Edexcel Level 3 BTEC Nationals in Health and Social Care

UNIT 44: VOCATIONAL EXPERIENCE FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL CAREAssessment for learners should be supported by detailed work placement reports,witness testimonies and, where appropriate, observations. Tutors should seekopportunities to observe learners at their placements if possible.For P1 learners need to choose a different health or social care organisation fromthat described for Unit 6: Personal and Professional Development in Health andSocial Care. Thus their knowledge and understanding of such organisations, and howthey fit into the national framework, will be broadened.For P2 learners need to include evidence, preferably in their personal andprofessional development portfolio, which demonstrates knowledge andunderstanding of workplace practice. Such evidence should include descriptions ofobservations, descriptions of workplace procedures such as those for the recording,reporting and sharing of information, or information about inter-agency working, tomention but a few examples. It should be emphasised that this unit provides thelearner with 200 extra work experience hours, and the evidence presented needs toreflect the extra opportunities provided for personal development and the gaining ofknowledge and understanding.For P3 learners need to provide a reflective practice journal to monitor developmentof own knowledge, understanding and skills. This will link closely with evidenceprovided for Unit 6: Personal and Professional Development in Health and SocialCare, but again the emphasis is on the extra work placement hours and consequentlythe significantly additional opportunities for development that learners will have.P4 and M1 are based on the link between theory and practice. Again, there are linkswith Unit 6: Personal and Professional Development in Health and Social Care, inwhich learners are encouraged to consider this. For P4, learners are required to againprovide evidence of understanding of links between improved knowledge andunderstanding, and effective practice in the workplace. Examples gained from theworkplace can be used to support the evidence provided, but these should bedifferent examples to those provided for Unit 6. The extra work placement hoursshould provide opportunities to develop further understanding and thus present moreinformed and detailed evidence. M1 requires an explanation of how development ofknowledge and understanding can be linked to improved practice, again usingexamples and considering reasons for the links.For P5 learners are required to reflect on their own development, thus again linkingwith Unit 6: Personal and Professional Development in Health and Social Care. Theyneed to consider their own effectiveness in work in health and social care, basing thison workplace experiences and such items of evidence as feedback from supervisors,witness testimonies and end of placement reports, as well as their own personalreflections and feelings. For M3 this needs to be applied to a consideration of howimproving one’s own personal effectiveness can enhance the experience of thepatient/service user. Again, the extra work placement hours should provideopportunities to develop examples of this.542BN018467 – Specification – Edexcel Level 3 BTEC Nationals in Health and Social Care– Issue 1 – February 2007 © Edexcel Limited 2007