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Your Apprenticeship Journey

Your Apprenticeship Journey

Your Apprenticeship journey starts here

We hope you enjoy your time studying with BNU.  Our aim is to give you the best possible experience in academic learning, social activities, as well as benefiting from our range of support services, which are available to everyone studying with the University.

Joining instructions

Please read your Joining Instructions carefully and complete all the required documents prior to starting your Apprenticeship Programme. This will include important information on the time, date and location of your Induction. If you have any questions, please contact our Student Hub.

Induction

At the start of your Apprenticeship, you will be invited to attend an induction, where you will have the opportunity to:

Training Plan

As an apprentice, you have agreed and signed a Training Plan to the following responsibilities throughout your programme at Buckinghamshire New University.

  • Attend all learning activities/classes required
  • Complete and evidence 6 hours per week of Off-The-Job training
  • Build an e-portfolio to provide evidence of gaining the skills, knowledge and behaviour required from the Apprenticeship Standard
  • Proactively participate in tripartite learning reviews and keep your individual learning plan up to date
  • Complete your End Point Assessment.

The Training Plan is intended to be used at, and to inform the regular tripartite reviews between training provider, employer and apprentice parties that take place during the lifetime of the Apprenticeship.

The Training Plan will be signed by both the employer and the apprentice. A copy of your signed Training Plan will be filed within your Aptem account and can be viewed by yourself, your employer and the University.

A full list of the roles and responsibilities can be located in Section 2 of the Training Plan.

Tripartite Learner Review

These meetings are an important part of your Apprenticeship Programme and will be carried out regularly between you, your employer and a Apprenticeship Partnership Manager or Apprenticeship Reviewer. This will happen approximately every 12 weeks or four times per year. The aim of the meetings is to review your progression and allow you the opportunity to raise any issues or concerns you may have. These reviews can be face-to-face or remote via skype/conference call etc. For any questions regarding your learner review, contact a member of your academic team.

Apprentices on Programme

Once you are ‘on programme’, you will follow your programme timetable of learning. Training is delivered as blended learning and you will be set assessment deadlines, which will be graded on their outcome. Apprentices can access their assignments and their outcomes using Blackboard, a Virtual Learning Environment. You will be required to pass all the stage requirements before progressing onto the next stage. Throughout your programme will be required to build an e-portfolio using Aptem (a Learning Management System) to evidence your progress, as well as participating in regular tripartite learning reviews.

Throughout your Apprenticeship Programme, you can access all the Universities facilities including the Gateway GymSports & Wellbeing Clinic as well as the Student Union advice centre, Counselling services and Student Support.

Completing your Apprenticeship – Gateway and End Point Assessment

To complete your Apprenticeship you must meet your apprenticeship Gateway requirements and complete the End Point Assessment (EPA).  All apprenticeship standards include an EPA, either fully integrated EPA (via the professional body, ie NMC), integrated EPA (includes a credit-bearing module for independent assessment) or external EPA (such as EAL, CMI, RAS).  For Integrated Apprenticeships we encourage you to ensure you are prepared to undertake your EPA in a timely fashion, with your e-portfolio of evidence completed.  The EPA evidences that you have achieved the knowledge, skills and behaviour for your programme of study.

You can find your Apprenticeship standard and Assessment Plan (with Gateway and EPA requirements) on the IfATE website: https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/ and your Onboarding as an apprentice include Induction to the programme which will detail specific EPA information for your apprenticeship.

Please note all apprentices, who do not hold Functional Skills Level 2 in English and maths, must have completed their Functional Skills learning within the first year of study.

Graduation

On successful completion of your Apprenticeship Programme at Buckinghamshire New University, you will be awarded your certificate and have the opportunity to attend your graduation day. The date and time of your graduation day will be available on our website at least six months prior to your graduation taking place.