Information about practitioner psychologist programmes

This page contains important information for education providers providing approved practitioner psychologist programmes. Programme leaders and quality assurance contacts will have received correspondence from us explaining our processes within a week of the Register opening on the 1 July.

Our standards and processes
The standards of education and training (SETs) are our standards that an education programme must meet in order to be approved by us. The standards of proficiency (SOPs) are our threshold standards for safe and effective practice that all registrants must meet. Our standards of education and training are broad and flexible, which allow education providers to meet them in a variety of ways, relevant to their particular profession or model of education and training. Our standards are outcome-based, rather than input-based. By focussing on the outcome of safe and effective practice, we believe that we enable registrants, employers and education providers to develop new ways of working, where safe and appropriate, which encourages and does not stifle innovation.We have deliberately set standards which are multi-professional in nature and not over-prescriptive. Our standards are general principles on which we will make judgements about educational provision. The focus of our standards is always on public protection.

The HPC's approval and monitoring processes ensure that programmes and education providers meet our standards of education and training. On 11 June 2009, our Education and Training Committee agreed the mechanisms by which all programmes granted open ended approval would have their ongoing approval reconfirmed. Click here for details of the approval visit and annual monitoring schedule. The Committee also agreed the mechanism to manage those programme midway through the BPS accreditation process on the day that the register opened (1 July 2009). Click here for details of the mechanism.

Arranging an approval visit
We have recently written to all education providers to let them know when we expect to hold an approval visit. We require six months notice of a visit and a visit must be no less than three months before the next cohort starts the programme. Therefore, for those education providers due to have an approval visit in the next academic year (2009-2010), we anticipate that most visits will take place between January – June 2010. To arrange a visit, please complete a visit request form and return it to approvals@hpc-uk.org as soon as possible. The final deadline for receipt of a completed visit request form is 31 December 2009.

For those education providers due to have an approval visit in the 2010-2011 or 2011-2012 academic year, there is no immediate requirement to complete and return a visit request form . However, if you would like to propose dates to us please complete a visit request form and return it to approvals@hpc-uk.org

Submitting an annual monitoring audit submission in 2009-2010
We have recently written to all education providers to let them know if they are expected to submit an audit submission in the next academic year (2009-2010). The audit process that practitioner psychologists are expected to undertake in 2009-2010 is an amended version of the standard process. It has been amended to reflect the fact that none of the programmes have had an approval visit yet. Click here for more information about the amended process. Click here for a copy of the audit form that needs to be completed and returned. The form also includes guidelines on the accompanying documents. The deadline for all audit submissions is 31 March 2010

Threshold level of qualification for entry to the Register
Our first standard of education and training (SET 1) outlines the threshold level of qualification for entry to the Register for each profession we regulate. SET 1 provides the threshold levels of qualification “normally” expected to meet the remainder of the standards of education and training and therefore successfully deliver the SOPs. The term “normally” is included in SET 1 as a safeguard against the unlawful fettering of the HPC’s discretion. Our legislation (the Health Professions Order 2001) provides that we are able to set standards for safe and effective practice and for education and training and approve qualifications against those standards. However, we do not have specific powers to set the qualifications required for entry. Given the terms of our legislation, it would be an improper exercise of its powers for the HPC to refuse to approve a programme which delivered the SOPs and the remainder of the SETs solely on the basis that it did not lead to the award of a qualification specified in SET 1.
For more information and the list of threshold levels of qualifications for practitioner psychologist programmes click here .

Approved programmes
On the 1 July 2009, 71 practitioner psychologists’ programmes currently delivered by education providers were granted open ended approval by the HPC. Click here for details of which programmes have been approved granted open ended approval. We have also approved a number of ‘historical qualifications’.Click here for details of which historical qualifications have been approved . If you are developing a new practitioner psychologists’ programme for HPC approval, click here .

Committee and visitors
The Education and Training Committee is the statutory committee at the HPC with responsibility for education, training and registration matters. The decision to approve or non-approve a programme rests with the Education and Training Committee. The Committee considers visitors' reports and observations from education providers. The Committee meets in public and copies of agendas and minutes are on our website.

Visitors work as agents of the HPC and make recommendations to the Education and Training Committee. They provide expertise needed for our decision making and ensure that we have good professional (registered members of the professions we regulate) and lay (public) input into what we do. Visitors normally operate in panels, rather than individually. Each panel includes at least one visitor from the relevant part of the Register for the programme under consideration. All visitors are selected with due regard to their education and training experience. Visitors represent the HPC and no other body when they undertake an approval and monitoring exercise. This ensures an entirely independent outcome.

Frequently asked questions
We have developed some FAQs to help explain our education processes, including how we propose to conduct approval visits and the annual monitoring process.

Contact the education department
For specific queries relating to one of our processes, please contact us at approvals@hpc-uk.org , annualmonitoring@hpc-uk.org or majorchange@hpc-uk.org

If you have any general queries please contact us at education@hpc-uk.org or 0207 7840 9812.

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