NMC consultation on Standards highlights the importance of high-quality, evidenced practice learning

On 20 November 2025, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) published proposals to consult on changes to its education standards, placing a renewed focus on strengthening practice learning for nursing and midwifery students. Following Council approval on 26 November 2025, the NMC will move towards a national consultation in early 2026.

At MyKnowledgeMap, we welcome this ongoing focus on the quality of students' practice learning. High-quality practice learning has always sat at the heart of safe, effective and person-centred care — and the proposals reinforce the need for better consistency, flexibility and visibility of learning across diverse placement settings.

Why practice learning is under the spotlight

The NMC’s review highlights a long recognised across education and practice: while many students benefit from excellent placements, practice learning experiences can vary significantly. Capacity pressures, workload challenges and the rising cost of living all affect students’ ability to fully engage and succeed in practice environments.

These findings underline the importance of robust practice learning frameworks, supported by digital tools that help students, supervisors and educators clearly evidence competence, confidence and progression.

Key proposed changes for nursing education

Among the proposed changes for nursing programmes are:

• A reduction in the overall required programme hours from 4,600 to a minimum of 3,600 hours, while retaining the 50/50 balance between theory and practice

• A new requirement for practice learning in community settings across health and social care

• Exploration of maximum thresholds for simulated practice learning, proportionate to any reduction in placement hours

These proposals signal a move away from a purely time-based approach towards a greater emphasis on meaningful learning opportunities and demonstrated competence, as well as a desire to enhance students' understanding of diverse care settings and their community-focused skills, and encourage engagement with a broader care context—something that digital practice portfolios are particularly well placed to support.

Proposed developments in midwifery education

For midwifery education, the NMC is exploring changes that respond directly to student and stakeholder concerns, including:

• Extending programme length to ensure sufficient time to meet learning outcomes

• A strengthened requirement to holistically assess competence and confidence in labour and birth when supporting 40 births

• Greater emphasis on care for women with additional and complex needs

• Exploration of a pre-qualifying placement to support transition into registered practice

These changes place increased importance on longitudinal assessment, reflective practice and holistic evidence — areas where structured ePortfolio approaches add significant value.

The role of digital practice portfolios

As practice learning becomes more flexible and diverse, the need for clear, auditable evidence of learning becomes even more critical. This is where solutions such as MyProgress ePortfolio play a key role.

MyProgress enables students to:

• Capture real-time evidence from placements across multiple settings

• Map learning directly to NMC standards and programme outcomes

• Reflect meaningfully on experiences, confidence and development

• Receive timely feedback from supervisors and assessors

For education providers and practice partners, this creates greater transparency, consistency and assurance — particularly important if programme structures and placement models evolve in line with the NMC’s proposals.

Looking ahead to consultation and implementation

Subject to consultation findings, the NMC has indicated that updated standards could be implemented from September 2026. This gives education providers time to reflect, engage and prepare — but it also highlights the need to start thinking now about how practice learning, assessment and evidence will be managed in a changing landscape.

At MyKnowledgeMap, we will continue working closely with universities, practice partners and professional bodies to support high-quality, inclusive practice learning to ensure that students are not only meeting standards, but are confident, capable, and ready for professional practice.

If you would like to explore how MyProgress ePortfolio can support evolving NMC requirements and strengthen practice learning across your programmes, we’d be happy to start the conversation, simply contact us.