From Framework to Practice: How Brighton's Physiotherapy Students Are Using the Digital CPAF

Placement assessment in physiotherapy has always come with its share of friction. Paper forms misplaced between clinic and campus, feedback captured in a rush and disconnected from any wider picture of progress, supervisors and students working from different versions of the same document. For students navigating multiple placements across three years of study, the experience could feel fragmented, and more of an administrative hurdle than a genuine learning tool.

The CPAF 2024, developed by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy in collaboration with universities, practice educators, and student representatives across the UK, was designed to change that. A single, standardised form used across all placements and all years of study, it replaced a patchwork of approaches with one consistent framework. MyKnowledgeMap brought it online through MyProgress, giving students, educators, and university staff a shared digital space to work within. For the full story of how the CPAF was developed and what MyProgress makes possible, see our earlier post.

A year on from launch, we caught up with users of the system at the University of Brighton to hear how the digital CPAF is playing out in real placements. Note that the University of Brighton refer to MyProgress as the ePAD (electronic Practice Assessment Document).

The View from Brighton

Tiffany Blackburn, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy and Practice Education Team Lead at the University of Brighton, has been involved in rolling out the digital CPAF across the programme. Here's what she has seen since going live:

"The ePAD (electronic Practice Assessment Document) has been received well by educators, students, and university lecturers . It has enabled an easily accessible area to view the CPAF form specific to each placement, as well as keeping an accurate view on placement hours and the overall placement journey for the student. It has made accessing information quicker and more efficient, so a time saving addition to a busy role"

Tiffany Blackburn, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy and Practice Education Team Lead at the University of Brighton

One screen, the whole cohort. Give physiotherapy educators an at-a-glance overview of every student's placement journey — from verified clinical hours to mid-point and end-of-placement assessments — make it easy to spot who's on track and who needs support with MyProgress.

A Student's Story

One final-year physiotherapy student at Brighton was among the first cohort to use the digital CPAF throughout their studies. Their experience reflects what the CPAF redesign set out to achieve. Rather than treating the form as something to be filled in and submitted, they describe returning to it consistently throughout each placement — using it to track goals, review reflections week by week, and look ahead to what each stage requires.

MyProgress puts physiotherapy students in control of their own placement journey, with a clear dashboard showing hours completed, what's due next, and quick access to every assessment form and level.

"My typical interaction would be consistently every week," they say, "whether that's completing my reflections, looking ahead or behind at each stage of my placement, or reviewing what I'm completing as part of my CPAF or the goals I'm working towards."

The platform was accessible via smart phone, tablet, or computer on placement, practical for the clinical environment, and they were quick to credit Brighton's preparation for making the transition straightforward. "The university was very useful at showing us the ePAD before we first used it, and from then we've had preparation sessions to keep us up to date. It's very easy to understand when things need to be done, with clear milestones for my halfway and full-way assessments."

MyProgress gives physiotherapy students and their practice educators a single, structured view of an individual placement — tracking hours, learning agreements, and every form from start to reflection, so everyone can see exactly what's been completed and what's still to do.

What the digital format changed most, though, was their relationship with their own progress. "Being able to use my ePAD to see my reflections on my goals, or on my halfway and full-way assessments through the weeks, has been really useful to understand and track how well I'm doing — how I've improved and where I can continue to develop."

That visibility extended into conversations with practice educators too. "It's been useful to show my ePAD to my educators — to demonstrate my improvements and bring in examples to strengthen discussions around my goals and assessments." Having a shared, structured record shifted those conversations: less reporting, more dialogue.

MyProgress lets practice assessors complete physiotherapy placement assessments directly on a tablet or mobile — even offline. Capture professional behaviours, competencies, and comments against recognised CSP and HCPC standards, with every response time-stamped and saved straight to the student's record.

Looking back across their time at Brighton, their reflection on what the digital record has meant is telling.

"Throughout my time using the ePAD — from being among the first students to use it, to now finishing my degree — it's been really useful being fully digital. Not just for tracking progress around grading, but for keeping everything in the same place. It's easier to track my own progress on goals, with clear action plans that help me get the most from each placement, which feeds into further reflections and improvements."

Student at the University of Brighton

What Comes Next

This student's experience is one story, but it reflects a pattern we're seeing across our partner universities. As more physiotherapy programmes move to the digital CPAF, the feedback from both students and educators points consistently in the same direction: clearer oversight, better conversations, and a stronger sense of continuity across a student's entire placement journey.

We're continuing to develop MyProgress in response to what we're hearing from institutions and students alike, and we're always glad to hear from programmes considering making the move.

To find out more about MyProgress and how it supports placement assessment across physiotherapy and allied health programmes, get in touch with the team here.