Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists – National Standards for Practice-based Learning
PLANNING AND SELF-AUDIT TOOL FOR STUDENTS
STANDARD
NUMBER
1.
1.12
2.
STANDARD
QUESTION
TICK
WHEN
COMPLETED
EVIDENCE
Examples are provided but are not exhaustive. Please add to
as relevant.
SECTION ONE
PRACTICE-BASED LEARNING AND THE CURRICULUM
The student will be clear about
his/her role and responsibilities as
a learner by becoming familiar
with the HEI documentation, and
Health Professions Council and
Royal College of Speech and
Language Therapists’ guidelines
on practice-based learning.
Are you clear what your role
and responsibilities will be on
placement, as a learner?
Student has read and understood:
 guidelines provided by the HEI, eg placement
handbooks
 induction materials from placement providers if
available
Student has attended pre-placement briefing sessions and
relevant tutorials.
Student has consulted RCSLT’s publication Communicating
Quality.
SECTION TWO
PREPARATION FOR PLACEMENT
2.1
All parties in the placement
education process should be aware
at all times of risks that occur in
normal working environments and
assess risk as appropriate
following NHS and HEI
guidelines.
Do you have sufficient
information from your HEI
and possibly the placement
provider?
Information given in placement handbooks and guidance in preclinic briefing.
Possibly, placement-specific information.
2.33
The student needs to be aware of
his/her HEI’s and the local health
authority’s policies in respect of
sourcing and allocation of
placements.
Are you aware of these
policies?
Information given in placement handbooks and via local
authority documentation.
Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists – National Standards for Practice-based Learning
PLANNING AND SELF-AUDIT TOOL FOR STUDENTS
STANDARD
NUMBER
STANDARD
QUESTION
TICK
2.34
The student will inform his/her
HEI as to specific personal and/or
health issues, which may/will
impact on the placement
allocation.
Are you aware of the
procedure for informing the
HEI?
2.35
The student will be aware of the
requirements for working within
the approved codes of ethics,
police checks, and health and
safety issues. This may involve
the provision of forms and
checklists for students and
placement educators.
Are you aware of the need:
 to work within the
approved codes of ethics
 for police checks
 to adhere to health and
safety guidelines
Consult HEI placement handbook.
Student has consulted RCSLT’s Communicating Quality.
Possibly information from placement provider.
2.36
The student will be involved in
risk assessment of specific
placement locations and
patient/client groups, as advised
by the HEI.
Are you aware of the need to
seek advice on any issues,
such as health, which may
affect your ability to access
your placement?
Discussion with relevant tutor and/or adviser.
2.37
The student will prepare for
placements with patient/clientspecific study to ensure that s/he
has the appropriate academic basis
to maximise placement learning.
Are you clear about the
theoretical requirements of
this placement?
Liaison with the relevant HEI tutor and with specialist tutors
and possibly the placement educator.
2.38
The student will be
knowledgeable about the HEI
placement documentation
including the expected learning
outcomes of the placement, for
that stage of the course, taking
Are you clear about your
learning outcomes for this
placement?
Consult with course documentation, module descriptors,
placement handbook guidelines.
Attendance at pre-clinic briefing.
Write personal goals for placement learning.
WHEN
COMPLETED
EVIDENCE
Examples are provided but are not exhaustive. Please add to
as relevant.
Discussion with relevant tutor and/or HEI disability adviser.
Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists – National Standards for Practice-based Learning
PLANNING AND SELF-AUDIT TOOL FOR STUDENTS
STANDARD
NUMBER
STANDARD
QUESTION
TICK
WHEN
COMPLETED
EVIDENCE
Examples are provided but are not exhaustive. Please add to
as relevant.
into account individual experience
up to that point.
2.39
The student will be aware that it is
their responsibility to manage
their learning and professional
relationships. This includes
alerting the placement educator
and HEI to any problems with the
placement that might prevent
progress or satisfactory
completion of the placement.
Are you aware that this is
your responsibility?
Consult placement guidelines and be clear on the procedure.
Seeking feedback from placement educators and from tutors.
Follow any advice/guidance from placement educators/tutors.
2.40
The student will identify his/her
own professional development
learning aims for each placement,
and agree these with the
placement educator, at the
beginning of the placement.
Have you done this?
Write personal goals for placement learning, including agreeing
with placement tutor/placement educator how these will be
achieved.
2.41
The student should attend preplacement briefings and be
familiar with placement
documentation provided by the
HEI.
Have you attended meetings?
Have you read documentation
on placement attendance?
Look out for planned meetings on student information boards?
Are you aware of what information is available on placements
from your department or on the intranet?
2.42
The student will conduct
him/herself in a professional
manner appropriate to the
placement environment.
Are you aware of the
requirements of your specific
placement?
Seek guidance from placement educator.
Observation of professional colleagues.
Reflection/monitoring of own developing professionalism.
Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists – National Standards for Practice-based Learning
PLANNING AND SELF-AUDIT TOOL FOR STUDENTS
STANDARD
NUMBER
STANDARD
2.43
The student will follow
professional guidelines in
prioritising clients’ needs before
his/her own needs.
3.
QUESTION
TICK
WHEN
COMPLETED
Are you clear about the need
for this?
EVIDENCE
Examples are provided but are not exhaustive. Please add to
as relevant.
Consulting RCSLT’s Communicating Quality, and Placement
Guidelines.
Positive feedback from placement educator.
SECTION THREE
PRACTICE-BASED LEARNING
3.21
The student will be familiar with
speech and language therapy
professional standards in the latest
version of RCSLT’s
Communicating Quality.
Have you read the relevant
sections for this placement?
Student is able to relate these standards to their clinical work.
3.22
The student will always work
within the approved Code of
Ethics, including all guidance in
respect of confidentiality
Do you have methods of
ensuring that you are
complying with requirements?
Consult the Code of Ethics.
Seek advice from placement educator.
Student’s written documentation adheres to confidentiality
guidelines.
3.23
The student will be responsible for
making the placement educator
aware of their individual learning
outcomes and for negotiating how
these might best be achieved
during the placement.
Are you being proactive in
initiating discussion of
learning outcomes with your
placement educator?
Have written aims prepared and make these available to
placement educator.
Actively participate in discussions with placement educator.
3.24
The student will take
responsibility for reflecting on
their anticipated learning
outcomes for the placement, using
previous feedback, personal
reflection, and their course’s
Are you reflecting regularly
on your current learning
outcomes, in relation to
previous experience and
feedback?
Self-reflection, self-evaluation of progress and discussion with
HEI placement tutor and placement educator.
Use of self-reflection logs or other documentation
Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists – National Standards for Practice-based Learning
PLANNING AND SELF-AUDIT TOOL FOR STUDENTS
STANDARD
NUMBER
STANDARD
QUESTION
TICK
WHEN
COMPLETED
EVIDENCE
Examples are provided but are not exhaustive. Please add to
as relevant.
expectations for the stage they are
at on their course.
3.25
The student will engage actively
in learning in order to develop his/
her integration of theory to
practice
Are you actively using
theoretical knowledge in your
clinical work?
Evidence–based practice.
Producing session plans with clearly identified aims and
methods, stating theoretical rationale.
Demonstrating ability to engage in case discussion with clinical
educator.
3.26
The student will take ongoing
responsibility for developing skills
of accurate self-reflection,
evaluation and monitoring,
throughout all placements.
Are you able to develop
accuracy in self-evaluation
and reflection/selfmonitoring?
Ability to recognise positive aspects as well as areas for
development.
Students and placement educators are in accord in their
evaluations of student.
3.27
The student will be responsible at
all times for their own and their
patients/clients’ health and safety
within the placement and should
not compromise the health and
safety of the patients/clients.
Do you give consideration to
health and safety issues
during placement?
Student takes appropriate measures to ensure environment is
safe for client and self.
Adapting environment appropriately to meet health and safety
needs of clients.
Being aware of specific needs of clients.
3.28
The student will recognise that the
needs of the patient/client will
take priority at all times.
Do you take care prioritise the
client’s needs above your own
at all times?
Student remains client-focused at all times
This focus is evident in written aims and appropriate clinical
management decision.
Priorities for management agreed with client.
3.29
Where different models of
placement exist, such as peer
placements, the student will be
Are you clear on how this
placement model works as
learning experience?
Communication, sharing with peers.
Accessing peer support networks.
Contributing to group and teamwork in clinic.
Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists – National Standards for Practice-based Learning
PLANNING AND SELF-AUDIT TOOL FOR STUDENTS
STANDARD
NUMBER
STANDARD
QUESTION
TICK
WHEN
COMPLETED
EVIDENCE
Examples are provided but are not exhaustive. Please add to
as relevant.
aware of his/her responsibility to
all parties, including student peers.
3.30
The student has a responsibility
for alerting the placement
educator and HEI of any factors
negatively affecting his/her
learning.
Are there any factors
negatively affecting your
learning?
Seek discussion with placement educator/ HEI placement tutor.
3.31
The student will take
responsibility for alerting the
placement educator and their HEI
Tutor if the agreed feedback and
monitoring does not take place.
Is feedback taking place?
Student initiates discussion with placement educator.
If necessary, advice is sought from their HEI placement tutor.
3.32
The student will take
responsibility for being
knowledgeable about the
assessment process and criteria for
the placement, and using that
knowledge when seeking
guidance on progress and selfreflecting.
Are you clear on the
assessment process and
placement criteria?
Student’s written aims for placement will reflect placement
requirements.
Student is able to focus observations, evaluations and selfreflection primarily on placement aims.
3.33
The student will seek an “end of
placement” review with his/her
placement educator(s) to review
the learning and assess future
learning needs.
Have you ensured that this
will take place?
Placement review is completed.
Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists – National Standards for Practice-based Learning
PLANNING AND SELF-AUDIT TOOL FOR STUDENTS
STANDARD
NUMBER
4.
4.9
5.
5.7
6.
6.1
STANDARD
QUESTION
TICK
WHEN
COMPLETED
EVIDENCE
Examples are provided but are not exhaustive. Please add to
as relevant.
SECTION FOUR
AFTER THE PLACEMENT
Students will participate
constructively in HEI-led post
placement debriefing, reflecting
on their learning, and identifying
future learning needs.
Have you attended the postplacement debriefing?
Student attendance and participation in placement debriefing.
Student completes a written placement evaluation and submits
this as required.
Student’s evaluation and feedback is constructive and
professional
Student identifies future learning needs, by resume.
SECTION FIVE
LEARNING RESOURCES TO SUPPORT PLACEMENT
Students will alert the HEI if
learning resources to support a
placement are inadequate or
inaccessible.
Do you have access to
adequate resources to support
your placement learning?
Student alerts HEI as soon as possible.
SECTION SIX
QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND ENHANCEMENT
All partners will comply with
quality monitoring processes and
procedures within their own
organisations, with a view to both
the audit and enhancement of
practice-based learning.
Have you provided required
feedback post placement?
Student provides feedback as detailed in 4.9.
Completion of this self-audit tool.
Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists – National Standards for Practice-based Learning
PLANNING AND SELF-AUDIT TOOL FOR STUDENTS
STANDARD
NUMBER
STANDARD
QUESTION
TICK
WHEN
COMPLETED
EVIDENCE
Examples are provided but are not exhaustive. Please add to
as relevant.