Being a GP educator is both rewarding and stimulating - we look forward to you joining our team of GP Educators across the East of England.
This page provides more information about the process involved in seeking recognition as a:
- Tier 2a Educator - An out-of-hours (OOH) supervisor, also known as a clinical supervisor
- Tier 2b Educator - An associate trainer (AT), also known as a named clinical supervisor
- Tier 3 Educator - A trainer, also known as an educational supervisor.
If you want further information on the training required to become any of the above please click here. Further information on the application process and FAQs can be found below.
Having completed your training (click these links for details on the Training Pathway for a Tier 2a, Tier 2b or Tier 3 Educator), you now need to apply for recognition as an educator. If you are not already working within a recognised learning environment, you may also need to apply for the recognition of your current organisation. The short video below explains the educator approval process:
Application Form
Applications for recognition and ongoing quality monitoring are administered through the local training hubs, these are linked to each STP /ICS area and accountable to Health Education England through the Primary Care School and the Postgraduate Dean.
Please make contact with your local training hub for further help and support regarding new applications and ongoing quality monitoring.
To apply for recognition as an individual please complete this form.
- The form must be completed electronically,
- Educators should only complete the relevant sections for the tier for which they are applying.
- There is no need to supply any attachments or embed any documents. All the information should be typed into the form.
*If you started your educator training before May 2021, or are upgrading from tier 2 to tier 3, having previously been approved prior to May 2021, please contact the Primary Care School at primarycare.eoe@hee.nhs.uk who will send you an amended form.
Once your form is completed, please send to your local training hub:
| Training Hub | Email Address |
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Bedfordshire, Luton, and Milton Keynes |
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Cambridgeshire & Peterborough |
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Hertfordshire & West Essex |
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Mid and South Essex |
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Norfolk & Waveney |
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Suffolk & North East Essex |
Learning Environment - Individual organisations may apply to become learning organisations although where possible it is encouraged that organisations should apply as a locality, for example, a primary care network. In order to apply for recognition as a training environment, for more information please click here.
What do I need to know before I complete the form?
Before you make your application, please make sure you have spoken to one of your TPDs and the local training hub as they will support and advise you through the process.
If you are applying for first-time recognition, please make sure you:
- have completed all the necessary stages of training for your tier.
- that you have completed your training in an appropriate interval (the general expectation is that Tier 2 training will be completed within one year and Tier 3 training within two years. Any exceptions to this will need to be agreed with the Head of School)
- apply at an appropriate point after CCT: first application for tier 2 can be made one year after CCT ; first application for tier 3 can be made two years after CCT if you are in a training practice, or after three years if you are in a non-training practice
(Please be aware that as a short-term measure, potential educators who completed their initial training under the previous system will be allowed a year from April 2019 in which to complete the approval process. They will need to provide evidence of appropriate educator CPD at the time of their approval application. If these potential educators have not completed the approval process by April 2020, they will need to complete the new Tiered training process.)
Learning environments will need to ensure that all prospective sites are aware of the implications of becoming a recognised learning environment. Having learners within an organisation will require input from administrative as well as clinical staff. The local training hubs have a network of practice manager champions that can provide help and information on what to expect and prospective organisations should access this support.
When applying consideration should be given to all types of learners that the organisation feels able to support, for example, nurses, physician associates, pharmacists, advanced care practitioners and so on. The application form should be completed in such a way that it applies to all the learners that the organisation wishes to host.
We would encourage organisations to apply at scale, for example, Primary Care Networks. This will reduce the number of forms needing to be completed. Please note that current non-training practices may be recognised within a PCN approval with the support of their colleagues.
Route 1 applications are where an existing learning environment wishes to accommodate a wider group of learners within the organisation. In order to do so, organisations will need to complete the learning environment application form rather than a self-declaration.
What domains are the Application Form linked to?
The form has been redesigned to reflect the new 6 quality domains which map to the existing GMC domains.
- Learning Environment and Culture
- Educational Governance and Leadership
- Supporting and Empowering Learners
- Supporting and Empowering Educators
- Delivering Curricula and Assessments
- Developing a Sustainable Workforce
What evidence do I need to provide for my first-time recognition for each Tier?
** Because your route to approval may take several months please make sure you keep a record of your learning and the dates of your modules and study days. When you complete the form, you will be better prepared to reflect on your learning and progress. **
Tier 2a
If you are applying for first time recognition, we would like to see evidence across a number of areas:
- Evidence that you have contacted your OOH provider and attended your local OOH Clinical Supervisor Support Group with reflection on learning.
- Evidence of your ability to consult with patients
- Evidence that you can do a COT/audio-COT
- Evidence of an ability to debrief
- Evidence that you have obtained MRCGP (or an equivalent qualification)
The evidence may come in several forms:
- From the eLearning modules you complete
- From the study days you attend
- From observed practice in your study groups
- Through observation by other educators
Tier 2b
If you are applying for first time recognition, we would like to see evidence across a number of areas:
- Your attendance at trainers’ workshops and a reflection on your learning (we expect you to attend at least one before your first application)
- Evidence of your ability to consult with patients
- Evidence that you can do a CBD/COT
- Evidence that you can navigate the eportfolio
- Evidence of an ability to debrief
- Evidence that you have obtained MRCGP
The evidence may come in several forms:
- From the eLearning modules you complete
- From the study days you attend
- From observed practice in your study groups
- Through observation by other educators
Tier 3
If you are applying for first time recognition, we would like to see evidence across a number of areas:
- Your attendance at trainers’ workshops and a reflection on your learning (we expect you to attend at least one before your first application)
- Evidence of your ability to consult with patients
- Evidence that you can do a CBD/COT
- Evidence that you can navigate the eportfolio
- Evidence of an ability to debrief
- If Tier 3, evidence that you have attended a session on ESRs (and perhaps observed an ESR taking place)
- Evidence that you have obtained MRCGP
The evidence may come in several forms:
- From the eLearning modules you complete
- From the study days you attend
- From observed practice in your study groups
- Through observation by other educators
If you are applying for recognition as an educator and/or learning environment the paperwork needs to be completed in full and returned to your local training hub. Educators will require an interview, usually led by the training hub quality lead, with the support of a patch AD and TPD.
Prospective learning environments will require a visit which will be led by the local training hub, assisted by ADs, TPDs, clinical ambassadors and learner representatives. The learning environment will need to ensure that, at the very least, the educational leads and placement manager are present at the visit.
Visits and interviews may be undertaken virtually, although if a Primary Care Network is applying for the first time to be recognised and there are no pre-existing training practices there will need to be a tour of the available facilities.
Route 1 applications will not require a visit but will be assessed by the local training hub as a desktop review.
All recommendations from the interviews and visits are reviewed by the Quality Oversight Panel within the deanery before they are endorsed and finalised.
The training hub will inform the applicant of the outcome and the Primary Care School will update the training section of the GMC records. There are three potential outcomes:
- Recommended for recognition (Ongoing Quality monitoring)
- Recommended actions and review (An action plan and review should be provided by the training hub)
- Not recommended for recognition (Reasons for the decision will be conveyed to the applicant)
The national quality monitoring approach means that educators and learning environments are no longer “reapproved”. Instead, a risk-based ongoing quality monitoring approach will be used to ensure that standards are being met by both educators and learning environments. The local training hubs perform this function for HEE, collecting evidence from a variety of sources to assess whether there are any quality concerns.
Please see link to the Ongoing Quality Monitoring Page
What is the Quality Oversight Panel and what do they do?
This is a monthly meeting of the senior GP educator team involving the GP Dean, the Head of School and the GP Associate Deans. The Primary Care School presents the Panel with a list of the educators and learning organisations that have received provisional recognition/ongoing recognition during the preceding month. The Panel will discuss any potential issues before confirming the outcome. After the meeting, the training hub will then email each applicant a copy of their outcome form and update the relevant databases. The Primary Care School will update the GMC register.
What Quality Assurance Processes do you Have?
To ensure consistency of application of the quality monitoring process 10% of all assessments will be reviewed centrally by HEE EoE.
Additionally, the training hubs meet on a regular basis to discuss quality monitoring processes.
What Right of Appeal Do I Have if I Disagree with the Outcome?
In these circumstances, the educator or learning environment should raise a formal appeal in writing (via email will be sufficient) within one month of notification of outcome to their local TH providing the rationale for their appeal with any accompanying evidence as appropriate. The TH will collate the appeal communication and forward to the HEE Primary Care Quality Team who will convene an extraordinary Quality and Oversight Panel that will consist of AD’s not involved in the original decision.
Educators changing their place of work
Moving within the East of England
Recognition as a GP educator is specific to the person concerned and is not necessarily linked to the learning organisation, they are working in. So, if an approved GP educator changed the practice in which they worked, their approval status would move with them to their new practice. However, if that new practice was not recognised as a learning organisation, the practice would need to seek recognition as a learning organisation before learners could be based there. And individual educators should ensure that the primary care school and local training hub are informed of their new contact details, especially if that educator now works in a different STP area.
Moving into a different deanery area
East of England accepts the GP educator recognition decisions made by other areas in the UK, both within Health Education England and in Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland. A recognised educator moving into our region would need to make themselves known to the local training programme and to the local training hub and would then fit into our ongoing quality monitoring.
We would hope that the GP educator recognitions made within our area would similarly be accepted by other areas although cannot guarantee this. We would suggest contacting both the local training programme and the regional office to clarify what their processes are.
What happens if there is a significant change to the learning organisation in which educators work?
When completing the self-declaration as part of ongoing quality monitoring this should be declared. If the change happens outside of the self-declaration period, the placement manager will need to contact the local training hub to discuss the impact of this on learner placement. Such changes include new premises and practice mergers. Please see the guidance on merged and Federated practices.
Conflicts of Interest
Alternative arrangements for interviews, visits or assessments should be made when:
- The member concerned works for the learning organisation being assessed or did so within the last year.
- The member concerned works in the same learning organisation as the educator being assessed or did so within the last year.
- The member concerned works in the same super-partnership or Primary Care Network, or did so within the last year. The only exception to this might be where the organisation is divided into sub-groups which are managed separately, and the member concerned works in a different sub-group.
Local sensibilities should always be taken into account and, where necessary, advice taken from the Associate Dean, AD lead for Quality or Head of School.
What period of time that the tiered training can be completed over?
The general expectation is that Tier 2 training will be completed within 1 year and Tier 3 training within 2 years. Any exceptions to this will need to be agreed with the Head of School.
Interval between completing new educator training and applying for recognition as a GP educator
Having completed the new educator training process, applications to be recognised as a GP educator should generally be made within 1 year. Any exceptions to this can only be agreed by the Head of School of General Practice. Evidence for ongoing educator CPD would be needed to support this.
Interval after CCT when eligible to be recognised as a GP educator
- For Tier 2 educators- applications can be considered 1 year after CCT
- For Tier 3 educators - when working in an established training practice, applications for recognition as a new GP educator can be considered after 2 years. When working in a non-training practice, the interval should be 3 years.
Fallow periods
Fallow periods which have been actively chosen by the educator and/or learning organisation of up to 12 months need to be agreed with the local training programme and training hub and should not usually have any impact on the educator’s ongoing recognition. The self-declaration period will remain the same, unless the absence happens within a year of the educator’s initial recognition. In this case, the 2 year self-declaration will be deferred by up to a year to allow the educator sufficient time to gather the evidence for ongoing recognition.
If the fallow period has been for more than 1 year, once the GP educator/Learning Organisation is ready to resume active training, the educator/learning organisation should inform the local training hub and arrange a meeting with the training hub quality lead. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss any changes that have occurred during the fallow period and to ensure that the educator/learning organisation is ready to return to training. Assuming this meeting is successful, the educator/learning organisation can start working with learners again. The self-declaration period will remain the same to act as a further check. If the training hub quality lead has concerns though, a face to face interview will be arranged with the appropriate Associate Dean and TPD. The educator/learning organisation will need to complete an application form.
Where a fallow period has occurred due to a lack of learners being placed at the organisation, and the educator has continued to attend local trainer group meetings as well as appropriate regional educator meetings, there will not be any impact on the educator’s or learning organisation’s recognition.
The length of the fallow period may also need to be taken into account when instituting the above procedures. GP training changes often and if the fallow period is excessive, it may be deemed necessary that the educator will need to undergo further training and re-apply for their respective tier. This will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
Prolonged Sick Leave
If a GP Educators have been on sick leave for more than 4 weeks, it would be necessary to move the GP Trainee to a different environment unless alternative appropriate educational supervision can be provided by the organisation. Please ensure that you liaise with the local training hub and TPDs about this.
Educator maternity leave
Congratulations! The same process would apply as for fallow periods. If the absence is for more than 1 year, you will need to contact the local training hub. They will facilitate an interview with one of the TPDs to determine that the educator has kept up to date and is ready to return to training.