Abstract
Responsibility and accountability are essential concepts that mentors and practice teachers need to explore as part of their role in supporting learning and assessment of students in practice. Mentors and practice teachers within the United Kingdom (UK) are required by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC 2008a) to demonstrate that they have met NMC (2008a) Standards to Support Learning and Assessment in Practice (SSLAP). This article is part of a series of eleven which relates to these standards of which this is part 8 and the final part that considers assessment in practice. It will provide a brief recap on the history of the development of the SSLAP followed by exploration of the responsibility, accountability and ethical issues of the mentor and practice teacher in relation to the assessment process along with application of the ethical principles. The sign off mentor role as well as ‘due regard’ will be discussed. The meaning of competence and partnership working when making assessment decisions will finally be explored. Much like the other two articles on assessment the issues discussed directly relate to the third domain and outcomes of the NMC (2008a) SSLAP named ‘Assessment and Accountability’.