The Annual Review of Progression is a mandatory requirement for all HSST trainees in years 2 to 5, and their workplace supervisors. Failure to engage with the Annual Review of Progression can jeopardise a departments accreditation, their HSST funding and ultimately a trainee’s continuation on the programme.
It is a supportive and helpful process that is used to:
- provide a formal opportunity for trainees and their workplace supervisors to evaluate, and indicate to the School, a trainee’s progress on the programme appropriate to their stage of training
- identify any concerns, issues or barriers that need to be addressed to help with a trainee’s progression
- ensure that each trainee receives an independent evaluation of their progression
- give confidence to trainees, workplace supervisors and commissioners that training is being monitored, and support and advice is being offered as appropriate
How does it work and how long does it take to complete?
Trainees and their supervisors complete an online questionnaire. The questionnaire indicates a trainee’s current progress on the programme and is also used to identify any potential barriers or challenges they may be facing. It’s important we get a separate response from the trainee and the supervisor, and each are sent an individual link to the questionnaire.
We ask questions about particular HSST milestones. For example, the academic programme, professional qualifications, the workplace learning, and meeting the standards of proficiency.
The questionnaire should take approximately 5 to 10 minutes to complete depending on how much feedback you add to the free-text sections. Make sure you review your training plan with your supervisor before completing the questionnaire. If your supervisor has changed since you started the programme, please ensure that we have the correct supervisor details including a contact email to send the review link to.
What’s the purpose of conducting the review and how will it benefit the trainee?
It is important for trainees and their supervisors to continually monitor their training progress, so they are aware of when any particular actions need to be taken, and that all ties in with having a training plan. Some see the Annual Review of Progression as a natural prompt to undergo a cycle of review, a chance to take stock of how you are getting on. It is designed to be an entirely supportive process to assist those who may have barriers towards their completion. For example, if you or your supervisor identify barriers in your progression, we can arrange a support call following the review to discuss these and offer support. Or if you have significant delays to your progression, we can organise a full support meeting with you and your supervisor to develop an action plan to get you back on track with your training.
As well as monitoring an individual’s progress the Annual Review of Progression enables the School to look at the HSST at programme level and to identify any potential trends or themes that come out in the responses that might need to be addressed. This can help improve the provision of support and inform any potential development of the programme and its delivery.
Should you review your training plan before completing the review?
Before completing the review questionnaire meet with your supervisor to review your training plan and make any updates or adjustments. You should be doing this regularly as part of the programme, but the review is a good opportunity to review progress against your training plan, the outcomes from the previous year and importantly start to address any needs for the next year.
Do you need to complete the review if you’re out of the programme?
If you are in your unfunded HSST window and you have completed an Annual Review of Progression in your fifth year you won’t ordinarily be asked to complete a review again in this year. However, it’s important to inform the School if you foresee any challenges with meeting your HSST completion deadline, as at that point in time you will be focused on getting everything that is required for completion, finished.
Don’t forget that you can always ask questions about the programme and raise any concerns you may have at any time during your training.
Can I get confirmation I have completed the review?
After completing the Annual Review of Progression, you can request a receipt after being prompted to do so. We highly recommended you take up the option of downloading your submission and saving it as a PDF. Be aware that you will only have 15 minutes after completing the review to do this. You will then have something to refer to at any subsequent support call, meeting or any other follow up.