Students on a professionally registered course with the School of Health and Care

In this area

In the field of Health and Care, core values such as compassion, respect, and professionalism are paramount. These values are at the heart of everything we do, and we strive to instil them in our students.

Compassion is essential in providing high-quality care and in building strong, trusting relationships. Respect for others is fundamental to ethical practice and to creating a positive and inclusive environment. Professionalism encompasses a commitment to lifelong learning, to maintaining high standards of practice, and to upholding the trust placed in us by those we serve.

Courses offered within the School of Health and Care include those regulated by Professional Bodies such as the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the Health and Care Professions Council and Social Work England; alongside courses aligned to healthcare which do not directly lead to professional registration.

Attendance and participation

Within the School of Health and Care, all students are required to attend every session on their timetable. This is also a mandatory requirement of professional bodies. Evidence shows that attending all of your Learning Journey and Assessment and Feedback and tutorials, will give you the best chance of successfully achieving the learning outcomes of the course, facilitating learning and helping you understand the material better, which in turn will help you to achieve higher grades.

Good attendance leads to a better student experience and will help improve grades for you and for your fellow students, which in turn can lead to better opportunities and enhance your employment prospects. Some courses within the School may offer students the opportunity to complete part of their studies remotely through online learning. You should note that engagement with online platforms is expected and monitored.

You are expected to commit to all elements of your course and you should apply the same discipline of attendance and engagement across face to face, online and clinical placement activity. Missing crucial teaching and learning sessions could impact patient safety and your ability to attend a practice placement. You are required to attend all (100%) of scheduled face-to-face and/or online teaching, including tutorials or one-to-one meetings.

You are also required to attend for 100% of practice placement modules. We appreciate that unforeseen and disruptive work or personal circumstances might occasionally impact your attendance. You have a responsibility to keep the course team informed at the earliest opportunity (and your practice educator should you be undertaking a period of practice placement). If you have been absent from placement for more than two days (either together or separately) you should alert the placement team as you may need to make up hours in order to meet the minimum hours required by your course, if applicable.

Many students will be in receipt of the NHS learning support fund grant and it should be noted that they may request that this is repaid if a student is found to not be attending in full.

Within healthcare courses, unexplained absence is considered a serious matter and may be considered to be evidence of professional unsuitability. As such, this behaviour may fall under the remit of the Group Fitness to Practise and Study Procedure.

Practice placements

In order to protect and maintain your health and safety and that of others you must satisfy the essential criteria below before you are able to commence your practice placement:

Satisfactory completion of occupational health clearance / annual self-declaration
Satisfactory completion of enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) clearance / annual self-declaration
Satisfactory completion of annual statutory and mandatory training

If you require Reasonable Adjustments for your practice placement, you must contact your Course Team to ensure that these are considered appropriately together with any supporting evidence. A Reasonable Adjustments Panel may need to consider whether the Reasonable Adjustments can be implemented.

You cannot commence placement until these requirements are met. You must therefore ensure that you address any requests for information and appointments regarding occupational health, and DBS promptly and undertake the required statutory and mandatory training. Any delays may prevent you from starting placement and could result in you having to be temporarily withdrawn from the course.

More information about practice placements can be found from your Course Team and via your AULA page.

Social networking conduct

Whilst the use of social networking sites has grown significantly in recent years, and can be a very useful tool for communication and learning as well as for online social interaction, students engaged in courses within the School of Health and Care must be mindful of their responsibilities in relation to their behaviour on social networking sites, such as Facebook, X, Instagram, Tik-Tok and Snapchat. (this list is not exhaustive).

Students are expected to behave responsibly, with care and respect shown towards others. Any student found to be behaving in an inappropriate way in their use of social media may find themselves subject to disciplinary action, this behaviour may fall under the remit of the Group Fitness to Practise and Study Procedure.

Norms of conduct and behaviour in relation to social networking sites are still evolving, but this guidance is designed to help you keep safe and to ensure you are not putting your own reputation, that of the School of Health and Care, and that of your Professional Body, at risk. All School of Health and Care staff and students must adhere to the Code of Conduct in the General Regulations for the Use of ICT facilities at all times. Please ensure you are familiar with this Code of Conduct because failure to comply with it can lead to disciplinary action.

Social networking etiquette is relatively straightforward to observe:

Remember that even with privacy restrictions the chances are that all your ‘friends’ will be able to view more than you think.
This is especially the case in relation to your Facebook Wall – all your ‘friends’ can view your comments and photos.
Be polite at all times.
Bear in mind that not everyone will share your sense of humour.
Ask before you ‘tag’ others in the photos you want to upload.
Ensure you respect the difference between personal and professional contacts.
Do not engage in heated arguments or trade insults (try to imagine your employer/mentor/tutor/mother is observing your online behaviour).
Try not to overload your ‘net friends’ with constant messages and updating.
Try not to put people in an awkward position by asking them to be your ‘friend’ when they may not be able to do so because of their profession/role (e.g. your lecturer), and don’t take offence if/when they decline your invitation.

Where social networking sites are used within modules, the purpose will be purely as a medium for learning. The behaviour of participants online must conform to classroom codes of conduct. Discussion and the posting of other material, such as photographs, will be monitored and unacceptable behaviour will be subject to university disciplinary procedures.

You should protect your own privacy and think very carefully about what kinds of information you want to share and with whom, adjusting your privacy settings appropriately. However, remember that everything you post online is in some respects public so endeavour to respect confidentiality where you need to. If you find yourself the target of abuse or inappropriate communication on a social networking site, or observe this happening to someone else, you should report this to your Course Director, and where necessary provide evidence.

Cyberbullying, repetitive behaviour, which is intended to hurt someone emotionally, takes place online via social networking sites, messaging apps, gaming sites and chat rooms. The School of Health and Care is committed to being a safe, positive community where everyone feels able to achieve their very best and enjoy their experience. Bullying and harassment (including Cyberbullying) has no place at Coventry University and should be reported via our Case Reporting System.

Professional Suitability and Fitness to Practise

Coventry University Group (“the Group”) provides a number of programmes where students’ professional suitability to register and practise must be assessed and monitored by the Group. The Group shall ensure it maintains its duty of care to the general public, including service users, patients and vulnerable persons and will also fulfil its responsibilities to the Professional, Statutory or Regulatory Bodies (PSRBs) associated with the programmes it delivers.

The purpose of the Professional Suitability and Fitness to Practise Procedure is to define the process that will be used to determine whether, in light of concerns raised to the Group, a student on a course leading to professional registration is a safe and a suitable entrant to the given profession and fit to practise within it.

Concerns could include but are not limited to:

The health and wellbeing of the student. This can include a health condition which was identified prior to, or at, admission but which has become more severe and/or is no longer controlled;
Abuse of alcohol or drugs;
Any criminal convictions not disclosed at the time of applying and entry to the course, or criminal convictions gained whilst on the course;
Allegations of inappropriate behaviour, including but not limited to inappropriate sexual behaviour, lying or dishonesty, oppressive remarks, bullying or harassment;
Difficulties in managing appropriate demands required of a student for progression on the relevant faculty course;
Unexplained absence or sickness records which would threaten employment if a student was in work;
Concerns occurring on placement;
Significant failure or repeated failure to achieve the Professional Body’s standards of proficiency or actions which could put others at risk. Whilst individual incidents may be less serious on their own, a pattern may call into question the individual’s overall ability to meet professional standards;
Inappropriate use of social media or online platforms;
Other serious issues covered by the Group's General Regulations and Appendices.

Students on courses that lead to professional qualification, statutory registration, registration with a Professional Body, and/or eligibility to Practise must adhere to their own professional or regulatory body’s requirements as well as the Group Code of Conduct and Regulations.

If a Panel determines that a student is in breach of Professional Standards or Code(s) of Conduct, the outcome can range from a formal warning, with associated conditions, to suspension from the course to the place on the course being terminated.