How we develop our standards

Nursing and midwifery practice today is different from a decade ago and we know it will change even more in the next 10 years.

We want to ensure that our education standards are fit for purpose and that nurses, midwives and nursing associates are equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to deliver high quality and safe care now and in the future.

That’s why we're carrying out a major review of our education standards and the ways we quality assure.

What we're doing

Our education programme timeline sets out our plans for the review.

Future nurse standards and education framework

Our first phase of new standards were approved by our Council in March 2018 and published in May 2018. They consist of:

• Standards framework for education and training - these are standards for providers of all pre and post registration  nursing and midwifery programmes
• Standards for student supervision and assessment - how nursing and midwifery students are supported and assessed in theory and practice
• Standards for pre-registration nursing programmes - these standards describe the entry criteria, programme length and the award  for providers of pre-registration nursing programmes
• Standards of proficiency for registered nurses - these describe the knowledge and skills that nurses should have at the point of joining our register 
• Standards for prescribing programmes - these standards describe the entry criteria programme length and the award  for providers of prescribing programmes
• Adoption of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s competency framework – which describes the knowledge and skills that nurse and midwife prescribers should have 

We also made the decision to withdraw our standards for medicines management.

Nursing associate standards

Our second phase of new standards were published in October 2018. These consist of:

• Standards of proficiency for nursing associates - these describe the knowledge and skills that nursing associates should have at the point of joining our register 
• Standards for pre-registration nursing associate programmes - these set out the specific requirements that apply to all pre-registration nursing associate education programmes

Midwifery standards

We’re currently reviewing the standards that student midwives will need to meet in order to join the profession.

Find out about how we’re reshaping the future of midwifery education in the UK.