If you are undertaking an approved course you may be eligible to become a regulated Trainee. You can apply online at any time. And link to the approve courses and the portal sign in/ sign up pages.
Senior Practitioners and Practice Assessors can find guidance and example documents in the Resources section of your NRCPD Portal
As a Regulated Trainee, you are at the beginning of your professional career. Your knowledge and competencies are in development and it is important that you are well supported to assess and develop your personal and professional competencies to ensure you are able to manage assignments effectively.
This is achieved via specific supportive functions provided by experienced professionals who can assess your competence and scaffold your learning, in readiness for qualification and registration as a Registered Professional with NRCPD.
Historically, NRCPD has called the professional providing this assessment and support an ‘Endorsing Supervisor’.
NRCPD has now separated this role into two specific functions:
and
These functions may be provided by the same person, but both roles have clear distinctions.
Your Practice Assessor will be a trained professional who is qualified to assess and endorse your skills and competence as a Regulated Trainee in one or more of the following categories:
Practice Assessors are required to have the following qualifications and experience
As a regulated Trainee, you are required to upload evidence of an initial and, then, annual assessment of your competence (see attached guidance). The assessment will evidence competence as a Regulated Trainee in:
Following your assessment, you will receive support from your Senior Practitioner. This may be via face-to-face or online meetings, either one to one or in groups. It may also be in the form of email and other digital contact.
Senior Practitioners will be required to have:
Your Senior Practitioner will be a qualified and experienced Language Service professional, Registered with NRCPD, who is able to support and scaffold your development. The purpose of this role is to provide advice and guidance on how you can best develop your competence in a safe way; increasing your professional knowledge and experience in readiness for qualification and registration as a Registered Language Service Professional with NRCPD.
The following standards reflect the expected occupational standard of a Regulated Trainee Sign Language Interpreter, (TSLI) intralingual interpreter (TSLII) or translator (TSLT).
Regulated Trainees should not accept assignments in which the rights and liberties of participants will be affected by the outcome of the interaction or information contained within the source text.
If you are not sure if you should accept the assignment, please consult your Senior Practitioner.
The purpose of practice restrictions is to ensure the safety of participants and the regulated trainee. The nature of Intralingual Interpreting, is that the majority of assignments, are carried out as part of a team. Therefore, a Regulated Trainee Intralingual Interpreter has been registered with NRCPD for over 2 years, they may engage in Team provision in the above settings, only where an RSLI is present and is part of the team.
This is ONLY applicable to Regulated Intra-lingual Interpreters.
However, the following steps must be taken:
Regulated Trainee Intralingual Interpreters, are not permitted to provide sight translation of written text where the source language provides advice and guidance with reference to these settings. They may only do this where an RSLI is present. (See Regulated Trainee Translator Practice Restrictions)
Remote assignments refer to assignments where you are at a separate location to other participants and are providing interpreting via the use of digital technology.
For the purpose of this guidance, and in accordance with best practice guidance provided by professional associations, Regulated Trainees can undertake remote assignments that:
In all assignments, you should ensure that you have familiarised yourself with the platform being used, have the required equipment and have the necessary competency to interpret or translate in a manner appropriate to the technology being used.
Practice restrictions for Regulated Trainee Translators relate to the content of the document, the intended audience and the mode of translation (e.g. prepared/recorded or live from autocue)
Regulated Trainee Translators should not accept Live translation assignments until the year before they are due to qualify and register as an RSLT. During this final year as a regulated trainee, Translators should ensure that they have the appropriate support, either through team-interpreting with an RSLT or shadowing opportunities, to carry out live translations.
Regulated Trainee Translators should not accept assignments where they are requested to translate documents related to the following:
NB: Some medical information, such as fact sheets and information leaflets, created for the purpose of educating and informing the general public may be appropriate for Regulated Trainee Translators. Consideration should be given to the level of language in the source text and the time available for preparation before accepting the assignment – see ‘decision tree’ link
This list is not exhaustive. In all instances, the Regulated Trainee should consider what the impact of their translation may be, considering whether they have the necessary competencies to provide a safe and faithful translation of the source text.
Functioning Knowledge | Autonomy and Decision Making | Interaction Management | Practice Reflection and Development Planning |
---|---|---|---|
Has experience of applying interpreting and translation theories and models in practice. Is able to work without supervision and use these underpinning theories and models to inform their practice. Able to communicate how and where they have applied these theories and reflect on the success of their application. |
Works independently with planned supervision. Is able to assess their competency with some support when considering accepting assignments in new or unfamiliar domains Is able to make appropriate professional and practice decisions, but needs some support in being confident that these were the most appropriate and safe choices. Is aware of legislative and best practice guidance to inform their decision making, but needs some support in reflecting on considering the impact of these on decision making. Is aware of how their presence, as an interpreter, impacts the interaction but may continue to focus on functional boundaries with developing understanding of actions to be taken to respond to and reflect interaction norms. |
Has independently managed two-way interactions and reflected on the efficacy of actions taken Is able to process between languages where language used is familiar and produced with sufficient time to seek clarification. Is making some use of simultaneous interpreting, using consecutive only in the most appropriate settings, rather than relying on it as a coping strategy. Has an understanding of social norms within interactions and how these can be conveyed effectively in the target language, and give consideration to where socio-cultural bridging may be required. Is beginning to respond to and convey social norms within interactions, leading to smooth two-way interactions between participants. |
Has been engaged in practice reflections. Reflections tend to be competency and skills based, supported by their training provider, mentors, Practice Assessor and Senior Practitioner. Recognises competency to include ability to manage demands and mitigate against these. Is able to self identify areas for improvement, but requires support to develop further. Is able to apply active monitoring in some interactions. Is able to reflect on professional response and instigate necessary repairs. Is developing greater reflexive awareness of their intrapersonal and emotional response to aspects of the assignment but needs support from Senior Practitioner in considering the impact of these and ways that these responses can be managed and utilised effectively. |
Functioning Knowledge | Autonomy and Decision Making | Interaction Management | Practice Reflection and Development Planning |
---|---|---|---|
has experience of applying interpreting and translation theories and models in practice. Is able to work without supervision and use these underpinning theories and models to inform their practice. Able to communicate how and where they have applied these theories and reflect on the success of their application. |
Is able to take some action to respond to the assignment dynamics and is able to give clear reasoning for these decisions. has experience of applying and reflecting on ethical decision making. Is able to consider the wider context, including legislation, developing professional practices and the interaction dynamics to inform their decision making. Uses their knowledge of social norms and the roles of participants to inform their decision making. |
Has independently managed two-way interactions and reacted effectively, either during or after the assignment, considering efficacy of actions taken, making plans for future development. Beginning to show ability to process, accurately, even under semantic or environmental pressure , with some reliance on extended processing time (time-lag), using contextual information and clarification to assure meaning. Is able to manage some sustained one-way interpretation, without excessive miscue or omissions. where the subject matter is familiar, they are supported and there is opportunity to seek clarification. Is becoming proficient in responding to and conveying social norms within interactions. Two-way interpreted interactions are beginning to reflect those expected norms. |
Is engaged in practice reflection, with some support from their training provider, mentors, Practice Assessor and Senior Practitioner. Reflections and evaluation tend to be competency and skills based, although much of the reflection is now being led by the regulated trainee. Has an increased awareness of their own competency and is able to suggest ways that these can be further developed. Is able to reflect on professional response and instigate necessary repairs. Is able to reflexively identify intrapersonal and emotional response to aspects of the assignment as they occur. Has developed internal coping strategies to manage these and is able to reflect on these strategies with Senior Practitioner. |
Functioning Knowledge | Autonomy and Decision Making | Interaction Management | Practice Reflection and Development Planning |
---|---|---|---|
has extended experience of applying interpreting and translation theories and models in practice and is able to actively monitor, evaluate and adapt their practice during assignments. Is able to work without supervision and use these underpinning theories and models to inform their practice. Able to communicate how and where they have applied these theories and reflect on the success of their application. |
Takes immediate action to respond to the assignment dynamics and is able to give clear reasoning for these decisions. Is beginning to be intuitive in their ethical decision making and is able to effectively communicate their reasoning. Is able to consider the wider context, including legislation, developing professional practices and the interaction dynamics to inform their decision making. Uses their knowledge of social norms in interactions to inform their decision making. |
Has independently managed two-way interactions and reacted effectively, either during or after the assignment, considering efficacy of actions taken, making plans for future development. Is able to process accurately, even under semantic or environmental pressure , with some reliance on extended time-lag, using contextual information and clarification to assure meaning. Is able to manage sustained one-way interpretation without excessive miscue or omissions. Uses effective coping strategies to manage interactions, including one way sustained interpretation. Is proficient in responding to and conveying social norms within interactions. Two-way interpreted interactions reflect those expected norms, with minimal intrusion. |
Continues to be engaged in practice reflection, with support from their training provider, mentors, Practice Assessor and Senior Practitioner. Content of sessions tends to be led by the regulated trainee. Reflective sessions continue to have some elements of competency based evaluation, however holistic reflection and debrief is also an intrinsic part of reflective sessions. Supervision is beginning to reflect that of Professional Supervision, rather than skills based discussions. Has an increased awareness of their own competency and aand is able to suggest ways that these can be further developed. Is able to reflect on professional response and instigate necessary repairs. Is able to reflexively identify intrapersonal and emotional response to aspects of the assignment as they occur. Has developed internal coping strategies to manage these and is able to reflect on these strategies with Senior Practitioner. |
Functioning Knowledge | Autonomy and Decision Making | Translation Management | Practice Reflection and Development Planning |
---|---|---|---|
Has theoretical and some applied knowledge of interpreter theories and modes. Has had increasing opportunity to apply theory in practice. Has developing knowledge of 'genre' and is able to recognise key language features of each genre on sight. Has produced professional BSL translations to recorded video. Developing a theoretical understanding of how the linguistic features of fixed written English differs from features of spontaneous speech. |
Works independently with planned supervision. Is able to assess their competency with some support when considering accepting assignments in new or unfamiliar domains Is able to analyse language for both recorded and sight translations and self advocate where more time is required for preparation. Is able to make appropriate professional and practice decisions, but needs some support in being confident that these were the most appropriate and safe choices. Is aware of legislative and best practice guidance to inform their decision making, but needs some support in reflecting on considering the impact of these on decision making. Is aware of how the genre of a text and the intended audience impacts the potential translation of the source text. But, may not fully conceive how this can be reflected in its entirety in the translation. |
Has independently managed translation requests, with experience of analysing language and making decisions around the reflection of intention, register and tone. Is able to process between languages where language used is familiar and there is sufficient time to carry out preparation. Is becoming increasingly able to produce sight translations where time is given for preparation, including language analysis and research. Is beginning to respond to and convey linguistic features within sight translations , leading to faithful translations of the source text. Is developing their ability to produce live translations, from autocue. Has an understanding of how this differs from fixed text. due to the fact that this is reflective of spontaneous speech |
Has been engaged in practice reflections. Reflections continue to be competency and skills based, supported by their training provider, mentors, Practice Assessor and Senior Practitioner. Recognises competency to include ability to manage demands and mitigate against these. Is able to identify how these may be have improved outcomes. Is able to self identify areas for improvement, but requires support to develop further. Is able to apply some reflexive considerations but continues to require support to explore these fully. Is able to reflect on professional response and instigate necessary repairs. Is developing greater reflexive awareness of their intrapersonal and emotional response to aspects of the assignment but continues to need support from Senior Practitioner in considering the impact of these and ways that these responses can be managed and utilised effectively. |
Functioning Knowledge | Autonomy and Decision Making | Translation Management | Practice Reflection and Development Planning |
---|---|---|---|
Is developing an applied knowledge and understanding of interpreter models and theories. Is able to reflect on the impact these models and theories during assignments. Has a good understanding of 'genre' and is able to easily identify key language features of each genre on sight. Needs support to identify more subtle genre features. Has produced professional BSL translations to recorded video and sight translations. Has developing knowledge of how the linguistic features of written English differ from features of spontaneous speech. |
Works independently with planned supervision, with increasing autonomy. Is able to assess their competency with when considering accepting assignments in new or unfamiliar domains Is able to analyse language for both recorded and sight translations and self advocate where more time is required for preparation. Is able to make appropriate professional and practice decisions, and shows increasing confident in justifying that these were the most appropriate and safe choices. Is aware of legislative and best practice guidance to inform their decision making, and is able to consider the impact of these on decision making. Is aware of how the genre of a text and the intended audience impacts the potential translation of the source text. |
Has independently managed translation requests, with experience of analysing language and making decisions around the reflection of intention, register and tone. Is able to process between languages where language used is familiar and there is sufficient time to carry out preparation. Is able to take necessary steps to clarify meaning, either through seeking clarification, and/or undertaking effective research. Is able to produce sight translations where time is given for preparation, including language analysis and research. Responds to and conveys linguistic features within sight translations , leading to faithful translations of the source text. Is becoming confident in producing live translations, from autocue. Has good understanding of how this differs from fixed text and is beginning to reflect the features of spontaneous speech in their live translations. |
Has been engaged in practice reflections. Reflections continue to be competency and skills based, supported by their training provider, mentors, Practice Assessor and Senior Practitioner. Further discussion is held regarding their management of translations and the trainee is able to lead on some of these discussions, using reflective methodology. Recognises competency to include ability to manage demands and mitigate against these. Is able to identify how these may be have improved outcomes. Is able to self identify areas for improvement, but requires support to develop further. Is able to reflect on professional response and instigate necessary repairs. Is able to reflexively identify intrapersonal and emotional response to aspects of the assignment as they occur. Has developed internal coping strategies to manage these and is able to reflect on these strategies with Senior Practitioner. |
Functioning Knowledge | Autonomy and Decision Making | Translation Management | Practice Reflection and Development Planning |
---|---|---|---|
Has applied knowledge and understanding of interpreter models and theories. Is reflexive in their considerations of how this theory is applied in practice. Has applied knowledge of 'genre' and is able to easily identify key language features of each genre on sight as well as begin to analyse more subtle features of genre. Has produced professional BSL translations to recorded video and sight translations. Has applied knowledge of how the linguistic features of written English differ from features of spontaneous speech. |
Works independently, effectively managing assignment requests and applying their knowledge and understanding to produce faithful translations. Is able to assess their competency with when considering accepting assignments in new or unfamiliar domains Is able to analyse language for both recorded and sight translations and self advocate where more time is required for preparation. Is able to make appropriate professional and practice decisions, and shows confidence in justifying that these were the most appropriate and safe choices.
Is aware of legislative and best practice guidance to inform their decision making, and is able to consider the impact of these on decision making. Is aware of how the genre of a text and the intended audience impacts the potential translation of the source text. |
Has independently managed translation requests, with experience of analysing language and making decisions around the reflection of intention, register and tone. Is able to process between languages even where language used is unfamiliar and there is sufficient time to carry out preparation. Is able to take necessary steps to clarify meaning, either through seeking clarification, and/or undertaking effective research. Is able to produce sight translations where time is given for preparation, including language analysis and research. Responds to and conveys linguistic features within sight translations , leading to faithful translations of the source text. Is confident in producing live translations, from autocue. Has good understanding of how this differs from fixed text and is able to reflect the features of spontaneous speech in their live translations. |
Has been engaged in practice reflections. Whilst discussion continues around competency and skills, these discussions are now as a result of the trainees reflections and are increasingly led by the trainee. Recognises competency to include ability to manage demands and mitigate against these. Is able to identify how these may be have improved outcomes. Is able to self identify areas for improvement, and is able to consider suitable routes to achieve this improvement. Is able to apply reflexivity in their consideration of practice. Is able to take mitigating actions during live translations to review and repair their production. Is able to reflect on professional practice and instigate necessary repairs. Has clear plans for their own, professional development, beyond qualification. Is able to reflexively identify intrapersonal and emotional response to aspects of the assignment as they occur. Has developed internal coping strategies to manage these and is able to reflect on these strategies with Senior Practitioner. |
Yes. However, you can choose to have a separate Senior Practitioner.
NRCPD is currently developing a list of Practice Assessors and Senior Practitioners. We will soon be making specific training available to increase the pool of Practice Assessors and Senior Practitioners.
For now, we recommend engaging with the assessor of your specific course as both your Practice Assessor and Senior Practitioner.
For more information please email enquiries@nrcpd.org.uk
Yes. Course tutorials are a good place to reflect on your development and plan your progression.
Yes. We only need the dates of your review meetings and confirmation that these meetings have taken place.
Your Senior Practitioner will confirm the details on their Senior Practitioners Portal
Yes. The assessments must have been signed off, by your practice assessor, within the last three months before your registration application.
Yes. You will be able to upload the completed assessment mark sheet(s) as part of your application.
You can upload confirmation from your senior practitioner/practice assessor that you are awaiting certification to upgrade to registered status.