Foundation Training
Foundation Training provides the opportunity for foundation trainee pharmacists to develop and demonstrate the skills, knowledge, understanding and professional behaviours to practise to the standards expected of a pharmacist.
Foundation Training is governed by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) as the Pharmacy regulator in Great Britain. Information can be found on the GPhC website.
All foundation training programmes in London from the 2025-26 training year onwards will be provided through NHS England as the GPhC-accredited statutory education body in England.
Each employer has their own unique foundation training programme aimed at enabling foundation trainee pharmacists to meet GPhC foundation training requirements and transition successfully from a student to a registered healthcare professional.
NHS England has developed resources for all foundation trainee pharmacists regardless of the sector in which they are training, to support them during their foundation training.
National Resources
NHS England has developed the following resources for all foundation trainee pharmacists regardless of the sector in which they are training:
Practice-Based Assessment Strategy to assist foundation trainee pharmacists to demonstrate their competence against the GPhC foundation training learning outcomes and for their Designated Supervisor to assess whether they have met individual learning outcomes at the appropriate level.
E-portfolio to assist foundation trainee pharmacists, Designated Supervisors and Designated Prescribing Practitioners to record, manage and review evidence to demonstrate progress against the GPhC foundation training learning outcomes, supported by the practice-based assessment strategy.
A curated set of Learning Resources mapped to the practice-based assessment strategy available for foundation trainee pharmacists to utilise throughout their training to support their development and evidencing of individual GPhC foundation training learning outcomes.
ProPharmace Training
ProPharmace has been appointed to deliver the NHS England Foundation Trainee Pharmacist Programme Training Provision for London.
This comprehensive programme has been commissioned by NHS England and is designed to support foundation trainee pharmacists to meet the GPhC Learning Outcomes, develop prescribing capabilities, and progress confidently towards registration and professional practice.
All communication to do with this programme will come from ProPharmace and not NHS England, including dates and location of training days.
The training days are a key component of the NHS England Foundation Trainee Pharmacist Programme and are mandatory for all trainees. The programme starts with an on-line induction session.
Further information about the programme commissioned by NHS England is available.
Trainee Support
Across all professions, it is recognised that trainees may sometimes encounter difficulties during their training and that they may require additional support to complete their training. Guidance is available for pharmacy training providers to help and encourage trainees to identify areas in which they require support and/or adjustments to training without any associated stigma or disadvantage.
The NHS England Trainee Support Guide outlines the educational support processes in place for pharmacy trainees (foundation trainee pharmacists and pre-registration trainee pharmacy technicians) who are undertaking their foundation/pre-registration training.
Multi-Sector Foundation Training
NHS England Multi-Sector Foundation Training resources are available to support trainees, employers and supervisors. This includes a Multi-Sector Rotation Guide.
NHS England Foundation Trainee Pharmacist Programme (FTPP) Change Form
The NHS England FTPP change form must be completed by foundation trainee pharmacists, Designated Supervisors and Designated Prescribing Practitioners to update NHS England of any personal, programme and/or supervisor changes.
As part of the foundation training year, eligible foundation trainee pharmacists will be required to undertake at least 90 hours of supervised learning to develop their prescribing competence as part of the Training Plan for their foundation programme.
The guidance below provides one example of potential activities to consider when developing training plans to meet prescribing activities within the NHS England Practice-Based Assessment Strategy.
This document was developed from the experience and outputs of a pilot in South East London Integrated Care System in 2024. The project was funded by NHS England Pharmacy London, to test models for integrating prescribing training into the foundation training year. Further information on this pilot is available here.