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Implementing the Foundation Pharmacist Training Year 2025/26

In January 2021, the GPhC published the revised Standards for the Initial Education and Training of Pharmacists. The first students to graduate against these new learning outcomes will start their foundation training year, previously known as the pre-reg year, in July 2025.

Some changes are already under way to prepare for this: 

  • Universities are rolling out revised MPharm undergraduate degrees that are aligned to the new learning outcomes and standards.
  • We are taking on new responsibilities, delegated by the GPhC, for the quality management of all foundation training sites in England.
  • Together with partners and stakeholders, we are working to develop our approach for the quality management of foundation training for all trainees from summer 2025.

This page provides up-to-date information on the implementation of the new standards and learning outcomes in the foundation training year from 2025. Topics covered include: Getting ready for the Foundation Training Year 2025/26, Funding for the Foundation Training Year 2025/26 and frequently asked questions about funding. 

Update on England Foundation Trainee Pharmacist Programme 2025/26 Training Offer Provision

All foundation trainee pharmacists entering the programme in 2025 will have access to a core training offer provided by NHS England, which NHS England will procure for the 2025/26 training year onwards. 

NHS England has undertaken stakeholder engagement across all sectors of practice via a series of workshops to develop the specification for the training offer and its procurement:

  • This included reviewing the new GPhC Learning Outcomes in the 2021 Standards for the Initial Education and Training of Pharmacists to identify the areas of learning that should be prioritised and focused on in the training offer, with reference to what would be most challenging to deliver within the workplace. 
  • It was agreed that the NHS England offer should focus on supporting trainees to develop the skills and knowledge to be able to demonstrate the learning outcomes in practice.

The training offer will be designed to support trainees across all sectors of practice and will bring together trainees based in different sectors to learn together, and will include supporting the development of prescribing skills and capabilities, to further develop the knowledge and skills gained during the MPharm.

The training offer will include:

  • Induction to orientate trainees to the programme 
  • First aid training
  • A series of facilitated local learning sets throughout foundation training, which will bring a group of learners together to focus on a range of themes linked to the priority learning outcomes identified through stakeholder engagement. 
  • Creation of communities of practice for trainees, to provide additional support to develop their clinical practice.   

The training offer will not include:

  • Sector specific training relating to service provision. It is expected that any training provision related to the specific needs of individual organisations or employers will continue to be provided by them, to ensure that trainee pharmacists work safely and effectively. 
  • Specific registration assessment preparation including mock assessments. 
  • Specific face to face teaching on clinical therapeutic areas. It should be noted that the online Trainee Pharmacist Learning e-resources are available to all trainees and include a range of clinical therapeutic topics to support trainees develop their knowledge in this area.

NHS England will undertake preliminary market engagement to inform prospective suppliers about the upcoming tender and process. A preliminary market engagement notice will be issued in later Summer / Autumn 2024.

Getting ready for the Foundation Training Year 2025/26

Please refer to the resources below for key updates on the changes that will be implemented for the 2025 foundation training year. These include details of:

  • How all training posts must be entered into, and recruited through, the National Recruitment Scheme (Oriel) website
  • An overview of key timelines and deadlines for using the National Recruitment Scheme (Oriel) system
  • The planned requirements for training sites relating to Designated Prescribing Practitioners and access to a prescribing learning environment
  • Multi-sector rotations, and when they will become compulsory in the foundation training year

Useful resources

If you are planning to recruit a foundation trainee pharmacist for 2025/26 (2024 intake), please refer to the resources below:

Funding for the Foundation Training Year 2025/26  

As part of the implementation of the reforms to the IETP, we are harmonising the funding available to all foundation training sites hosting a foundation trainee pharmacist.  

The level of funding for each site employing a foundation trainee pharmacist in the 2025/26 training year will be £26,500 per foundation trainee pharmacist.  

This funding will be:    

  • Consistent across all sectors of practice and all regions of England  

  • A contribution to all costs of hosting a trainee, including supervision, administration and salary costs.   

Where a training site arranges a reciprocal multi-sector rotation with another site, with trainees being exchanged between two sites, it is intended that all of the funding is retained by the site employing the trainee, and reciprocal supervision is provided when a trainee rotates into the other site.  

Where a training site does not have access to a reciprocal rotation with another sector, they may use a portion of the funding to pay another organisation as a placement fee, for example to secure a rotation with access to a prescribing environment and Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP).   

In addition to this funding, we will provide access to a consistent funded training offer available to all trainee pharmacists across all sectors and regions in England.

For more information, please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions at the end of this page.

Please contact england.traineepharmacist@nhs.net with any further questions.

Funding 2025/26: Frequently Asked Questions

Please read the FAQs below for more information on funding for 2025/2026 trainee foundation pharmacists (previously pre-registration pharmacists). Contact england.traineepharmacist@nhs.net with any further questions. 

What is the funding for the Trainee Pharmacist Foundation year 2025/26?

The level of funding for each site employing a foundation trainee pharmacist in the 2025/26 training year will be £26,500 per foundation trainee pharmacist.

Why are these changes being made?

In January 2021, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) published the revised Standards for the Initial Education and Training of Pharmacists.

This means, from September 2026, all newly registered pharmacists who have been educated under the new standards will enter the workforce with the training, skills and confidence to provide a range of clinical care to patients, including prescribing of medicines.

NHS England is currently working to implement these reforms in England, with major changes happening in the 2025/26 foundation training year (previously known as the pre-registration training year).

As part of the changes, for the first time, in the 2025/26 training year, all foundation training sites will be required to meet the same quality standards, and NHS England is taking on new responsibilities, delegated by the GPhC, for the quality assurance of all foundation training sites.

As a result, to support provision of an equitable offer to all trainees, we are harmonising the funding available to all foundation training sites hosting a foundation trainee pharmacist (previously known as pre-reg pharmacist).

This funding will be:  

- Consistent across all sectors of practice and all regions of England

- A contribution to all costs of hosting a trainee, including supervision, administration and salary costs. 

When will this funding be available?

This funding will be available for training sites employing a foundation trainee pharmacist for the 2025/26 foundation training year onwards.

Will NHS England set the salary that a trainee pharmacist must be paid?

No, each employer must work to its own organisational requirements relating to salary of a foundation trainee pharmacist.

Do I have to recruit through the National Recruitment Scheme (Oriel) for the 2025/26 foundation training year?

Yes, for the 2025/26 foundation training year, all foundation trainee pharmacists must be recruited through the National Recruitment Scheme (Oriel) system.

There will be no arrangements for approval of training sites or funding of training sites outside of this process.

How will the foundation trainee pharmacist funding be paid?

For employers in the NHS Managed Sector (e.g. NHS Trusts ) the existing payment mechanism will continue.

For community pharmacy employers, the payment mechanism will continue to be via the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) Manage Your Service (MYS) system.

What else is being offered?

NHS England will provide access to a consistent, funded training offer in the foundation training year, which will be available to all foundation trainee pharmacists across all sectors and regions. The full specification is still subject to further development, but will cover the following:

- Induction Day to orientate trainees to the programme

- Establishment of communities of practice for trainees, to provide additional support to develop their prescribing practice (currently under exploration)

- Online learning materials to support delivery of the Learning Outcomes

- First Aid training

Please note: This national provision does not include training related to site-specific service provision. Any training provision related to the specific needs of individual organisations or employers will continue to be provided by them, to ensure that trainee pharmacists offer safe and effective patient care.

Do I have to pay for any training course for my trainee foundation pharmacist out of the £26,500 funding?

No, a funded training course will be provided by NHS England which will be accessible by all foundation trainee pharmacists regardless of sector or region.

Do I have to provide access to a multi-sector rotation for my foundation trainee pharmacist?

For the 2025/26 foundation training year, you do not have to include a multi-sector rotation, although it is strongly encouraged to include this wherever possible.

However, you do need to be able to provide access to a Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP) and a prescribing learning environment.

If you do not have access to a DPP and prescribing environment in your main training site, then a rotation into another site is likely to be the best way to provide this for your foundation trainee pharmacist.

From the 2026/27 foundation training year onwards, it will be compulsory to include a 13-week multi-sector rotation.

Can I use some of the £26,500 funding to pay a placement fee to another site to provide a multi-sector rotation or access to a prescribing environment / Designated Prescribing Practitioner?

Yes, it is intended that a portion of the funding you receive can be used to pay another site to host your foundation training pharmacist on a rotation.

For example, you could use £1,000 to £1,500 of the funding you receive to pay another site as a placement fee to support supervision during a rotation of up to 13 weeks.

If I have arranged a reciprocal multi-sector rotation with another training site (where two trainees are exchanged between training sites), do I need to pay the other site?

No, it is intended that if two separate training sites (each employing a foundation trainee pharmacist) agree to multi-sector rotations between those two sites – with foundation trainee pharmacists effectively being exchanged between sites (e.g. for a 13 week rotation) – each training site retains the full funding amount.

With this model of reciprocal placements, it is not intended that any funding is ‘paid on’ to the rotational site.

Who pays the salary of the foundation trainee pharmacist while they are on a multi-sector rotation?

The employing organisation will continue to pay the salary of the foundation trainee pharmacist during any multi-sector rotation.

Emerging routes to prescribing

Interactive resource exploring how the foundation pharmacist learning outcomes relating to prescribing enable early career pharmacists to implement prescribing in practice

Learn more