Please see below for our KSS March bulletin.
Highly Important
KSS Foundation School F2 Swaps 2025
The application window for KSS Foundation School F2 Swaps 2025 has now closed and applicants have been notified of the Foundation School Director’s decisions. For general information and updates, please visit the F2 Swaps page.
Webinar: Preparing for ARCP – Time to polish up your e-portfolio
The UKFPO is inviting foundation doctors and supervisors to attend a webinar which will give an overview of the Annual Review of Competence Progression (ARCP) process.
For foundation doctors, the webinar will delve into enhancing your e-portfolios for ARCP – how to take it from an average to an exemplary portfolio. For supervisors, the webinar will help empower you to help your FDs achieve their full e-portfolio potential.
Presenters will also talk about roles and responsibilities regarding matters such as TAB, the Placement Supervision Group (PSG) report, end of placement reports and curriculum mapping.
All the content will be relevant to both trainers and foundation doctors, so please come along to listen, learn and ask questions from a panel of experts!
When: Wednesday 19 March 2025, 18:00 – 19:00 GMT
Where: Virtual via Microsoft Teams. You do not need to pre-register, simply join the webinar at 18:00. The webinar will be recorded and uploaded to the UKFPO website within two weeks of the webinar date.
Target Audience: Foundation doctors and supervisors
Webinar panel: Dr Fiona Cameron, UKFP Assessment Lead and FSD Scotland; Jie Fei Lau, UKFPO Fellow and F2 doctor
Email foundation.educationandsupport@nhs.net with any queries.
Further information on Foundation ARCP requirements
The Horus e-portfolio virtual lock down will be on Friday 30 May 2025.
ARCP panels will take place in trust from 2 June – 13 June 2025. Your trust will advise you of the ARCP panel date.
ARCP guidance to include the checklist of requirements can be found on the UKFPO ARCP webpage .
Updates/Reminders
2025 KSS FS Welcome event
The 2025 KSS Foundation School Welcome Event took place virtually, via Teams on Friday 07 March 2025. Many thanks to all who attended and thanks to the KSS Trusts for their excellent presentations. Incoming F1s have been invited to submit feedback on the event using the QR below or by using this link. The form will be open until 28th March 2025.
A separate form is available for trust representatives to provide feedback, this has been emailed to trusts.
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.
SCRIPT – supporting safer prescribing practices
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.
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
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.
- Foundation Doctor (FD) seeks support from Educational Supervisor and trust (local) Foundation Training Programme Director (FTPD).
- Local FTPD seeks approval from the area Foundation School Director (FSD)
- Local FSD replies to trust TPD, including study leave team.
- Local TPD can then reply to FD with outcome.
- If approved, on the guidance from the study leave team FD completes study leave form on the study leave portal.
If you have any further questions, please do contact the school at: england.kssfoundationenquiries.se@nhs.net.
Please note that the management of KSS Study Leave is changing from 01 April 2025. From this date, KSS will no longer link to the London portal. Further details will be available on the KSS website shortly and comms will be sent out to all KSS stakeholders with links to the new website.
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 2
Opens: Friday 7th February 2025
Closes: Monday 31st March 2025
Placement 3
Opens: Friday 18th April 2025
Closes: Monday 19th May 2025
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 2024-2025
All sittings are scheduled to commence at 13.00.
- Thursday 20 March 2025
- Thursday 1 May 2025
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 February 2025 update from the Foundation elearning programme.
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
Please see below for 2024-25 KSS Foundation Doctor Representatives. Further information is available here.
| Name | Grade | |
| Dr Heloise Metzger | F1 (Lead) | heloise.metzger@nhs.net |
| Dr Ramaa Parulekar | F1 (Deputy) | ramaa.parulekar@nhs.net |
| Dr Harriet Sharp | F2 | harriet.sharp11@nhs.net |
| Dr Preeyan Shah | F2 | preeyan.shah2@nhs.net |
| Dr William Jenkins | F2 | william.jenkins10@nhs.net |
Courses, events and surveys
Webinar: Patient Safety – an introduction for foundation doctors
The UKFPO welcome all foundation doctors and faculty to our fifth webinar of the training year.
This webinar will explore the topic of patient safety and the current frameworks available to guide foundation doctors in addressing patient safety incidents. The aim is to empower foundation doctors to champion a culture of compassion at the workplace and reflect on how we can collectively minimise patient harm.
When: 18:00 –19:00 GMT, Tuesday 15 April 2025
Where: Virtual via Microsoft Teams. You do not need to pre-register, simply join the webinar at 18:00. The webinar will be recorded and uploaded to the UKFPO website within two weeks of the webinar date.
Target Audience: Foundation doctors and faculty
Webinar panel: Dr Fiona Cameron, Scotland Foundation School Director and chair of the AoMRC UKFP Committee; Dr Jie Fei Lau, UKFPO Fellow and F2 doctor; Dr Helen Purves, Paediatric and Neonatal Clinical Lead, Clinical Patient Safety Lead (Tameside and Glossop ICFT)
Email foundation.educationandsupport@nhs.net with any queries.
Survey: British Society of Lifestyle Medicine
The British Society of Lifestyle Medicine (BSLM) BSLM – Transforming Healthcare Through Lifestyle Medicine is conducting a short survey for recent graduates in foundation schools.
As lifestyle-related illnesses, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity, continue to rise, it is crucial that newly qualified doctors feel confident in applying lifestyle medicine principles in clinical practice. To better understand how BSLM can support universities to provide this education, and to show that there is demand from medics to have this knowledge and gain these skills, BSLM is conducting a short survey:
Survey link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/W7PNBLD
If you have any questions or would like any more information around this work, please contact rachel.cox@bslm.org.uk.
Call for volunteers to pilot the NHS Digital Staff Passport
Help test and improve the Digital Staff Passport and reduce/remove the need to repeat employment checks and statutory and mandatory training.
The Digital Staff Passport is a new service that aims to reduce the admin and retraining that resident doctors go through every time they rotate.
To make the service as effective as possible, NHS England need your input. We are looking for volunteers to take part in a pilot to test the process of downloading digital credentials of employment checks and training completed, and having the ability to share these credentials with their trust.
For further information please see Call for volunteers to pilot the NHS Digital Staff Passport – NHS England Digital.
LTFT Conference 2025: Maidstone Hospital Academic Centre – 20th May 2025
Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells Medical Education have organised this event on 20th May 2025. Please see flyer here. The event is free for KSS LTFT Resident Doctors and KSS LTFT Champions. If you have any queries, please contact mtw-tr.ltft@nhs.net.
Royal College of Pathologists’ Foundation Essay Prize – deadline 12 May.
The Royal College of Pathologists’ Hugh Platt Foundation Essay Prize offers Foundation doctors the chance to take an in-depth look at a particular aspect of pathology through a written piece. This year’s essay question centres around innovation in pathology. The deadline for entries is 23:59 on 12 May. The winner will be awarded £250, will have their essay published on our website and in the College magazine, The Bulletin, and will be presented with a certificate at a Royal College of Pathologists event.
Further information and how to enter is available on the Royal College of Pathologists’ website. If you have any questions about the Essay Competitions, please contact publicengagement@rcpath.org
Foundation teaching on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) – survey still open!
The UKFPO would like to understand more about foundation doctors’ experiences and perceptions of EDI teaching during foundation training. This work is being led by our 2024-25 UKFPO Fellows, Dasha Ibrahim and Jie Fei Lau.
Foundation doctors are invited to complete the Foundation teaching on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion survey.
There is no hard deadline, although responses over the next two weeks or so would be appreciated.
The findings will help identify gaps, highlight good practices, and contribute to improving the quality and relevance of EDI education for future resident doctors. Responses are anonymous and will be used solely for the purpose of this study. The survey should take less than 5 minutes to complete.
The survey is intended to be completed by foundation doctors only.
Publish your article in “Humans of the Foundation Programme” project!
Jie Fei, FY2 doctor and UKFPO Fellow for 2024/2025, is excited to launch the “Humans of the Foundation Programme”. This project invites foundation doctors to share their stories, experiences, and creative talents through written articles, poetry, art, music, and more to foster connection, inspire others, and celebrate the diversity of experiences within the Foundation Programme.
Each month, selected submissions will be published on the UKFPO website under four categories:
- Transitioning into Foundation training
- Sharing best practice/training opportunities
- Remote and rural
- Medical humanities
You can submit a 500-1000 word article via the online form, which also provides further information and criteria. Articles must adhere to GMC Good Medical Practice and selected contributors will have their work published and receive a certificate. See the first post: Humans of the Foundation Programme – The Story.
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.
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 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.
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:
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
- KSS Website (home page) https://kss.hee.nhs.uk/
- KSS Foundation webpage https://kss.hee.nhs.uk/kss-foundation/
- KSS Bulletin https://kss.hee.nhs.uk/kss-foundation/kss-bulletin/
- Careers, Professional Support & Wellbeing Service https://kss.hee.nhs.uk/kss-foundation/current-doctors-in-training/careers-and-wellbeing-support/
- Forms, documents and useful links https://kss.hee.nhs.uk/kss-foundation/useful-links-and-documents/
- Foundation programme curriculum & foundation programme rough guide https://foundationprogramme.nhs.uk/curriculum/uk-fp-curriculum/
- KSS Foundation Team https://kss.hee.nhs.uk/kss-foundation/meet-the-team/
- KSS Foundation reps https://kss.hee.nhs.uk/kss-foundation/current-doctors-in-training/trainee-representatives/
UKFPO Bulletin:
Read the latest UKFPO bulletin (March 2025)