Explore our support and guidance welcoming nursing students.
A student nurse or nursing associate will experience a range of placements as part of their academic programme. Social care offers a fantastic opportunity for learning and can support development of nursing professions in person-centred practice and professional autonomy.
Our resources develop understanding of nursing placements within social care settings, and may be particularly relevant to employers, students and the education provider.
New guidance: Developing nursing placement opportunities in social care
Social care nursing placements offer a wealth of opportunities with employers and practice learning partners playing a key role in supporting students to reach their full potential in developing their knowledge and skills within the learning environment.
For employers and those considering hosting students to help them navigate the process of linking in with higher education institutions and highlights the benefits that there are for employers in hosting students.
PDF - 1,441 KB
Designed to help employers to understand the process of providing a safe and suitable learning environment for students and the various routes that are available to students into the nursing profession.
An open letter to Higher Education Institutions
From Ed Hughes, CEO, Council of Deans of Health and Oonagh Smyth, CEO, Skills for Care.
To support this new guidance Skills for Care and the Council of Deans of Health have written an open letter to Higher Education Institutes highlighting the value of social care nursing placements and the social care learning environment.
Read the open letter
Developing nursing placements in social care
We explore how key stakeholders have come together to develop nursing placements and share the value of hosting nursing placements in social care for the sector and the nursing profession.
Guide: How to make the most of student nurse placements in social care settings
This guide introduces what can be offered within social care placement settings. The guide has 10 examples which have been mapped to the future nurse standards of proficiency. This guide will cover the following:
- what social care is – diversity of settings and offer
- the ethos of social care, the learning which is available to healthcare and nursing students
- what a person who needs care and support wants nurses to know about them and the environment,
- how the standards of proficiency for registered nurses map to different settings and experiences
- the richness of learning on offer.
PDF - 1.89Mb
Supporting the understanding of nursing placements within social care. This guide is aimed at social care employers, student nurses and higher education providers.
Indemnity insurance guidance
Skills for Care in consultation with Nursing and Midwifery Council, Royal College of Nursing, Queens Nursing Institute and Registered Nursing Home Association have developed the following guidance to support and clarify social care practice experience opportunities within the sector.
PDF - 119KB
Guidance indemnity insurance and clinical negligence cover for nursing placements in social care.
Routes to nursing associate qualification
Apprenticeship
Employers could consider an apprenticeship programme to support the development of nursing associate roles. This is a great opportunity to offer career progression for existing staff as well as an attractive recruitment offer for motivated individuals to join social care teams.
An apprenticeship is a work-based programme where the student is an employee (existing or new). The student is working during the education period as a student nursing associate. There will be mandatory learning days and placements in different areas to meet the programme requirements.
View the apprenticeship levy for more information.
PDF - 535KB
This case study demonstrates how a nursing home has created clinical progression through offering apprenticeship opportunities resulting in excellent nursing retention and continuity of care.
Direct entry route
Universities are offering the pre-registration nursing associate programme as a direct entry option. In this case the student nursing associate is a student at the university, not an employee. Fees for the programme will be charged to the student.
As a social care employer, you can get involved with the new role by offering placement opportunities for pre-registration nursing associates, speak to your local university and ICB to see what support is on offer.
View our Developing nursing placement opportunities in social care guidance.
I did the nursing associate course because I have a passion for caring for people along with gaining transferable skills to help myself grow within social care.
Amy
Nursing associate