Applicants are responsible for familiarising themselves with the timelines, requirements, structure, and rules of the recruitment process, as set out in the Applicant Handbook and associated guidance published on Oriel and the NRS website.

Applicants must undertake appropriate due diligence before preferencing programmes, including (but not limited to):

Failure to review programme information, the Applicant Handbook, or to assess travel feasibility will not be accepted as grounds for post-allocation changes or exceptional circumstances consideration.

Applicants must meet all eligibility criteria published in the Applicant Handbook at the point of application.

Applicants are responsible for ensuring that all information submitted via Oriel is accurate, complete and truthful, including personal details, qualifications and contact information. The email address you provide must be one that you check on a regular basis and is valid until the end of the recruitment process, including outside of term time.

Personal details entered into Oriel must match official identification and School of Pharmacy records. Inconsistencies may result in delay or withdrawal of an offer.

Misrepresentation, omission or provision of false information, including any fitness to practise issues, may result in removal from the recruitment process or withdrawal of an offer.

Applicants must submit applications, undertake assessments, preference and respond within the published recruitment timelines. Late submissions will not be accepted under any circumstances.

Applicants are responsible for monitoring Oriel and registered email accounts regularly, and at least every 48 hours during key recruitment phases, as detailed in the recruitment timeline which can be found at the bottom of the main page and student zone.

Failure to respond to communications or actions within required timeframes may result in automatic withdrawal from the NRS.

Applicants must complete all required assessments, including the Situational Judgement Test and Numeracy assessment, within the specified assessment window to remain eligible for offers.

Assessment scores from previous recruitment cycles are not carried forward. Applicants reapplying must complete all required assessments again.

Applicants must only preference programmes they are genuinely willing and able to accept.

Applicants must actively use the ‘Not Wanted’ list to exclude any programme they would not accept under any circumstances.

Applicants must include programmes on the ‘Not Wanted’ list even where they:

Programmes placed in the ‘No Preference’ list are considered acceptable and may be allocated.

Bulk preferencing tools and filters may be used to assist applicants, however, they do not remove the requirement to review individual programme details.

Applicants must not select programmes where a potential conflict of interest exists, such as a family member who owns the business or serves as the Designated Supervisor. Additionally, applicants should avoid programmes where they or their family members are patients at the training site(s).

It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that they preference enough programmes in order to receive an offer.

Applicants granted special circumstances or reasonable adjustments remain responsible for:

Notifying NHS England about special circumstances or reasonable adjustments within the required timelines

Approval of special circumstances or reasonable adjustments does not guarantee allocation to a specific location, employer or programme and does not remove the requirement to comply with these Terms of Participation.

An offer made through Oriel constitutes a formal offer of employment and training, subject to clearing pre-employment checks and training sites remaining available.

Applicants must respond to offers within the specified offer window (i.e. 48 hours). Failure to respond will result in offer expiry, automatic withdrawal from the recruitment process and ineligibility for further offers in that cycle.

Applicants must only accept an offer if they fully intend and are able to take up the post.

Applicants must not accept a Foundation Pharmacy post if they:

Accepting an offer and subsequently withdrawing for avoidable reasons (including travel difficulties, preference dissatisfaction, or securing an alternative post) undermines the integrity of the recruitment process, may disadvantage other applicants and impact on NHS funding.

Accepting an offer confirms you intend to start Foundation training and confirms that you will engage with the employing organisation/Statutory Education Body leading up to the programme start date.

You must not contact your employer until they have been informed of the programme allocation in late December.

Where a post is subject to change for reasons outside the employer’s control, NHS England will seek to manage this through the NRS. Applicants agree to engage constructively with revised offers made as a result.

Training is funded for a period of 52 weeks for trainees working full-time. Trainees are expected to complete their training within this period. Any further funding is subject to review by the Statutory Education Body and is not guaranteed

NHS England cannot guarantee that applicants will receive an offer through the NRS. The number of funded foundation pharmacy training places in England and Wales each year is set by an annual budget setting process, informed by workforce need data.

Upgrading and reallocation can only occur through the formal Oriel process, as described in the Applicant Handbook.

Applicants who opt in for upgrades must fully engage at each stage and rank preferences carefully. Once upgraded out of a programme, trainees cannot return to their original offer.

Applicants must not seek to obtain an alternative post outside the NRS by:

Attempts to circumvent the national process may be escalated for review under the NRS and reported back to your School of Pharmacy.

Successful applicants must proceed in line with the programme arrangements set by the employer. This includes, but is not limited to, rotation arrangements and prescribing learning environments. Changes can only be discussed and authorised with the express consent of the employer.

Applicants must consult the Applicant Handbook and published guidance before submitting enquiries.

Enquiries must be submitted via the appropriate National Recruitment Scheme or published national contact routes and must not be duplicated across multiple regions or organisations.

Queries that are clearly addressed in the Applicant Handbook may not receive an individual response.

Applicants who decide not to proceed with Foundation Pharmacy training must withdraw from the recruitment process as early as possible via Oriel.

Applicants who accept a post and later withdraw without exceptional justification may prevent other applicants from receiving an offer and disrupt workforce planning and will not be offered subsequent training opportunities in that recruitment round.

Late withdrawal may be recorded and considered in future national recruitment cycles decisions.

Foundation Pharmacist training programmes have nationally agreed start windows. Applicants are expected to be available to commence training in the Summer window, on the published start date for the programme they accept.

Requests to commence training in a later start window will only be considered in exceptional circumstances that were not known at the time of application or offer acceptance.

Approval of start date change requests is at the discretion of the employing organisation.

The only circumstances in which a late start may be considered are:

Requests for a late start will not be considered for reasons of personal preference, e.g. holidays, weddings, or other planned events.

Applicants who believe they may require a late start due to exceptional circumstances must contact their employer at the earliest possible opportunity.

Failure to disclose or discuss potential late start issues promptly may result in withdrawal of the offer.

Applicants who have previously commenced Foundation Pharmacist training but did not complete the programme, must check their eligibility with NHS England before applying to, preferencing, or accepting a post through the NRS.
Such applicants must not preference or accept a Foundation Pharmacist post until eligibility to re-enter Foundation training has been formally confirmed by NHS England.

Applicants who apply, preference or accept a post without confirmation of eligibility following previous non-completion of Foundation training may have their application withdrawn or offer rescinded.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to seek and obtain confirmation of eligibility prior to engaging with the recruitment process. Further details can be found in the Applicant Handbook sections “Reapplication by previous applicants” and “Eligibility to apply”.

Applicants must behave professionally, honestly and fairly throughout the recruitment process and during the entirety of the training year to join the register and be fit to practise. The GPhC standards for pharmacy professionals can be found below.

Unprofessional conduct that undermines the fairness, transparency or integrity of the national recruitment process, may result in removal from the current recruitment round and referral for further review.

By participating in the Foundation Pharmacy NRS, applicants confirm that they: