We have revised the standards that help make sure that future health and care professionals trained in the UK have the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to deliver safe and effective care.
We have revised the standards that make sure that future health and care professionals trained in the UK have the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to deliver safe and effective care.
The changes to our standards of education and training follow a comprehensive review and public consultation, during which we worked closely with education providers, professional bodies, learners, service users and other stakeholders. This helped shape the revised standards, to make them clearer, more future-focused and to better reflect the changing landscape of health and care education.
The revised standards have now been published, ahead of them coming into effect in September 2027. You can also access a Welsh translation.
Why do the standards of education and training matter?
The standards of education and training help to protect the public by ensuring the quality of education and training programmes for the 15 health and care professions that we regulate.
Anyone completing an education and training programme that meets these standards will be eligible to apply to join our Register and practise in the UK.
Watch our video explainer to learn more.
What are the main changes?
While the revised standards introduce some changes, it is important to note that our overall approach remains the same. The standards are outcome focused rather than prescriptive, which means education providers continue to have flexibility in how they design and deliver their programmes, provided they meet our requirements.
This review focused on the standards of education and training only. No changes were made to the standards of conduct, performance and ethics or the standards of proficiency.
The revised standards include a number of important changes:
A clearer structure
We have reorganised the standards to make them easier to navigate and apply. The new structure clearly distinguishes between requirements at institution and programme levels, helping education providers understand what is required and how we will assess education providers and programmes against the standards.
A stronger focus on equality, diversity and inclusion
The revised standards strengthen requirements relating to equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI). Education providers will now need to embed EDI principles across their strategies and policies and demonstrate how these are implemented, monitored and reviewed to support positive experiences and outcomes for learners and others involved in programmes.
Supporting the ethical use of technology
The revised standards reflect the increasing role of technology, such as AI, in education and professional practice. Education providers will need to ensure that technology is used appropriately, ethically and effectively in learning, teaching and assessment. They will also need to keep up to date with relevant developments and technologies used in professional practice, as well in education.
Designed for all learning models
The revised standards strengthen requirements across all learning environments, from classroom-based, through to practice-based and remote learning settings. These changes are designed to make the standards more inclusive, making clear that learners must receive a safe, effective and high-quality educational experience regardless of how their programme is delivered.
To view a full list of changes take a look at our standards of education and training comparison document.
When will the new standards come into effect?
All education providers will need to meet the requirements in the revised standards from 1 September 2027.
Implementation support
We recognise that education providers will need time to review and implement the changes. To support this work, in the coming months, we will publish detailed guidance to help education providers understand and apply the standards.
Alongside this guidance, we will also share details of webinars which will provide practical information about the standards, our expectations, and how education providers can demonstrate compliance.
Consultation
We would like to thank everyone who contributed to the review and consultation. The feedback we received helped us develop standards that support high-quality education, prepare learners for evolving professional practice and strengthen public protection. Our consultation response document sets out our analysis and response to the feedback we received.
Queries
You can find out more information about the revised standards on our webpage, including some questions and answers. If you have any queries relating to the revised standards of education and training, please contact your national/regional lead from our Education team.