Confusion over apprenticeships is putting health visiting at risk

The development of apprenticeship standards is a complex process. While it is expected that standards will be in place for specialist community public health nurses - health visitors, school nurses and occupational health nurses - by September 2018, this is not guaranteed.
Early data indicate that employers have not taken to pre-registration nursing apprenticeships. This may be because drawing down the monies from the apprenticeship levy is complex and it is a more expensive model of funding education.
Previously Health Education England (HEE) would fund the higher education institution’s course fees and the salary to 'backfill' clinical posts while students were on health visiting programmes. The apprenticeship model of funding only covers course fees, leaving employers covering the cost of 'backfill'.
The new triad of stakeholders with key roles in health visitor training – local authorities, HEE and employers – is still
...Want to read more?
Unlock full access to RCNi Plus today
Save over 50% on your first three months:
- Customisable clinical dashboard featuring 200+ topics
- Unlimited online access to all 10 RCNi Journals including Primary Health Care
- RCNi Learning featuring 180+ RCN accredited learning modules
- NMC-compliant RCNi Portfolio to build evidence for revalidation
- Personalised newsletters tailored to your interests

This article is not available as part of an institutional subscription. Why is this?
