2Reference
Standards the answers cite
The SJT feedback cites these documents. All are free to read online, so you can check any answer against its source.
HCPC Standards of conduct, performance and ethics
The regulator’s standards for everyone on the HCPC register, practitioner psychologists included, in ten short numbered sections. Read this one first. It is short, and it is what registered psychologists are held to.
HCPC: Standards of conduct, performance and ethics (in effect from 1 September 2024). Updated ; checked . Cited in 80 of the 100 scenarios.
HCPC Guidance on conduct and ethics for students
The same ten headings, written for students on approved programmes, trainee clinical psychologists included. It says “should” rather than “must” because the HCPC does not regulate students. Many rankings for a trainee rest on it: asking for help when you need it, raising a concern promptly, not claiming experience you do not have.
HCPC: Guidance on conduct and ethics for students (2024). Checked . Cited in 52 of the 100 scenarios.
HCPC Standards of proficiency: practitioner psychologists
What a practitioner psychologist must be able to do when they first register, with some standards for clinical psychologists only. Explanations cite it where a ranking turns on a clinical skill, such as a reasoned decision to continue, change or stop a treatment.
HCPC: Standards of proficiency – Practitioner psychologists (effective 1 September 2023). Checked . Cited in 15 of the 100 scenarios.
BPS Code of Ethics and Conduct
The professional body’s ethical framework, built on four principles: Respect, Competence, Responsibility and Integrity. Where the HCPC standards say what you must do, the BPS code explains the reasoning.
BPS: Code of Ethics and Conduct (2021). Updated ; checked . Cited in 31 of the 100 scenarios.
BPS Practice Guidelines
Much longer and more detailed guidance on psychological practice across settings and populations. Look things up in it rather than reading it end to end.
BPS: Practice Guidelines (third edition, 2017). Updated ; checked . Cited in 42 of the 100 scenarios.
BPS standards for assistant psychologists
What employers, supervisors and assistant psychologists should expect of each other. An assistant works under a practitioner psychologist and “cannot work independently of, or instead of” one, so rankings for an assistant send more decisions to the supervisor.
BPS: Expected standards for the recruitment and employment of assistant psychologists (June 2024). Checked . Cited in 2 of the 100 scenarios.
Also cited
Where a ranking rests on them, explanations also cite these.
HCPC and BPS guidance
- Guidelines on clinical supervision. BPS, 2010. 6 scenarios; checked .
- Confidentiality: guidance for registrants. HCPC, revised 2018. 4 scenarios; checked .
- Consent principles. HCPC, December 2025. 3 scenarios; checked .
- Maintaining professional boundaries. HCPC, web page. 3 scenarios; checked .
- Guidance on the use of social media. HCPC, 2024. 2 scenarios; checked .
- Working with interpreters: guidelines for psychologists. BPS, 2017. 2 scenarios; checked .
NHS and NICE
- The NHS Constitution for England. Department of Health and Social Care, 2015. 12 scenarios; checked .
- The Caldicott Principles. National Data Guardian, 2020. 5 scenarios; checked .
- Staying safe from suicide. NHS England, 2025, updated 2026. 3 scenarios; checked .
- Autism spectrum disorder in adults: diagnosis and management (CG142). NICE, 2012, updated 2021. 1 scenario; checked .
- Eating disorders: recognition and treatment (NG69). NICE, 2017, updated 2020. 1 scenario; checked .
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder and body dysmorphic disorder: treatment (CG31). NICE, 2005. 1 scenario; checked .
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (NG116). NICE, 2018. 1 scenario; checked .
Law and statutory guidance
- Mental Capacity Act 2005. Revised text. 8 scenarios; checked .
- Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026. Department for Education, March 2026. 6 scenarios; checked .
- Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of Practice. Department for Constitutional Affairs (now Ministry of Justice), 2007. 4 scenarios; checked .
- Care Act 2014. Revised text. 2 scenarios; checked .
- Care and support statutory guidance. Department of Health and Social Care, updated July 2025. 2 scenarios; checked .
- Equality Act 2010. Revised text. 2 scenarios; checked .
- Information Sharing Duty: statutory guidance for safeguarding organisations and their practitioners. Department for Education, September 2026. 2 scenarios; checked .
BPS Code of Human Research Ethics
Ethical standards for research with human participants: consent, deception, debriefing, withdrawal, confidentiality and risk. No scenario cites it. Read it if your application or interview involves research design.
BPS: Code of Human Research Ethics. Updated ; checked .
Why some citations give a heading, not a number
Explanations give a document’s own section number or letter where it has one, such as HCPC standard 1.9 or section E of the BPS standards for assistant psychologists. Some documents number nothing, among them the HCPC’s web pages and NHS England’s suicide prevention guidance, so the explanation names the heading instead.