The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) sets the professional standards for nursing and midwifery in the UK. This includes the education and training standards that apply to the student programme of study and specifically Standards for Student Supervision and Assessment (SSSA), which describe the requirements for student practice learning. The Standards define the roles of the student, Practice Supervisor (PS), Practice Assessor (PA) and Academic Assessor (AA) in the learning process.
This page contains the e-learning resources you will need if you are preparing to become a practice supervisor or practice assessor supporting student learning. You should complete the prerequisite learning modules before progressing to practice supervisor or practice assessor preparation.
The Revise and Refresh videos provide a quick in-depth look at the key stages and skills required. You may wish to refresh your knowledge and skills if you have had a long gap between students or are doing a process for the first time (e.g. managing an action plan) and these videos will help you with that.
Click on the link below for the resources you require.
The e-learning modules in this section provide a foundation in understanding how healthcare works in the UK, knowledge of the issues around culture and learning and how this might influence student achievement outcomes, and the basis for the student practice learning requirements set by the NMC.
These modules must be undertaken by all staff involved with student practice learning to ensure that our students have the best learning experience we can provide and are supported to complete their programmes successfully. The modules should be undertaken before starting the detailed preparation for Practice Supervisor and Practice Assessor roles, but may also be completed whenever learning needs arise. They have been developed based on feedback from our internationally-educated practice colleagues and students, which identified the learning needs.
UPDATED: 16th Jan 2026
UPDATED: 16th Jan 2026
UPDATED: 16th Jan 2026
In this section you will find the online learning that you must complete before your PS Preparation Workshop:
Keep notes of your learning, reflections and any questions you might have. These will be useful when you attend the PS Preparation Workshop.
In this section you will find the online learning that you must complete before your PA Preparation Workshop:
*If you haven’t already completed the
e-learning module on Supporting Neurodivergent Students it is advisable that you do so (see link in section above).
Reflect on your experience as a practice supervisor. How have your skills and understanding of student learning developed during this experience?
Keep notes of your learning, reflections and any questions you might have. These will be useful when you attend the PA Preparation Workshop.
Where local circumstances allow, you will be supported by an experienced PA during your first student allocation as an assessor. They should check in with you around the mid-point and towards the end of the placement to help you complete those stages, and any specific assessments, with confidence.
The Revise and Refresh videos provide a quick in-depth look at the key stages and skills required. You may wish to refresh your knowledge and skills if you have had a long gap between students or are doing a process for the first time (e.g. managing an action plan) and these videos will help you with that.
The PLPLG are grateful to the London Healthcare Education Group (LHEG) for funding the development of the prerequisite learning resources on this page.
The resources ‘Supporting Neurodivergent Students’ and ‘Assessing Neurodivergent Students’ have been produced by the NHS Reducing Pre-registration Attrition and Improving Retention programme.