FACULTY OF HEALTH STUDIES SCHOOL OF Allied Health professions and Sport

Programme Handbook Academic Year 2016/17 BSc (Hons) Occupational therapy

Table of Contents 1.

Welcome............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Faculty ........................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Dean of Faculty ........................................................................................... 2 1.3 Programme Team ........................................................................................ 2

2.

General Information ............................................................................................ 3 2.1 Contact Information .................................................................................... 3 2.2 Semester and Term Dates ............................................................................ 4 2.3 Communication ........................................................................................... 4

3.

Support for Your Learning................................................................................... 5 3.1 Specific Support Materials for Programme .................................................... 5 3.2 Study and Social Spaces ............................................................................... 6

4.

Programme Information ...................................................................................... 7 4.1 Programme Specification/s .......................................................................... 7 4.2 Bespoke Health and Safety Information ........................................................ 9 4.3 Requests for Absence ................................................................................ 10 4.4 Assessment Information ............................................................................ 10 4.5 Developing Good Academic Practice .......................................................... 11 4.6 Student Charter ......................................................................................... 12 4.7 Student Representation and Giving Feedback ............................................. 12 4.8 Complaints and Appeals ............................................................................ 13

5.

Programme Monitoring and Enhancement ......................................................... 13 5.1 External Examiners .................................................................................... 13 5.2 External Examiner Feedback ...................................................................... 13 5.3 Enhancements to the Programme .............................................................. 13

6.

Additional Information ...................................................................................... 14

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1.

Welcome

General guidance and information on the university experience for all students can be found in the Student Handbook, which is available online via http://www.bradford.ac.uk/new-students/ This handbook will be a useful document to refer to throughout your studies, so when reading it for the first time you may not fully comprehend the relevance of the information; however the programme team recommend that you refer to the handbook during the academic year to ensure you understand the rules relating to assessment and progression, are aware of support for you and your learning, and of the administrative procedures. This handbook details aspects that specifically relate to the Occupational Therapy (OT) programme; the Faculty/University handbook provides more generic information. General Course Information Title of Course

BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy

Awarding Body

University of Bradford

Approving Body Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) Accrediting Body College of Occupational Therapists (COT) (on behalf of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists - WFOT) Site of Course

School of Allied Health Professions and Sport, Faculty of Health

Studies University of Bradford, Bradford, BD7 1DP

1.1

Faculty

We offer a very warm welcome to all students, both old and new. We are delighted to work with you in our state of the art building offering the very latest in learning and teaching for the health and social care professions at both under and post graduate levels. We hope you will enjoy your time at the Faculty and look forward to working with you. For further general information about the Faculty, please see the Faculty Handbook, which is available on the Faculty of Health Studies Information Point on Blackboard. 1

1.2

Dean of Faculty

Dr Pam Bagley is the Dean of Faculty. https://goo.gl/d70fAJ

1.3

Programme Team

All academic members of staff are qualified Occupational Therapists with a wealth of clinical, managerial and research experience; these areas of expertise will be shared with you during your learning and development. All staff are involved in placement support, academic teaching and marking assessments; further support and guidance is provided by your individual Personal Academic Tutor who will be one of the OT academic staff. We see your three years of study as a shared learning experience, with you taking responsibility to develop and meet learning requirements and staff guiding and supporting you to meet the necessary aspects of the course. Teaching may also be provided by staff from differing disciplines and also occupational therapy practitioners. In addition you will have the opportunity to learn from and with service users in academic and placement settings.

Name

Role

Tel No 01274 23-

Room

Email

Normal Working Pattern

Cathy Clarke

Programme Lead

5966

3.19

C.Clarke1@brad ford.ac.uk

Full time

5124

3.19

S.Jackson13@br adford.ac.uk

Full time

6319

3.19

E.J.Hastie@bradf ord.ac.uk

Tues - Fri

Academic Lecturer Susan Jackson

Academic Lecturer Practice Placement Coordinator Year 1 Tutor

Jane Hastie

Academic Lecturer Joint Faculty

2

Postgraduate Programme Lead Year 2 Tutor Pam Toothill

Academic Lecturer

6797

3.19

P.Toothill@bradf Full time ord.ac.uk

3.19

J.M.C.Atkinson@ Weds & bradford.ac.uk Fridays

Admissions Tutor Year 3 Tutor Jo Atkinson

Academic Lecturer

6800

Martin Fitzgerald

Academic Lecturer

6592

Vicky Wilkinson

Academic Lecturer

6796

Jemma Hunt

Programme Administrator

6385

M.Fitzgerald@br adford.ac.uk

Tues, Weds and Friday

3.19

V.J.Wilkinson@b radford.ac.uk

One day/week

1.07

j.v.hunt@bradfo rd.ac.uk

Full time

In addition the following numbers are also useful: Programme Administration: 01274236541 or [email protected]

2.

General Information

As a student on a professionally accredited course you are bound by a number of professional regulations; these are the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) standards of proficiency http://www.hcpc-uk.org/publications/standards/index.asp?id=45 And the College of Occupational Therapists Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct http://www.hcpc-uk.org/publications/brochures/index.asp?id=219 https://www.cot.co.uk/standards-ethics/standards-ethics You are required to behave according to University expectations as noted in the University student charter http://www.bradford.ac.uk/student/student-charter/?rdr

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You are introduced to these standards and expectations at the start of your studies; the professional body expectations continue to be re-referred to in many modules & you will also use them as supporting references in academic assignments as well as demonstrating them in competencies on placement. In addition all students are required to meet the University and Faculty expectations relating to fitness to study and fitness to practice. It is therefore important that you make your Personal Academic Tutor or Programme Lead aware of any changes in your health or personal circumstances which would prevent you meeting these standards.

2.1

Contact Information

Please refer to 1.3 above.

2.2

Semester and Term Dates

The standard University Semester and term dates can be found at: http://www.bradford.ac.uk/study/term-dates/?cta=Term%20dates Programme planners will be available on Blackboard > Faculty of Health Studies Information Point > My Subject

2.3

Communication

There are many different ways that you can keep in touch while you undertake your studies, but do let us know if you need any help or advice or if you are getting into difficulties. You can contact lecturers via telephone; however E-mails are often the most practical way of keeping in touch. You can expect to receive a response to an enquiry within 3 working days. Further information about the use of e-mails is available in the Faculty of Health Studies handbook. You will automatically receive a University of Bradford (UoB) email address when you register. It is important to use this at all times as all the correspondence from the University will come to your e-mail address. Please check this regularly as this is the main method by which we will contact you and where updates are sent to. You can log onto http://mail.bradford.ac.uk using your UoB username and password. During registration you will have created a password, for more information access http://www.bradford.ac.uk/it-services/help/password/

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3.

Support for Your Learning

General guidance on the support available can be found in the Student Handbook, which is available online via http://www.bradford.ac.uk/new-students/ and at http://www.bradford.ac.uk/information-services/. The library holds a number of text books, journals and e- resources (books, journals and databases) relevant to the profession, and these are regularly updated to ensure students have access to sufficient and current resources. Module reading lists are reviewed annually to ensure you are guided to the most appropriate resources. The Personal Academic Tutor (PAT). This role is explained in the Faculty Student Handbook. However whilst the role of a PAT is designed to support your academic development, OT PAT’s can also use your individual meetings to discuss strategies to enable you to manage your study requirements, perhaps advising you on how to develop time management, develop resilience skills and professional attributes. The programme team note that students who successful meet the programme learning outcomes are those who:

   

3.1

See their personal academic tutors on a regular basis to receive guidance on how to improve academic performance, receive timely support/advice if personal issues are affecting their performance, and have opportunities to discuss their professional development. Attend and fully engage in taught sessions and use resources on Blackboard to support and develop learning. Utilize university student support services such as the academic skill unit, counselling, disability services. Start assignments in a timely manner and use the support from formative & summative feedback to improve performance. See opportunities and not barriers during the course; the course is challenging but it develops you into an excellent Occupational therapist who has a wide range of professional and personal skills

Specific Support Materials for Programme

Blackboard: This is the University’s virtual learning environment (VLE). All modules have a dedicated area within Blackboard where you find information including timetables, staffing, lecture notes, assessment etc. You will receive an introduction to the system at the start of the programme and should aim to familiarise yourself with it as soon as possible. All programme information can be found in the organisation entitled ‘Faculty of Health Studies Information Point’. This is in the list down the right hand side of the main Blackboard page. 5

Blackboard has a messages system called ‘Announcements,’ which you should check regularly, as staff use this facility to communicate information to students on a frequent basis. The system also has a facility for you to submit electronic copies of all written assessments. You must follow the guidelines in the Faculty of Health Studies Handbook with regard to the submission of written work; please ask advice if you are unsure how to submit assessments as no submissions will be accepted after the deadline and incorrect submissions via this process will not be marked. Pebble Pad: This is an e-portfolio system used to support your professional development. You will be given more information on its use relevant to your programme.

3.2

Study and Social Spaces

At the Faculty of Health Studies we have a number of spaces and facilities to support your learning and social activity. In the Faculty of Health Studies Handbook available on the Information Point on Blackboard, you will find more detail about the wider facilities available to you in the University and Faculty; however, the information below should be helpful: Student PCs - In the reception area and the corridors on floor 1 you will find computers and sockets for your own equipment. These are linked to the University intranet and the internet so that you can source information for yourself. There is also an internal telephone located on the wall for you to use to contact members of staff within the building. Lockers – there are lockers available for student use when attending clinical sessions. The majority of lockers are located outside the X-ray rooms on floor 0; however there are a small number to be found in the shower room on floor 0.1 and in the male and female toilets on floor 1. Keys for the lockers are in the doors and we ask that once finished lockers are left empty, open and with the key back in the door. N.B: There is a charge for lost locker keys. Social Space - The social spaces available in the Faculty are a small seating area on floor 3 and the student coffee area. The Coffee Bar area provides a selection of hot & cold drinks as well as snacks and sandwiches and is open from 08.00 am to 16.00 pm Monday – Friday during term time. Wi-Fi - is available throughout the Faculty. Student Support Reception on floor 1 is available to support you throughout your studies with any Faculty related enquiries you may have. Your individual timetables will indicate the location of each taught session. When teaching occupational therapy specific skills we use one of our dedicated teaching spaces as these provide opportunity to use profession specific equipment and resources to support your development. 6

The occupational therapy society The Occupational Therapy (OT) Society was created by the 2014 cohort of students with the aim of motivating and encouraging students’ to engage in their learning and also in uniting the student body. The OT Society organises an informal ‘meet and greet’ event at the beginning of each year; this enables society members from the three years to form friendships as well as engaging in informal social events. The OT Society is also responsible for ‘Mindfulness Monday’ which focuses on encouraging students to engage in mindfulness. It has also opened an ‘OT Library’ where students can loan out books and DVD’s related to various physical and mental health problems to further support learning. It also organises other educational events to stimulate learning. ‘Bradford Action for Refugees’ is the chosen charity for the society and any monies raised through charity events during the year are given with a specific focus to engage refugees in meaningful occupations.

4.

Programme Information

This programme will develop your understanding of intrinsic and extrinsic occupational barriers that prevent people engaging in a range of activities; it will develop your skills in order to address these limitations and thus enhance occupation. You will develop understanding of occupational therapy practice and develop competencies in applying theory into practice in a range of differing practice settings. You will become proficient in applying health promotion principles into occupational therapy practice thus being able to educate and empower individuals to manage their own health and wellbeing in order to become healthy occupational beings. In addition to working in traditional services within health and care sectors, occupational therapists have now extended their reach to a much wider diverse group of people and differing services. This programme of study will equip you with skills necessary for practice in the NHS, social services and other new areas of work. With these aspects in mind the curriculum encompasses contemporary aspects of practice and develops your skills in business and entrepreneurship. Your learning will be facilitated through lectures, practical sessions, seminars and workshops; these, in conjunction with self-directed study, will develop your knowledge and skills. Enquiry based learning (EBL) and team based learning (TBL) activities will facilitate your development as these approaches cultivate skills in problem analysis and problem solving, using your natural human curiosity to solve issues. You will develop professional reasoning, team work and project management skills, and will engage in research and analysis. 7

We recognise the unique individual aspects that each of you bring to the programme; with this in mind a variety of learning, teaching and assessment strategies have been developed to reflect differing academic, social and cultural contexts of the whole student body. The programme incorporates a high degree of practical learning and this is reflected in the different assessment strategies. Some modes of assessment will also require you to use skills that you will need as an occupational therapist such as presentation, group work and business skills. Placement Learning The programme incorporates a number of placement opportunities enabling you to have plenty of opportunities to integrate theory and practice and to experience a variety of differing placement sites including the NHS, community and new emerging areas of practice. In addition placement experiences enable you to gain an understanding of multi-disciplinary roles and how these work in the overall care of service users. Placements occur in the Bradford, Leeds, Airedale areas. Placement offers are secured by the placement unit; these offers are then given to the programme placement tutor Susan Jackson. Susan then allocates the placement offer to a specific student and thus ensures you have a range of differing placements during the 3 years. This is imperative in order to ensure you meet the educational standards expected by the College of Occupational Therapists. You will therefore need to travel to differing locations to gain variety and experience. Further information on the allocation process is provided in practice placement handbooks. You must complete 1000 hours of placement learning in order to meet professional body requirements. If less than 80% of the placement is completed then the placement cannot be assessed and you would then be required to repeat that placement. Progression of placements is sequential, thus you cannot do placement 2 until you have successfully passed placement 1 and this process relates to all placements on the programme. All placements are assessed using a competency based assessment tool; the tool and the marking process will be explained to you. Placement educators attend training events to develop skills in practice education and to ensure they understand the assessment tool. Students who fail a placement attempt will be offered a further opportunity; failure at second attempt will require the student to withdraw from the programme. If a student is failing to meet the expected competencies on a placement, a University tutor will meet with the student and placement educator to establish a set of required actions which the student must attain in order to pass the placement. Placement handbooks provide details of the learning outcomes and the assessment tool with additional marking guidance; additional documents to record supervision records and reflections are also included. The programme team reserve the right to delay a particular student’s placement if that student has been unable to pass sufficient successful assessments, as this is deemed an inability to demonstrate levels of knowledge and skills required to ensure safe and 8

competent practice. In this instance placement may be delayed until the next placement opportunity or until the student can demonstrate sufficient levels of knowledge and skills to meet expected levels of competency for safe practice. The Fitness to Study/Practice policy may also be instigated if there are concerns about a student’s health or academic issues which may have an impact on placement learning and engagement. Taught sessions delivered prior to each placement will focus on the placement learning outcomes and expected levels of competencies. Each student will complete a reflection to identify current abilities and areas for development, thus tailoring learning for the forthcoming placement. You will be supported by a practice placement educator on each placement; this will be a qualified occupational therapist and will be the person who completes your competency assessment mark. After each placement there will be debrief session for all member of the cohort at the University; this provides opportunities to share experiences with fellow students and to write a reflective log which identifies future learning objectives for the next placement. You will also be expected to complete a placement evaluation. Whilst a student on the BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy programme you are bound by the codes of conduct, performance and standards of the College of Occupational Therapists (COT), and the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

4.1

Programme Specification/s

You can access the programme specification for your programme on the Academic Quality and Partnerships Office web site at: http://www.bradford.ac.uk/aqpo/programme-specifications/. The programme adheres to specific professional body requirements which are adhered to as waivers from University regulations:





All modules contributing to the professional qualification must be passed at 40% or above and all components of practical assessment must be passed at 40%. Where a module has dual assessment, and part of that assessment is practically based, students are not permitted to pass the module if they fail the practical component, even if the overall weighted average of the module is over 40.0%. Please note some modules with 2 modes of assessment will require you to pass both elements in order to pass the module overall. Students are only permitted two attempts at placement assessments; failure after the second attempt will require the student to withdraw from the programme. Students can be asked to leave the programme on the grounds of professional unsuitability, irrespective of academic achievement.

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4.2

Bespoke Health and Safety Information

Your health and safety is paramount to us. If you have any specific health and safety concerns please raise these with the Programme or Module Leader. The Faculty of Health Studies Handbook, available on the Information Point on Blackboard, provides further information on health and safety matters. Personal health issues affecting your studies should be drawn to the attention of your Personal Academic Tutor. Within the learning activities in academic modules you will be expected to engage in differing activities; some of these will be experiential thus giving you the experience of occupational limitations, and some may ask you to role play as a service user. You are expected to engage in these activities in a professional manner ensuring that you respect others, ensure confidentiality, and inform the facilitator if you are unable to participate for any reason. Health and safety training is embedded within the curriculum and you will be required to attend these before undertaking placements. This includes basic life support, moving and handling, infection control, student and patient safety, safeguarding. Students who have specific learning needs which may affect their abilities to engage in learning activities without reasonable adjustments will be seen by the Disability services and a Learner support profile will be developed. This will also be used to develop a Placement Support Agreement which will inform practice educators of what adjustments may be needed in the practice setting. Guidance on lone working and placement safety is available on Blackboard > Faculty Information Point > Forms and Policies > Lone Working Policy**

4.3

Requests for Absence

Students must attend all scheduled sessions. The University Policy & Procedure on attendance for all students can be found in the Faculty of Health Studies Handbook, which is available on the Information Point. If you need to notify us of an absence you will find the required forms on Blackboard > Faculty Information Point > Forms and Policies > Attendance and Engagement or follow this link Faculty of Health Studies Absence Form 2016-17

4.4

Assessment Information

Please refer to Assessment Schedule on Blackboard > Faculty of Health Studies Information Point > My Subject. Marks for summative assessments will be released within 20 working days of submission. You will be informed should there be any delay. When marks are available you will receive an email advising you of where to find them. In the majority of cases feedback will be found in Blackboard > My Grades. Exceptions to this will be informed by module leaders. 10

A full list of the University Ordinances and Regulations can be found at: http://www.bradford.ac.uk/aqpo/ordinances-and-regulations/

4.5

Developing Good Academic Practice

Harvard Referencing Style Students will be required to provide references to the sources used to produce work. This shows what students have read, supports the arguments and acknowledges the work of others. The referencing system used in this programme is called Harvard. The reference consists of two parts: 1. A citation in the text. This appears next to the information you have used. It consists of the family name of the author followed by the year of publication. Each citation is matched a reference 2. The reference goes in a reference list at the end of your work. The list is in alphabetical order. It contains the full details of all of the sources referred to in the text. For details on how to create your reference list, go to http://www.bradford.ac.uk/library/help/referencing/ Academic Skills can provide advice and guidance on general study skills and maths skills, further information can be found at: http://www.bradford.ac.uk/academic-skills/ Support to develop written english language skills can be provided by the Language unit http://www.bradford.ac.uk/study/languages/ A University Regulation requires all new students to complete a plagiarism avoidance course before they submit their first assessment. The course consists of six lessons followed by a test. The materials and the test can be found in Blackboard. Look for the blackboard module – “Faculty of Health Plagiarism Materials”. You must undertake and complete this course before 17th October 2016. The pass mark is 70%. Please contact your PAT for further advice and support if you do not pass the plagiarism avoidance course. We have seen a significant decrease in the number of students who have breached University regulation due to plagiarism since we introduced the mandatory completion of the plagiarism avoidance course. If you would like to know more please read our article. The Library has information about plagiarism, and how to avoid it: 11

The Library has information about plagiarism, and how to avoid it: http://www.bradford.ac.uk/library/help/plagiarism/

4.6

Student Charter

Our Student Charter is intended to set out the minimum procedural expectations relating to the student experience for both staff and students. Your active involvement with staff in your learning, in Faculty-level activities, in institutional processes and with the Students’ Union is absolutely key to fostering a sense of collegiate community. You engage with us as partners and as such, both staff and students have expectations and obligations with regards to the processes in which they engage. You can find our Student Charter at: http://www.bradford.ac.uk/student-charter/.

4.7

Student Representation and Giving Feedback

The University of Bradford is committed to working in partnership with students to develop its learning and teaching practice and environment. Student representation is an essential part of this, and ensuring students can be active in shaping and enhancing their own experience. Our student representation scheme operates as a partnership between the University and the Students’ Union, and forms a key part of how we engage students and our overall approach to understanding, supporting and enhancing the student experience. Student Representatives can take student views to various staff/student events and decision making meetings, committees and boards. All students have the opportunity to put themselves forward to be a Student Representative or be represented by a fellow student. There are also numerous other ways to be involved and give feedback, both formally and informally. These include: 

Completing student experience surveys (such as the National Student Survey and Bradford Student Survey).



Attending various meetings for student and staff discussion – such as student forums.



Completing module evaluations.



Giving user feedback on services (e.g. the library and IT).



Getting involved with Student’s Union activity.



Taking part in research, focus groups, interviews or student led meetings.



Volunteering or applying for specific roles or opportunities to enhance teaching and learning or the wider student experience at the University.

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It is important to remember that giving positive feedback on student experiences is just as important as raising issues of concern or suggesting changes. We support students and staff in engaging in on-going dialogue that is underpinned by a shared approach of open-ness and mutual respect, and therefore encourage constructive feedback that aims for enhancement. Further information about Student Representatives can be found at: http://www.ubuonline.co.uk/your-union/student-reps/

4.8

Complaints and Appeals

For information regarding making complaints or appeals please visit http://www.bradford.ac.uk/legal-and-governance/breaches-appeals-complaints/.

5.

Programme Monitoring and Enhancement

5.1

External Examiners

Julie Walters Senior Lecturer and Course Lead Msc Occupational Therapy Sheffield Hallam University will commence this role from September 2016

5.2

External Examiner Feedback

The programme is well structured with clear and coherent incremental development between academic levels of study. The team are to be commended in relation to the curriculum being both current and relevant; both the more traditional aspects of the profession and contemporary areas of practice are given appropriate consideration in both the university based modules and practice placement modules. A strength of the programme is the variety of assessment methods, including transferrable skills for future practice, such as posters, presentations and practical tasks. The detailed knowledge the programme team have of the students and their dedication to each student’s professional development, whilst still maintaining professional standards, is outstanding. There is significant evidence that the team keep up to date with their own continuing professional development and this clearly positively impacts on the currency of the curriculum. Placement educators appear to continue to be well trained and supported as evidenced through the placement reports. (Previous external examiner Karen Newbury)

5.3

Enhancements to the Programme

Developments that have been made to the programme in response to student, practice placement and academic reviews include:

Development of information to support students across transition periods from one academic year to another. This enables students to develop skills required 13

for the next stage of the degree programme and to be aware of forthcoming modules and assessments. 

Development of a Bradford occupational therapy student society. This enables networking across all the cohort providing support and programme information exchange between students, engagement in social events and access to student resources.



The programme received a 100% rate of satisfaction from students in 2014/15 in the National Student Survey



The Bradford occupational therapy programme is ranked 3rd in the University League tables for occupational therapy education within the UK

Additional Information The information provided within this handbook should be used in conjunction with the information provided in the Student Handbook, Module Handbook and other reference points available from the University website.

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