FAQs

CPD events, courses and e-learning in SWASFT do not normally attract any payment or overtime or time off.

The funding for CPD comes mainly from external organisations including NHS England (NHSE), and as such has strict rules about how it can be spent and what on. One of these is not back-filling staff with the funding. This is to ensure the money is spent directly on education.

There are exceptions, for example- Practice Educator update days, but the funding for this comes from a different funding source, and has different funding rules. (This funding is aimed at making sure students have a better experience – and making sure we have up to date Practice Educators is a key part of this).

We know this is different to some other organisations such as hospital trusts where there may be allocated time to take up CPD, but as you are no doubt aware, we work in a different way to Hospitals. For example, to release someone from a hospital dept. for a few hours is much easier than releasing someone from a DCA . A DCA has to be free at the right time, and once a person is stood down, that resource is off the road. The cost of releasing people for CPD would mean back-filling, (probably on overtime, and paying the person to attend).

Even if the funding could be spent this way, this would cost 2.5hrs (1.5hrs + 1hr) for every hour of CPD, and mean the CPD budget would be almost 3 times smaller.

If I am on a course or module that has either changed to ‘NOW ONLINE’ or you signed up to one advertised as ‘VIRTUAL’; you might be wondering how it will work and how will I join?

Joining Instructions (JI’s)

You will be sent a meeting invite in your joining instructions email when you book the course – please make sure you check the email you applied with’s spam folder, as the SWAST email filter doesn’t always like automated emails. For some courses you may be sent the link on the morning of the course day, please check the advert of the course. (See below- ‘How do I join the course?’)

If you haven’t received any JI’s and you are sure you booked, please get in touch – A common problem is that you have typed your email adress incorrectly and your JI’s will have hit a dead end. We can easily check and change that, but won’t be able to check every entry so you will need to let us know.  

You may also have been sent joining instructions a while ago that refer to turning up at a physical location, and be wondering what is going on. (Sometimes I may not have caught up with re-writing all the adverts and JIs if things have changed * ). If you aren’t sure- just drop me a line alex.jamieson@swast.nhs.uk  

*Hopefully this won’t happen any more as we have pretty much caught up- but I’m leaving this here just in case 

What will it be like?

It’s not like an e-learning course where you will be watching videos and clicking through learning. The course will be similar to being in a classroom, but it will be a virtual classroom. You will be able to see and hear around 9-10 people at a time on screen, the tutor will be able to share presentations and a whiteboard, and can ask you questions and set group work. You may even be put into virtual break out rooms for group work.

Like a normal classroom, you will be expected to be there on time and also be available for the whole session. Although you will have a lot more short breaks – as it is surprisingly draining for both Tutor and student.

Uniform is not required, try and find a quiet room without interruptions or distractions.  Head phones with a microphone also a good idea to keep your noise down.

More tips can be accessed here:

Student Tips for Participating in Online Learning

How to I join the course?

When your course is online- you will be sent a meeting invite as above in the JI’s or near the start date, normally a day or 2 before.

This invite will be sent to the email address you registered with – If it’s your SWAST email account you can easily access it from home or your phone – (Not sure how ? – User guide here)

Once you have the link you will need to join the meeting at the correct time.

We have made a couple of user guides and a video that can be accessed here:

Joining from a computer – PDF
Joining from mobile or table – PDF

 

Click here if video doesn’t load on your device 

Using MS Teams is becoming more frequent as we transfer from using Zoom on a regular basis. This means that you will need to become familiar with how to use MS TEams and how to resolve any errors you could come across.

Clicking on the image below will take you to a guide on how to use MS Teams, including information on workaround fixes for SWASfT devices.

If for any reason the PowerPoint does not work for you, please Click Here to access a PDF document of the PowerPoint.

How do I find a mentorship course?

You can use the search function – type in mentorship- or click here to go to the Student & Practice Educator page 

Several options are available – All meet the criteria & are accepted for NQP portfolio & the CoP.

Functional Skills

The government funds functional skills tests for most people that have never achieved them to help employment prospects. This is mainly farmed out to private providers who are paid to provide them at no cost to the learner.

 A great start is to browse the Functional Skills Provider Directory  OR a quick google search for free functional skills brings up quite a few offers, most have the same eligibility. Normally it’s mainly:

• Do you have level 2 qualifications in this subject already
• Are you a UK national ( have you been living in the UK for 3 years or more)

 

It may be easier to look at larger organisations who may be easier to work with and more reliable, but there are lots of small companies put there doing a great job.

There are also loads of free courses they can access out there– there are 100s of L2 qualifications for free there on 100s of subjects (not all health). We sign post to some we have found on the e-resources and online learning page., but this is only what we’ve had time to post, Google is your friend for free e-learning courses and qualifications!

Click here to go to the Online Learning Resources page 

Stick with it, it’s a bit complex! If you want to know more, just give us a call- we are always happy to chat.

Nearly all of the funding for CPD (especially high cost courses like HE modules) comes direct from other organisations like Health Education England (HEE), or local Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs).

The majority of the funding has certain restrictions placed on how it can be spent. Sometimes these can be ring-fenced to certain staff groups or geographic areas.  e.g. Glos. CCG funded a bid a few years that could only be spent on staff in the Glos. CCG area. We had a successful bid for SPUEC development, that could only be spent to develop SPUECs. etc. Funding often also has exclusions, such as the money cannot be spent on capital assets (such as expensive, large pieces of training equipment, AV systems), backfill etc.

The main CPD funding (as of 2021) comes direct from HEE and we as a Trust can allocate this in certain directions. The main themes and topics/ modules are chosen using a few different factors.

• Staff survey- ‘You asked, we listened’ type surveys to gather requests for the type of CPD and the subjects.
• Previous demand- We know in terms  of modules and courses what is oversubscribed from last year, and we try and put on as much as we can of these courses
• Dept. needs – certain groups and departments have particular specialist needs, and asked what they want for their staff.
• TNA – Training needs analysis – through the year , the L&D dept. works with Quality, Ops, and Clinical directorates to see where we need to improve or increase learning on new and emerging topics. This feeds into development days , mandatory training, and also feeds into CPD. We don’t just offer CPD to the TNA, but it is an element.
• What is available – After all this has been done, we ask the main providers what they can give us- this is harder than it sounds, as all Trusts and local organisations who receive HEE funding are doing the same us as and then buying modules and courses. Most HEIs will share out the spaces between organisations.

For example-  if there were 50 places of MIMIC at:

UWE SWAST by 20, UBHW buy 20, and 10 are left for private individuals. If you looked as UWE’s website you would still see on that spaces are available to buy/book – But SWAST cannot but these for you or give you the funds to buy them as an individual as we have had our allocation. 

Sometimes there are also opportunities to bid for funds for certain topics – These opportunities can happen quickly, and the money may be confirmed last minute, so we have to be really flexible when it comes to how we administer it. So you may see last min offerings with 1st come 1st served  on them. This might not seem very fair, but when we have to use the places or lose them, we would rather we get them filled than let them go to waste. This also happens if we have places that suddenly become available due to cancellations e.g. someone has left the Trust, is now LTS, or have gone on maternity leave. These things happen more often than you think when dealing with large groups of people!

SWAST bid for these funds in competition with other trusts and health and social care organisations. The bids we put in are for certain topics, like upskilling staff in to a particular level (BSc), or work force transformation, (e.g. creating more advanced skills in a certain clinical area). Sometimes funds are a one off, tied to a certain national project, sometimes they come round more than once. Either way, it is hard to plan around as most is subject to national plans and initiatives. The bids normally have to specify what modules we are going to fund, and once these have been chosen (usually from a list provided to us by funding organisation and the Higher Education Institutes (HEIs), we have to stick to the modules chosen, so can’t fund bespoke ones on request.

As well as bids, HEE has certain aims and goals to fulfil. For example, in 2018 it wanted to ensure that as many Paramedics as possible were working towards or had a BSc. These goals will guide the restrictions set on the funding. i.e. that pot of money couldn’t be used to fund MSc level modules, as the goal was to up-skill staff to BSc level.

HEE are guided by central government, Department of Health, NHS England & NHS Improvement and other national institutions. Often, if the Government changes direction on a certain health topic or policy, this has a direct effect on the funding available to HEE, and also their goals and targets change with it. This can feed down to us in terms of a sudden injection of cash for a certain topic, or the removal of funding for what may have been a regular CPD topic for a few years. e.g. If the Government want to produce more registered AHPs, there may be an increase in funding for access and bridging courses, and Level 6 (BSc modules). If the Government decides it needs more ACPs (Advanced Clinical Practitioners), you may see a sudden increase in funding for ACP programs or apprenticeships.

This may happen very quickly as there is a big push from above to make it happen, and then the organisations and HEIs have to quickly change tack to fit it into existing plans.

Occasionally, we are offered a certain amount of places with an HEI (such as UWE or UoP) on named courses. e.g. ‘ SWAST have been allocated 10 places on ‘PACR at UWE at BSc level only’ , or,  given a list of modules and asked to choose a set number of places.  Again, there may be certain restrictions on these. e.g. for that offering, all the places had to be BSc level and no MSc level, to fit with the HEE goal.

The Practice Educator update payments, update days, mentorship courses etc. come from another external funding stream entirely. Again this has certain restrictions on what it can be spent on, and so can’t be used for other projects, and is manly directed at things that improve the student and educator experience.

A lot of short courses, & individual CPD events are actually run on a shoestring and goodwill. Normally these are set up by SWAST staff who are passionate about a subject (often in their own time), combined with local external contacts such as friendly Doctors and other specialists. These external people give up their time, & often bring funding to the event from their side. SWASTCPD support these events with marketing & organisation, but rarely have any funding to contribute.

e.g. The Glos. Silver Service 2020 multi-disciplinary event for 200 people with 10 speakers and a free hot lunch was delivered for £0 to SWAST. The only cost was my time. All the funding came from sponsors and goodwill volunteers.

Other Short courses & places on short courses are offered to us by external organisations who want to promote their message & increase multi-disciplinary training. (Such as some of the Cornwall & RDE PROMPT places).

This is why it is imperative that you don’t cancel courses at the very last minute or just don’t bother turning up. We have lost some great free CPD providers when SWAST staff no-show repeatedly, they soon lose interest in working with us. Most courses are also oversubscribed, so when your place isn’t filled, someone else (your colleague) has missed out.

All this has to be balanced against the delivery of L&D core business, which is an enormous undertaking for our dedicated L&D staff, delivering training and quality assurance to you. (No mean feat, as there’s loads of you, and only a few of them!)

First you will need to ensure the CPD Event is suitable, & gain someone’s permission to put the event on. This isn’t as hard as it sounds!

If you want to know WHY you need to do this and shouldn’t just crack on and do it ( better to ask forgiveness than permission etc.etc.) >Click Here

Contact your a local Lead Paramedic, Practice Placement Educator, Operations Officer, Learning & Development Officer, or Clinical Development Officer & run it by the to see what they think.

When you have approval, you will need to do several things.

You will need to have a valid risk assessment for the event, EVEN FOR CLASSROOM EVENTS – BUT ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR ANY EXERCISES (guidance and forms can be found on the SWAST Intranet here. Many are already written or can easily be adapted so it isn’t hard). Here is a Generic training room Risk Assessment example that can be adapted.

When you have a suitable risk assessment in place download this form,CPD EVENT BOOKING FORM & complete all the details, & attach the risk assessment you will be using, and send it all into us.

We can then help you promote & advertise the event, (if you want us to).

If you are an LP, PPED, LDO, OO, CDO & your are unsure of the process , or want to discuss the event with us, please get in touch with the CPD Lead or drop us a line.

Waiting lists and why they don’t work for us

For all courses and modules we take bookings for – (as opposed to those events and courses where the tutor takes and manages bookings themselves) – we have a list of applicants.

After the list is full, or the deadline has passed for HE modules, we then allocate those people places. (See the application process for HE modules here)

We then have a list of all the people allocated a place, all the people who didn’t get a place, (but we know wanted one), and have already indicated they could make the date/s for THAT event or module. We also have their details (including contact details) all laid out for that date and event/course.

If someone then withdraws and can’t make it, we go down the list of oversubscribed applicants and offer it to the next person in line either by application score, date of application, or a combination of both (see the scoring process here for HE modules– events are in order of application date) dependent on the type of event or module.

This works for HE modules, and we  take on the extra work for this as each place costs an average of £800 -£1000. We have finite capacity to do this , so this isn’t feasible for short courses or events.

If we had waiting lists for short courses or events  – we would have to set up a separate page/spreadsheet for EACH event and EACH date, then take all the details by email or over the phone for all of these. Every time we were about to go to advert with a new course, we would have to:

A) Contact everyone on the waiting list to see if they were interested

B) If could make the dates

C) Still worked for us/ in the same role/ off sick / on MAT leave

D) Liaise with managers to see who should get the place

We would also have to go down the list in order, and not be able to move on until people responded to us chasing them which could / does take weeks.

This would take forever.…and we just don’t have time to do that as well as administer the courses.

*The difference between a waiting list and going down the oversubscribed list is we know the people who originally applied can make the dates and are available- and they have already gone through a scoring process and had their scores approved by their management team*.

It also wouldn’t be fair to all those people who had gone through the normal process and taken the time to apply via the normal route, some of which go to considerable effort to improve their score and map out their development needs on Career conversations and LDRs. If you aren’t sure how to improve your score – read the application process for HE modules here and download the scoring criteria. If this doesn’t make sense, just get in touch and we can advise you.

Sometimes, funding comes to us at the very last minute, as organisations (as above) ‘find’ surplus funds that they need to be spent. This is often due to other external projects they are managing ending early / coming in cheaper than expected.

The surplus is often offered to us at the last minute if we can spend it. It often comes with certain conditions, such as – we must deliver the training by a certain date so they can account for the money / we must have everyone enrolled by a certain date so they can account for the money.

Although this isn’t ideal for us or you in terms of trying to arrange the courses and giving notice to book on the courses; we would rather take the funding and do our best to get development and education out short notice than turn it down.

Sometimes, other Trusts such as Hospital Trusts, have places that they were allocated,/ have funded, but for some reason they haven’t been able to fill the places, or people have left or withdrawn. We sometimes get offered these places, and we say yes if they are suitable for Ambulance staff. The places are often very late in the day before the module starts as they try to fill them up to the last minute.

Sometimes, a module or course we have offered hasn’t filled as well as we have expected, or people have withdrawn. We then offer the module as a 1st come 1st served place as we don’t have time to process the applications in the normal way before the course starts.

With all the last minute places, if we don’t fill them they will be lost and not refunded; so we think it’s better to get someone on than go through the normal application process and lose the place.

There are 3 people in the CPD ‘Team’ (in the office)

This is what we do:

• Manage the website
• Manage the Facebook & Twitter feeds
• Manage the CPD Admin email account
• Manage our email accounts!
• Manage all the course venue bookings
• Manage the funding bids
• Manage the University liaison (purchasing modules & dealing with the admin.)
• Manage the applications for all courses & modules
• Manage all the queries & questions by email, phone, and social media.
• Go to meetings, meetings, meetings
• Liaise with all the course providers, tutors, and LDOs
• Manage occasionally to have Lunch & have some relaxing Annual leave

We really do try our best to get back to you as soon as we can, but sometimes (especially when it’s busy) we get a bit snowed under. Please feel free to chase us more than once if you don’t get a reply, as we are not always in the office to answer the phone. If you don’t get a reply from email, try the phone, Twitter, or FB.

The Contact form goes to the CPD admin email account, and it’s best to use this rather than email cpd admin direct, as it prompts you to add info so we can answer your question easily. (Like course dates, location, the name of the course etc.) You wouldn’t believe how many emails we get saying things like ‘ Hi, when is my course again?’ (and nothing else).

It really helps if you add as much info as possible so we can find your information for you!

Contact us via the Contact page or use the details at the bottom of this page. (Please be specific and detail what is wrong).

We try hard to get it right, but we do make mistakes!  We would love it if you let us know so we can fix them ASAP!

All course locations are shown on the course advert page via the ‘INFO & BOOKING’ button

The reason it isn’t open to APs, Techs, ECAs, (non-frontline) Nurses, Mental Health Prac. is that it is taught from a lead clinician viewpoint, utilising skills and drugs that you would not be able to use. The priority for the Trust is to get as many frontline clinicians through the course.

We need to ensure we had enough places for our clinicians as the PROMPT course supports us in our offer of core skills training. The course content is within a Paramedic’s / Ambulance Nurse’s scope of practice.

We do appreciate that ECAs would benefit, but the course goes above the core skills and competencies of an ECA; and whilst we acknowledge for them to have an awareness is good,  we would be concerned that a non-registered clinician could take away skills and end up in a position where they feel they should perform these skills out of their supported scope of practice. We don’t want to place people in a risky position like this. 

Uniform is not required for HE Modules unless specifically requested for a practical element.

If a course requires uniform for practical elements, it will be specifically mentioned in the course advert page via the ‘INFO & BOOKING’ button’

To book on a Funded short course; go to the How to apply for Funded short courses page

To apply for funding for an HE Module ; go to the How to apply for an HE Module page

To book on a CPD Event ; go to the CPD Events page

SWAST only has a very small budget for CPD, and most of the funding comes from external bids from government organisations such as Health Education England and Clinical Commissioning groups. SWAST bid for funding to develop our staff, and the funding does not cover the cost of covering your shifts.

(Please note expenses and travel costs are not covered either)

There are lots of free online sites that can help you build a CPD portfolio. A popular one is http://www.resuscitate.me.uk/ and the College of Paramedics also have lots of info (but you will need to join!).

The HCPC also has a lot of advice on what you need to do to maintain your CPD portfolio and what the standards are, including some sample portfolios. hcpc CPD

The CPD Reflective Practice document is designed to assist you with your CPD portfolio. Simply download a copy, book onto some courses and complete the questions as you attend each activity.

If the course you wish to attend has a fee attached, you should contact the course provider to discuss payment. We only advertise paid courses for other providers that may be of interest for SWAST staff. The CPD department does not take payments.

We are very keen to receive any feedback, comments, photos about courses you’ve attended or the website. Feedback can be given in a number of ways;

• Complete a course feedback form on completion of the course
• Email Contact us here
• Message us on Facebook
• Direct Message us on Twitter

All feedback will be acknowledged and reviewed by the CPD Admin Team. On occassion we may ask you if we can use positive comments or photos you’ve sent us in order to further advertise and promote the relevant course. Where negative feedback is provided this will be reviewed and if possible changes will be made and improvements will be implemented.

Please ensure you advise us of any cancellations with as much advance notice as possible so we can offer your place to someone else.

If you booked the course directly on the website, please contact us as soon as possible at Contact us here

If you booked the course with an external provider, check the course advert page or your confirmation e-mail for the course administrators’ contact details.

CPD usually offer 20 or 40 credit modules at several specific universities, mostly at level 7 (masters) level, but some are also available at level 6 (bachelor / undergraduate level).

Although some staff are happy to pick up individual stand-alone modules to fit specific developmental needs, others are looking to work towards an award pathway, such as a Masters (MSc). The latter is what we refer to as module gathering i.e. completing modules over time with the aim of achieving a generic award. They are often called something generic such as MSc Health and Social Care.

In the first instance we would always recommend speaking with the HEI (university) you wish to achieve the award with.

The HEI will be able to tell you which modules are core or optional on the pathway you wish to embark upon. We always try to include core modules in our offering to help with this.

Please read “What are Higher Education modules & how do they work?” for more information.

It is generally not possible to combine credits from modules completed with several universities to achieve an award.

The only exception is in specific cases where the university has agreed to APEL (Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning) credits from another awarding body over to theirs. This tends to only be possible with generic modules e.g. leadership completed within a specific timeframe. However, you would need to discuss your plans with the HEI (university) you wish to achieve the award from to find out more. Please note the process can also be fairly lengthy, so it is worth pursuing this early if you can.

This is entirely personal choice; however, it is worth bearing the following in mind:

• Travel distance: Not all modules are delivered virtually and have a minimal attendance in order to pass. You may also wish to make the most of physical resources such as library and learning spaces.
• Flexibility: Not all universities offer distance learning options.
• Previous experience: Your learning experience and preference is personal to you and you may wish to choose one university above another for this reason alone.
• Do you want to work towards an award pathway or are you happy picking up stand-alone modules to suit your learning need at the time. If the latter, any university may suit you.

If in doubt, always contact the HEI (university) before enrolling on a module to discuss your plans to ensure that it is achievable.

It is always advisable to contact the HEI (university) in the first instance before enrolling on any module, to discuss your plans. All of the HEIs work slightly differently, and this may also change from time to time (sometimes without us knowing). Some HEI’s will automatically sign you up to a pathway, others will need to state your intention at the very start, even prior to enrolling on your first module.

It is also worth noting that there may be additional administration charges for awards. Again, something to check with the university as CPD are unable to cover this.

No, this is not the case.

Accruing modules to use towards an MSc Advanced Practice programme with a view of becoming an ACP is not advisable. There are many routes to becoming an ACP either via the apprenticeship or modular route. Both routes require the learner to be enrolled on a recognised accredited programme, which also requires learners holding a position of trainee ACP.

Being enrolled on a recognised, accredited programme will ensure you receive the appropriate support, supervision, guidance and workplace based assessments to excel and transition into an ACP. The only way to do this within the Trust currently is through holding a trainee ACP position within either Critical Care or Urgent and Emergency Care.

Where learners access a programme that is not approved, there is usually no requirement to receive supervision or to undertake workplace based assessments, which means your theoretical knowledge and skills are unable to be assessed in the workplace. Where this is the case you would not be eligible to apply for an ACP position within the Trust.

Most HEI’s offer generic pathways e.g. MSc Health and Social Care and some are changing from Advanced Practice to something more generic such as this.

Staff are able to apply for a funded place on a module via the SWAST CPD website. If you are successful, funding is for a specific module rather than for guaranteed funding for the whole pathway, but over time, you may be able to achieve the award you set out to achieve by module gathering alone. More information on funding here: FAQs – SWAST CPD

Alternatively, a quicker way to achieve this may be to self-fund some of the modules if this is possible.

If you have applied for an HE Module, (and it isn’t a short notice / ‘1st come, 1st served’ offering), then the process will be as close to possible as the process outlined here.

A lot of CPD modules are drawn from Health BSc or MSc programs that are then offered as standalone professional courses. The subject matter is often aimed at, and expects a pre-requisite level of knowledge, experience, and most importantly, access to situations and experiences that a Registered Clinician has or can obtain.

This is written into the module specification by the HEI, and they won’t be able to enrol you on the module without proof of this.

It is correct that most of the modules offered by SWASTCPD are aimed at Registered Clinicians. We do try and source modules to give as many people access as possible, but our funding mainly comes from NHS England, and they specify how the funding they give us is used.

For example, one of the main focuses after the Band 6 uplift of Paramedics has been to upskill Paramedics to degree level, to encourage those without degrees to upskill, and to ensure that the workforce skills move towards matching the banding. We are also bound by the CPD programmes offered by HEIs , which often don’t have much available for non-registered staff that would fit the criteria from NHS England.

SWAST only has a very small budget for CPD, and most of the funding comes from external bids from government organisations such as NHS England and Clinical Commissioning groups. Sadly, the funding does not cover the cost of covering your shifts & we are also unable to cover travel and expenses.

Unfortunately, we cannot do this on your behalf & nor can any SWASFT lecturers do this for you – it must come direct from the student as an adult learner as this is your personal information. To find out how to do this, please speak directly with the relevant university admissions department prior to completion of your course.

For staff studying at University of Plymouth: For you to receive proof of attendance following completion of any University of Plymouth academic modules; students will need to access their university e-mail account and open their result e-mail, as this will contain a link to the page where they can obtain an academic transcript. You will not receive a certificate from the university.  Please note this will only be available after the exam board in either June or November.

If you aren’t yet enrolled, the admissions teams are the best place to start:

Bournemouth University	hsspostregadmissions@bournemouth.ac.uk	01202 962177
University of Cumbria	pgadmissions@cumbria.ac.uk	01228 242916
University of Plymouth	pduadmissions@plymouth.ac.uk	01752 586951
University of the West of England	pd@uwe.ac.uk	0117 3281158

 

If you have already enrolled, depending on the nature of your question, you may have more contacts on the university learning platform, or in your university emails.