NHS England is committed to supporting resident doctors, GP registrars and dental trainees in undertaking study leave activities to achieve their specialty curriculum and support professional development.
Changes to Study Leave (SL) in England came into force in April 2018 as a response to concerns expressed by resident doctors about the high financial costs of some of their training, and the inequities of the old system. The allocated individual study-leave budget system was replaced with one that funded the following:
- Courses/education activities to support resident doctors to achieve the curriculum
- Courses to help trainees prepare for postgraduate exams
- Discretionary courses that add value to trainees individually and support the wider system
Study leave budgets do not cover:
- Royal College membership and e-portfolio fees
- Postgraduate exam fees
- Any statutory or mandatory training required to fulfil your clinical role (this should be provided by your NHS Trust)
Study Leave A-Z
More guidance regarding various aspects of Study leave, including Travel and Accommodation entitlements, International Study Leave, Private Study, etc are available here on our Study Leave A-Z.
Study Leave Categories and Approved KSS Study Leave Lists by School
Details on the different categories for Study Leave activities (i.e. Mandatory, Optional and Discretionary) and the Approved lists for each KSS School are accessible here.
Application Process
You should commence the application process at least 10 weeks in advance of the activity to ensure that prospective, final approval has been obtained at least 6 weeks before the study leave event. Please note that claims for retrospective applications will not be processed.
Details on the full Application Process and links to applicable forms are available via the following KSS Study Leave Application Process Flowcharts:
- Resident doctors including GP Registrars working in a Trust
- GP Registrars working in a GP practice
- Dental Trainees
Discretionary Study Leave Application Form
The KSS Discretionary Study Leave Application Form is available here.
Organising Locally Delivered Courses
Guidance and application forms for colleagues who wish to organise a Locally Delivered Course are accessible here.
Queries
If you have read the information available on these KSS Study Leave webpages and still have a query, please send your query to the applicable email address below and include any of the following information not already in your signature block:
- First Name
- Last Name
- Email Address
- Training Programme
- Employing Trust
- Professional Registration/GMC Number
| Resident doctors, including GP Registrars working in a Trust: | england.studyleave.kss@nhs.net |
| GP Registrars working in a GP practice: | england.kss.gp.traineesupport@nhs.net |
| Dental Trainees: | england.dental.southeast@nhs.net |