If you are concerned about a student’s conduct, attendance, welfare, performance, professional behaviour or ability to practise safely, please report it promptly so that it can be reviewed and appropriate action taken.

Placement partners should discuss concerns with the student, document them in the Practice Assessment Document (PAD) and inform the course team and their organisation’s education team, where applicable. Raising a concern should not come as a surprise to the student unless there is a clear reason why this has not been possible.

Anyone can raise a concern, including those who are not currently supporting a student on placement for example members of the public. You are not expected to complete the placement-specific steps above; simply provide clear, factual information and any supporting evidence available.

Submitting a concern does not automatically result in a Fitness to Practise referral. The University will review the information provided and determine the appropriate next steps. You are therefore not required to make a referral to the Office for Student Appeals, Complaints and Conduct (OSACC).

• Practice Partners Raising a Concern About a Student Quick Reference

For support with gathering and presenting the necessary evidence, please see the Resources & Templates section below.

 

Students should feel safe, supported and able to learn while on placement. A concern may relate to patient or service-user safety, the quality of the learning environment, supervision, staff conduct, discrimination, bullying, harassment or any practice that appears unsafe or unprofessional.

Where you feel able and safe to do so, consider raising the issue with your practice educator, supervisor, placement manager or University course team first. Some concerns can be resolved quickly through an early conversation. However, you should not be discouraged from submitting a concern if the issue is serious, ongoing, has not been resolved or you do not feel comfortable raising it directly within the placement area.

Please provide clear, factual information about what happened, when and where it occurred, who was involved and any action already taken. You may also upload relevant supporting evidence. Avoid including unnecessary personal or confidential information.

All concerns will be reviewed by the University and considered carefully. The information provided will help us determine the appropriate action, which may include offering support, contacting the placement provider, requesting further information or escalating the concern through the relevant University or professional process.

• Students Raising a Concern Quick Reference

If you are a student affected by something that occurred in practice or wish to receive additional support for another matter, you can raise a ticket via Minerva for Student Life. In the meantime, you have 24/7 access to Wisdom (see below). 

• Student Welfare Support Numbers

 

The following resources provide guidance on the information required and include templates to help you prepare clear, factual and relevant supporting evidence. Please use these where appropriate before submitting your concern.

Please send any evidence to practice.education@uos.ac.uk include a brief summary of the concern to help us correctly match it with the information submitted through the Raising Concerns form.

• Raising Concerns FAQs
• Raising Concerns Roadmap
• Raising Concerns Poster
• Reflective Practice Template for Students Entering a Registered Profession
• Reflective Practice Guidance
  
  

Helping Us Establish the Facts

Writing a statement helps us understand what happened from your perspective and ensures the important details are captured clearly and accurately. We have provided guidance to help you structure your statement, including the key questions to consider and the information that is most helpful to include. Statements should be factual, chronological and as specific as possible, including dates, people involved, actions taken and any supporting evidence where available. This helps us review the concern fairly and identify the appropriate next steps.

NB: AI may be used to support transcription, structure or proofreading, but it must not add, change or create information within your account. The final statement must remain your own honest and accurate account.

• Guidance for writing a formal statement
• Questions to help you structure your statement

 

Recording Timelines 

A timeline helps us understand how a student or placement concern has developed over time and may be required where concerns are ongoing or being considered through Fitness to Practise or an investigation facilitated by the practice partner. Record the key events in date order, including what happened, who was involved, actions taken and any supporting evidence.

Please download and use the template provided. This is the recognised timeline format used across the School and by the Office for Student Appeals, Complaints and Conduct (OSACC), helping to ensure information is presented consistently and can be reviewed clearly.

Important: Please download a copy before adding any content, then save as. To protect confidentiality, do not enter sensitive or personal information directly into the shared master sheet.

• Student Concerns Timeline
• Placement Concerns Timeline