The accreditation for Developing Expertise in Peer Working is at a Level 4. This qualification sits just above A-levels (Level 3) on the UK’s Qualifications Framework and focuses on specialist knowledge and practical skills. A Level 4 course is equivalent to the first year of a bachelor’s degree. This course is credit-bearing.
For the course to have an accreditation, it requires our team to work with an accrediting organisation. This means that we submit our marking of assignments to be reviewed by an accrediting organisation we have partnered with, to ensure quality assurance.
Credit-bearing means that on successful completion of a course, a student can obtain academic credits. Academic credits are a recognition of the amount of work a student has put into studying on a particular course and the demand of the course itself (The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, 2021). The number of credits a course may hold will depend on the amount of time and effort required to complete it. Credits are issued by an accrediting organisation or a higher education institution.
For Developing Expertise in Peer Working, once a student has passed all the requirements for the accreditation and the marking has been reviewed by an accrediting organisation, the student will receive a Level 4 certificate, which bears 30 credits. Most Level 4 courses typically bear 20 credits (London School of International Business, 2022).
These credits may be used in the future, including potentially being used by students when applying for further study at some higher education institutions (The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, 2021). Some colleges and universities will have their own credit transfer process, which may allow someone with credits to skip part of the course or degree, based on the number of credits the person have obtained and to what level of study (The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, 2021). This will depend on if the college or higher education institution recognises and accepts any previous credits a person has obtained (The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, 2021).
Whilst we cannot advise on a specific amount of study time, beyond the training days, students will need time to work on their assignments.
Discussing with your staff member on what their study needs are and the needs of the service/team they work in will allow you both to agree upon a suitable arrangement.
We recommend on Days 5 and 12, where no taught content is delivered, that these days remain protected time, so students can work on their assignments.
Day 5 is when the Midpoint Review is held. This is a chance for students to give feedback on the course so far and it can serve as an opportunity to check in on any assignment concerns the students might have. This is held via Zoom with a senior member of Central and North West London’s Peer and Lived Experience Workforce, to allow students to feel more comfortable to provide feedback. The duration is for an hour. Our team recommends that Day 5 remains protected time for your staff member. This is so students can use the rest of the day to work on their assignments and workbook for the Level 4 accreditation. Attendance of the Midpoint Review is expected.
Day 12 is when a feedback session is held. Similar to the Midpoint Review, this is held online via Zoom and is facilitated by a senior member of Central and North West London’s Peer and Lived Experience Workforce. The duration is for an hour. Our team recommends that Day 12 remains protected time for your staff member. This is so students can use the rest of the day to work on their second assignment and the workbook for the Level 4 accreditation. Attendance of the feedback session is optional.
Yes, students can request time with Peer Educators for support, including in the period between the last training day of their cohort and the due dates for Assignment Two and the Workbook.
Students can request support by emailing our team’s Peer Training email: cnwl.peertraining@nhs.net. A member of the team will respond as soon as possible to arrange a suitable time on a Friday for a video call with the student.
Requests will be processed on a first come, first served basis.
Students may wish to request a particular Peer Educator, and they will endeavour to arrange to see them as soon as possible. Students may be seen more quickly if they do not have a preference of who they wish to speak to.
Our marking needs to be ratified by our accrediting body, thus we are beholden to this process before we can issue any Level 4 certificates to students. This process can take a few weeks at a minimum but as a team we endeavour to submit our marking for review as quickly as possible and to keep students and you as their manager or supervisor informed throughout the process.
Managers and/or supervisors should support students to have enough protected time to attend the training days of the course and to complete the assignments and workbook. Training days should be protected time, to allow students to attend the training, held on Zoom from 9:30 am – 4:30 pm.
Managers and supervisors can also support students with completing their workbooks by observing the student’s competencies, providing feedback, and signing off on said observations. A minimum of three episodes of care of the student need to be observed, so feedback can be provided on how they have met one of the seven competencies.
These competencies include the “ability to make effective use of self-care and supervision (to be signed off after supervision),” so feeding back and signing off on this competency after a supervision session will support the student to complete the course.
Whilst it is not required, you may wish to support students by providing feedback on their assignments prior to submission.
Assignment 1 is a presentation which is held on the ninth week of the course. No content will be taught that week. Students will be given a slot to present during that week, via Zoom.
For fairness, all students should send their presentation slides to the peer training email (cnwl.peertraining@nhs.net) by 12 pm on the Monday of the week their presentation falls upon.
Specific due dates for assignments will be given to cohorts between enrolment and the first week. These due dates will be reiterated during the first taught day. This is to make students aware of the deadlines as early as feasibly possible.
Assignment 2 is either a case study focused on an individual the student has been supporting or, for those in training roles, a critical review of a training session the student has delivered using their lived experience. This is due on Monday, by 12 pm, four weeks after Day 12, the last day of the course.
Specific due dates for assignments will be given to cohorts between enrolment and the first week. These due dates will be reiterated during the first taught day. This is to make students aware of the deadlines as early as feasibly possible.
The workbook is due on the following week from Day 12 (last day) of the course, on Monday by 12 pm. Workbooks should be submitted to the peer training email: cnwl.peertraining@nhs.net.
Specific due dates for assignments will be given to cohorts between enrolment and the first week. These due dates will be reiterated during the first taught day. This is to make students aware of the deadlines as early as feasibly possible.
Yes, students can submit a draft for feedback, although this is not mandatory.
If students wish to submit a draft of an assignment for feedback, we ask that they please email it over to the peer training email: cnwl.peertraining@nhs.net
The Peer & Lived Experience Training Team will endeavour to provide feedback in a timely manner, so this can be used by students prior to submission of an assignment.
For Assignment 1 (the presentation), a draft can either be in presentation form, or a plan of what the student intends to include.
For Assignment 2 (the case study or critical review), a draft should be either a 500-word excerpt or an essay plan. Students should not send the Peer & Lived Experience Training Team a draft which is more than 500 words, as we have a word limit on what we can provide feedback on.
If a student wants feedback on something specific, or to know if something can/can’t be included in an assignment, they can let us know, so we can tailor our feedback.
As a team, we are here to support students, so they can do their best, pass, and obtain a Level 4 certificate.
If a student fails an assignment, they are offered opportunities to resubmit. As a team, we will be in contact with a student, if this were to occur, so we can best support them and can arrange a resubmission date.
The feedback received on the previous submission will provide guidance on how the student can improve their work and we would encourage them to review this so they can pass the assignment on resubmission.
We know not everyone finds academic learning straightforward and we as a team want to support students through the course.