Discover our new simplified logbook
Find out what’s changed for you and your students and what to do next.
Through our Strategy 2030, we’re redefining learning at ICAS. As part of this, we’ve simplified the Relevant Practical Experience (RPE) logbook and the processes around it. We explain what’s changed for you and your students and what to do next.
What’s new for students?
- It’s in Advantage – the new home for everything
Students can access the logbook through its new user-friendly portal in Advantage, the new home for everything they need throughout their training.
- New dashboard
The dashboard makes it easier for students to keep on top of their RPE, giving them a snapshot of progress and anything that needs their attention.
- Easy to use
The logbook uses a new, simplified process that makes it easier for students to log their RPE days and competencies.
- Reduced competencies
We’ve streamlined the core competencies that students need to demonstrate and log down to 39.
- Track days in employment
Students can now track and manage their days in employment within the logbook and pause for any long-term absence.
- Reviewer and counselling-member management
Students can now easily view, change and manage their designated reviewer and counselling member directly from the logbook.
- Automatic transfer
Any already logged days and any already approved competencies that map to the new system will automatically transfer from the student’s previous logbook to the new logbook. They’ll then be asked to ‘claim’ these days and competencies in the new system (a simple process we explain in the Fundamentals guidance, see below).
Students start with the Fundamentals
To help students get started we’ve created a new Fundamentals course with two modules:
- Our first module is a comprehensive guide to all aspects of Relevant Practical Experience and the day-to-day practicalities of using the new logbook. We’ll guide new students here as part of their ICAS onboarding.
- Our second module guides current students through claiming the Relevant Practical Experience days and competencies that have transferred from their previous logbook.
We’ve asked students who are transferring from the previous logbook to complete both modules before accessing their new logbook.
Students who applied to remain on the previous logbook
Students who successfully applied to remain on the previous logbook will also be able to access their logbook through Advantage. They can carry on logging hours and competencies as before. Final approval and sign off will be required by their counselling member.
For students who applied and have yet to hear back, we’ll be in touch by 12 September to confirm if their application has been successful. We have asked them not to update their logbook until they’ve heard from us.
What’s new for you?
- Putting you in control
You know your students and their work better than we do, which is why our new, simplified sign-off process puts you in control. Now, instead of sending their logbook to us, the student’s counselling member will have final review and sign off.
(Audit Qualification is still required to be submitted to us for final review. We’ll also periodically review all logbooks on a sample basis and provide feedback and action points.)
- Simplified sign-off process
Instead of building to one big annual reflective statement and review, our new, little-and-often approach involves signing off a short reflective statement for each competency demonstrated.
As well as being easier to manage, this new way of overseeing the logbook enables constructive conversations between counselling members / reviewers and their students.
- Competencies that apply to any role
We recognise that students work in a wide variety of roles, in a wide variety of organisations and can often change roles to gain experience across the business. That’s why we’ve ensured that our new, streamlined competencies are applicable to all students in all kinds of roles.
- Excel reporting (coming soon)
Soon you’ll also be able to download data from your students’ logbooks into Excel to help with reporting and monitoring of their progress.
- Change of RPE days for alternative routes
Our new logbook follows FRC guidelines and requires all students to record a minimum of 450 days of RPE over 3 years.
This also applies to those on alternative routes (such as the school-leaver route and RGU Graduate Apprenticeship route) who were previously required to record more than 450 days of RPE.
The training contract is at the employer’s discretion, so you can choose whether students are required to complete an approved period of more than 3 years as part of their training contract.
How to use the new logbook
Access your students' logbooks and learn more about the key logbook roles, responsibilities and tasks, and how to perform them.
