This webpage is for resident doctors and colleagues based in Kent, Surrey & Sussex, Thames Valley and Wessex.
NHS England is committed to supporting resident doctors and dental trainees in undertaking study leave activities to achieve their specialty curriculum and support professional development. Study leave funding is available to cover the following activities:
- Courses/education activities to support resident doctors and dental trainees to achieve the curriculum,
- Courses to help prepare for postgraduate exams,
- Discretionary courses that add value to doctors and dental trainees individually and support the wider system.
Items excluded from Study Leave funding or days
Study Leave (time and/or funding) cannot be used for the following:
– Additional materials associated with courses (e.g. logbooks).
– Membership fees or subscriptions.
– ePortfolio registration costs.
– Postgraduate exam fees.
– Examination fees – including START assessment in line with national policy.
– Printing costs for presenting posters/ publications.
– Publication fees.
– Credit card charges, currency conversion charges.
– Visas or application fees.
– Car insurance.
– Low emission zone charges.
– Childcare costs.
– Ceremonies.
– Observerships or clinical attachments over 2 weeks in duration (2-4 weeks may be approved for Study Leave funding on a case-by-case basis; but otherwise individual Relocation budgets are used).
– Any statutory or mandatory training or other employer-related leave (this is covered by your employing Trust)
– Qualifications such as ALS/ATLS/APLS required for clinical practice by your employer unless they are also an explicit requirement for your current curriculum.
– Interview Leave, including GP Selection Centre, Specialty Training or Consultant interviews. Resident doctors should seek advice from their Trust about applying for Professional Leave in these situations (local arrangements may apply).
– Travel to attend ARCP.
– Meetings to present papers. Resident doctors should be encouraged to present papers at academic and clinical meetings, but the TPD or Head of School will need to judge whether the activity is relevant to the curriculum and/or an aspirational activity that is beneficial to the resident doctor’s development.
– Higher Degrees, including PGCerts, Masters, and PhDs, not required for CCT.
– Any claim for which a receipt cannot be produced (except London Underground contactless payments, whereby bank statements will be accepted for single contactless underground fares).
South East Study Leave – guidance, entitlements, approved lists and how to apply
A-Z Guidance – Prior to submitting a Study Leave application, please check the guidance regarding various aspects of study leave, including travel and accommodation entitlements, private study, and which items are and are not covered, in our South East Study Leave A-Z.
Approved Lists – Details on the three different categories for study leave activities; Essential, Supporting and Aspirational, and the approved course lists for each South East School are accessible here.
Aspirational and International requests – Additional guidance on entitlements and applications for Aspirational and International activities is here and should be read prior to commencing an application.
Application process – You should aim to commence the application process at least 10 weeks in advance of the activity to ensure that you have final approval 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 below:
- KSS Resident Doctors, including all GP registrars
- Thames Valley Resident Doctors, including GP registrars working in a Trust
- Wessex Resident Doctors, including GP registrars working in a Trust
- GP Registrars working in a GP Practice placement or Integrated Training Posts (ITP)
- Foundation Resident Doctors
- Dental Trainees
- Public Health Registrars
Resident Doctors employed in a London trust need to follow the NHSE London study leave guidance and application process on the HET portal here.
Locally Delivered Courses – If you are interested in obtaining funding to organise a local course within the South East then please refer to the links here.
Who should I contact if I have any further questions?
If you have read all the information available on the South East study leave webpages and still have a query, or please contact your employing Trust’s study leave team in the first instance; contact details are here. They will escalate to the applicable NHSE team if required.