabilities. Through learning in external placements, you will gain an understanding of the most significant factors to be aware of when providing care to different types of service user.

Modules

The programme is made up as follows:

Year 1 Modules:

Mental health and physical health through the lifespan
Professional, legal and ethical considerations for Nursing Associates
Care across the lifespan
Nursing Associates in Practice 1, 2, 3

Year 2 Modules:

Altered mental health and physical health through the lifespan
Human factors, risk, decision making and uncertainty
Medicines, their management and application
Nursing Associates in Practice 4, 5, 6

End-point Assessment must be completed within 3 months following the completion of all course modules.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements Level 2 maths and English (GCSE, functional skills or equivalent)

Fees

For levy-paying organisations the cost is paid from their digital account at a rate of £15,000. For non-levy paying organisations the cost is £750.

Delivery and assessment

Delivery

This is a vocational course that allows you to learn whilst you earn. You will remain an employee and attend university two days per week to build upon your, ‘on the job’ experience and learn about the theory that underpins your practice. You will also be given protected learning time in external practice placements, enabling you to develop the breadth of experience required for this generic role. You will spend 20% of the total programme time in these external placement areas over the course of your apprenticeship.

Assessment

You will be assessed using a range of methods during your time as an apprentice, it is not just through writing assignments. The academic element is modular. This will mean you will be required to produce some written work but in recognition of the varied learning styles of adult learners and the outcomes required of a Nursing Associate, there are a variety of assessments within the course.

These include:

Observed practice
Oral presentations
Written assignments/essays
Reflective essays
Critical appraisal of own experience
Written examinations
Multiple choice question (MCQ) and Short answer question (SAQ) examinations
Numeracy examination
Assessment of practice learning - designed to reflect assessment of your development and indicate progression against the standards
Viva Voce

The practical element will be overseen by supervisors and assessors from the clinical area. These individuals will facilitate learning, guide, support, and assess the apprentice and monitor your progress within the clinical component of the course.

You will also have an academic assessor. These will liaise with the practice setting and be involved in monitoring your academic progression.

Learning support

In addition to the excellent support you will receive from your course teaching team, our central Academic Skills team provides group and one-to-one help to support your learning in a number of areas. These include study skills (including reading, note-taking and presentation skills); written English (including punctuation and grammatical accuracy); academic writing (including how to reference); research skills; critical thinking and understanding arguments; and revision, assessment and examination skills (including time management).

Additional support

Our AccessAbility Services support students with additional needs such as sensory impairment or learning difficulties. You will also have full access to our support services such as Student Guidance.

Feedback

Examination feedback may take a variety of formats. However, as a minimum, generic feedback will be made available to all students who take written examinations.

Responsibilities

The employer must not ask the apprentice to contribute financially to the direct cost of learning
Ensure apprentices are given a minimum of 6 hours per week in off-the-job training
Enter into a contract with Staffordshire University
Participate in reviews with the apprentice and university, providing evidence and feedback on progress at work and success in meeting apprenticeship milestones
Provide a safe, healthy and supportive environment, which meets the needs of the apprentice
Provide apprentices with a contract of employment for the duration of the apprenticeship on the first day of their apprenticeship and be paid at least a wage consistent with the law for both the time they are in work and in off-the-job learning
Provide the apprentice with paid time to attend off-the-job training, including additional support for English and Maths, or support accessed for learning difficulties and/or disabilities
Recognise that the apprentice must complete the apprenticeship within their working hours
Support the apprentice to gain new skills

A citizen of a country within the European Economic Area (EEA) or have the right of abode in the UK and have been ordinarily resident in the EEA for at least the previous three years on the first day of learning
Able to complete the apprenticeship in contracted working hours
Be an employee (have a contract of employment for the duration of the apprenticeship) on the first day of their apprenticeship and be paid at least a wage consistent with the law for both the time they are in work and in off-the-job learning
Be in a new job role (nine months or less), or in an existing job role, where significant new knowledge and skills are needed - employer statement of justification needed (relevant to the apprenticeship)
Be in full time employment for a minimum of 37.5 hours a week
Has the right to work in England
Maintain a safe, healthy and supportive environment, which meets your needs
Not be enrolled on another apprenticeship at the same time
Participate in reviews with the employer and university, providing evidence and feedback on progress at work and success in meeting apprenticeship milestones

Administer the funding and running of the apprenticeship standard to an acceptable standard of quality and in compliance with the ESFAs requirements
Agree jointly between the university, the employer and apprentice, an individual learning plan (ILP) ensuring that satisfactory progress is achieved and to ensure that the contents of the ILP fulfil the requirements of the apprenticeship standard
Provide a safe, healthy and supportive learning environment, which meets the needs of the apprentice
Provide off-the-job learning and assessment and oversee the on-the-job skills development as detailed in the ILP
Provide support on the selection of the endpoint assessor, if applicable. The endpoint assessment will be completed by the learning provider for all integrated degrees

Careers

Typical job titles include nursing associate. Nursing associate is a protected title and may only be used by someone on the Nursing and Midwifery Council register.

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To join a higher degree apprenticeship programme or recruit an apprentice for your business, enquire with us today.