Workforce and Quality
Education Programme Director Network Events
We organise and facilitate virtual network events, which will be between 2-3 hours duration, for both our Trainee Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technician Education Programme Directors (EPDs) across London. Outlook calendar invitations will be circulated in advance of the event with the agenda information attached. Please feel free to forward the invitation onto other members of the pharmacy team who may be deputising for an EPD.
Educational Infrastructure Change Process
It is important for us to know who the current Educational Leadership team are in your department. Educational Programme Directors (EPDs) are our main link with your trust and whilst we circulate our communications to many staff involved in the education and training of pharmacy staff, we require *one main contact to liaise with, on the return of specific data required for commissioned trainees.
For our commissioned programmes, each year upon the return of the NHS Education Contract Annex: Provision of Training, the Chief Pharmacist and EPD(s) should be named on this agreement. In addition, if there is an E&T Lead or an EPD Support role recognised within the trust, this should be included as well. If there are changes during the year, please inform us by completing the below Educational Infrastructure Change Form. In addition, if additional colleagues are recruited into the education and training team either providing overarching leadership as an Specialist Education and Training Lead or EPD Support which may aid in succession planning, this form should be completed
We have developed an EPD Orientation guide to support EPDs in their role and how we link in with this, please download this guide.
*in some cases where there are multiple sites for large trusts two contacts can be named.
Specialist Education and Training Lead
The Specialist Education and Training Lead may act as the overarching co-ordinator for all Educational programmes (much like a Director of Medical Education ‘DME’ in medicine. whilst the EPD manages the strategy and operational aspects of a specific programme.
Educational Programme Director
An “Educational programme director” in pharmacy (EPD) oversees one or more entire training programmes locally, regionally, or both, developing and implementing programmes together with external bodies and local teams. An individual may be the EPD for more than one programme. The EPD ensures that quality criteria are met, including resource, appropriately trained supervisors, possibly selection of candidates, monitoring of progress and equal opportunities. We recommend that consideration be given to the EPD being a member of the local Senior Pharmacy team where appropriate.
EPD Support
This role supports the EPD and may be used for succession planning. The person filling this role will be supporting the EPD with operational aspects of the programme.
Supervisor Training
The London region has had access to NHS funded supervisor training through ProPharmace Ltd. The contract between ProPharmace and NHS England (formerly Health Education England) will come to an end on 31 July 2023.
Supervisors play a key role in helping trainees to develop the skills, knowledge, understanding and behaviours they need to meet the standards expected of a pharmacy professional and we are aware of concerns regarding the need to have adequate training programmes available to develop and support supervisors.
A national piece of work is currently underway which is aligned to the GPhC reforms to the initial education and training of pharmacists and will look at the supervision offering across all NHS England regions.
Whilst we await the outcome of this work, we have provided signposting to resources and accessible training for development of supervisors within London.
Educational Frameworks
Frameworks for both the Educational and Practice Supervisor roles within pharmacy for primary and secondary care staff who manage and deliver training are available. These can be used as a standalone tool for supervisors to identify competencies relevant to their role(s) and for them to demonstrate competence against the criteria set, by mapping their experience to them and identifying learning needs.
The frameworks can be found on our website.
e-Learning for Healthcare (eLfH): Practice and Educational Supervisor Training
eLfH hosts online training for Practice and Educational Supervisors. There are two programmes available which can be accessed:
• Core Skills for Pharmacy Practice and Educational Supervisors for all who are new to the supervisor role and/or those that have not practiced in this role for several years.
• Enhanced Skills for Pharmacy Practice and Educational Supervisors for all supervisors looking to further develop as a supervisor.
These programmes have been written for registered pharmacy professionals; however, pharmacy support staff will be able to achieve key development skills from completing the courses via eLfH.
The programme can be accessed from the eLfH platform.
General Pharmaceutical Council
The GPhC has developed resources for designated supervisors. These resources can be found here: https://www.pharmacyregulation.org/education/pharmacist-foundation-training-scheme/training-placement/designated-supervisors.
Guidance on supervising pharmacy professionals in training is also available from the GPhC website.
NHS England Website
A webpage designed to support designated supervisors with information about the trainee pharmacist foundation training year is available on the NHS England website.
Note: Health Education England (HEE) came together with NHS England to create a new organisation on 1 April 2023. National guidance documents may refer to HEE until the process of harmonisation with the new NHS England is complete.
Educational Frameworks
We have been working with a variety of stakeholders over the past few months to develop curricular and frameworks for both the Educational and Practice Supervisor roles within pharmacy for primary and secondary care staff who manage and deliver training.
The ES and PS frameworks are now published and can be used in two ways:
As a standalone tool for supervisors to identify the competencies relevant to their role(s) and to demonstrate competence against criteria set by mapping their experience to them and identifying learning needs.
Complete the relevant supervisor training course - more information about this will follow.
Professional Development Framework for Educators
The Professional Development Framework for Educators has been developed by the Multiprofessional Faculty Development (London and South East) Team at Health Education England. It has been designed to guide educational practitioners, in healthcare, in their development as educators to support their learners. Each domain, within the framework, has been mapped to healthcare regulatory standards for education and training and to HEE Quality Framework. This framework meets the needs for all EPDs. It is recommended that new EPDs utilise the ES Framework and map themselves against the Professional Development Framework for Educators and identify any learning needs.
Trainee Support
It is recognised over the course of an educational programme, trainees may require additional support to successfully complete their training. To facilitate this, HEE have developed an England-wide Trainee Support Guide for both trainees and employing organisations which outlines the educational support processes in place for commissioned pharmacy trainees (Foundation trainee pharmacists and pre-registration trainee pharmacy technicians) that are undertaking Health Education England commissioned training programmes. This is a core guide and the recommendations made within it apply to all employers, educational programme directors, educational (designated) supervisors and trainees.
This guide has been designed to help organisations assist individuals that require additional support during their training programme. Please follow the link below to refer to the Trainee Support Guide for full details on identification, support and the HEE notification process for any individuals.
Where appropriate contact the HEE London team via the Request for Trainee Support form below. It is imperative trainee consent is obtained prior to any individual details are disclosed to HEE.