Speech and Language Therapy
North West Student Co-ordinator’s
Annual Meeting
Minutes: Wednesday 4th February 2015
Attended:
Dr Sean Pert, Suzanne Willis, Anne Hewitt, Denise Thomas, Alison McGrath, Alison Traynor, Becky
Goodman, Emma Carvell, Hayley Webster (was Cave), Jess Jones, Jo Walker, Lisa Gill, Mark
Wilson,Olwen Scott, Ruth Snow, Sarah Trier,Wendy Daly, Maddy Murdoch, Fran Matterson, Helen
Caley, Penny Moran, Rebecca Finn, Lesley Golding, Ann-Marie Caunce, Jan Hulse
Apologies: Siobhan McMahon, Alison Matthews, Elaine Eccles, Lorna Llewellyn, Jill Cooper, Jane
Jolliffe.
1. Minutes of the last meeting
Accepted
2. Introductions and expectations
Sean Pert has replaced Claire Mitchell at Manchester University as Clinical Education Lead
3. Procedure for arranging future meeting
Apologies given for the short notice of cancelled meeting last time. This was due to the number
of SCs who would be unable to attend. Overview of new format for meetings proposed:
 The meeting is co-ordinated by HEI staff and Practice Educators, who will host, chair and
take minutes. Therefore all future meetings will take place in Manchester.
 A quorum of 10 (including HEI staff and PEs) must be reached for a meeting to take
place.
 SCs must opt in to the meeting – therefore sending an email to the host no later than 5
days prior to the meeting date.
 Meetings are held annually.
 Should the quorum not be met the host will alert group members no less than 2 days
before the scheduled meeting.
All agreed with new format
4. HEI Feedback
MMU
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Suzi and Anne informed all of the recent move to Birley Building, from Elizabeth Gaskell
campus.
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Speech and Language Therapy
North West Student Co-ordinator’s
Annual Meeting
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Recent visit from HCPC re approval of MSc Pre-Registration course in SLT to start in
September 2015. 2 year course. 14 students per year. Initially open to students with a
Psychology degree. Discussion from group regarding accepting students with Linguistic and
Biomedical Science degrees. Both Anne and Suzi acknowledged that this would be a future
option and that course modules would need to be changed in order to accommodate this.
Marking morning to take place in Autumn 2015 to train CEs taking MSc students. Pass rate is
50%. A separate manual has been compiled for this course.
Marking Morning for BSc on Wed Oct 14 10.30-1.30
Marking Morning for MSc Wed Nov 11 10.30-1.30
PSP course finishing 2019
UoM
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Current undergraduate degree course will change from 4 years to 3 years, starting
September 2017.
This will cause some pressure points for placements, particularly in Spring 2018.
Action: SCs asked to start thinking about their capacity and being creative with what
placements they can offer, e.g. out of term placements, weekends, peer placements.
Document compiled between HEIs to show spread of placements (attached with minutes)
Quota
Changes made to the quota for 2014-2015. Previously, it was expected that 50% of SLTs per
department would be able take a student. Due to capacity issues highlighted during last
academic year as result of trust restructures and changes to SLT roles, this was changed to 65%
expected to take a student per department. The departmental quota is calculated in the
following way: WTE × 0.65 × 20
CEs’ individual quotas remains as 20 placement days per year for each full-time CE. To calculate
individual quotas, e.g. for CE working 6 sessions per week – 0.6 ×20 = 12 placement days per
year.
Success of new quota has been reflected in placement offers for current academic year. Many
thanks to all.
Offer Form
Action: Caroline Spivey to send email soon asking for departmental WTE figures. Placement
offer forms to follow. Deadline for completion and offers 23rd June. New to the form: tick box
to ensure all CEs are HCPC registered (for HCPC audit)
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Speech and Language Therapy
North West Student Co-ordinator’s
Annual Meeting
Marking Students
Discussion about students’ focus on their mark rather than their clinical developments. HEIs
need to be able to recognise clinical excellence in students.
Action: Important to revisit the action plan discussed at mid-placement review, at the end of
the placement to highlight importance of their development and the quality of their learning.
5. Pre-placement reading lists
Lists can be set up in such a way so that students can go straight to the document. Chapters
from books can be digitised. MU are able to host lists.
Action: Please email the HEIs if you wish to do this.
Could everyone please email their Top 5 Resources by end April 2015 to Suzi and Sean
6. New clinical educators’ training day - 16th September 2015
7. Experienced clinical educators’ training day (every 3 years) - 17th June at Birley (MMU)
Change in format last year – led by CEs who generated their issues in clinical education.
Feedback from the day showed that CEs found this extremely useful.
HEIs can come to update departments if the number of CEs needing training makes it beneficial
to all.
8. Dates for taster sessions for potential applicants
Latest programme attached with minutes
9. Electronic forms (Placement offer form, Placement Student Report form Y2, Placement Student
Report form Y3 and Y4)
Sean showed the forms to all. Most SCs are completing electronically at present. The new
format makes them easier to complete. No changes made to the content. HEIs would like to
receive the forms electronically but still happy to accept paper versions.
Plan is to have a joint website between the HEIs to put the forms on.
Action: Still one offer form per placement offer please.
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Speech and Language Therapy
North West Student Co-ordinator’s
Annual Meeting
10. Mid-placement review and action plan
Student feedback showing that not all students are having mid-placement reviews.
Denise and Alison have put together some guidelines (attached with minutes).
Action: Please have a look and provide feedback
11. Videos for client care pathway
Action: A request from the HEIs to have some videos for teaching purposes; clients/carers
feedback/SLT’s reflections, different stages in the care pathway.
HEIs will support CEs with this.
Some offers made during the meeting- thank you.
12. Any other business
CPD ideas
Discussion about using part of this meeting for CPD. Action: Please send ideas to Sean/Suzi.
Possible ideas: non-verbal assessment, learning styles, non-verbal reasoning test.
SPLs
Feedback about completing every year. Some SCs just do a selection per year as information
SPLs is generating is the same and generally outside the control of the SC/dept, i.e. WL pressures
Action: Can MMU have a selection of these from SCs please. Just the action plan.
Student Dissertations
Some SCs have received emails recently from students from HEIs requesting completion of
questionnaires but student is unknown to the department.
Process for SPT3/4; ‘gatekeeper’ identified with student’s supervisor, i.e. Head of Department
and is contacted in the first instance.
Requests to take students from other disciplines
This is becoming more commonplace amongst trusts, particularly requests to take student
nurses. Difficult to plan for as often don’t know when coming. PEFs will look at departments
and if they are not meeting capacity with own discipline then will want other disciplines to
attend for placement.
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Speech and Language Therapy
North West Student Co-ordinator’s
Annual Meeting
Suggested solution to this; that newly qualified SLTS who have not yet completed the CE
Training days offer to take other professions on placement so as not to "clog" up the
system for CES who are taking SLT students.
Action: Request for HEIs to highlight the increase in quota to Trusts in the North West (Elaine
Lockton to look into)
Student QAA
Denise had recent discussion with Alison Taylor, Head of NW Placement Development Network.
Alison fedback that students don’t know where they will be based. Discussion followed.
Outcome:
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Block Coordinators/Clinical Educators must complete a timetable detailing CE names, email
address, the location and client group for each session that the student will be placed with
their organisation, which will be sent to the HEI 8 weeks before the start of the placement.
This timetable will be passed to the student by the HEI when they are given these placement
details.
The timetable will also be sent to the student by the BC/CE together with their preplacement information, when the student first makes contact with the trust.
Suzi and Sean to have a record of SC/CE base details but students only to have the email
address and name of trust until the full details of the placement are confirmed.
Action: Timetables to be finalised and returned to HEI 8 weeks before the start of the
placement.
Peer Placements
CE training will cover the practicalities of peer placement and supporting CEs to offer them.
Feedback from some SCs on how they can work.
13. Date, time and venue of the next meeting: Wednesday 3rd February 2016, 1.00pm-3.30pm (CPD
time 11.30am-12.30pm) MMU, Birley Site
Key: MMU = Manchester Metropolitan University; UoM = University of Manchester; HEI = Higher
Education Institutions (i.e. MMU and UoM). PEFs = Practice Education Facilitators
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