Dental Nursing and Dental Technology National Occupational Standards Review

Consultation – have your say

The National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Dental Nursing and Dental Technology are now available for consultation by the sector.

These NOS are being reviewed alongside the General Dental Council (GDC) review of the learning outcomes required for registration for Dental Nurses and Dental Technicians. A review of the NOS is necessary to ensure that the NOS are fit for purpose for use within qualifications that may lead to registration with the GDC.

The consultation for both suites of NOS will run from 1st February until 16th March via the Skills for Health website.

What are National Occupational Standards (NOS)?

NOS define what a competent person should know and be able to do when they carry out a particular work activity. NOS are used to underpin future learning and development including qualifications development and a range of workforce development activities.

Each NOS describes the knowledge and performance criteria required to effectively undertake the function being described. The knowledge and performance should be relevant every time the function is performed and for everyone that undertakes that function.

NOS are not meant to be education and learning packages, or curricular. They should be used to inform these activities.

The statements within a NOS should be broad enough to apply across the UK and within every setting that the function is performed.

How to submit your comments

NOS are divided into sections: Overview, Knowledge and Understanding and Performance Criteria.

We would like you to comment on each section of any NOS that is relevant to your work, keeping in mind the following:

• Would this apply to all dental nurses or dental technicians (depending on the suite you are commenting on)?
• Is all of the knowledge contained within each NOS essential for carrying out this function?
• Are the performance criteria correct?
• Is anything missing from any section?

Dental Nursing

Please access the NOS here or download the complete set (8 documents) [file size - 1Mb]

Dental Technology

Please access the NOS here or download the complete set (27 documents) [file size - 4Mb]

Clicking on each link for either suite, will open up a PDF file of the NOS. You can comment directly onto the PDF file and submit your feedback electronically. For more help please click here. The feedback will then be collected and discussed with the respective Working Group following the end of the consultation period.

If you have any problems with opening the PDF files or providing your comments, please email dentalnosreview@skillsforhealth.org.uk

Timescale

The project phase to review and revise the NOS will run from October 2011 until June 2012.

The project phase to review and revise the SVQ qualification products will run from October 2011 until June 2012.

Thank you for contributing to the consultation process. For further information or to be placed on the project mailing list, please email dentalnosreview@skillsforhealth.org.uk