NVQ Centre Website
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What are NVQs for?
National Vocational Qualifications are increasingly being used in modernising services provided by healthcare organisations. NVQs are based upon National Occupational Standards that prescribe excellence in performance and ensure the requisite knowledge and skills are applied in the workplace.
They are central to;
Role Development
NVQs allow for extension of roles based upon the competencies embedded in the award. In healthcare for example this allows for the expansion of support worker roles into areas previously the domain of the practitioner. This is achieved by assessment in the clinical area and excellent educational support. NVQs map to the Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) and are designed to be used as definitive evidence of achievement in KSF Personal Development Plan
Steps in role design with NVQs
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Development opportunities for all staff
NVQs provide a development opportunity for non-professionally qualified workforce via a career escalator approach. (Click here) to find out more. This allows for progression onto assistant practitioner and practitioner programs at higher education institutions and for progression onto higher level study. (Click here) to find out more about how NVQs relate to other types of education on the National Qualification Framework (NQF)
Risk Management
NVQs have a quality assurance framework where performance and knowledge are rigorously verified to ensure validity of awards earned by the NVQ candidates. Because NVQs are based on National Occupational Standards and are therefore the gold standard benchmark and measure of competence.
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Supervision, accountability and delegation of activities to support workers
A guide for registered practitioners and support workers
This guide was published jointly by the RCN, Royal College of Speech Therapy, The British Dietetic Association and the Chartered Society of Physiotherapist in January 2006 this document gives comprehensive advice on current issues in developing the Support Worker Role.
Work based qualification
NVQs are free at this time to people without a professional qualification and are achieved in the Workplace with supporting study days on a rolling program. Key to this is the role of the NVQ assessor who is usually a staff member who has undergone specific training for the NVQ Assessor award A1 or D32/33. NVQ candidates and their assessors need dedicated time to work together if they are to make progress and complete in a timely manner. The NVQ Centre recognises the constraints of clinical workload and all the demands on staff in a modern healthcare setting, however, The NVQ Centre recommends;
- That the candidate and their assessor are rostered together at least 1 shift a fortnight
- That the candidate and their assessor have a 5 hours a month time out of the clinical area in order to complete the NVQ documentation
Flexible Award Structure
NVQs underpin most roles in healthcare from support workers to middle managers.
Contact us - If you would like to discuss how NVQs can benefit your department please ring 67240
Phone: 0113 2067 240 Fax: 0113 2067 238 Email: nvqinfo@leedsth.nhs.uk