44-508607 Personal and Professional Development Portfolio Assignment Brief 2025

ASSESSMENT OVERVIEW

The aim of this assessment is to support students to become independent and reflective practitioners; knowledgeable of the requirements to work within their chosen sector and able to demonstrate the skills to develop themselves and the competencies required for professional  practice, as both a graduate and throughout their career

• The assessment for this module is a reflective portfolio (equivalent to 5000 words) which is the culmination of the student’s engagement with and reflection on, a range of personal and professional development activities throughout the semester.
• The portfolio should be underpinned by professional competencies and standards relevant to the student’s area of professional practice e.g. AfN, IFST or other – course-specific guidance will be provided. 
•  Students should provide evidence of their activities and reflect on their progression with both personal and professional development, aligned with graduate attributes and the knowledge, skills and behaviours relevant to practice within their sector.
•  The assessment submission will consist of a portfolio which includes evidence of activities PLUS a reflective conclusion on their experiences and development outcomes.

The portfolio should consist of the following:

•  Introduction – Personal Appraisal and Action Plan (500 words)
• Development Activities – evidence and reflection – students should include at least four of the following equivalent to 4000 words in total*
• Work experience e.g. enterprise residency, applied project or other
• CPD – knowledge and skills development
• Carbon literacy training and certification
• Recruitment and selection 
•  Sector awareness and career planning
• Reflective Conclusion (500 words)
• References (no wordcount)

All work should be prepared and submitted via word document and/or Pebble Pad portfolio.  Portfolio structure will be guided by the module tutors, relevant to specific course needs, but the content and design within the portfolio is up to the individual; students can include written, audio, video and visual content within their portfolio.

GUIDANCE for PORTFOLIO STRUCTURE

Students will create their portfolio template during the first timetabled seminar for the module – it is ESSENTIAL that students attend this session.

A portfolio template, including key headings will be provided however the content and design within each section should reflect individual student experiences and students are encouraged to be creative and innovative in their presentation.
Reflective practice frameworks and approaches for recording and capturing the outcomes from engagement with development activities will be provided throughout the module.

• ASSESS – Where are you now and what do you want to do?
• PLAN—What are the opportunities for development; how and when will it happen?
• IMPLEMENT—do it… and don’t forget to record & collect evidence of what you are doing!
• EVALUATE—review and reflect… what did you learn, what went wrong, what went well and what could you do differently? Gaps for future development?

The following headings should be used as a guide for portfolio content with additional information provided by module tutors and relevant to professional practice requirements:

• Introduction to Portfolio – Personal Appraisal & Action Plan (500 words)
  What’s your story?
  o  Reviewing current strengths and weaknesses (knowledge, skills, behaviours and experience); SWOT analysis or similar, plus completed skills mapping; where relevant this should include reference to professional competencies and standards for professional practice. You are not expected to be an expert, and this should be honest appraisal of where you are at the start of the module, highlighting gaps and areas for development.
  o  An action plan for development – set key objectives based around knowledge, skills, behaviours and experience that you want to develop relevant to professional expectations and your future employability.
• Work experience e.g. enterprise residency, enhanced applied project, self-sourced or combination
  o    Students will be provided with the opportunity to complete in-module work experience – they should provide evidence of engagement and a reflective account of their learning from that experience.
  o    Students can also source their own work experience activities and are encouraged to use existing work or volunteering alongside the in-module experience.
• CPD Activities – Knowledge & Skills Development
  o    Organisational development, personal development and life-long learning are essential aspects of professional practice.
  o    Students are encouraged to engage in a range of opportunities to develop sector relevant knowledge and skills; this might include reading and research, webinars, podcasts, short courses through LinkedIn Learning and other providers relevant to the students area of professional practice.
  o    Activities that allow students to explore – confidence, motivation, time management, managing stress – and relevant graduate attributes.
  o    Students should keep a record of CPD activities and reflect on their contribution to both personal and professional development.
• Carbon Literacy Training and Certification
  o    An understanding of sustainability, low carbon futures and how this impacts the health of both people and planet is essential for responsible professional practice in all sectors.
  o    Students will have the opportunity to complete certified carbon literacy training and reflect on relevance to the knowledge, skills and behaviours relevant to their sector – an excellent addition to their CV.
• Recruitment and Selection
  o    In today’s highly competitive employment market it is important that students (graduates) possess and can demonstrate all the necessary skills, knowledge and behaviours that will give them a competitive edge. 
  o    Through completion of a search, application and selection process reflect upon your experiences drawing on your portfolio of evidence that should include evidence of search for suitable placement or graduate role, application for that role including CV, cover letter and application form, and results from the engagement in a selection.
• Sector Awareness and Career Planning
  o  In today’s highly competitive employment market it is important that students/graduates can demonstrate appreciation of all the necessary skills, knowledge and behaviours that will give them a competitive edge and how to present these through external engagement and presentation e.g. CVs, social media profiles and other. 
  o   Draw upon relevant background information with the support of research and academic literature to give an insight into your industry, appreciation of the responsibilities of employers, management and employees, the type of individual it employs (skills, knowledge, qualifications etc), and required graduate attributes required in your sector.
  o   Guest speakers, industry specific case studies and relevant events can be used to inform reflections.
•  Reflective Conclusion (500 words)
  o    A narrative conclusion to the portfolio, critically reflecting on overall development throughout the module and plans for the future – there should be clear links with relevant competencies and professional practice requirements.
• References (no word count)
  o   Academic literature and other materials that have contributed to your development e.g. specific knowledge, skills, behaviours and experiences
  o    References for reflective theory and frameworks that have helped you understand the process of reflection and requirements for professional development
  o   References for professional competencies and standards for professional practice
  o  References for graduate capabilities, attributes and employability
  o  Additional as relevant to your course requirements.

NOTE: Many of the development activities will be supported through classroom sessions and guided independent learning so if student engage fully with the module this will enable their portfolio development throughout.

GUIDANCE FOR SUBMISSION: all work should be submitted via Blackboard submission point before the submission deadline. Additional guidance will be provided on submission formats by module tutors relevant to the requirements of your course.