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Workforce, training and education

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  6. Listening to Student Midwives: Lessons from 2022

Listening to Student Midwives: Lessons from 2022

58.3% of student midwives considered leaving their course in 2022.

We listened and acted.

  • In 2022, NHS England Workforce, Training and Education (WTE) commenced a comprehensive programme of work in response to the Kirkup (2015 and 2022) and Ockenden (2020 and 2022) reports into maternity services. The programme’s initial objectives were to strengthen the midwifery workforce by advancing high-quality learning environments, reducing learner attrition, and improving the retention of newly qualified midwives.
  • The impact of this work is now beginning to show. The 2024 National Education and Training Survey (NETS) revealed that the percentage of student midwives considering leaving their course has fallen to 50%.
  • The programme has since expanded to include all multi-professional learners, following evidence from the South West region that the Safe Learning Environment Charter is equally beneficial for learners in nursing, the allied health professions, pharmacy and healthcare sciences.
  • The programme comprises three phases:
  • Development of a learner charter
  • Charter co-design
  • Implementation, monitoring and impact evaluation of the Charter
  • The Safe Learning Environment Charter (SLEC) is the first milestone in a wider programme to strengthen the NHS workforce. It has been shaped by the input of over 2,482 learners, educators and stakeholders in health education, whose collective voice forms the foundation of the Charter.
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