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Development Needs Analysis Tool (DNAT)

Development Needs Analysis Tool (DNAT)

The Development Needs Analysis Tool (DNAT) is designed to help you reflect on your current job role and identify areas where further training could enhance or develop your skills. It utilizes the knowledge, skills, and behaviour (KSB) statements from the framework, organised under the pillars of practice, to assess your level of practice. A DNAT is available for each level of the framework.

To assist with your assessment, a RAG (Red, Amber, Green) rating scale is employed to evaluate your current knowledge and skills. You can also customise the DNAT by adding additional role or profession specific KSBs from relevant competency frameworks using the provided blank template.

Upon completion of the DNAT, you will have a list of specific KSBs you wish to develop, along with evidence statements to demonstrate your competence. It is recommended that you discuss your DNAT with your line manager to jointly agree on your learning and development needs, as well as to update your Personal  Development Plan (PDP).

If you plan to complete the DNAT in full, it will take approximately three hours. It is advisable to complete one pillar at a time, which should take about 45 minutes to an hour per pillar. 

To save your responses, you must be signed into your Office 365 account. For further instructions, please refer to the guidance document. 

The DNAT is accessible in different formats to suit your learning needs:


How do I complete the DNAT?

To help you get started, watch this short video guide. Access the video transcript. You can also review an example DNAT

We have also created a step-by-step guide to help you get started with the Development Needs Analysis Tool (DNAT). This guide will walk you through the process, ensuring you can navigate the tool effectively and make the most of your assessment.

 

 

 

 

 

Tailor the development needs analysis report to meet your needs.

Tailoring allows you to create different versions of your completed DNAT. You can choose between an email version and/or a print version. The report will summarise the information you've added to the DNAT and will be provided in an editable Word document format.

Once you have completed the DNAT and submitted your responses, instructions on how to print a PDF version will be provided.

For further guidance on tailoring your report, please read this Sway.

Select the Sign Off option/s relevant to you.

You can use the DNAT to support you with your appraisal and personal development review (PDPR) process, while also providing evidence of your ongoing CPD and to evidence working at advanced level for local sign off purposes. 
A Sign Off template is built into the DNAT report, allowing you to easily email it to your line manager, practice assessor, or other third parties.

Select which Pillar you would like to review.
 
You can complete all the pillars at once or individually. If you choose to work on them one at a time, you can save your progress by selecting the submit button at the end of each set of questions. This will send you an emailed report summarising the information you've entered. 

After submitting, you can easily select other pillars to continue your analysis at the end of each set of review questions.

Review each KSB and rate your level of confidence using the RAG rating scale. Give careful thought to your assessment and how you might demonstrate proficiency of the KSBs.

  • RED - Require education, learning and development relating to most or all of the knowledge, skills and behaviour statements.
  • AMBER - Require education and development relating to some aspects of the knowledge, skills and behaviour statements.
  • GREEN - Are confident already and can effectively demonstrate your knowledge, skills and performance relating to the knowledge, skills and behaviour statements.

Provide a plan to achieve your identified learning need.  

This should include: 

  • Specific steps you will take to address the need  
  • Resources or support you will utilise  
  • Strategies for implementation  
  • A timeline for achieving your goals   

You may find the action plan template helpful with this.  

As part of the assessment process, you will be asked to provide evidence for the knowledge, skills, and behaviours (KSBs) in which you have rated yourself as proficient.

Your evidence should be clear, concise, and directly relevant to the specific KSB. It should detail your relevant learning and how it is applied in your practice, demonstrating evidence-based and contemporary practice.

You can source evidence from various areas of your practice. Examples include:

  • Reflective Account: Analyse an experience in practice or education, typically around 250 words, using a reflective model such as Gibbs or Schön.
  • Case-based discussions: Structured discussion with peer/supervisor of a case to explore key issues, challenges and decision-making processes.
  • Supervised Practice: Observations and feedback from your supervisor.
  • Reflective Discussion/Clinical Supervision Activity: Document highlights from discussions that demonstrate relevant learning and its application to KSBs.
  • Feedback from Colleagues and Service Users: Include feedback that outlines your strengths, areas for improvement, and how these relate to the KSBs.
  • Account of Training and Education Undertaken: Provide an explanation of how your self-directed learning is relevant to the KSB.
  • Produced Materials: Include case studies, critical reviews, teaching materials, presentations, or reports you have created.
  • Published Work: Any relevant publications that support your proficiency.

You may find that a single piece of evidence can address multiple KSBs, even across different pillars, as there are some overlaps in the KSB statements.

Provide evidence of your proficiency. 

Once you have worked through all the KSBs for a Pillar then you will come to the Pillar summary section. You will now have the choice to submit and save or continue analysis by selecting another Pillar. 

At this point, you can use the blank Development Needs Analysis Tool (DNAT) to document any other university modules or competency statements related to the Pillar. You can find the blank DNAT available here.
To submit and save your responses, please ensure you are signed into your Office 365 account. 

For more guidance on saving please review this Sway.

Important Note: If you select a Pillar that you have already reviewed or completed, your session will end, and your results will be automatically emailed to you (provided you entered your email address). You can return to previous sections at any time by selecting the BACK button.

To continue your analysis, please select the next Pillar you would like to review.

The next step is to take some time to reflect on your learning needs assessment and complete the action planning and priority rating tool. This will assist you in planning and prioritising your development.
It can also be beneficial to discuss your learning and development needs with your line manager or practice assessor and update your Personal Development Plan (PDP) accordingly.

Your feedback is important to us and will help us to continually improve our resources. 

Please complete this survey to let us know what you think, thanks.

You can access the online DNAT by selecting the orange box at the top of this section. 

Important - please read the information below before accessing the tool.

Development Needs Analysis Privacy Notice 

Why do we process this personal data?

NES processes personal data of health and social care staff within Scotland who wish to use the Development Needs Analysis Tool (DNAT). 

What personal data does the Development Needs Analysis Tool use?

Data we collect includes your email address, and your development needs.

Legal Basis

The legal basis NES uses for processing your personal data can be found under UK GDRP Article 6(1)(e) – necessary for the purpose of a task in the public interest. This can be found in the NHS Education for Scotland Order 2002, which states that NES should make available “facilities for education, research and training.” (Section 4(1)(a))

Data transfers outside the UK

All data is stored within the UK or EU.

Automated Decision making

Individuals will not be subject to automated decision making within the Development Needs Analysis Tool.

Retention

Data will be held for no more than 4 months by NES to allow for usage stats to be gathered. After this time it will be deleted by NES.

More information:

Information about your rights, how to make a complaint, and how to contact the NES Data Protection Officer can be found in the NES Privacy Notice.