17 The outcome of student coordinator engagement at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH): understanding the needs of educators in practice

Background The GOSH AHP (Allied Health Professional) Education Team supports AHP departments in delivering student placements. Current support includes onboarding, honorary contract processing, student supervision training, simulation sessions, student forums and educator support during placements. With rising numbers of AHP students 1 and Capital AHP Fair Share Targets,2 it is vital to ensure the Education Team’s services meet educator needs. This project aimed to evaluate existing support and identify additional needs for educators and students at GOSH.Methods Eight guiding questions were devised and used to explore awareness of current support and interest in new offer for support, including a general AHP student induction, increased facilitated learning, improved placement admin and general placement support. Meetings were held with student coordinators across nine AHP departments, via Microsoft Teams or in-person. Notes were taken with consent and analysed for recurring themes to inform recommendations.Results Feedback showed teams valued current support but highlighted gaps in awareness around managing placement concerns and hybrid models. Seven of nine teams supported a general induction programme. Student forums were seen as useful but poorly timed. Facilitated learning sessions were welcomed, with suggestions for flexible scheduling and generic topics. Potential additional support included help with reasonable adjustments, improving staff perceptions of students, and addressing profession-specific challenges with student placements.Conclusions Findings confirmed the value of AHP Education Team support but indicated a need for stronger support for educators, the following recommendations were devised for planning ongoing support to be offered: Develop a general AHP student induction aligned with placement start dates and local inductions.Improve communication of available support for placement challenges.Revise student forum timing, format, and content to improve engagement.Offer facilitated learning on broad topics at varied times.Continue discussions with AHP teams regarding support to ensure that profession–specific issues also recognised and supported.References NHS England. The Allied Health Professions (AHP) for England: 2022 to 2027 AHPs Deliver. [Internet]. London, NHS England; 2022 [cited 2025 Sep 5]. 39 p. Available from: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/allied-health-professions-strategy-for-england-ahps-deliver.pdfNHS England. AHP Fair Share – Calculations/Recommendations Update 2024 [Internet]. London, NHS England; 2024 [cited 2025 Sep 5]. 7 p. Available from: https://www.hee.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/documents/Fair%20Share%20Update%202024.pdf