October 2025

Please see below for our KSS October bulletin.

Important Information

Provisionally registered doctors (foundation year one/F1) must not undertake formal locum posts or activities.

Provisionally registered doctors can undertake occasional ad hoc additional/overtime shifts on their current FY1 placement or previous FY1 placements that have formed part of their F1 rotation, where such work is undertaken only within the limits of their current competence and with the support of their educational supervisor. When undertaking such occasional ad hoc additional/overtime work, provisionally registered doctors should be clear with other members of their team about their current experience and level of competence.

*NEW UPDATE* UKFPO 2025 F2 Career Destination Survey – results published.

The results of the UKFPO 2025 F2 Career Destination Survey have now been published. The report is available on the UKFPO website: UKFPO reports [under “F2 Career Destinations Reports (2024 onwards)”].

SCRIPT – supporting safer prescribing practices

The SCRIPT programme is a collection of innovative eLearning portfolios designed to encourage safe and effective prescribing and medicines management among healthcare professionals.

SCRIPT will enhance your knowledge and confidence in prescribing correctly, improving patient safety, therapeutics and medicines management. You will receive a certificate for each module that you complete, which can be used in your online learning portfolio. SCRIPT is easy to use. You can access the modules at a time which suits you and revisit them even after completion. You can learn more about the SCRIPT eLearning programme and how to sign up by visiting Medicine & Surgery | Safe Prescriber

***UPDATE FROM THE SCRIPT TEAM***

  • New script modules were released on the 1 July 2025 and are available to all foundation doctors (F1 and F2)
  • The SCRIPT Team completed work on a new edition of the Medicine & Surgery portfolio for Foundation Schools. The new edition comes with the following enhancements:
  • Reauthoring of selected modules to maintain alignment with the underlying evidence base.
  • Redesign and splitting of larger modules into more discrete modules to reduce per module running time, whilst expanding on scope, in response to Foundation Doctor feedback.
  • Module interfaces and navigation upgraded to a new design to maintain WCAG AA compliancy for improved accessibility for those with learning difficulties.

Please find attached further information here to include the new list of modules available.

It is a local KSS Foundation School recommendation that all F1 and F2 doctors complete 6 script modules per year prior to ARCP.  The topics are not mandated by the foundation school; however, your trust may mandate topics to support learning.

Study Leave

The KSSFS Admin Team often receive queries on how KSS Foundation Year 2 Doctors can apply for Discretionary Study Leave. For clarity, please see below.

Discretionary Study Leave should be applied for prospectively and not retrospectively:

1. Foundation Resident Doctor (FRD) seeks support from Educational Supervisor.

2. FRD completes the Discretionary study leave form before sending to the local FTPD for approval (so that all details are available to consider prior to approving).

3. Local FTPD sends completed Discretionary Study Leave form to area Foundation School Director (FSD) to request approval.

4. FSD/Head of School (HOS) approves?

Yes – FSD/HOS forwards the FTPD and HOS approval by email to england.studyleave.kss@nhs.net

No – FSD/HOS informs FRD and FTPD of reason why not approved.

5. If approved, the KSS Study Leave team assigns the Discretionary Approval Code and emails it to the FRD along with information of the expenses available to them.

This process is shown on the flow chart in the Study Leave pages SE Study Leave .

**Please note that the management of KSS Study Leave has changed from 01 April 2025. From this date, KSS Resident Doctors link to the SE Study Leave  team for guidance on travel and accommodation and subsistence**

2024-25 TAB (Team Assessment of Behaviour) window dates

The recommended dates for TAB are detailed below but these dates are not mandatory. More information on the TAB process can be found on the Horus Website.

Placement 1

Opens: Friday 3 October 2025

Closes: Monday 1 December 2025

Placement 2

Opens: Friday 6 February 2026

Closes: Monday 30 March 2026

Placement 3

Opens: Friday 17 April 2026

Closes: Monday 18 May 2026

KSS Contact details:

For Foundation Year 1 queries please email england.kssfoundationyear1.se@nhs.net

For Foundation Year 2 queries please email england.kssfoundationyear2.se@nhs.net

For any other queries, please email england.kssfoundationenquiries.se@nhs.net

PSA sittings 2025-2026

All sittings are scheduled to commence at 13.00.

  • Wednesday 15 October 2025
  • Thursday 26 March 2026
  • Thursday 23 April 2026

enhance Programme

Hopefully, enhance will have been introduced to you as a Foundation doctor during induction and those wishing to take part will have expressed an interest. However, there is still time to participate, so please contact your local FTPD or PGMDE team if you are interested in taking part and they will be able to help you.

enhance is available to everyone who works for NHS England and you can find more information on the KSS website.

e-learning opportunities

Welcome to your October 2025 update from the Foundation e-learning team.

The Foundation elearning programme covers key areas in your Foundation curriculum. It has been developed specifically for Foundation doctors by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges in partnership with NHS England elearning for healthcare (NHSE elfh) and is approved by the UK Foundation Programme (UKFPO).

Foundation School Representatives

F1 and F2 Foundation Doctor Representatives for 2025-26 have been appointed, please see details below. For further information, please see here.

NameGradeEmail
Nicola GallagherF1 (Lead)nicola.gallagher5@nhs.net
Keshav HarivardhanF1 (Deputy)keshav.harivardhan2@nhs.net
Dr Heloise MetzgerF2 (Lead)heloise.metzger@nhs.net
Dr Ramaa ParulekarF2 (Deputy)ramaa.parulekar@nhs.net
Dr Preeyan ShahF2 (Deputy) – LTFTpreeyan.shah2@nhs.net

Courses, events, surveys and webinars

Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health – Foundation Doctor Prize 2026

As part of the upcoming RCPCH Annual Conference taking place from 11–13 May 2026 in Birmingham, the KSS Foundation School have been asked to submit the most outstanding Foundation Doctor(s) with an interest in Paediatrics for the RCPCH Foundation Doctor Prize 2026.

The three prize winners will receive a one-day pass to experience a day at the RCPCH Annual Conference and attend the prize award networking and gathering ceremony where they will be awarded a certificate. The conference gives prize winners the opportunity to network with a range of people, working in paediatrics and child health. You will also have the opportunity to attend lectures, talks and workshop sessions and gain a better understanding of paediatrics as a speciality.

If you wish to nominate yourself for one of the three prizes , please submit an abstract (maximum 500 words) for consideration by the KSS Foundation School Director. Please complete the following form https://forms.office.com/e/CS5EW3AMsj

and return by Monday 10 November at 17.00.  Applications submitted after this date and time will not be considered. The deadline is a local KSS deadline specifically for those foundation doctors that are submitting an abstract for the one-day pass prize.

Further details regarding the conference can be found on the RCPCH website:  https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/news-events/rcpch-conference

Aspiring Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeon’s (APRAS) – Royal Society of Medicine’s Plastic Surgery Section

The Aspiring Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeon’s (APRAS) conference is hosted by the Royal Society of Medicine’s Plastic Surgery Section. This event is aimed at resident doctors who wish to become plastic surgeons. The event will be held on Saturday 15th November 2025 at the Royal Society of Medicine in London.

The event includes inspiring talks by world famous plastic surgeons including Dr Victoria Rose who will be talking about her recent work as a reconstructive surgeon in Gaza. Attendees will spend the afternoon learning practical surgical skills in our hands-on workshops. They will also have access to top ranking plastic themed core surgical trainees who will share advice on portfolio building and applying for Core surgical training jobs. There is also an opportunity to submit a plastic surgery themed abstract. Further information and registration are available on the RSM website: Aspiring plastics, reconstructive and aesthetic surgeons (APRAS).

Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) patient safety essay writing competition 2025

The MHRA is offering this opportunity for foundation doctors and medical students.

The essay topic is: “Using examples, discuss the potential role for genetics in improving the efficacy and safety of medicines for patients in the UK. Consider how the MHRA Yellow Card scheme could better capture pharmacogenomic-related adverse reactions.”

The competition encourages entrants to reflect on real-world clinical scenarios and propose innovative ways to enhance the reporting and understanding of genetic factors in adverse drug reactions.

Further information and guidance on how to enter is available from the MHRA here. The deadline for submission is 15th December 2025.

UKFPO Webinar Resources

Please keep an eye on the website for future webinar dates and topic updates: https://foundationprogramme.nhs.uk/resources/ukfpo-webinars/. Recordings of previous webinars can also be accessed from this page.

Reminders and Guidance

TIS Checks

Please can we use this opportunity to remind Medical Education colleagues in Trusts to work with their Medical Staffing teams to regularly check Foundation Doctors’ posts on TIS, against internal records. Early recognition of any discrepancies can help us all to resolve issues quickly.

Also, if you have not already informed us of any F1s that have withdrawn from training, please do so, as we aren’t always made aware by trainees themselves.

Foundation Doctors taking Parental Leave

Please can all foundation doctors who will be taking a period of Parental Leave complete the following training interruption form: https://kss.hee.nhs.uk/kss-foundation/useful-links-and-documents/ and return to england.kssfoundationenquiries.se@nhs.net. This is in addition to informing your employing Trust.

Less Than Full Time (LTFT) Training

Please click the link below for guidance regarding Less Than Full Time (LTFT) training: Less Than Full Time Training – Working across Kent, Surrey and Sussex

Foundation doctors in GP and psychiatry placements contributing to acute services     

Please see below link for guidance regarding Foundation doctors in community placements contributing to acute services: https://kss.hee.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2023/09/KSSFS-Foundation-doctors-in-GP-and-psychiatry-placements-contributing-to-acute-services_2.pdf

NHS employers’ guidance on induction for international medical graduates

Please see below link to guidance from NHS employers: https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Welcoming-and-Valuing-International-Medical-Graduates-A-guide-to-induction-for-IMGs-WEB.pdf

Foundation Doctor Role and Responsibilities

For guidance, please see document “Foundation Doctor Role and Responsibilities within the Local Education Provider and Minimum Requirements for Clinical Supervision of Foundation Doctors” here.

Useful Websites and Contacts

UKFPO Bulletin: