Why you should read this article:

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To understand the importance of stakeholder involvement in developing nursing curricula

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To learn about the process of planning and gaining approval for a new nursing programme

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To recognise the benefits of nursing students’ involvement in the development of new education programmes

Stakeholder involvement is required in the development of any UK university nursing curricula, but there is little evidence focusing solely on the participation of nursing students in the development of such education programmes. This project evaluation reports on the experience of 12 pre-registration nursing students in designing a new learning disability nursing programme. The nursing students attended five online focus group meetings that contributed to the development of the new programme. A sample of the students then attended a final group meeting that was transcribed and analysed to evaluate their experience of the process. Several themes were identified: safe space, facilitative engagement, organisation and management, nursing student learning and development, the joy of being part of designing a new programme and designing a new programme during a pandemic. The project enabled nursing students to gain knowledge and skills in curriculum development.