Earlier this year, NHS England (NHSE) commissioned RSPH to design and deliver a Violence Prevention and Reduction (VPR) education pathway. The pathway consists of qualifications ranging from Level 3 to Level 4, geared to meet the training needs of Violence Prevention and Reduction Leads employed by NHS Trusts, as well as other members of the NHS workforce who are working in ‘at risk’ environments.

The pathway was piloted with a total of 31 participants from May to July this year and consists of three levels:

Level 3 Award in VPR for Operational

Level 3 Award in VPR for Strategic

Level 4 Award in VPR for Strategic

Evaluation of the VPR pathway pilot was carried out in August to ensure the educational pathway was relevant, beneficial, and engaging to participants, and to identify and modify areas of improvement before being rolled out across the wider NHS.

Across all three qualifications -

• all participants remarked on the usefulness of the training and stated that the training added to the knowledge they already held
• meeting with others in similar roles, reviewing policies for violence prevention and reduction, and gaining practical advice for dealing with incidents were also noted as key positive outcomes of the pilot
• In post-training questions, all participants indicated that the training had met their expectations but there was some feedback on how to improve it, particularly around cutting content, avoiding duplication, and presenting information
   

The team of qualification and training developers and experts subsequently discussed and agreed on how to act upon feedback and implement content improvements for the upcoming rollout.

All of the learning sessions were reported as -

• satisfactory, beneficial, and delivered at the right pace
• slides, content, delivery, and workbooks as above average or excellent
• some elements of the content and workbooks were rated as below average, and the need for improvement was noted and actioned

All participants rated the training to be ‘somewhat relevant’, ‘relevant’ or ‘very relevant’ to their job roles. Most learners indicated that the training had benefited them with key descriptive words being ‘relevant’, ‘engaging’, ‘insightful’, and, most importantly, they told us that they were likely to use what they learned as part of their role.

You can find out more about the education pathway, the qualifications, and how to register here