Placement Café

Our Placement Café is a monthly opportunity to network, share and discuss ways of creating quality, sustainable opportunities.

Placement Café

Our Placement Café brings everyone who supports placements for pre-registration learners. It’s a monthly opportunity to network, share and discuss ways of creating quality, sustainable opportunities.

Our cafés are focused around the seven AHP principles of practice-based learning. You can catch up on the cafés as we record the presentations. The question and answer session isn’t recorded to support an open discussion.

*Our café is open for both RCOT members and non-members involved in the delivery of placements. Currently, we don’t host a café for learners (students and apprentices).

AHP principles of practice-based learning

Principle 1: Practice-based learning opportunities are co-produced.
Principle 2: Practice-based learning takes place across all areas, pillars and levels of practice.
Principle 3: Practice-based learning environments must be inclusive and welcoming to all.
Principle 4: Practice-based learning uses flexible, appropriate and supportive models of supervision and delivery.
Principle 5: Practice-based learning is designed with a whole team approach.
Principle 6: All those involved in practice education feel valued, respected and recognised within their roles.
Principle 7: Practice-based learning is evaluated; capturing data to drive improvement and demonstrate impact.

How to join a Placement Café

To attend the café, please send an email to education@rcot.co.uk. By joining the café, you'll also become part of the Placement Café Network. This means you'll receive updates on future cafés and have the opportunity to network with other members on Teams, beyond the café.

2025 dates:

Wednesday 23 July 2025, 1-2pm

Understanding enablers and barriers in practice-based learning

Placement capacity has been an ongoing challenge within the profession. RCOT commissioned a piece of research to gain a greater understanding of the enablers and barriers to placement capacity and quality with a view to enabling us to focus our resources where they will be most impactful.

The research objectives were:

To identify enablers and barriers to pre-registration occupational therapy placement capacity and quality.
Develop an action plan identifying the priority areas for RCOT work having most impact to support the growth and quality of practice-based learning.
Thursday 28 August 2025

Managing placement capacity for occupational therapy apprenticeship placements – through the development of a placement circuit. 

A reflection on the journey of the development of placement circuits for increasing numbers of occupational therapy apprentice learners joining a HEI programme as a model to aid in placement capacity and planning. 