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Training offer provision

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 master of pharmacy (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