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APPRENTICESHIP HANDBOOK SOLICITOR STANDARD

LLB (Hons) in Legal Practice

June 2019

Martin Salisbury

(Course Leader)

Lancashire Law School

Preston Campus

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Please read this Handbook in conjunction with the University’s Student Handbook.

All course materials, including lecture notes and other additional materials related to

your course and provided to you, whether electronically or in hard copy, as part of your

study, are the property of (or licensed to) UCLan and MUST not be distributed, sold,

published, made available to others or copied other than for your personal study use

unless you have gained written permission to do so from the Head of School. This

applies to the materials in their entirety and to any part of the materials.

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Contents

1 Welcome to the your Higher Apprenticeship for the Solicitor Standard

2 Apprenticeships

3 Your Course

4 Structure of the academic aspect of your apprenticeship

5 Approaches to teaching and learning

6 Student Support

7 Assessment of academic award

8 Classification of academic award

9 Student Feedback

10 Appendices

10.1 Higher Apprenticeship Standard (including mapping to course modules)

10.2 End Point Assessment Plan

10.3 Programme Specification(s)

10.4 Apprenticeship Template Commitment Statement

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1. Welcome to your Higher Apprenticeship for the Solicitor Standard

Welcome to your higher apprenticeship at the University of Central Lancashire in the

Lancashire Law School.

Apprenticeships are a partnership between industry and higher education institutions,

designed to ensure we meet the needs of employers. The University of Central Lancashire

has extensive links with employers and we have developed our apprenticeships with our

industry partners and to meet local and national skills strategies and where relevant to

contribute to skills shortages. Apprenticeships provide you with a challenging mix of off and

on the job training, which equips you to progress and develop relevant skills and behaviors to

meet your required industry standards and to succeed in your chosen profession.

We understand the challenges of balancing work with study. Your apprenticeship will be

supported throughout by regular meetings, on an agreed basis, between you, the University

and your employer to ensure you receive continual review and feedback on your progress and

performance. You will also benefit from all of the University support mechanisms and facilities

as well as an academic advisor to support you during your apprenticeship programme.

The University of Central Lancashire pays close attention to the quality of teaching and

learning through ongoing review and monitoring and feedback from staff, apprentices and

employers to find further ways to improve and enhance your apprenticeship. This Handbook

has been created to provide you with important information and guidance on a broad range of

subjects, ranging from teaching and work-based learning practices, to the academic

regulations of the University. We hope that this will help you settle quickly into life as a

University of Central Lancashire apprentice and answer some of your initial questions.

[Please note: in this handbook the terms “apprentice” and “student/learner” are used to mean

you, the apprentice]

2. Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships achieve a relevant higher level qualification as a core component of the

apprenticeship. You study while working with an employer and an apprenticeship programme

is paid for by your employer and the Government. The academic course and the

apprenticeship are designed to a national standard for a job role and often comes with

professional qualifications and accreditation. This apprenticeship includes the academic

award of LLB (Hons) in Legal Practice. The academic course has been developed to provide

you with the knowledge and skills required to be a Solicitor. Further details of this

apprenticeship standard and the end point assessment plan are included later in this

handbook. These are really important documents that you should make yourself familiar with

as everything you will do during your period as an apprentice should link to the requirements

within these documents.

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2.1 Apprenticeship Agreement and Commitment Statement

Apprentices will normally be employed for a minimum of 30 hours a week. Academic learning

fits around your work commitments through an agreed ‘off-the-job’ course of study. You will

split your time between academic and work-based learning, and will be employed throughout,

gaining a higher levelqualification from the University while earning a wage, and getting real

on-the-job experience in your chosen profession. You will spend 80% of your time learning

skills on-the-job and for the remaining 20% you will be undertaking off the job training with

UCLan. The 20% off- the-job element is measured over the whole period of your

apprenticeship and academic course as opposed to a traditional term-time/academic year.

You should therefore expect to be undertaking off-the-job activities even when not attending

the university.

2.1.2 The Apprenticeship is a Tripartite Relationship that Builds Upon:

• Commitment from your employer, with the intention and capability of employing you

to completion of your training and EPA and securing your longer term future

• Commitment from you as an apprentice, to be motivated to learn and work diligently

to complete your apprenticeship

• High quality off-the-job training and support, advice and guidance for work-based

learning delivered by the University

• An initial assessment of any recognised prior learning and the job role, mapped

against the standard

• The apprentice agreement and commitment statement which has been signed

between your employer, you the apprentice and the University, which sets out details

of the training provided and each of our roles and responsibilities

2.1.3 Apprentice Agreement and Commitment Statement

We will have already confirmed your eligibility and agreed any relevant prior learning before

signing the apprentice agreement and commitment statement.

The purpose of the apprentice agreement is to: identify the skills, trade or occupation for

which you are being trained, and confirm the qualifying apprenticeship standard that you are

following:

• The commitment statement clarifies how the apprenticeship will work

• The commitment statement will be signed by the University, your employer and you,

the apprentice (a sample of which is shown in the back of this Handbook)

• It will contain the following:

planned content, learning outcomes, assessment plan and schedule for your

apprenticeship training and EPA

roles and responsibilities of the University, your employer and you as an

apprentice, and arrangements for how the three parties will work together

the process for you and your employer to resolve any queries or complaints

regarding the apprenticeship, including quality

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During your time as an apprentice you will receive feedback on your progress from your

employer mentor and there will also be tripartite reviews between yourself, your employer and

UClan staff. These meetings will help you manage your progress through your apprenticeship

and ensure you are challenged and receive feedback on your progress. It will also be an

opportunity to discuss your Individual Learning Plan (ILP) and to review your development of

the knowledge, skills and behaviours required by your particular role as defined within the

standard.

2.2 The Individual Learning Plan for the Solicitor Standard

The Individual Learning Plan is a word processed document containing a template of key

headings under which an apprentice captures and records their progression towards the

gateway End Point Assessment when undertaking academic study and work-based reflective

learning. It is linked closely to the Law School’s system of personal development planning,

formative feedback on learning and assessment, and the learning review meetings between

the apprentice and employer, apprentice and training provider, and tripartite meetings

between all parties. The ILP will map learning outcomes to the outcomes expected under the

end point external assessments in the Solicitors Qualifying Examination parts 1 and 2 so

apprentices can see how achieving learning outcomes in modules provides the skills,

knowledge, and behaviours necessary for reaching the competency standard assessed by the

EPAs. The review meetings allow the apprentice, employer, and training provider to establish

areas of strength and weakness and identify areas for further support, guidance and

reinforcement. In addition, the synoptic portfolio will provide evidence of an apprentice’s fitness

to sit and meet the standards of competency required to meet the threshold standards

assessed in the EPAs, including the work-based skills assessments.

There will be a minimum of 7 review meetings per year, organised as follows:

(1) Tripartite Meetings (apprentice-employer mentor – academic advisor)

These meetings will review progress towards meeting the learning outcomes for the

gateway academic qualification, work-based skills, and competency standard, as

expressed in the outcomes expected in the EPAs, as agreed and stated in the ILP

Meeting 1: September

Meeting 2: November

Meeting 3: February

Meeting 4: June

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(2) Academic Advisor-Apprentice Meetings

These meetings will focus on reviewing specific academic progress and will be tied to

the Lancashire Law School Personal Development Planning system, which focuses on

reflective review of attainment, learning progression for key skills and knowledge, and

response to, and reflections on, formative feedback on assessment. The meeting will

be facilitated by the apprentice’s academic advisor.

Meeting 1: October

Meeting 2: December

Meeting 3: March

Apprentices will be expected to reflect critically on the discussions, questions, and challenges

forming the content of these meetings and capture the outcomes of these reflections, in terms

of an evaluation of learning progress, review and renewing targets and objectives, and setting

new objectives to self-manage and take responsibility for their skill development, I their

synoptic portfolio in terms of meeting or not the key learning outcomes which underpin the

competency standard.

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3. Your Course

3.1 Rationale, aims and learning outcomes of the course

3.1.1 Course Rationale

The LLB (Hons) in Legal Practice is a non-integrated Higher Level Apprenticeship (HLA)

pathway designed to deliver a ‘gateway’ academic qualification which will support an

apprentice’s preparation for meeting the competences set out in the SRA’s Statement of

Solicitor Competence ad knowledge set out in the SRA’s Statement of Legal Knowledge

to the SRA’s Threshold Standard .

As a regulated occupation, to qualify and practice as a solicitor, apprentices must meet

these threshold standards by completing the apprenticeship assessment plan to satisfy

the regulatory framework for qualification. The assessment plan comprises two end point

assessments whose content and form is prescribed by the profession’s regulator (The

Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)) and also pass the SRA’s test of Character and

Suitability for fitness to practice.

The degree delivers a schedule of structured ‘on-programme’ training and education

activities which complement (by informing practice, developing skills, and facilitating

reflection on) ‘off-programme’ work-based learning apprentices experience as

employees. The LLB (Hons) in Legal Practice is, therefore, a non-integrated

apprenticeship qualification which supports an apprentice through a series of structured

legal learning, applied skills and behaviour, and self-reflection activities and tasks so they

are prepared for the external end point assessments - part 1 and part 2 of the Solicitor’s

Qualifying Examinations (SQE).

3.1.2 Course Aims

The course has 4 aims:

1. To guide and support employees through an integrated degree-level legal education

and work-based learning progression pathway designed to prepare them for, and

enable completion of, the gateway Level 7 solicitor apprenticeship award standard

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2. To facilitate the acquisition of legal knowledge, commercial judgement, skills, role

attributes and behaviours necessary for preparing employees to meet the

requirements of the SRA’s Statements of Solicitor Competences and Legal

Knowledge to the minimum Threshold Standard to be able to practise as a solicitor

3. To prepare employees for the Solicitors Qualifying Examinations (the

apprenticeship end point assessments) in functioning legal knowledge and practical

work-based legal skills

4. To develop an employee’s personal and interpersonal skills, knowledge, and

behaviour to enhance their employability, add value for their employer, and support

further career progression

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3.1.3 Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

1. Identify the sources of law, explain how law is made and evolves, the institutions within which law is administered, and the personnel who practice and enforce law 2. Explain doctrines and apply the fundamental principles underpinning the Law of

England and Wales, in accordance with the ‘Foundations of Legal Knowledge’ listed in the Joint Statement

3. Apply a range of legal concepts, values, principles, and rules of English law and evaluate critically the relationship between them and their relevance for work-based practice in contexts specified in the SRA’s ‘Statement of Legal Knowledge’

4. Provide accurate and up-to-date legal advice that is compliant with relevant financial service regulations, tax law, and SRA accounts rules, including the calculation of client fees

5. Identify ethical issues in work-based, and client care, contexts and provide resolutions which comply with SRA professional conduct rules, processes, and regulations

6. Determine client objectives and evaluate the benefits, risks, and costs of different means for achieving these, taking account of commercial, financial and personal needs and limitations

Subject-Specific Skills

1. Demonstrate honesty, integrity, and professional behaviour in accordance with the SRA Handbook and Code of Conduct when managing transactions and effecting client instructions

2. Apply a range of legal research skills to locate relevant facts on laws, principles, standards, and processes from different sources, using a variety of techniques, to produce accurate legal advice

3. Draft documents which are legally effective and accurately reflect a client’s instructions 4. Undertake spoken and written advocacy which clearly states and supports client

instructions 5. Implement an effective negotiation strategy which meets client’s needs 6. Communicate effectively and appropriately for the needs of different audiences using

a range of skills and methods, which evidences accurate use of language and legal terminology

7. Analyse legal problems using mnemonics such as IRAC and APWP to produce coherent and logical legal arguments

Thinking Skills

1. Apply critical thinking to legal problems to produce written and oral evaluations of alternative solutions, options, strategies and legal advice for addressing scenario instructions or client needs

2. Reflect critically on acquired legal knowledge and understandings to select appropriate tools and evidence necessary to progress legal matters and transactions, and thereby, practise effectively

3. Synthesise a range of evidence and information in producing reasoned solutions to legal problems

4. Identify legal, financial, ethical, and commercial issues from complex facts of relevance to an instruction or client when asked to resolve practical or theoretical problems or furnish advice

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Other Skills Relevant to Employability and Personal Development

1. Use paper and electronic based resources to locate up-to-date information produce word processed text in an appropriate format

2. Maintain and keep accurate, complete, and clear records using paper and electronic data management systems, which are compliant with data protection and confidentiality

regulations

3. Establish and maintain effective professional relations in teams, with clients, and other people, including recognising cultural, diversity, and disability determined needs

4. Plan, prioritise, and manage work activities so they are completed in an organised and timely manner, with attention to detail, and to an appropriate professional standard

5. Reflect critically on work-based competences necessary to practise effectively by taking into account changes in role, practice context, and legal knowledge

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3.2 Course Team

If you want to raise a strategic issue or concerns about the course as a whole – i.e., what you

are being taught, how you are being taught, how you are assessed, the feedback you are

given, student support, resources, complaints etc. - and do not want to raise this with the

Course Leader, then make contact with the Head of School.

For all general course related day-to-day issues or concerns, including extenuating

circumstances, extensions, deadlines, delivery etc., contact your Course Leader

For matters connected to your on-going progress, progression, progress and review meetings,

your Individual Learning Plan, development, attainment, support (academic and non-

academic), progression, formal assessments and feedback etc., contact your Academic

Advisor

For day-to-day module specific matters contact he Module Leader for the module. If you have

a concern about the Module Leader, contact your Course Leader

If you need confidential help and support about a learning or other form of disability or

accessibility issue, contact the Disabilities Coordinator

Head of School Viv Ivins

Room Harris 251

E-mail vivins@uclan.ac.uk

Meeting by prior appointment only – contact Harris Hub to make an appointment

Course Leader Martin Salisbury

Room Harris 260

Direct Dial No (01772) 893680

E-mail msalisbury@uclan.ac.uk

Academic Advisor Martin Salisbury

Room Harris 260

Direct Dial No (01772) 893680

E-mail msalisbury@uclan.ac.uk

Disabilities Co-ordinator Munira Patel

Room Harris 226

Direct dial 01772 895310

E-mail mhpatel@uclan.ac.uk

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3.3 Expertise of staff

The teaching staff in the School are educated to degree level, with most staff having a post-

graduate professional or academic qualification. All staff have accreditation from the Higher

Education Academy, demonstrating a fitness to teach at Level 4 or above. In addition, a large

number of staff have direct experience of working in practice as either solicitors or barristers

and have excellent connections to the local and regional legal profession, firms, and sets.

These staff will teach you the more practice orientated modules and have first-hand

experience and in-depth working knowledge of the threshold competency standard and the

level of knowledge, range and standard of skills, and expected professional behaviour

necessary to meet day one ready competence to practise as a solicitor. The majority of our

teaching staff who have previously worked in practice as solicitors still hold practising

certificates. They are also involved in developing and delivering continuing professional

development courses for practitioners on updates to the law, practice, professional conduct,

and procedure. All staff in the School have a teaching load, regardless of seniority, ensuring

you will benefit from a wide range of teaching styles pedagogies, approaches, and

expertise/experience. This will enhance the depth and breadth of your learning.

3.4 Academic Advisor

You will be assigned an Academic Advisor who will provide additional academic advice and

support during the year. They will be the first point of call for many of the questions that you

might have during the year. Your Academic Advisor will be able to help you with personal

development, providing insight and direction to enable you to realise your potential.

3.5 Administration details

Campus Admin Services provides academic administration support for students and

staff and are located in the following hubs which open from 8.45am until 5.15pm

Monday to Thursday and until 4.00pm on Fridays. The hub can provide general assistance

and advice regarding specific processes such as extenuating circumstances, extensions and

appeals.

Harris Building

Lancashire Law School

Humanities and the Social Sciences

Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching

telephone: 01772 891996/891997

email: HarrisHub@uclan.ac.uk

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3.6 Communication

The University expects you to use your UCLan email address and check regularly for messages from staff. If you send us email messages from other addresses they risk being filtered out as potential spam and discarded unread.

In addition to e-mail the following forms of communication are

used in the Law School:

3.6.1 Blackboard

All Lancashire Law School modules have a dedicated virtual web presence on Blackboard

(UCLAN’s virtual learning environment platform). Module leaders and module tutors will use

Blackboard to post module specific information so you are advised to check module sites on

a daily basis and monitor these as you would your e-mail account.

3.6.2 Lancashire Law School Facebook page

Use the Lancashire Law School Facebook page for news, information and details of events.

3.6.3 Staff contact details

You can access the contact details of individual Law School staff via the following link:

Lancashire Law School staff

Academic staff will normally attempt to reply to your telephone messages or emails within 3

working days.

3.6.4 Academic ‘Office Availability Hours’

Academic staff have a notice on their office door of times when they will be available for

students to drop in to see them. Alternatively, you can email them for an appointment outside

of these times, using the contact details via the link in the above section.

3.6.5 What to do in an Emergency

If an emergency arises please contact a member of staff by telephone and make an

appointment to see them to discuss the problem. Staff are generally willing to speak with

students outside their designated ‘office hours’ if it is an emergency situation. If they are not

around to speak with then contact Course Administration Service within the Harris Hub on

01772 891996/891997.

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3.6.6 Change of Personal Circumstances or Mode of Study

You must notify your Academic Advisor, Year Leader or Course Leader of any change to your

programme of study. Module Change Forms are available from the Harris Hub but changes

MUST be signed by your Year Leader.

The Harris Hub must be notified in writing immediately of any change of address, either your

home or term address. If you do not tell us you have moved, letters, results etc. will not reach

you and this could lead to problems.

3.7 External Examiner

The University has appointed an External Examiner to your course who helps to ensure that

the standards of your course are comparable to those provided at other higher education

institutions in the UK. The name of this person and their home institution can be found below.

If you wish to make contact with your External Examiner, you should do this through your

Course Leader and not directly. The External Examiner reports will also be made available to

you electronically.

The School will also send a sample of student coursework to the External Examiner(s) for

external moderation purposes, once it has been marked and internally moderated by the

course tutors. The sample will include work awarded the highest and lowest marks and

awarded marks in the middle range.

3.7.1 Your External Examiner

John O’Leary, Anglia Ruskin University

3.7.2 Availability of External Examiner Reports

Students can access the full reports on the School’s Blackboard page, under the ‘External

Examiner Reports’ folder. Reports for the academic year just completed should be available

from the 1st September onwards of the new academic year, subject to external examiner

submission.

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4. Structure of the course

4.1 Overall structure

The LLB (Hons) in Legal Practice is a 5 year degree programme comprising

360 level 4 – 6 credits. Attendance is part-time, with apprentices expected to

commit no less than 20% of their overall time to their programme of study,

the other 80% being ‘off-programme’ work-based learning in your day-to-day

employment, which will develop and reinforce key skills, knowledge, and behaviour expected

of a working solicitor. Upon completion of 360 credits you will be awarded your Law Degree.

Your apprenticeship qualification will be awarded once you have completed the external End

Point Assessments of competency to practise as a solicitor. These examinations will be taken

over the course of your final year.

4.1.1 Mode of Delivery

Mode of delivery is ‘mixed’, which means part of the course will be delivered by distance

learning and part by attendance in person one day per week (Wednesday) on the University

campus in Preston for 2 x academic semesters (approx. 26 weeks in total) as follows:

Years 1 - 2: Distance Learning, via the Law School’s Virtual Learning Environment platform

Years 3 - 5: Campus-based Learning, attendance in Preston one day per week for 26 weeks

4.1.2 Course Credits

Your learning will be delivered in discrete modules. A module is a coherent package of

learning, teaching and assessment activities, comprising lecture and workshop materials

which deliver a defined syllabus of learning that satisfies the SRA’s Statement of Legal

Knowledge. You will study a combination of 30, 20 and 10 credit modules. A 30 credit module

is a 300 hour package of learning, a 20 credit module a 200 hour package, and a 10 credit

module is a 100 hour package of learning. The module learning hours comprise class contact

hours and self-directed learning hours. The split between ‘in class’ and ‘out of class self-

directed’ learning is approximately 30:70. For example, a typical 20 credit module will comprise

the equivalent of 60 hours of class contact (or equivalent) hours and 140 individual self-

directed learning hours.

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To satisfy the requirements of the on-programme academic qualification (i.e., your law degree)

you will need to complete 360 credits by the end of your fifth year. The credits are distributed

over the course of your programme of study as follows:

Year 1: Level 4, 4 x 20 credits (distance learn) = 80 credits

Year 2: Level 5, 4 x 20 credits (distance learn) = 80 credits

Year 3: Level 6, 1 x 30 credits, 2 x 20 credits, 2 x 10 credits (campus) = 90 credits

Year 4: Level 6, 3 x 20 credits, 2 x 10 credits (campus) = 80 credits

Year 5: Level 6, 1 x 20 credits, 1 x 10 credits (campus)* = 30 credits

TOTAL = 360 credits

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LLB (Hons) in Legal Practice: Course Structure

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4.2 Modules available

The modules, codes and credit weighting can be found listed on the Programme specification

in Appendix 10.3 of this Handbook.

4.3 Course Requirements

The Higher Degree Apprenticeship combines a UCLan degree (the on-programme award) as

a ‘gateway’ qualification supporting and preparing apprentices for the external off-programme

End Point Assessments (the off-programme Awards) which test whether apprentices have

met the minimum standards of competency to be able to practise as a solicitor.

The following requirements for an on-programme UCLan award must be met:

1. LLB (Hons) in Legal Practice (Target Award)

Will be awarded when a student complete 360 credits of the prescribed level 4-6 modules

indicated on the Programme Specification and Course Structure, with a minimum of 220

credits being at Level 5 or above and a minimum of 100 of those 220 credits being at

Level 6. All modules contributing towards the Target Award are compulsory.

2. Diploma in Higher Education in Legal Practice (Exit Award)

Will be awarded when the requirements for the Target Award have not been met but a

student has completed a minimum of 240 credits at Level 4 or above, with a minimum of

100 of those 240 credits being at Level 5 or above

3. Certificate in Higher Education (Exit Award)

Will be awarded when the requirements for the Target Award have not been met but a

student has completed a minimum of 120 credits at Level 4 or above.

The following requirements for off-programme non-UCLan awards must be met*:

1. To meet the Level 7 Solicitor Apprenticeship Standard to practise as a qualified

solicitor, you must:

• Pass Part 1 and Part 2 of the SRA’s Solicitors Qualifying Exam

• Pass the SRA’s Character and Suitability Test

• Complete 2 years qualifying work experience

• Be assessed and certified as meeting the work-based Apprentice Standard and

Competence Statement (this element will be included within the LLB (Hons)

UCLan Award when completing the Level 6 Synoptic Portfolio)

2. To complete the Apprenticeship Award you must:

• Meet the Level 7 Solicitor Competency Standard, as evidenced by passing the

Part 1 and Part 2 SQE examinations (in addition to completing 2 years qualifying

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work experience and passing the SRA’s Test of Character and Suitability to

practise)

*The student apprentice is solely responsible for meeting these external (to UCLan) SRA

requirements for admission to the Roll as a practising solicitor.

The following documents provide further information about these requirements/

Statement of Solicitor Competence: http://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/competence-statement.page Threshold Standard: https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/resources/cpd/competence-statement/threshold-standard.page Statement of Legal Knowledge: https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/resources/cpd/competence-statement/statement-legal-knowledge.page Qualifying Legal Work Experience: https://www.sra.org.uk/students/resources/solicitor-apprenticeship-qa.page (see Q8) https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/law-careers/becoming-a-solicitor/sqe-overview/#sqe8 http://www.sra.org.uk/faqs/sqe/03-current-trainees/would-paralegal-experience-count-towards-the-requirement-for-qualifying-work-experience-under-the-new-system-.page Character & Suitability: https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/handbook/suitabilitytest/content.page

4.4 Module Registration Options

Discussions about your progression through the course normally take place during the

tripartite meetings with your employer-mentor and course leader, with further discussions in

your one-to-one meetings with your academic advisor. These are opportunities for you to

make plans for study in the next academic year. If you pass the all modules that you attempt

then progression to the next year will follow the defined course structure. From Year 3 onwards

there may be an opportunity to register for optional modules, but this will depend on agreement

with your employer and the Law School on funding, timing, work load, pre-requisite knowledge,

and any other relevant factor.

Your employer will be also involved in discussions about your progression against agreed

targets in your Individual Learning Plan, and your own self-lead development needs, learning

opportunities, and work-related role requirements of relevance to advancing your career and

supporting your employer’s needs.

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4.5 Study Time

4.5.1 Weekly timetable

A timetable will be available on the Student Portal, which you will be able access once you

have enrolled onto the programme.

You will be provided with a year timetable which outlines your schedule of learning for the

academic year. Module tutors will provide you with a detailed teaching schedule of all

sessions including lectures, online lectures, workshops, online discussions, assessment

release dates, assessment submission dates and feedback sessions for each of the

modules that you study on the course. This will all be available of the Law School’s virtual

learning environment platform, ‘Blackboard’.

4.5.2 Expected hours of study

10 credits equates to 100 notional hours of learning activity (20 credits is 200 hours, 30 credits

is 300 hours etc.). This can include attendance on campus or engaging with the online VLE

platform, work-based learning activities, and personal private study.

An apprentice is expected to spend 20% of their time (equivalent to 1 day a week) on ‘off the

job’ training. This will normally mean attending study with UCLan (either on campus or online),

engaging in learning activities as in individual and in groups, using the online virtual learning

platform (Blackboard), private study and research, undertaking assessments, completing

sections of the apprenticeship portfolio and attending progress review meetings. Any

remaining time would be spent on work-based learning as agreed in the Individual Learning

Plan.

You are expected to carry out at least 8 hours of study (both campus/online contact and private

study) throughout the year. In periods when there are no formal teaching sessions, and/or

assessments have been completed, the student will be required to complete work on their

synoptic apprenticeship portfolio, which will be an ongoing commitment over the course of the

whole programme and is designed to provide evidence that your work-based learning meets

the Statement of Solicitor Competence to the Threshold Standard.

A Higher Apprenticeship degree is ‘higher education’ - as distinct from secondary and further

education – and is designed with adult life-long learners in mind. Apprentices are expected to

become independent learners over the course of the programme, as evidenced by them being

able to take responsibility for their own learning and development.

As maturing practising professionals working in law, each individual student has much to

contribute to the learning process, both their own and others. An open, interactive, collegial

and creative learning experience will enable you to develop independent perspectives and

embed conceptual understanding of theory and practice. During the course you will have

opportunities for reflection and deconstruction of experiences to support analysis of synergies

between theory and practice. You will also have opportunities to undertake self-reflection upon

your learning to enhance your own personal development, and these will be evidenced in your

synoptic portfolio. For more details on what is expected for each module take time to consider

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the contents of the module descriptor and module handbook and materials that you are

provided with.

4.5.3 Attendance Requirements You are required to attend all timetabled learning activities for each module. Your attendance

and engagement with the course is monitored each taught session. This provides staff with

the opportunity to identify apprentices who are not engaging with their

studies and to work with them to address any issues that may be

impacting on their ability to study. As part of the tripartite meetings

between you, your employer and UCLan staff attendance will be

discussed. This will give you the opportunity to raise any concerns with

regards to your attendance on the programme. You can check your

attendance record through myUCLan.

Notification of illness or exceptional requests for leave of absence must be made to:

• Your employer via the reporting mechanism, as directed by your Employer

• The Course Leader via e-mail

• The Module Leader via e-mail for any sessions that you are not able to attend

• To the Harris Hub via e-mail (harrishubattendance@uclan.ac.uk)

If you experience a longer term illness, or other such personal circumstance that is likely to

have a significant effect on your attendance and/or studies, then you should follow your

employer’s policy in relation to reporting this. You should also inform your Course Leader as

soon as possible and we will advise further on how we will deal with your outstanding studies

and apprenticeship.

If you have no authorisation for leave of absence, do not respond to communications from

the University, and if you are absent for four weeks or more, you may be deemed to have

withdrawn from the course. If this is the case, then the date of withdrawal will be recorded as

the last day of attendance.

Please note: we are required to share attendance data with your funding bodies and

unexplained absences may lead to suspension or withdrawal of part or all of your funding, as

continued funding is usually conditional on regular attendance. We may also be required to

comment on attendance matters when writing academic references and attendance is also an

issue which examination boards consider.

22

5. Approaches to teaching and learning

5.1 Learning and teaching methods

The University has an established learning and teaching strategy that influences and shapes

the delivery of this course. You will learn to become an independent learner through interacting

with your lecturers and peers and also through discussions about your academic and practical

learning with your employer mentor and colleagues in your work-based environment.

The emphasis within the programme will be the creation of an adult learning environment with

a student–centred approach to facilitate your development as an independent learner.

Students will be expected to be prepared thoroughly and read around the subject area they

are studying meaning you will be well prepared and able to contribute to purposeful discussion

and critique.

You have much to contribute to the learning process. It is believed that an interactive and

creative experience, facilitated through team teaching will enable you to develop your own

strategies to identify independent and critical perspectives. Shared learning with your peers

will enhance this development.

You should not only learn but you should learn how you learn best. Your learning and

development shouldn’t just be limited to the academic but through application of your

academic learning and personal reflection you will be able to apply your learning to your work-

based environment.

Our teaching and learning strategy for the delivery of this course is centred on the following

key principles:

• Variety of delivery mechanisms to

• Very strong emphasis upon student centred learning

• Integration of legal skills into all aspects of the academic course

• Course cohesion

• Progressive development

• In-built flexibility to respond to changes within the law and student needs

• Provision for integrated development of IT skills.

All modules provide a module handbook on Blackboard (UCLan’s virtual learning environment

web-space). The module handbook contains details of the different types of learning and

teaching sessions as outlined below:

Lectures

Lectures (both campus based and online distance learn) are large-group sessions led by a

lecturer. The main aim of lectures is to give you a framework of basic knowledge about a legal

topic. You are expected to read the relevant parts of your module text books to build on this

framework and to develop a deeper understanding of the law for yourself.

23

Workshops

Workshops are small group, and highly interactive, small group sessions which include team

tasks and activities. Online workshops will follow this format as far as possible. The emphasis

will be on the learning and development of the law and skills in a practical context. You should

have access in advance to the majority of materials required for the session either in hard

copy or in electronic form. We expect you to prepare well for your workshops, completing any

pre-workshop reading and tasks as outlined by the module tutor. Some workshops may

involve the use of video and role-plays, e.g. interviewing and negotiating skills.

5.2 Study skills

Your apprenticeship will also develop your functional/Key Skills, including continued

development of Maths and English and in some standards ICT. They will integrated within

each module where, in varying degrees, will be introduced, explained, applied, and

consolidated.

There will be a particular emphasis on the legal study skills required to meet the Solicitor

Competency Standard, such as research, case briefings and case reading, how to apply the

law to produce legal arguments, and how to present, write, and communicate effectively legal

arguments to others. Many of these skills are transferable skills which will be useful for

whatever career path you take in future.

There are a number of very useful university-wide resources you will be able to draw upon to

support your skills development, including:

5.2.1 ‘Ask Your Librarian’

You can book a one to one session with a subject Librarian via Starfish or go to https://www.uclan.ac.uk/students/support/study/it_library_trainer.php. These sessions will help with questions such as “My lecturer says I need a wider variety of sources in my references, what do I do?" "I need to find research articles, where do I start?" "How do I find the Journal of ...?" "How do I use RefWorks?”

There is a dedicated Law Librarian (currently, Louise Guilfoyle) who is based in the UCLan

Library. She can be contacted at lguilfoyle@uclan.ac.uk and 01772 892302

5.2.2 WISER

WISER is the Academic Support Service which is a dedicated unit devoted solely to academic

study skills for Higher Education learning. Please go to their web-site for further details at

WISER: https://www.uclan.ac.uk/students/support/wiser/index.php

5.2.3 General Support

UCLan also has some central services open to all students. You can find about the range of

student study support available and book on to a number of training courses including help

with assignment preparation and IT skills here:

https://www.uclan.ac.uk/students/support/study_support.php

24

5.3 Learning resources

5.3.1 Learning and Information Services (LIS)

The Learning and Information Services (LIS) offer many services to students. There are books, journals, study areas (both open areas and private study areas that can be booked) and access to PC workstations are all available in the library. The Online University Network provides you with onsite and remote (offsite) access to the internet, word processing and other software applications, e-journals, e-books, e-databases, email, webmail and Blackboard etc. Detailed information about the full range of services provided by the library can be found here: https://www.uclan.ac.uk/students/library-it/index.php You can find helpful links to an extensive range of support materials for law students at the Lancashire Law School Library web page: https://www.uclan.ac.uk/students/library-it/library/law_guide.php . This web page includes links to the key electronic databases that you will be expected to access as law students, Westlaw and LexisLibrary. Other useful places to start when exploring the Library resources available to you are:

• Your ‘Subject Guide’ can be found in the Library Resources

• Your ‘My Library’ tab in the Student Portal

• Library search

• Your module reading list – this can be found in your electronic module space 5.3.2 Electronic Resources

Every module has its own dedicated Blackboard space where all relevant information can be

located. If you need more information about a module this is the best place to start. The module

page will also have contact details of the module team, together with details of their office

hours. Also, materials for all workshops will be available on Blackboard prior to that session

and it is imperative that you can access this material either online or by printed form.

More general information regarding the course can be found on the Legal Apprenticeships

eNoticeboard and this should be checked on a regular basis.

5.4 Personal development planning

Personal development planning is supported through the modules which you study throughout

your apprenticeship. You will be required to reflect on your own personal development and to

set yourself targets and goals, with strategies as to how to reach them. Personal Development

Planning provides an opportunity for you to develop your capacity for learning by encouraging

an on-going cycle of:

• Self-reflection on why and how you are learning

• Identification of your ‘next steps’ through target setting and action planning

• Monitoring and recording of your academic learning, personal development, your skills

development and career management

25

Your tripartite meetings with your employer mentor and a member of UCLan staff and your

Academic Advisor meetings will support you with this process. The ongoing engagement with

and completion of both your Individual Learning Plan and your apprenticeship portfolio will

play a key role in your personal development. The apprenticeship portfolio will provide a record

of learning, a repository of evidence to demonstrate personal development and a platform for

self-reflection and target setting.

The main benefits you will achieve by participating in the process are that you will become

more:

• Self-aware, self-confident, reflective and self-directed in your learning

• Able to plan and take responsibility for your own learning

• Able to articulate personal goals and evaluate progress and achievement

• Able to link your current learning to a wider-context and to your future development

By engaging with the process you will take control of your own learning and you will find you

become increasingly able to work autonomously through the development of critical self-

awareness.

5.5 Preparing for your career

Your LLB (Hons) in Legal Practice degree will develop you academically for

life in the legal profession and a degree is an essential criteria as admission

to the profession as a solicitor.

However, as your career develops, the knowledge and skills that you

develop will serve you well in a broad range of non-legal areas that also require good

communication and analytical thinking.

A programme of guest speakers including industry, business, legal practice, the police,

probation service and visiting academics will support the development of your broader

knowledge of the law and you long term career development.

The Law School has an employability team led by Simon Price - SPrice9@uclan.ac.uk

The team arrange a range of events such as the Lancashire Law Fair and ‘Breakfast@8’ (a

monthly breakfast meeting attended by local practitioners, staff and students). They also

organise regular training opportunities to help you to build key skills such as networking,

advocacy etc.

26

6. Student Support

Information on the support available can be found at: https://www.uclan.ac.uk/students/

For queries relating to the University, the <i> should be your first point of contact. They can

assist with queries relating to Council Tax Exemption Certificates, Bank and Confirmation of

Study letters, Printer credit and UCLan cards.

The Law School offers a range of student support in addition to the central support services

provided by UCLan.

The course team is available for any issues that you may have however if your query relates

to a certain module, this should be directed to a member of the module team in the first

instance.

6.1 Academic Advisors and Work Based Support

You have a designated Course Leader who is responsible for monitoring your overall

progress through your award, the achievement of satisfactory assessment results, your

attendance, your progression through the study years and course

administration such as requests for you to suspend or defer your study.

Each module has a Module Leader. This person is responsible for your

academic progress within that module and ensures that you are aware of the

practical arrangements for the module such as the teaching schedule, module

content and assessment deadlines. The module leader will be an expert in that subject area

and will oversee all the staff teaching on that module. You may be taught by the module leader

or by a member of the module team.

All students are allocated an Academic Advisor. This will be a member of staff who will guide

you and offer pastoral and academic support, often on a one-on-one basis, over the 5 years

of your degree programme. We aim to keep you with the same Academic Advisor if possible

throughout your time in the Law School, thus allowing you to build a close bond and rapport

with a member of staff.

Your Academic Advisor will invite you to regular review meetings where you can have an

informal chat about your academic progress and raise any concerns which you have. Your

Academic Advisor will also help coordinate meetings to review your personal development

and advise you on aspects relating to the development of your career.

27

6.2 Students with disabilities

If you have a disability that may affect your studies, please contact Inclusive Support:

https://www.uclan.ac.uk/students/support/disability_services.php

inclusivesupport@uclan.ac.uk or Tel: 01772 892593

The University can make reasonable adjustments to accommodate your needs and to provide

appropriate support for you to complete your study successfully. Where necessary, you will

be asked for evidence to help identify appropriate adjustments.

You can also contact Munira Patel who is the Law School lead for students with disabilities. If

you have any questions or issues regarding disability, please contact her at

mhpatel@uclan.ac.uk 01772 895310, HB51

You can also check your Starfish page to identify who your Inclusive Support Adviser is.

6.3 Students’ Union

The Students’ Union offers thousands of volunteering opportunities ranging from

representative to other leadership roles. We also advertise paid work and employ student staff

on a variety of roles. You can find out more information on our website:

http://www.uclansu.co.uk/

28

7. Assessment

7.1 Assessment Strategy

The purpose of assessment is to test your learning against expected

learning outcomes.1. Assessment will either have formative (designed

to help you learn what standards are expected – e.g., an ‘in-course’

assignment) and summative (usually a ‘final’ assessment of your

attainment when the module has been completed – e.g. an end of year

examination).

The feedback you receive from assessment (a grade + some

written/oral comments) gives you an indication of the extent to which you have achieved the

expected learning outcomes for the module. Feedback is extremely important for helping you

make improvements towards attaining the full learning outcomes. Reading and acting upon

feedback is the best way to improve your standard of learning and understanding. At University

level you are expected to take responsibility for making these improvements (the philosophy

of ‘student-centred’ learning, which underpins teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate

levels). Reading the expected learning outcomes is, therefore, a useful method for working

out what lecturers expect from you when they set assignments or exams.

A variety of assessment methods are used to assess different types of learning outcomes. So

examinations test your ability to think under time pressure, marshal evidence in support of an

argument and resolve set problems or develop a perspective on a topic for discussion.

Coursework assignments allow you more time to construct a detailed argument supported by

evidence of wide-ranging reading and research. Group presentations also test research skills

and your ability to work as part of a team and deliver a polished oral performance.

7.1.1 How do I know that my assessed work had been marked fairly?

Assessment is an integral part of the course. Module staff work closely together to design

assessments, agree the marking criteria and approve final versions of assessments to ensure

that these are appropriate. The criteria for assessment will be communicated to you clearly

during the module teaching.

All module staff engage in development and training in assessment, marking and feedback.

Once the assessments have been completed the module team will discuss the assessment

methods and marking criteria, prior to starting to mark, so that there is a common

understanding of what is expected of students. All assessed modules have moderation built

into the marking process. Moderation involves sampling students’ assessed work to make

sure that the learning outcomes and agreed marking criteria have been interpreted and applied

in the same way. This ensures that you and your fellow students are treated equitably and

that the academic standards are applied consistently. During the marking process the module

leader will co-ordinate moderation to ensure that at least 10% of assessed work (or a minimum

of three pieces) has been reviewed by other markers and any concerns about consistency or

accuracy addressed with the whole module team. Your work may or may not be part of this

sample, but the processes for developing assessments and marking criteria as well as

moderation mean that you can be confident that teaching staff are marking assessments to

1 The learning outcomes for the programme can be found in the programme specification, a copy of which is located in Appendix 10.1 .

29

the same criteria. Module teams may then use feedback from moderation to improve clarity

about the nature and purpose of future assessment, or to make changes if required.

Modules are also moderated externally. The module leader will arrange for the external

examiner to receive a sample of work for review and comment. External examiners cannot

change individual grades, but can act as ‘critical friends’ and confirm that marking standards

are in line with other, similar courses in the sector. If, on reviewing the sample, external

examiners feel that the marking criteria have not been applied consistently the work of the

whole cohort will be reviewed.

7.1.2 Banded Marking

A frequently asked question is, “What are tutors looking for when marking my work?”. Broadly

we are looking for written evidence that you have reached an adequate standard of

understanding to satisfy the learning objectives for the assignment such that we can make a

judgement that your work achieves the ‘pass’ criteria of 40%. In terms of the substance of an

answer we require evidence that you have used (i.e., cited, discussed, applied, evaluated)

some or all of the materials on the particular legal topic the question addresses, as shown by

the lecture and seminar outlines of cases and principles.

The Law School applies a system of ‘banded’ marks as follows:

7.1.3 End Point Assessment

30

(see Appendix at end of handbook for End Point Assessment Plan) The EPA checks that you have met the Apprenticeship Standard and are ready to join the

profession with full occupational competence. In accordance with the final assessment plan

for the Apprenticeship Standard, the final assessments for the University award incorporate

the requirements of the integrated EPA.

The LLB (Hons) in Legal Practice is what is known as a ‘non-integrated apprenticeship’.

This means that your EPA does not coincide with the completion of your degree programme.

You, as an apprentice, must complete an additional EPA after the completion of your studies.

In the case of non-integrated apprenticeships, the University CANNOT be the lead End Point

assessor of the apprenticeship.

For the Solicitor Apprenticeship Standard, the lead end-point assessor is the regulatory body

with statutory oversight for the solicitor’s profession, the SRA. They have a statutory duty

(delegated from the Law Society) to manage, organise, and admit solicitors to practise in

England and Wales. One of their responsibilities is to oversee education and training.

Following the recent Legal Education and Training Review legal education and training has

moved from an input to an output based competency system. The regulator defines the

Threshold Competency Standard to be able to practise as a solicitor rather than (as in the

past) the education and training inputs to produce the standard. The SRA have reated a new

form of assessment that reflects this shift in emphasis - a central examination designed to

test day one ready competence to practice as a solicitor: The Solicitors Qualifying Exam. The

examination is split into two parts: Part 1 assesses functioning legal knowledge and Part 2

assesses practical legal skills. The SRA has outsourced the design, production, and

administration of the Part 1 and Part 2 assessments to Kaplan, one of the world’s largest

professional education providers.

• Both SQE Part 1 and Part 2 must be passed on competent/not yet competent basis.

• The SQE Part 1 may be sat at any point during the degree apprenticeship, but you have passed the Part 1 exam before you can sit the Part 2 exam.

• The SQE Part 2 acts as the synoptic end point assessment for the completion of the Apprenticeship Standard. It must be completed within the final 6 months of the 5 year academic programme.

• Work-based assessment is not part of the end point assessment but will be used to reinforce and check (and vice versa) the on-programme academic learning of knowledge, skills, and behaviours to ensure they are working towards and then meeting the Threshold Standard of competence to practice in apprentice’s employment areas – satisfactory completion of the work-based assessment synoptic portfolio (certified as such by the employer and training provider) is a pre-requisite for taking the SQE Part 2

7.1.3 Spread of Summative Assessments Across the Programme by Level

31

Exam Coursework Present. Project Portfolio Moot MCQ Role Play Drafting Advocacy Research Ex. Advising Negotiation

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LLB (Hons) in Legal Practice: Summative Assessments

32

7.2 Notification of assignments and examination arrangements 7.2.1 Written Assignments Copies of all written assignments will be distributed on individual module Blackboard spaces and module leaders will notify students when they can access questions. Module handbooks should also give an indication of how many assessments will be distributed and when, their form and format, and details of submission dates and protocols. In the Lancashire Law School, the deadline is midnight of the day stated for submission All students are required to submit their courseworks electronically by uploading their work to the Turnitin plagiarism detection platform, which is embedded within the module Blackboard space. Module leaders create an assignment ‘drop-box’ on their Blackboard page and when it is uploaded it is checked by the plagiarism software. 7.2.2 Examinations All compulsory modules have an examination component. Exams are organised centrally by the Exams and Awards Department not the Lancashire Law School. Please see the University calendar which indicates when the examination period starts and ends. Exams and Awards will distribute the details of examinations once they have been timetabled. 7.2.3 Marking Criteria Module leaders will provide students with details about assessment outcomes and how they will be assessed in an assessment brief. These outcomes will also form the basis of the feedback you receive once your work has been marked. Assessment outcomes will vary from module to module, level to level. However, we broadly follow the Quality Assurance Agencies’ (QAA) Benchmark Statement for Law 2015 when assessing and defining learning outcomes. These outcomes are generally tailored to the specific substantive content of each module. 7.3 Referencing

All assessments undertaken in Lancashire Law School follow an agreed house style, OSCOLA (Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities), which you can locate here: https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/sites/files/oxlaw/oscola_4th_edn_hart_2012quickreferenceguide.pdf Please see the Lancashire Law School Assessment Guide for further details (available on Blackboard).

33

7.4 Confidential material

You are engaged in a course that involves work-based learning which means you may refer

and have to sensitive and confidential matters during your academic study. It is essential that

you respect confidentiality and maintain the anonymity of individuals and organisations. There

are both ethical and legal reasons for maintaining confidentiality and anonymity. Students will

be expected to be aware of and develop their duty of client confidentiality. As the course is

preparing you to enter the solicitors’ profession it is important that you pay attention to this

issue and develop your professional practice from the outset.

Confidentiality can be defined as ‘the principle of keeping secure and secret from others,

information given by or about an individual in the course of a professional relationship’.

Anonymised Information can be defined as ‘information that does not , directly or indirectly

identify the person whom it relates to’.

In particular, the completion of your apprenticeship portfolio will require you to consider the

principles of confidentiality and anonymised information. Your portfolio will be evidence-based

and must uphold the principles of confidentiality.

You should consider carefully your responsibilities under the SRA Solicitor Code of Conduct:

https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/handbook/intro/content.page

https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/handbook/handbookprinciples/content.page

https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/handbook/code/part2/rule4/content.page

https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/guidance/ethics-guidance/Protecting-and-maintaining-client-

confidentiality.page

7.5 Cheating, plagiarism, collusion or re-presentation

Please refer to the information included in section 6.6 of the University Student Handbook for

full definitions. The University uses an online Assessment Tool called Turnitin. A pseudo-

Turnitin assignment will be set up using the School space on Blackboard to allow students to

check as many drafts as the system allows before their final submission to the ‘official’ Turnitin

assignment. Students are required to self-submit their own assignment on Turnitin and will

be given access to the Originality Reports arising from each submission. In operating Turnitin,

Schools must take steps to ensure that the University’s requirement for all summative

assessment to be marked anonymously is not undermined and therefore Turnitin reports

should either be anonymised or considered separately from marking. Turnitin may also be

used to assist with plagiarism detection and collusion, where there is suspicion about

individual piece(s) of work.

To avoid falling foul of plagiarism any problems you should follow the guidance in the

Lancashire Law School Assessment Guide (available on Blackboard) and use OSCOLA for

referencing your written work.

34

7.5.1 Implications for Entry to the Legal Profession of being Found Guilty of Cheating

IMPORTANT: please read:

Students should be aware that if they are found guilty of an academic offence such

as those described above, this must be disclosed to the SRA by the student.

If a student does not disclose an academic offence, this can be taken as dishonest

conduct and will have an impact on the suitability and character test that a student

need to be pass prior to qualification as a solicitor.

The Law School may also be required to pass any details of academic offences

committed by students to the SRA.

The SRA guidance on the suitability and character test states the following in

respect of academic offences:

https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/handbook/suitabilitytest/content.page

4: Assessment offences

4.1 Unless there are exceptional circumstances we will refuse your application if you have committed and/or have been adjudged by an education establishment to have committed a deliberate assessment offence which amounts to plagiarism or cheating to gain an advantage for yourself or others.

35

8. Classification of Awards

The University publishes the principles underpinning the way in which awards and results are decided in Academic Regulations. Decisions about the overall classification of awards are made by Assessment Boards through the application of the academic and relevant course regulations. 9. Student Feedback

You can play an important part in the process of improving the quality of this apprenticeship through the feedback you give. We seek your feedback at various points throughout the academic year. Each module will carry out a mid-module and end of module review. The Course Leader will meet with a group of students from the course each academic year to obtain feedback on the course.

You are always welcome to make constructive suggestions about your course to your Module Leader or your Course Leader at any time. Examples of ways in which the degree courses have been improved as a direct response to student feedback in the past include:

• Changing the delivery style of some lectures and workshops

• Using practical workshops instead of lectures to train you how to use the legal databases

• Staggering assessment deadlines throughout the year so far as possible to avoid periods of overload

• Using interactive workshops to promote skills learning 9.1 Student Staff Liaison Committee meetings (SSLCs) Details of the Protocol for the operation of SSLCs is included in section 8.2 of the University

Student Handbook.

36

10. Appendices 10.1 Apprenticeship Standard (including mapping to course modules) 10.2 End Point Assessment Plan 10.3 Programme Specification(s) 10.4 Sample Commitment Statement

37

10.1 Apprenticeship Standard (including mapping to course modules)

38

SOLICITOR

Overview of the role

Progressing legal matters and transactions, applying legal knowledge and commercial judgement to produce solutions which meet clients' needs.

Details of standard

For information about this standard please see https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/higher-level-apprenticeships. To check on live roles please use this link https://www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk/apprenticeshipsearch.

1. Occupation Solicitor

2. Occupational profile: This role has responsibility for providing legal advice to clients through:

• acting ethically, with professionalism and judgement;

• progressing legal matters and transactions;

• applying legal knowledge and commercial judgement to produce solutions which meet clients' needs and address their commercial or personal circumstances;

• deploying the full range of legal skills - research, interviewing and advising, advocacy,

• negotiation, drafting, communicating orally and in writing;

• establishing and maintaining effective and professional relationships with clients and other people; and

• managing themselves and their own work effectively.

39

3. Requirements In order to successfully meet the Apprenticeship standard leading to qualification as a solicitor, apprentices must demonstrate that they can: Ethics, professionalism and judgement

1. Act honestly and with integrity, in accordance with the law and with regulatory requirements and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)Handbook and Code of Conduct

2. Maintain the level of competence and legal knowledge needed to practise effectively, taking into account changes in their role and/or practice context and developments in the law

3. Work within the limits of their competence and the supervision which they need

4. Draw on a sufficient detailed knowledge and understanding of their field(s)of work in order to practise effectively

5. Apply understanding, critical thinking and analysis to solve problems

Technical legal practice

1. Obtain relevant facts

2. Undertake legal research

3. Develop and advise on relevant options, strategies and solutions

4. Draft documents which are legally effective and accurately reflect the client's instructions

5. Undertake effective spoken and written advocacy

6. Negotiate solutions to clients' issues

7. Plan, manage and progress legal matters and transactions

Working with other people

1. Communicate clearly and effectively, orally and in writing

2. Establish and maintain effective and professional relations with clients

3. Establish and maintain effective and professional relations with other people

Managing themselves and their own work

1. Initiate, plan, prioritise and manage work activities to ensure that they are completed efficiently, on time and to an appropriate standard, both in relation to their own work and work that they lead or supervise

2. Keep, use and maintain accurate, complete and clear records

3. Apply good business practice

40

A Ethics, Professionalism and Judgement

B Technical Legal Practice

C Working with People

D Managing Self/Work

A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 C1 C2 C3 D1 D2 D3

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LW1036 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

10.2 End Point Assessment Plan

Apprenticeship standard leading to qualification as a Solicitor

Assessment Plan

1. Introduction

This assessment plan has been designed by a wide range of law firms and other employers of solicitors, representing a broad spectrum of different legal markets. It has been developed with close involvement of the regulatory body, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

It embodies the following principles:

• The Apprenticeship standard should be identical to the standard specified for qualification as a solicitor by the SRA, as set out in the SRA's Statement for Solicitor Competence ("the Competence statement"), the Threshold standard and Statement of legal knowledge.

• All the competences included in the Apprenticeship standard, which align to the Competence statement, must be assessed and must be demonstrated to the level described in the Threshold standard in order to complete the Apprenticeship.

• The design of the end-point assessment should enable the greatest flexibility in the delivery of the Apprenticeship.

• The design of the end-point assessment must provide a high level of assessment consistency, reliability and validity.

2. Overview of the assessment plan

Qualification as a solicitor through the Apprenticeship standard route will require satisfactory completion of the new centralised assessment provided by one or more independent assessment organisations, appointed by the SRA, the regulatory body. Candidates will be unable to complete the Apprenticeship, or be admitted as a solicitor, until they have satisfactorily met this requirement. There are no exemptions from the SRA's centralised assessment. The SRA's centralised assessment will be assessed purely on a competent/non-competent basis and candidates must pass both parts. Candidates must also satisfy the SRA's character and suitability tests to be admitted as a solicitor.

The SRA centralised assessment will consist of two parts.

• Part 1-Functioning Knowledge Tests

• Part 2-Standardised Practical Legal Examination

Part 2 of the SRA's centralised assessment will act as the synoptic end-point assessment for the completion of the Apprenticeship standard and must be completed within the last 6 months of the Apprenticeship.

Part 1 can be taken any point during the Apprenticeship but must be passed before the Apprentice takes Part 2.

Work-based assessment will not form part of the end-point assessment but will be used to ensure the development and on-programme assessment of the knowledge, skills and behavioral elements of the Apprenticeship standard in the context of the particular practice areas in which Apprentices are employed. Satisfactory completion of the work-based assessment to the level of competence specified in the Threshold standard, certified by the training provider or employer, is however a pre-requisite for taking Part 2.

Subject to approval from the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, delivery of the apprenticeship programme can begin from September 2016 and the SRA will issue guidance, derived from the Competence statement, Statement of legal knowledge and Threshold standard, to enable employers and training providers to develop programmes which will prepare their apprentices for the centralised assessments.

The SRA centralised assessment will be available no earlier than 2018. The SRA will appoint the independent assessment organisation(s) in 2016. The assessment will be thoroughly piloted in 2017- 2018 before it is introduced and therefore the structure described above may be amended by the SRA in light of the piloting feedback and an impact assessment.

3. Components of the assessment plan

3.1 On-programme assessment

Training providers must provide on-programme assessment of both skills and knowledge, as set out in the Apprenticeship standard and the Competence statement, in each year of the Apprenticeship, to test apprentices’ progress towards the end-point assessment.

Apprentices will take Part 1 of the SRA centralised assessment as part of this on-programme assessment. Part 1 of the centralised assessment must be passed before the apprentice can take Part 2 of the SRA centralised assessment.

Training providers and employers may wish to offer additional external or internal accreditation of on-programme assessment but this is deliberately not specified in the

On-Programme Assessment

SRA Centralised Assessment: Part 1- Functional Knowledge Tests

Conducted by an independent

assessment organisation(s)

Assessment will take place in timed

conditions in assessment centres,

away from the workplace.

AND Work-based assessment against Apprentice standard and Competence statement This must be assessed and certified by

the training provider or employer.

Both assessments must be

successfully completed before the

Apprentice can take Part 2.

Synoptic End- point Assessment

SRA Centralised Assessment: Part 2- Standardised Practical Legal Examination

Conducted by an independent

assessment organisation(s)

Assessment will take place in timed

conditions in assessment centres,

away from the workplace.

This assessment must be taken within

the last 6 months of the Apprenticeship.

Apprenticeship standard to enable flexibility and innovation in the delivery of the training programme and the integration of 'on-and off-the-job' learning and assessment.

3.2 Work-based assessment

On-programme work-based assessment of the competences set out in the Apprenticeship standard and the Competence statement must be undertaken throughout the period of the Apprenticeship. The form of work-based assessment will be for the training provider or employer to determine.

As described earlier, satisfactory completion of the work-based assessment to the level of competence specified in the Threshold standard, certified by the training provider or employer, is a pre-requisite for taking Part 2 of the SRA's centralised assessment, which forms the synoptic end-point assessment for the Apprenticeship Standard.

3.3 SRA centralised assessment

Part 1 of the SRA centralised assessment will be taken during the on-programme assessment stage of the apprenticeship.

Part 2 of the SRA centralised assessment will form the synoptic end-point assessment for the Apprenticeship standard.

3.3.1 Part 1 - Functioning Knowledge Tests a. These objective tests will assess candidates' ability to draw on sufficient knowledge

to practise effectively and will assess the application of knowledge and legal processes specified in the following areas of the Competence statement and the Apprenticeship standard : A1, A4 (incorporating the Statement of legal knowledge), A5 and B7.

b. Questions will be based on short, thumbnail scenarios. They will require candidates to identify relevant legal principles and apply them to factual issues so as to produce a solution which addresses a client's needs in the context of all the knowledge areas specified in the Competence statement. Unflagged ethical questions, requiring candidates to demonstrate that they can spot these issues and understand and apply the rules of professional conduct, will pervade the tests.

c. All assessment will be computerised and will take place away from the work place, in

timed conditions at assessment centres across England and Wales. There are no restrictions on the number of times a candidate can attempt an assessment.

d. Pass marks will be set through the use of standard-setting procedures designed to

ensure appropriate level of demand and consistency of standard between successive sittings. The SRA will monitor the assessment and quality assurance procedures of the assessment organisation(s).

3.3.2 Part 2 - Standardised Practical Legal Examination

a. The examination will assess the application of knowledge, skills and behaviours in the following 6 skill areas:

• interviewing and advising

• advocacy/oral presentation

• negotiation

• writing

• drafting

• legal research. These skill areas map to the following areas of the Competence statement and the Apprenticeship standard: A1, A4, A5, B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, B7, C1, C2 and C3.

b. The assessments will simulate the real demands of practice. Unflagged ethical

questions, requiring candidates to demonstrate that they can spot these issues and understand and apply the rules of professional conduct, will pervade the assessments.

c. Each skill area will be assessed in 2 different practice contexts. The contexts are:

civil or criminal litigation, property law and practice, wills and probate, the law of organisations. Candidates must choose both contentious and non-contentious elements and cover 3 out of the 5 contexts across the range of assessments. These contexts correspond to the reserved areas of practice under the Legal Services Act 2007, with the addition of the law of organisations because this is such a large part of the legal services market.

d. The skill areas of interviewing and advising, advocacy/oral presentation and

negotiation will be assessed through practical role plays, marked and moderated by the assessment organisation to ensure consistency of standards. The role plays will simulate ,through high quality scripts and scenarios, the core activities of the solicitor's practice. The use of a standardised client (for the interviewing and advising assessment) and legally qualified assessors as decision makers (for the advocacy/oral presentation assessment) will provide realism.

e. The skill areas of writing, drafting and legal research will be assessed through on-line

case studies in which trainees must respond to legal scenarios and complete the specified task or tasks. The task may be to write a letter of advice to their client, to draft a legal document or part of a legal document, or to research the answer to a legal problem using legal databases. The candidates’ responses will be completed on-line, and be marked and moderated by the assessment organisation to ensure consistency of standards.

f. All assessments will take place away from the workplace, in timed conditions at assessment centres across England and Wales. There are no restrictions on the number of times a candidate can attempt an assessment.

g. Each skill area must be passed in two different contexts. The assessment

organisation(s) will use of standard setting procedures, designed to ensure appropriate level of demand and consistency of standard within and between successive sittings, to set the pass mark. The SRA will monitor the assessment and quality assurance procedures of the assessment organisation(s).

3.4 Recognition of prior experience and learning

Training providers must give recognition to individuals who can demonstrate equivalent, assessed prior experience. Exemptions should be given from relevant training and on- programme assessments. However, all Apprentices must take the centralised assessment in full (Parts 1 and 2).

4. How this assessment plan meets the BIS criteria

CRITERION EVIDENCE

1. USING A RANGE OF ASSESSMENT METHODS IN YOUR END ASSESSMENT

We have decided to use a new centralised assessment which is being developed by the regulator, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), for the end-point assessment for the Trailblazer Apprenticeship because we believe that this assessment approach will:

• provide a high level of consistency, reliability and validity of assessment of the relevant competences;

• will enable the greatest flexibility in the delivery of the Apprenticeship; and

• will enable a consistency of standards with other routes to qualify as a solicitor.

Part 1 of the SRA's centralised assessment will form part of the on- programme assessment of the Apprenticeship standard.

Part 2 of the SRA's centralised assessment will form the synoptic end- point assessment for the Apprenticeship standard.

Part 1- Functioning Knowledge Tests (A1, A4, A5 and B7) These objective tests will assess candidates' ability to draw on sufficient knowledge to practise effectively. It will not be a memory test. It will require candidates to identify relevant legal principles and apply them to factual issues so as to produce a solution which addresses a client's needs, in the context of all the knowledge areas specified in the Competence statement which includes the Statement of legal knowledge. Unflagged ethical questions, requiring candidates to demonstrate that they can spot these issues and understand and apply the rules of professional conduct, will pervade the tests.

The assessment will be computerised and will take place in timed conditions in assessment centres, away from the workplace.

Part 2- Standardised Practical Legal Examination (A1, A4, A5, B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, B7, C1, C2 and C3) This assessment will assess candidates' ability to perform the technical legal competences in the context of three of the following practice areas: civil or criminal litigation, property law and practice, wills and probate, business law and practice. Candidates must choose both contentious and non-contentious elements. They will assess knowledge, skills and behaviours in an integrated way. Unflagged ethical issues will pervade the assessment. a. Oral skills: interviewing and advising, advocacy and negotiation.

These will consist of practical role plays. The interviewing assessment will use a standardised client, appropriate to the role and trained to role-play to the script and to take account of cultural and ethnic diversity issues. The advocacy assessments will be made to an assessor playing the role of the judge. All assessments will be recorded for marking and moderation purposes. b. Written skills: writing, drafting and legal research.

These will consist of on-line case studies in which candidates must complete a specified task - research the answer to a legal problem using

legal databases, or write a letter, or draft a legal document. The assessment will take place in timed conditions in assessment centres, away from the workplace.

2. ENSURING INDEPENDENCE

Parts 1 and 2 of the centralised assessment will be provided through one or more independent assessment organisations, appointed by the regulatory body, the SRA (*see below), to set, administer and mark the assessment. It will be a requirement that the assessment organisation(s) has no involvement in the training of apprentices and therefore no prior connection with the candidates.

The SRA will monitor the performance of the assessment organisation(s) and will require the assessment organisation(s) to have in place procedures to ensure that its assessment functions are quality assured. It will be required to provide sufficient information to the SRA to enable the SRA to be satisfied of the probity of the assessment systems; to assure consistency of standards between candidates, across different assessment centres and over time between successive sittings; to identify areas for improvement; and to monitor and review assessment standards using comparative data.

Although work-based assessment of the competences against the Competence statement is a pre-requisite for access to Part 2 of the centralised assessment, it does not form part of the synoptic end-point assessment. However training providers and employers are expected to ensure that internal systems are in place to ensure impartiality in the process of work-based assessment, for example through HR oversight.

* "The SRA’s statutory responsibility for admitting individuals as a Solicitor, provides them with the status (as detailed below) to require the assessment to be carried out by the SRA itself or an organisation approved by it."

• Under the Solicitors Act 1974, the Law Society is able to make regulations relating to the education and training of persons seeking to be admitted as solicitors (Section 2) - and, in particular, may prescribe the examinations or other tests to be undertaken for this purposes (subsection (3)(a)(iii)). No person may be admitted as a solicitor unless they satisfy the Law Society that they have met the requirements set out in those training regulations (Section 3).

• The Law Society is required under the terms of the Legal Services Act 2007 to separate its representative and regulatory functions, and, under its General Regulations (available on its website) it has delegated to the SRA its regulatory functions, including those relating to education and training (regulation 31(4)) and its regulation-making powers in this respect (regulation 31(18)) to the SRA.

• The SRA is in the process of passing new regulations under these powers, which say that apprentices may only be admitted if they successfully pass an assessment conducted or approved by the SRA. The SRA's expectation is that the centralised assessment, described in Solicitor Apprenticeship Assessment plan, would be undertaken by one or more expert assessment organisation(s) on behalf of the SRA,

appointed through an open and transparent process.

• The SRA, further, has statutory responsibility (acting, once again under delegated authority from the Law Society) for admitting individuals as solicitors, whether through the apprenticeship or any other route, and keeping the roll of admitted solicitors/granting certificates entitling those on the roll to practise. These, as with its other delegated powers, are not derived from, and cannot without statutory authority be sub-delegated to, the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.

3. DELIVERING CONSISTENT (RELIABLE) JUDGEMENTS

The mechanisms for ensuring consistency used by the independent assessment organisation(s) will differ for each of the assessment methods.

1. Part 1 - Functioning Knowledge Tests This will be administered on-line. The use of objective testing eliminates marker subjectivity and therefore ensures a high degree of reliability and consistency. The SRA will require the assessment organisation to have mechanisms in place to:

• ensure valid and reliable test items;

• set a consistent standard;

• establish the pass mark for the assessment at the right level of demand;

• apply the standard consistently;

• carry out post-test analysis to scrutinise the assessment; and

• quality assure the marking and standardisation processes.

2. Part 2 - Standardised Practical Legal Examination The use of standardised exercises and robust moderation procedures will ensure a high degree of reliability and consistency. The SRA will require the assessment organisation(s) to have mechanisms in place to:

• set a consistent standard

• establish the pass mark for the assessment at the right level of demand

• apply the standard consistently

• scrutinise the assessment

• quality assure the marking and moderation processes.

The SRA will expect these mechanisms to include procedures for ensuring the standardisation of the client (for the interviewing assessment) and data collection to enable the measurement and moderation of individual assessor decisions. All assessments will be recorded for marking and moderation purposes.

The SRA will monitor the performance of the assessment organisation(s) who will be required to:

• provide sufficient information to the SRA to enable the SRA to be satisfied of the probity of the assessment systems;

• assure consistency of standards between candidates, across different assessment centres and over time between successive sittings;

• identify areas for improvement; and

• monitor and review assessment standards using comparative data.

4. DELIVERING ACCURATE (VALID) JUDGEMENTS

1. Part 1 - Functioning Knowledge Tests The SRA's experience of using objective tests to assess functioning legal knowledge in the context of its assessment of overseas lawyers (the Qualified Lawyers' Transfer Scheme) has demonstrated that objective testing is an effective and valid mechanism to test the wide range of functioning legal knowledge required to be demonstrated by intending solicitors. For the Apprenticeship assessment, the question bank will be designed to sample from the full range of knowledge specified in competence A4, which includes the Statement of legal knowledge. Questions will be designed to test candidates' ability to identify legal issues and solve problems, not just repeat legal knowledge in a memory test.

2. Part 2 - Standardised Practical Legal Examination The assessments will require competence to be displayed in relation to skills, knowledge and behaviours to simulate the real demands of practice. The role plays will simulate through high quality scripts and scenarios the core activities of a solicitor's practice. The use of a standardised client (interviewing) and legally qualified assessors as decision makers (advocacy) will provide realism.

The SRA's experience of using this approach in the context of the Qualified Lawyers' Transfer Scheme has demonstrated that standardised centralised assessments are an effective and valid mechanism to test the range of skills, behaviours and legal knowledge required to be demonstrated by intending solicitors.

5. SYNOPTIC ASSESSMENT

Both parts of the SRA's centralised assessment sample across the knowledge, skills and competences as set out in the SRA's Competence statement, Threshold standard and Statement of Underpinning Legal Knowledge.

Part 1 of the SRA's centralised assessment tests functioning knowledge. It tests the candidate's ability to draw on their legal knowledge to identify the relevant legal principles and apply them to the facts. The objective tests cover a broad range of knowledge. The questions will take the form of short, thumbnail scenarios. The candidate will have to categorise the legal nature of the problem in the scenario, before identifying which suggested answer best addresses the problem. This will also involve assessing risk, evaluating the reliability of information, and reaching a reasoned decision.

The synoptic end-point assessment (Part 2 of the SRA's centralised assessment) simulates the real demands of practice and tests the skills, knowledge and behaviours required of intending solicitors across a range of legal practice contexts. For example, in undertaking a client interview, the solicitor will need to categorise the legal nature of the problem and use this to establish which questions to ask the client. At the same time they will need to demonstrate they can establish and maintain an effective and professional relationship with their client.

There are no exemptions from the centralised assessment.

6. GRADED ASSESSMENTS

The regulator, the SRA, through whom the centralised assessment is being delivered, will only make a judgement on whether an individual is competent or not competent to be a solicitor and does not require further differentiation beyond this in the centralised assessment. The centralised assessment, including Part 2, the synoptic end-point assessment, will therefore not be graded.

However it will be open to training providers who wish to internally or externally accredit on-programme assessment to grade these awards within the Apprenticeship. This is to enable accredited 'stepping-off points' for individuals who complete a substantial part of the learning but do not complete the entire apprenticeship including the end-point assessment.

7.AFFORDABILITY The SRA's experience of using centralised assessment to assess overseas lawyers through the Qualified Lawyers' Transfer Scheme has demonstrated that this is a manageable and cost effective way of assessing knowledge, skills and behaviours, as well as a valid and reliable assessment methodology.

8.MANAGEABLITY/ FEASIBILITY

The centralised assessment will be delivered by one or more assessment organisations to be appointed by the regulator, the SRA. The assessment organisation(s) will be required to demonstrate:

• an appropriate assessment strategy, which delivers the requirements of this assessment plan;

• appropriate facilities for the conduct of the assessments, including IT facilities to support on-line delivery of the assessment activities, and an appropriate geographic spread of assessment centres with suitable and accessible rooms and audio-visual and recording equipment;

• robust administrative arrangements and data collection systems; and

• robust quality assurance systems, which deliver the requirements of this assessment plan, and appropriate reporting arrangements.

The SRA will monitor the performance of the assessment organisation(s) who will be required to provide sufficient information to the SRA to enable the SRA to be satisfied of the probity of the assessment systems; to assure consistency of standards between candidates, across different assessment centres and over time between successive sittings; to identify areas for improvement; and to monitor and review assessment standards using comparative data.

9. PROFESSIONAL BODY RECOGNITION

The assessment plan has been developed with the regulator, the SRA, and we attach a letter confirming its approval of this plan and its agreement to admit apprentices as solicitors upon satisfactory completion of the centralised assessment. There are no exemptions from the centralised assessment.

This approval is subject to completion of the regulatory body's usual processes of consultation, testing and equality impact assessment of the new centralised assessment.

The SRA's Statement of Solicitor Competence, the Threshold standard and the Statement of legal knowledge, which underpin the centralised assessment, are available on the SRA website.

10.3 Programme Specification(s)

UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL LANCASHIRE

Programme Specification

This Programme Specification provides a concise summary of the main features of the programme and the learning outcomes that a typical student might reasonably be expected to achieve and demonstrate if he/she takes full advantage of the learning opportunities that are provided.

1. Awarding Institution / Body

University of Central Lancashire

2. Teaching Institution and Location of Delivery

UCLan Preston

3. University School/Centre

Lancashire Law School

4. External Accreditation

n/a

5. Title of Final Award

LLB (Hons) in Legal Practice

6. Modes of Attendance offered

Full-time blended delivery

7a) UCAS Code M100

7b) JACS and HECOS Code M200 100485

8. Relevant Subject Benchmarking Group(s)

Law (2015)

9. Other external influences

• Joint statement of the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Bar Standards Board

• SRA Handbook and Code of Practice

• SRA Statement of Solicitor Competence

• QAA Benchmark Statement for Law

• Institute for Apprenticeships & Technical Education: Higher Degree Apprenticeship Standard ST0246 (Solicitor)

10. Date of production/revision of this form

June 2019

11. Aims of the Programme

• To guide and support employees through an integrated degree-level legal education and work-based learning progression pathway designed to prepare them for, and enable completion of, the gateway Level 7 solicitor apprenticeship award standard ST0246

• To facilitate the acquisition of legal knowledge, commercial judgement, skills, role attributes and behaviours necessary for preparing employees to meet the requirements of the SRA’s Statements of Solicitor Competences and Legal Knowledge to the minimum Threshold Standard to be able to practise as a solicitor

• To prepare employees for the Solicitors Qualifying Examinations (the apprenticeship end point assessments) in functioning legal knowledge and practical work-based legal skills

• To develop an employee’s personal and interpersonal skills, knowledge, and behaviour to enhance their employability, add value for their employer, and support further career progression

12. Learning Outcomes, Teaching, Learning and Assessment Methods

A. Knowledge and Understanding

A1. Identify the sources of law, explain how law is made and evolves, the institutions within which law is administered, and the personnel who practice and enforce law A2. Explain doctrines and apply the fundamental principles underpinning the Law of England and Wales, in accordance with the ‘Foundations of Legal Knowledge’ listed in the Joint Statement A3. Apply a range of legal concepts, values, principles, and rules of English law and evaluate critically the relationship between them and their relevance for work-based practice in contexts specified in the SRA’s ‘Statement of Legal Knowledge’ A4. Provide accurate and up-to-date legal advice that is compliant with relevant financial service regulations, tax law, and SRA accounts rules, including the calculation of client fees A5. Identify ethical issues in work-based, and client care, contexts and provide resolutions which comply with SRA professional conduct rules, processes, and regulations A6. Determine client objectives and evaluate the benefits, risks, and costs of different means for achieving these, taking account of commercial, financial and personal needs and limitations

Teaching and Learning Methods

Campus delivery will include a range of teaching and learning methods such as large group lecture-workshops, small group workshops, moots, debates, discussion forums, Relay recorded lectures, recorded Power-Point presentations, Power-Point slides, group debates, guest lectures, problem-based learning, case-study analysis, experiential learning, role plays, hypotheses, interactive technologies, and research exercises, document and form completion, client-based role playing, hypothetical legal transactions, structured work experience. Distance learning delivery will include module handbooks, interactive on-line e-workbooks, reading lists of primary and secondary sources, Power-Point presentations, workshop preparation materials and questions, recorded Power-Point presentations, access to Relay campus recorded lectures where appropriate, on-line discussion threads on the virtual learning environment (VLE), e-mail, tutor guidance through remote methods, remote synchronous and asynchronous group and individual discussion of pre-prepared questions, use of a the VLE to access (through upload and download) all teaching materials, assessments, marks and feedback where appropriate, exemplars, discussion and learning support materials.

Assessment methods

Unseen examinations, MCQs, quizzes, mooting, debating, arbitration, mediation, oral performance, group/individual presentation, workshops, research exercises, case analysis, interactive questions, case reviews, plans, poster presentations, portfolios, extended essays, critical reviews, projects.

B. Subject-specific skills

B1. Demonstrate honesty, integrity, and professional behaviour in accordance with the SRA Handbook and Code of Conduct when managing transactions and effecting client instructions B2. Apply a range of legal research skills to locate relevant facts on laws, principles, standards, and processes from different sources, using a variety of techniques, to produce accurate legal advice B3. Draft documents which are legally effective and accurately reflect a client’s instructions B4. Undertake spoken and written advocacy which clearly states and supports client instructions B5. Implement an effective negotiation strategy which meets client’s needs B6. Communicate effectively and appropriately for the needs of different audiences using a range of skills and methods, which evidences accurate use of language and legal terminology B7. Analyse legal problems using mnemonics such as IRAC and APWP to produce coherent and logical legal arguments

Teaching and Learning Methods

Campus delivery will include a range of teaching and learning methods such as large group lecture-workshops, small group workshops, moots, debates, discussion forums, Relay recorded lectures, recorded Power-Point presentations, Power-Point slides, group debates, guest lectures, problem-based learning, case-study analysis, experiential learning, role plays, hypotheses, interactive technologies, and research exercises, document and form completion, client-based role playing, hypothetical legal transactions, structured work experience. Distance learning delivery will include module handbooks, interactive on-line e-workbooks, reading lists of primary and secondary sources, Power-Point presentations, workshop preparation materials and questions, recorded Power-Point presentations, access to Relay campus recorded lectures where appropriate, on-line discussion threads on the virtual learning environment (VLE), e-mail, tutor guidance through remote methods, remote synchronous and asynchronous group and individual discussion of pre-prepared questions, use of a the VLE to access (through upload and download) all teaching materials, assessments, marks and feedback where appropriate, exemplars, discussion and learning support materials.

Assessment methods

Unseen examinations, MCQs, quizzes, mooting, debating, arbitration, mediation, oral performance, group/individual presentation, workshops, research exercises, case analysis, interactive questions, case reviews, plans, poster presentations, portfolios, extended essays, critical reviews, projects.

C. Thinking Skills

C1. Apply critical thinking to legal problems to produce written and oral evaluations of alternative solutions, options, strategies and legal advice for addressing scenario instructions or client needs C2. Reflect critically on acquired legal knowledge and understandings to select appropriate tools and evidence necessary to progress legal matters and transactions, and thereby, practise effectively C3. Synthesise a range of evidence and information in producing reasoned solutions to legal problems C4. Identify legal, financial, ethical, and commercial issues from complex facts of relevance to an instruction or client when asked to resolve practical or theoretical problems or furnish advice

Teaching and Learning Methods

Campus delivery will include a range of teaching and learning methods such as large group lecture-workshops, small group workshops, moots, debates, discussion forums, Relay recorded lectures, recorded Power-Point presentations, Power-Point slides, group debates, guest lectures, problem-based learning, case-study analysis, experiential learning, role plays, hypotheses, interactive technologies, and research exercises, document and form completion, client-based role playing, hypothetical legal transactions, structured work experience. Distance learning delivery will include module handbooks, interactive on-line e-workbooks, reading lists of primary and secondary sources, Power-Point presentations, workshop preparation materials and questions, recorded Power-Point presentations, access to Relay campus recorded lectures where appropriate, on-line discussion threads on the virtual learning environment (VLE), e-mail, tutor guidance through remote methods, remote synchronous and asynchronous group and individual discussion of pre-prepared questions, use of a the VLE to access (through upload and download) all teaching materials, assessments, marks and feedback where appropriate, exemplars, discussion and learning support materials.

Assessment methods

Unseen examinations, MCQs, quizzes, mooting, debating, arbitration, mediation, oral performance, group/individual presentation, workshops, research exercises, case analysis, interactive questions, case reviews, plans, poster presentations, portfolios, extended essays, critical reviews, projects.

D. Other skills relevant to employability and personal development

D1. Use paper and electronic based resources to locate up-to-date information produce word processed text in an appropriate format D2. Maintain and keep accurate, complete, and clear records using paper and electronic data management systems, which are compliant with data protection and confidentiality regulations D3. Establish and maintain effective professional relations in teams, with clients, and other people,

including recognising cultural, diversity, and disability determined needs D4. Plan, prioritise, and manage work activities so they are completed in an organised and timely manner, with attention to detail, and to an appropriate professional standard D5. Reflect critically on work-based competences necessary to practise effectively by taking into account changes in role, practice context, and legal knowledge

Teaching and Learning Methods

Campus delivery will include a range of teaching and learning methods such as large group lecture-workshops, small group workshops, moots, debates, discussion forums, Relay recorded lectures, recorded Power-Point presentations, Power-Point slides, group debates, guest lectures, problem-based learning, case-study analysis, experiential learning, role plays, hypotheses, interactive technologies, and research exercises, document and form completion, client-based role playing, hypothetical legal transactions, structured work experience. Distance learning delivery will include module handbooks, interactive on-line e-workbooks, reading lists of primary and secondary sources, Power-Point presentations, workshop preparation materials and questions, recorded Power-Point presentations, access to Relay campus recorded lectures where appropriate, on-line discussion threads on the virtual learning environment (VLE), e-mail, tutor guidance through remote methods, remote synchronous and asynchronous group and individual discussion of pre-prepared questions, use of a the VLE to access (through upload and download) all teaching materials, assessments, marks and feedback where appropriate, exemplars, discussion and learning support materials.

Assessment methods

Unseen examinations, MCQs, quizzes, mooting, debating, arbitration, mediation, oral performance, group/individual presentation, workshops, research exercises, case analysis, interactive questions, case reviews, plans, poster presentations, portfolios, extended essays, critical reviews, projects.

13. Programme Structures*

14. Awards and Credits*

Level Module Code

Module Title Credit rating

Level 6 LW3079 LW3078 LW3068 LW3067 LW3066 LW3065 LW3064 LW3063 LW3062 LW3061 LW3060 LW3059 LW3058 LW3057

Compulsory Professional Examination 2: Review and Preparation Block Professional Examination 1: Review and Preparation Block Professional Skills and Practice: Synoptic Portfolio Professional Skills: Legal Drafting Professional Skills: Tax and Professional Conduct Professional Skills: Solicitor’s Accounts Professional Practice: Property Law Professional Practice: Business Law Professional Practice: Litigation Professional Skills: Legal Writing Professional Skills: Advocacy Professional Practice: Wills and Probate Professional Practice and Skills Equity & Trusts Essentials

0 0

20 10 20 10 20 20 30 10 10 10 20 20

LLB (Hons) Legal Practice Requires 360 credits, including a minimum of 220 at level 5 or above and 100 at level 6. LLB Legal Practice Requires 320 credits, including a minimum of 180 at level 5 or above and 60 at level 6. Diploma of Higher Education Legal Practice Requires 240 credits, including a minimum of 100 at level 5 or above.

Level 5 LW2049 LW2048 LW2047 LW2046

Land Law Essentials Tort Law Essentials EU Law Essentials Criminal Law Essentials

20 20 20 20

Certificate of Higher Education including a minimum of 120 credits at level 4 or above.

Level 4 LW1039 LW1038 LW1037 LW1036

Public Law Essentials Contract Law Essentials English Legal System Skills for Lawyers

20 20 20 20

15. Personal Development Planning

Support for personal development planning, and the acquisition of transferable skills, is integrated into the degree apprenticeship programme by means of: an individual learning plan (ILP) outlining key milestones, targets, gaps in knowledge and skills, and expectations and agreed between the apprentice, employer, and training provider at the start of the programme and also reflected in the apprenticeship Commitment Statement; frequent meetings (no less than 7 per annum) which will challenge apprentices to self-review and reflect critically on progress against the Commitment Statement, and receive feedback, against agreed ILP targets with the employer mentor, apprentice, and academic work based learning coordinator; a synoptic skills and practice portfolio for capturing, reflectively and critically, an apprentice’s sustained learning progression towards meeting the substantive competency standard, both for the academic and work-based learning components of the programme towards the gateway to the EPA; professional and work-based skills which pervade individual modules; a structured academic advisor and support system linked to review and reflection meetings; formative feedback from review meetings and in-programme assessments will be used to reflect on progress towards agreed targets and the outcomes from this self-reflection captured in the synoptic portfolio; and a range of advanced level optional modules, extracurricular opportunities and activities to reinforce and extend formal curricular provision.

All modules include a number of structured activities that support formative learning through the development of a range of study skills including writing, researching, reading, note-taking, oral presentations, negotiation, client interviewing, plagiarism avoidance, CV writing, leadership, peer mentoring, networking, critical reasoning, legal research and citation practice, project planning, professional client care, evaluating web sources, Boolean searches of on-line data bases, debating, group and teamwork, reflective synoptic portfolios. Students are expected to demonstrate increased levels of competence when they apply and extend these skills in different modules and across different levels. Competence is demonstrated in a number of ways such as reflective and critical portfolios, summative assessment, formative assessment of learning in small group classes, electronic ‘badges’ awarded in the virtual learning environment for engagement with formative learning activities which extend knowledge and skills, certificates of achievement for completion of externally validated skills in areas such as mediation and arbitration. Feedback on all summative assessments includes formative ‘feed forward’ comments for students to reflect and act on in the future to improve their knowledge and general skill set. One of the foundations of the teaching philosophy underpinning all modules is that specialist and abstract ideas and knowledge should be placed within a broader social, political, economic, philosophical, and historical context and links to ‘real life experience’, including work-based client and commercia context, should be made at every available opportunity so apprentices can ground their knowledge in practical reasoning of vocational relevance to their employment as a trainee and their future employment as a qualified solicitor practitioner .

The Academic Advisor system provides a structure within which the outcomes from structured activities, feedback from summative and formative assessment, and curricular engagement is discussed, reflected upon, and captured so apprentices can use data to reflect critically on their achievement gaps, audit their skill set to identify strengths and gaps, and prepare for future career development opportunities, including preparation for end point assessment examinations. Apprentices will be allocated to an academic member of staff for the duration of their programme of study who will be an academic mentor and link to the employer. This will ensure continuity in relationship building. A minimum of three face-to-face PDP meetings are with the apprentice’s academic advisor over the course of the academic year. Plans, goals and objectives are agreed at the start of the academic year and the meetings allow apprentices to reflect on progress and identify evolving objectives against targets in their ILP. Apprentices are encouraged to use both on and off curriculum experiences as opportunities for reflection in order to map evidence skills, knowledge, behaviours, values, and attributes against the outcomes expected in the synoptic portfolio.

Finally, apprentices will be encouraged to extend their learning by engaging with extra-curricular opportunities which allow different dimensions of their personality and skill set to develop in a more rounded way. The School provides opportunities to participate in skills competitions, both nationally and internationally; field trips to regional, national and international institutions will allow apprentices to contextualise their learning within broader institutional contexts; bespoke employability events and activities are arranged which focus on networking and professionalism; aspirational learning (visiting speakers, alumni, University fellows speaking about current issues and their work); competitive bids to support further developmental opportunities (e.g., scholarships, essay competitions, prizes).

16. Admissions criteria * (including agreed tariffs for entry with advanced standing) *Correct as at date of approval. For latest information, please consult the University’s website.

The LLB (Hons) in Legal Practice is a non-integrated Higher Level Apprenticeship (HLA) pathway designed to deliver a ‘gateway’ academic qualification which will support an apprentice’s preparation for meeting the competences set out in the SRA’s Statement of Solicitor Competence ad knowledge set out in the SRA’s Statement of Legal Knowledge to the SRA’s Threshold Standard . As a regulated occupation, to qualify and practice as a solicitor, apprentices must meet these threshold standards by completing the apprenticeship assessment plan to satisfy the regulatory framework for qualification. The assessment plan comprises two end point assessments whose content and form is prescribed by the profession’s regulator (The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)) and also pass the SRA’s test of Character and Suitability for fitness to practice. The degree delivers a schedule of structured ‘on-programme’ training and education activities which complement (by informing practice, developing skills, and facilitating reflection on) ‘off-programme’ work-based learning apprentices experience as employees. The LLB (Hons) in Legal Practice is, therefore, a non-integrated apprenticeship qualification which supports an apprentice through a series of structured legal learning, applied skills and behaviour, and self-reflection activities and tasks so they are prepared for the external end point assessments - part 1 and part 2 of the Solicitor’s Qualifying Examinations (SQE).

A precondition for entry onto this degree programme is that applicants are employed (or about to take up paid employment) as solicitor apprentices with public or private organisations. The solicitor apprentice’s ‘off-programme’ employment provides the context for ongoing work-based learning. Apprentices must reach a minimum level of competency in their ‘off’ programme work-based learning before they are permitted to sit the SQE part 2. The ‘off’ and ‘on’ programme learning support and inform one another and together help prepare apprentices for both end point assessments (SQE). Completion of the degree programme leads to a Level 6 academic award; completion of both end point assessments (SQE) confers practicing solicitor status by satisfying the requirements of the SRA’s Competency Standard and, thereby, completes the Level 7 apprenticeship award.

Individual employers will identify any relevant entry requirements in terms of previous qualifications, role expectations, an evaluation of baseline criteria relative to the apprenticeship standard, and any other relevant fact when making decisions to employ a solicitor apprentice. As training provider for the ‘on-programme’ learning activities, the Lancashire Law School will consult with the employer, and interview potential candidates put forward by the employer, to ensure they meet the School’s minimum entry requirements for degree-level higher apprenticeship study, which are:

• 5 GCSEs, including Mathematics and English at Grade 4 (previously Grade C) or above (or equivalent); and

• 3 A2 Levels (or equivalent) whose minimum aggregate total must be 112 points (BBC) or more; and/or

• Relevant employer- led work-based experience which may exempt an apprentice from some training (e.g., Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship in a relevant occupation; Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship in a relevant occupation); or

• Higher legal qualifications which may exempt an apprentice from some training (e.g., a ‘qualifying’ Law Degree; Graduate Diploma in Law; post-graduate diploma or Masters Degree in Legal Practice).

In addition, where applicants do not possess a grade C or above in GCSE English they will need to present an IELTS score of 6.0 or above, or their equivalent, before they can start their degree. In accordance with Access to Higher Education principles applications will also be considered from applicants who do not meet the minimum academic criteria listed above. Applicants who can demonstrate an aptitude for, and demonstrable reasons to benefit from, degree level study based on life experience, motivation, and commitment will be considered. If you are returning to study after a break you may be asked to undertake a key skills assessment so we can identify how best to support you. The Law School recognises the value of an applicant’s existing qualifications, life experiences, skills and abilities. Students may, therefore, apply for accreditation based on either prior certificated learning (APCL) or accreditation of prior experiential learning (APEL), or a combination of both in accordance with University procedures.

17. Key sources of information about the programme

• Institute for Apprenticeships & Technical Education, Solicitor Apprenticeship Standard ST0246, https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/solicitor/

• SRA, Statement of Solicitor Competence, https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/resources/cpd/competence-statement.page

• SRA, Statement of Legal Knowledge, https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/resources/cpd/competence-statement/statement-legal-knowledge.page

• SRA, Threshold Standard, https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/resources/cpd/competence-statement/threshold-standard.page

• QAA, Subject Benchmark Statement, Law, July 2015, https://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaa/subject-benchmark-statements/sbs-law-15.pdf?sfvrsn=ff99f781_10

• Law Society and General Council of the Bar, Joint Statement on the Academic Stage of Training, https://www.sra.org.uk/students/academic-stage-joint-statement-bsb-law-society.page

• SRA, Training Regulations, https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/handbook/trainingregs2014/content.page

• SRA Code of Conduct, https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/handbook/code/content.page

• Lancashire Law School, UCLan, Web-site, https://www.uclan.ac.uk/schools/lancashire-law-school/courses.php

• Lancashire Law School Enquiries: School office hub, Telephone: +44 (0)1772 891996 / 891997, Email: harrishub@uclan.ac.uk

• UCLan Course/Study Enquiries, Telephone: +44 (0)1772 892400 Email: cenquiries@uclan.ac.uk

18. Curriculum Skills Map

Please tick in the relevant boxes where individual Programme Learning Outcomes are being assessed

Level Module Code Module Title

Core (C), Compulsory (COMP) or Option (O)

Programme Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and understanding Subject-specific Skills Thinking Skills

Other skills relevant to employability and

personal development

A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 C1 C2 C3 C4 D1 D2 D3 D4 D5

LE

VE

L 6

LW3079 Professional Examination 2: Review and Preparation Block COMP

X X X X X X X X X X X

LW3078 Professional Examination 1: Review and Preparation Block COMP

X X X X X X X X X X

LW3068 Professional Skills and Practice: Synoptic Portfolio COMP X X X X

LW3067 Professional Skills: Legal Drafting COMP X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

LW3066 Professional Skills: Tax and Professional Conduct COMP X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

LW3065 Professional Skills: Solicitor’s Accounts COMP X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

LW3064 Professional Practice: Property Law COMP X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

LW3063 Professional Practice: Business Law COMP X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

LW3062 Professional Practice: Litigation COMP X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

LW3061 Professional Skills: Legal Writing COMP X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

LW3060 Professional Skills: Advocacy COMP X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

LW3059 Professional Practice: Wills and Probate COMP X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

LW3058 Professional Practice and Skills COMP X X X X X

LW3057 Equity & Trusts Essentials COMP X X X X X X X

LE

VE

L 5

LW2049 Land Law Essentials COMP X X X X X X X

LW2048 Tort Law Essentials COMP X X X X X X X

LW2047 EU Law Essentials COMP X X X X X X X

LW2046 Criminal Law Essentials COMP X X X X X X X

LE

VE

L 4

LW1039 Public Law Essentials COMP X X X X X X X

LW1038 Contract Law Essentials COMP X X X X X X X

LW1037 English Legal System COMP X X X X X X X

LW1036 Skills for Lawyers COMP X X X X X X X X

19. LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR EXIT AWARDS: Learning outcomes for the award of: LLB Legal Practice

A. Knowledge and Understanding

A1. Identify the sources of law, explain how law is made and evolves, the institutions within which law is administered, and the personnel who practice and enforce law A2. Explain doctrines and apply the fundamental principles underpinning the Law of England and Wales, in accordance with the ‘Foundations of Legal Knowledge’ listed in the Joint Statement A3. Apply a range of legal concepts, values, principles, and rules of English law and evaluate critically the relationship between them and their relevance for work-based practice in contexts specified in the SRA’s ‘Statement of Legal Knowledge’ A4. Provide accurate and up-to-date legal advice that is compliant with relevant financial service regulations, tax law, and SRA accounts rules, including the calculation of client fees A5. Identify ethical issues in work-based, and client care, contexts and provide resolutions which comply with SRA professional conduct rules, processes, and regulations A6. Determine client objectives and evaluate the benefits, risks, and costs of different means for achieving these, taking account of commercial, financial and personal needs and limitations

B. Subject-specific skills

B1. Demonstrate honesty, integrity, and professional behaviour in accordance with the SRA Handbook and Code of Conduct when managing transactions and effecting client instructions B2. Apply a range of legal research skills to locate relevant facts on laws, principles, standards, and processes from different sources, using a variety of techniques, to produce accurate legal advice B3. Draft documents which are legally effective and accurately reflect a client’s instructions B4. Undertake spoken and written advocacy which clearly states and supports client instructions B5. Implement an effective negotiation strategy which meets client’s needs B6. Communicate effectively and appropriately for the needs of different audiences using a range of skills and methods, which evidences accurate use of language and legal terminology B7. Analyse legal problems using mnemonics such as IRAC and APWP to produce coherent and logical legal arguments

C. Thinking Skills

C1. Apply critical thinking to legal problems to produce written and oral evaluations of alternative solutions, options, strategies and legal advice for addressing scenario instructions or client needs C2. Reflect on acquired legal knowledge and understandings to select appropriate tools and evidence necessary to progress legal matters and transactions, and thereby, practise effectively C3. Synthesise a range of evidence and information in producing reasoned solutions to legal problems C4. Identify legal, financial, ethical, and commercial issues from complex facts of relevance to an instruction or client when asked to resolve practical or theoretical problems or furnish advice

D. Other skills relevant to employability and personal development

D1. Use paper and electronic based resources to locate up-to-date information produce word processed text in an appropriate format D2. Maintain and keep accurate, complete, and clear records using paper and electronic data management systems, which are compliant with data protection and confidentiality regulations D3. Establish and maintain effective professional relations in teams, with clients, and other people,

including recognising cultural, diversity, and disability determined needs D4. Plan, prioritise, and manage work activities so they are completed in an organised and timely manner, with attention to detail, and to an appropriate professional standard

Learning outcomes for the award of: Diploma of Higher Education in Legal Practice

A. Knowledge and Understanding

A1. Identify the sources of law, explain how law is made and evolves, the institutions within which law is administered, and the personnel who practice and enforce law A2. Explain doctrines and apply the fundamental principles underpinning the Law of England and Wales, in accordance with the ‘Foundations of Legal Knowledge’ listed in the Joint Statement A3. Apply a limited range of legal concepts, values, principles, and rules of English law and evaluate

critically the relationship between them and their relevance for work-based practice in contexts specified in the SRA’s ‘Statement of Legal Knowledge’

A4. Identify some relevant financial service regulations, tax law, and SRA accounts rules, including the calculation of client fees A5. Outline and explain SRA professional conduct rules and regulations A6. Summarise a client’s objectives and list variables that should be taken into account when advice is being planned

B. Subject-specific skills

B1. Explain the importance of the SRA Handbook and Code of Conduct when taking client instructions B2. Apply a limited range of legal research skills to locate relevant facts on laws, principles, standards,

and processes from different sources B3. State the principles of effective legal drafting and list the risks of not drafting accurately B4. Demonstrate foundational skills in advocacy through effective participation in a moot B6. Communicate effectively and appropriately for the needs of different audiences using a range of skills and methods, which evidences accurate use of language and legal terminology B7. Analyse legal problems using mnemonics such as IRAC and APWP to produce coherent and logical legal arguments

C. Thinking Skills

C1. Apply critical thinking to legal problems to produce written and oral evaluations of alternative solutions, options, strategies and legal advice for addressing scenario instructions or client needs C3. Synthesise evidence and information and produce a reasoned solution to a legal problem C4. Identify legal issues from facts of relevance to a scenario instruction or client brief

D. Other skills relevant to employability and personal development

D1. Use paper and electronic based resources to locate up-to-date information produce word processed text in an appropriate format D3. Explain the importance of maintaining effective professional relations in teams, with clients, and other

people, including recognising cultural, diversity, and disability determined needs D4. Plan, prioritise, and manage work activities so they are completed in an organised and timely manner, with attention to detail, and to an appropriate professional standard

Learning outcomes for the award of: Certificate of Higher Education

A. Knowledge and Understanding

A1. Identify the sources of law, explain how law is made and evolves, the institutions within which law is administered, and the personnel who practice and enforce law A2. Explain doctrines and apply the fundamental principles underpinning the Law of England and Wales, in accordance with the ‘Foundations of Legal Knowledge’ listed in the Joint Statement

B. Subject-specific skills

B2. Apply a limited range of legal research skills to locate relevant facts on laws, principles, standards, and processes from different sources

B4. Demonstrate foundational skills in advocacy through effective participation in a moot B6. Communicate effectively and appropriately for the needs of different audiences using a range of skills and methods, which evidences accurate use of language and legal terminology B7. Analyse legal problems using mnemonics such as IRAC and APWP to produce coherent and logical legal arguments

C. Thinking Skills

C1. Apply critical thinking to legal problems to produce written and oral evaluations of alternative solutions, options, strategies and legal advice for addressing scenario instructions or client needs C4. Identify legal issues from facts of relevance to a scenario instruction or client brief

D. Other skills relevant to employability and personal development

D1. Use paper and electronic based resources to locate up-to-date information produce word processed text in an appropriate format D3. Explain the importance of maintaining effective professional relations in teams, with clients, and other people, including recognising cultural, diversity, and disability determined needs D4. Plan, prioritise, and manage work activities so they are completed in an organised and timely manner, with attention to detail, and to an appropriate professional standard

UCLan Commitment Statement 180612 Page 6 of 73

SECTION 1 – core information This Commitment Statement summarises the schedule, roles and responsibilities and funding that supports the successful completion of this apprenticeship. The

information set out in this document forms part of the evidence pack required for every apprentice and must be signed and retained by the employer, the apprentice and the university named in section 1 below. This must be retained with, or in, the written agreement or contract for services between the employer and provider as the current and accurate statement about the content of this apprenticeship. The content of this document is also intended to form the basis of regular reviews between all three parties to track progress and review the ongoing support and commitment needed during the lifetime of the apprenticeship. Any changes to the apprenticeship, and therefore to this document, must be agreed and recorded in an updated commitment statement with signed copies distributed to all parties listed in section 1 below. The main training elements of the

apprenticeship are contained at Annex 1. 1a 1.1. Signatories

Apprentice (& Guardian if aged 16-18)

Employer Line Manager University

Name

Organisation

Phone

Email

Signature

Date

1.2. The Apprenticeship covered by this Commitment Statement

The Apprenticeship Level Name

Start Date Planned End Point Assessment Date Planned End Date

UCLan Commitment Statement 180612 Page 7 of 73

1.3. Apprenticeship Review Schedule and Attendees

Reviews between the university, employer and apprentice will take place throughout the apprenticeship to discuss progress, review impact, confirm success and identify any

actions needed to ensure the success of the apprenticeship.

Review Schedule Frequency Attendees Name Role

Contact phone number Contact Email

Apprentice/Tutor Reviews University

Reviews (Employer/ Apprentice/ Provider)

University

Employer

1.4. Further Support and Guidance

Contacts Support Available Name Role

Contact phone number Contact email

Personal Tutor

Course Leader

Student Services

Key Processes and Policies

Process First Point of Contact Name, Role, Email & Phone number

Reference Document or Policy

Attendance & Absence

• In the event that you are not able to attend university or join a planned face to face or online live session you must inform << University role>> as soon as possible after first contacting your employer.

<<Line Manager>> <<University role>>

Section C.10 of the Academic Regulations: http://www.uclan.ac.uk/study_here/student-contract-taught-programmes.php

Data Protection

• The personal information that you provide is passed to the ESFA, the Department for Education and the Apprenticeship Assessment Organisation, for the purpose of tracking progress, confirming eligibility for funding or for processing your end-point assessment.

• If you have any queries about how your personal data is used please contact: UCLan’s Information Governance

University Data Protection Policy: https://www.uclan.ac.uk/data_protection/assets/data-protection-policy-may2018.pdf Student Privacy Notice:

UCLan Commitment Statement 180612 Page 8 of 73

Key Processes and Policies

Process First Point of Contact Name, Role, Email & Phone number

Reference Document or Policy

• Your personal information may be shared with other regulatory or professional bodies necessary for the delivery of your apprenticeship and your well‐being but only where the law allows this sharing to take place, in compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018.

• The apprentice’s personal data may also be shared with the employer for the purposes of delivering the apprenticeship programme.

• For further details regarding how and why the University may process personal information, please refer to the Student Privacy Notice at: https://www.uclan.ac.uk/data_protection/privacy_notices.php

Manager on DPFOIA@uclan.ac.uk

https://www.uclan.ac.uk/data_protection/privacy_notices.php

Safeguarding & PREVENT

• You will be briefed about your and the University’s responsibilities under our safeguarding and Prevent policy as part of your induction.

All safeguarding concerns should be reported to: University Safeguarding Leads Vanessa Chew (Head of Student Safety & Living) VChew1@uclan.ac.uk or Lisa Banks (Director of Student Services) LBanks2@uclan.ac.uk.

Raising Queries & Concerns

• If you have concerns or queries about your apprenticeship in the workplace you should discuss these with your line manager detailed above.

• If you have concerns or queries about your apprenticeship

delivered by the university you should discuss these with your

personal tutor. • Apprenticeship concerns and enquiries can also be raised with

the ESFA Apprenticeship helpline

• apprenticeship queries and concerns should be raised with: your personal tutor .

• The ESFA Apprenticeship helpline can be contacted on 0800 015 0400 or by email nationalhelpdesk@apprenticeships.gov.uk

Complaints

• In the event that either employer or apprentice have concerns

or complaints regarding this apprenticeship that cannot be

resolved with the Course Leader you should escalate this to

Unresolved issues or concerns should be escalated to:

• Course Leader

Details of UCLan’s student complaints process can

be found on-line at:

UCLan Commitment Statement 180612 Page 9 of 73

Key Processes and Policies

Process First Point of Contact Name, Role, Email & Phone number

Reference Document or Policy

the Head of Degree Apprenticeship Delivery following the

university complaints process.

• Student support is available on-line through the student

portal, and on campus through the support hubs.

• You may also escalate a complaint to the Skills Funding

Agency’s apprenticeship helpline.

• Antony Barron, Head of Degree Apprenticeship Delivery at the University Email: ABarron2@uclan.ac.uk Telephone: 01772 896380

• The ESFA Apprenticeship

helpline can be contacted on

0800 015 0400 or by email

nationalhelpdesk@apprenticeshi

ps.gov.uk

https://www.uclan.ac.uk/corporate_information/a

ssets/student_complaints_1819.pdf

SECTION 2. Roles and Responsibilities This Roles & Responsibilities summary confirms that accountabilities for a successful apprenticeship are shared equally by the employer, apprentice and university. The

roles and responsibilities are intended to support the apprentice throughout their apprenticeship to successful completion.

2.1. The Apprentice agrees to: a. Work with their employer and Personal Tutor to agree an individual learning plan, to achieve their apprenticeship

b. Manage their own learning, and with support from their employer and Personal Tutor, work to meet the targets and timelines needed to complete the apprenticeship by the

planned end date

c. Participate in reviews with the employer and Course Leader to track progress and success in meeting apprenticeship milestones, and agree any changes needed to the learning

plan to address performance or support enhanced learning opportunities

d. Manage and track attendance and participation to meet the off the job learning requirements for this apprenticeship programme

e. Inform the University and their employer if personal circumstances change that will affect completion of the apprenticeship or will change the planned end date

f. Proactively identify any issues or barriers to successful completion of this apprenticeship and raise these quickly with their employer and Course Leader, working with both

to implement any action needed

g. Raise any queries or complaints regarding the apprenticeship through the university process, and to the ESFA where needed as set out in section 1.

h. Participate in course feedback and apprenticeship evaluation to support the continuous improvement of the programme for current and future apprentices.

i. Take opportunities that arise to support other current and future apprentices to benefit from their apprenticeship

UCLan Commitment Statement 180612 Page 10 of 73

The Employer, both the representative signatory to this agreement and the apprentice’s day to day manager agree to: a. Provide a working environment that meets current health and safety legislation to enable their apprentice to work and learn safely for the duration of the apprenticeship

b. Work with their apprentice and the university to agree an individual learning plan, and provide the apprentice with access to the on the job knowledge, skills and experience,

resources and opportunities needed to achieve this apprenticeship

c. Support the university to comply with funding rules and collate evidence to confirm apprentice and apprenticeship eligibility for funding

d. Support the apprentice to manage their own learning, by ensuring sufficient off the job time in their typical working day (or time in lieu) to meet the requirements of this

apprenticeship

e. Enable the line manager and/or Course Leader to support and guide this apprentice to carry out their day to day role and to meet the targets and timelines needed to complete

the apprenticeship by the planned end date

f. Participate in reviews with the apprentice and university, providing evidence and feedback on progress at work and success in meeting apprenticeship milestones, and agree

any changes needed to the learning plan supporting the apprentice to address performance or access enhanced learning opportunities

g. Support their apprentice to track attendance and participation to meet the off the job learning requirements for this apprenticeship programme

h. Inform the University if there are organisational or apprentice circumstance changes that will affect completion of the apprenticeship or change the planned end date

i. Proactively identify any issues or barriers to successful completion of this apprenticeship and raise these quickly with the university and apprentice, working to implement

any action needed

j. Raise any queries or complaints regarding the apprenticeship through the university process, and to the ESFA where needed as set out in section 1.

k. Participate in course feedback, impact assessment and evaluation to support the continuous improvement of the programme for apprentices and employers

l. Take opportunities to promote and publicise the successful completion of this apprenticeship and the benefits of the apprenticeship programme

The university (and where relevant, manage any appointed subcontractors to) agree to:

a. Provide a learning environment that meets current health and safety legislation to enable the apprentice to learn safely for the duration of the apprenticeship

b. Work with the apprentice and employer to comply with the apprenticeship funding rules, providing an evidence pack that confirms eligibility for funding

c. Work with the employer and their apprentice to agree an individual learning plan, and provide the apprentice with access to the knowledge, skills and experience, resources

and opportunities needed to achieve this apprenticeship

d. Support the apprentice to manage their own learning, by ensuring sufficient resources, support, access to materials in their typical working day to meet the off the job

requirements of this apprenticeship

e. Enable the line manager and/or workplace mentor to support and guide this apprentice, to carry out their day to day role and to meet the targets and timelines needed to

complete the apprenticeship by the planned end date by providing a clear summary of off the job and on the job learning needed, contained at Annex A

f. Lead reviews with the apprentice and employer, providing evidence and feedback on progress to track success in meeting apprenticeship milestones, and agree any changes

needed to the learning plan to support the apprentice to address performance or access enhanced learning opportunities

g. Track attendance and participation to meet the off the job learning requirements for this apprenticeship programme

h. Inform the employer if there are changes that will affect completion of the apprenticeship or change the planned end date

UCLan Commitment Statement 180612 Page 11 of 73

i. Proactively identify any issues or barriers to successful completion of this apprenticeship arising from university, employer or apprentice and raise these quickly with the

employer or apprentice, working to implement any action needed

j. Manage any queries or complaints regarding the apprenticeship through the university process, supporting the apprentice or employer to escalate to the ESFA where needed

as set out in section 1.

k. Enable employer and apprentice participation in course feedback, impact assessment and evaluation to support the continuous improvement of the programme for

apprentices and employers

l. Take opportunities to promote and publicise impact and success for employer, apprentice and the wider apprenticeship programme

3. Funding Summary

This Funding Summary sets out the financial contribution made by employers and government to fund this apprenticeship programme.

Funding Summary Levy Account

Employer/ ESFA

Co-funded

Employer Funded

ESFA Funded

University

Funded

Protective Clothing

Equipment

Initial Skills Assessment

Apprenticeship Training

English

Maths

Additional Support

Exam Registration

End Point Assessment

Exam or End Point Re-takes

Certification

TOTAL

SECTION 4. Apprenticeship Summary - See also Annex A

UCLan Commitment Statement 180612 Page 12 of 73

Apprenticeship Training & Assessment Milestone Summary – this sets out the indicative schedule for each key element in this apprenticeship, where these

are and which organisation will be leading delivery of each stage. Dates may change in line with each apprentice’s progress. This also includes the outcomes of the initial assessments, any gaps in knowledge skills or experience or prior learning and confirms the need for English & maths as part of the apprenticeship.

ANNEX A Apprenticeship Summary Schedule

4.1. Employer Impact / Outcomes Measurement & Target

4.2. Initial Assessment Outcomes

Impact / Action

Prior Learning Accredited / Learning Gaps Prior Learning Accredited / Learning Gaps Prior Learning Accredited / Learning Gaps Prior Learning Accredited / Learning Gaps Prior Learning Accredited / Learning Gaps

4.3. Additional Learning Support Funding Source

Delivery Organisation

ESFA

ESFA

4.4. English and Maths Level Funding

Source Estimated Start Date

Estimated End Date

Delivery Organisation

ESFA mm/yyyy mm/yyyy

ESFA mm/yyyy mm/yyyy

UCLan Commitment Statement 180612 Page 13 of 73

Off the Job Elements This learning equates to the 20% minimum of the

job training required by all apprenticeships Hours Estimated Start Date

Delivery Organisation

On the Job Elements This summarises the broad timetable of on the job

knowledge, skills experience that the apprentice will need during their apprenticeship to support each module or

assignment Module / Assignment Qualification / Exam /Review

mm/yyyy

Module / Assignment Qualification / Exam /Review

mm/yyyy

Module / Assignment Qualification / Exam /Review

mm/yyyy

Module / Assignment Qualification / Exam /Review

mm/yyyy

Module / Assignment Qualification / Exam /Review

mm/yyyy

Module / Assignment Qualification / Exam /Review

mm/yyyy

Module / Assignment Qualification / Exam /Review

mm/yyyy

End Point Assessment mm/yyyy