Preceptorship
Preceptorship
Feature
Growing belonging through preceptorship in social care
Hampshire County Council’ s preceptorship programme has a vital role in helping newly qualified staff feel supported, connected and develop a strong sense of professional belonging. Here, members of the group reflect on it’ s successes.
P receptorship is currently a hot topic, especially with the upcoming launch of the National Preceptorship Quality Mark. While well-established in NHS settings, preceptorship remains relatively new in social care.
Social workers benefit from the structured Assessed and Supported Year in Employment( ASYE), but for allied health professionals and nurses in social care, formal early career support has historically been lacking. Hampshire County Council’ s preceptorship programme is helping to bridge that gap.
Expanding support beyond OTs
The council has a well-established preceptorship programme for newly qualified occupational therapists and last year we expanded the programme to include other professionals who might otherwise miss out on preceptorship opportunities.
In 2025, we welcomed nine participants: six occupational therapists from the Reablement Service; one occupational therapist from Short-Stay Services( nursing home-based); one occupational therapist from Isle of Wight Council; and one vision rehabilitation specialist( VRS) from the Reablement Service.
Over six months, we met monthly for threehour sessions, exploring topics aligned with RCOT’ s Career Development Framework’ s four pillars of practice( RCOT 2022). Each session was facilitated by a consultant occupational therapist and supported by an advanced practitioner( occupational therapist or vision rehabilitation specialist).
For those unfamiliar with the vision rehabilitation specialist role, we’ re fortunate to have several in our Reablement Service. They empower visually impaired adults to live independently by providing tailored training in mobility, daily living skills, communication, technology and social engagement.
Although not allied health professionals themselves, they work closely with occupational therapists, sharing a similar enabling ethos.
Building belonging across boundaries
Local councils often recruit small numbers of newly qualified occupational therapists, making it difficult to run a programme for just one person. By including staff from neighbouring organisations, we ensure everyone benefits from peer support and shared learning.
‘ I joined Hampshire County Council in 2004, as a newly qualified OT. At the time, I was only the second to be recruited and preceptorship wasn’ t yet an established concept,’ says Joy McLaggan, facilitating OT consultant.
‘ It’ s inspiring to see how far we’ ve come. Hampshire County Council’ s commitment to investing in newly qualified staff and ensuring they benefit from structured
D18 OTnews Extra March 2026