NHS England Safe Learning Environment Charter

In July 2022, in response to the Kirkup (2012) and Ockenden (2020, 2022) inquiries, the National Maternity and Quality and Patient Safety teams within Health Education England (now the Workforce, Training & Education directorate of NHS England) launched the first nationally co-ordinated quality review of pre-registration midwifery education to understand the experiences of learners within the education setting. This review was the foundation of a 3-phase approach, focussing on ‘what good looks like’. It aims to advance high quality placements, reduce learner attrition, and increase workforce retention.

Between November 22 and January 23, national focus groups were held with over 2000 learners and newly qualified midwives sharing feedback. The Health and Society Knowledge Exchange (HASKE) then produced a thematic analysis, identifying key priorities from the feedback received. This became the basis of the Safe Learning Environment Charter (SLEC).

Following the outcomes of the thematic analysis, we facilitated regional workshops to co-develop the SLEC. Engaging with key stakeholders was vital to capture good practice and for the SLEC to support the learner voice. We would like to thank all stakeholders who collaborated with us and worked with our regional Quality Improvement Senior Project Managers to develop the SLEC. Resources including posters, a maturity matrix tool and an implementation pack can also be found within this portal.

If any further information is required, please contact england.slec@nhs.net