A very warm welcome to the Operating Department Practitioner (Integrated Degree) Apprenticeship at Canterbury Christ Church University. I’m Danni James, your Course Director, and the team and I are looking forward to supporting you as you train to become a registered Operating Department Practitioner. I’ll meet you in person during your welcome week, where we’ll get the course started together and introduce you to the team and your fellow apprentices.​

Danni James
Course Director

Your Teaching Timetable

Your course induction will continue in w.c 21 September 2026.

To help you plan your first few weeks, you can view an overview of the teaching activities for your course.

View your first semester teaching timetable.

On a mobile device, click the arrow next to “Search” at the top right of the page to view your timetable.

If your course is taught in groups, the overview will show activities for all groups. You will only need to attend sessions for your allocated group.

Once teaching begins, your individual timetable and group allocation will be available in MyTimetable provided you have completed online registration and created your computing account.

Your Year 1 Modules

Study Strategies

Biosciences for Operating Department Practice

Core Skills for Operating Department Practice

Clinical Skills 1 for Operating Department Practice

Key dates

Academic Calendar: 12-week Trimesters (long break)

View key dates for this Academic Calendar for 2026-27 including when teaching starts and finishes and when you break for holidays.

Welcome

Your welcome week is an essential part of starting the course. It’s where you’ll meet your course team and fellow apprentices, get an introduction to the university and its support services, and walk through how the apprenticeship will run across the next three years.

We’ll cover key information about your modules, placements, professional expectations as a future HCPC registrant, and how on-the-job and off-the-job learning fit together. Attending welcome week is important; the sessions are designed to set you up for success and you’ll be introduced to processes and people you’ll rely on throughout the course.

​You will also be allocated a Personal Academic Tutor (PAT). Your PAT is your main academic point of contact throughout the course.

They will support your academic and professional development, meet with you regularly, and lead Tripartite meetings in your workplace. These bring together you, your workplace mentor and the university to review your progress, celebrate what is going well and plan your next steps. You’ll meet your PAT during welcome week.​

Getting started

Occupational Health & Placement Preparation

Placement Information

InPlace

Once your first placement has been allocated, you will automatically receive an email with instructions on how to sign in to InPlace and access your placement information.

Occupational Health  

As part of starting your studies here at Canterbury Christ Church University, you will need to obtain occupational health clearance.

Students need to obtain occupational health clearance to ensure they are fit to practice. As an Operating Department Practice Apprentice this will be arranged by your employer. As such please contact your employer with any queries. 

Placement Badge 

On placement you will be required to wear a placement badge, which will have your course title and preferred first name obtained from your MyRecord account.

This placement badge is provided to you free of charge. You will be supplied with your placement badge once you have started your course. Please note, this is not your student ID card.  

Your Course

In your first year you will study four core modules:

  • Study Strategies
  • Biosciences for ODP
  • Core Skills for ODP
  • Clinical Skills 1 for ODP

Together these modules build the academic, scientific, professional and clinical foundations you will need to start safe practice in the operating department.

​Teaching is a mix of lectures, seminars, group work and practical sessions. You can expect interactive lectures to introduce key theory, seminars and workshops to discuss and apply ideas, and practical sessions in our clinical skills labs and simulation suite to practise core skills in a safe environment.

As the Sussex group, you will receive most of the lectures and seminars online with interactive elements and one day of the university weeks will be delivered at a hospital site in Sussex.

Your placements are organised by your workplace around your university weeks, in the first year they will have a focus on surgery and anaesthetic practices.

​The first few weeks are designed to settle you into university study and the apprenticeship. You will have introductory sessions for each of your first-year modules, time to get to know your cohort, library and academic skills inductions.

We will also start to introduce the HCPC Standards of Proficiency and the professional expectations of an Operating Department Practitioner.

Blackboard

​Your main online learning environment is Blackboard.

Each module has its own Blackboard site where you will find lecture materials, reading lists, assessment information and announcements.

You’ll be shown how to navigate Blackboard during welcome week, and we will also introduce you to other systems you will use during the course, including your e-portfolio for recording your progress throughout the course.

To help you prepare

​Before you start, it is worth exploring the University’s Learning Skills Hub. The Hub offers free short courses on academic writing, referencing, time management, working with sources and using digital tools effectively, all of which will help you settle quickly into degree-level study. You can find it through the Library and Learning Resources pages on the student website.

​A few practical things to do before you start:

  • Complete any pre-course paperwork sent to you by the university and your employer, including occupational health and DBS checks if these have not already been done.
  • Activate your university IT account so you can access email, Blackboard and library resources from day one.
  • Have a look through the recommended pre-reading below.

​In terms of equipment, you will need a reliable laptop or device that can access Blackboard and Microsoft 365 (Ms365 is provided free as part of your university account).

You do not need to purchase any specialist clinical equipment yourself; this is provided in our skills labs and in your workplace.​

Your Must Do Tasks

Once you have been invited to register for your course, there are some key tasks you'll need to complete to make sure you are ready to become a CCCU student. 

Registration invitations are sent towards the end of August. We'll send yours to the email address you used when you applied, so please check this inbox regularly to make sure you don't miss any important information.

Pre-course reading

You don’t need to read everything below before you start, but having a look at one or two of these will give you a strong head start. Many are available through the university library, both in print and as e-books.

​Professional standards (free to access online)

​College of Operating Department Practitioners (no date) College of Operating Department Practitioners. Available at: https://codp.org.uk (Accessed: 28 April 2026).

​Health and Care Professions Council (2024) Standards of conduct, performance and ethics. Available at: https://www.hcpc-uk.org/standards/standards-of-conduct-performance-and-ethics/ (Accessed: 28 April 2026).

​Health and Care Professions Council (2023) Standards of proficiency: Operating department practitioners. Available at: https://www.hcpc-uk.org/standards/standards-of-proficiency/operating-department-practitioners/ (Accessed: 28 April 2026).

​Academic skills

​Pears, R. and Shields, G. (2025) Cite them right: the essential referencing guide. 13th edn. Bloomsbury Academic.

​Operating department practice and applied science

​Al-Shaikh, B. and Stacey, S.G. (2023) Essentials of equipment in anaesthesia, critical care and perioperative medicine. 6th edn. Elsevier.

​Remo, C. and Farrington, G. (2025) Clinical pocket reference operating department practice with critical care. 4th edn. Clinical Pocket Reference.

​Rodger D, Henshaw K, Rawling P, Miller S, eds. Fundamentals of Operating Department Practice. 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press; 2022.

​Waugh, A. and Grant, A. (2022) Ross & Wilson anatomy and physiology in health and illness. 14th edn. Elsevier.​