Pre-registration training grant
Pre-registration training grant
The Pre-Registration Training Grant is currently set at £18,440 per year.
Payment is made by NHS England in arrears. Further details about the training grant are set out in Part XIII of the Drug Tariff.
Local NHS England teams (formerly known as Area Teams) are responsible for instructing the NHS Prescription Services to make payments in respect of pre-registration trainees. For payment related problems linked to the pre-registration grant, the first point of contact is a contractor’s local NHS England team.
Pre-Registration Training Grant application form
In response to contractor requests, PSNC has developed a form which pharmacy contractors can use to apply to their local NHS England team for payment of the Pre-Registration Training Grant. There is no nationally approved form to claim this payment therefore the use of the form is not mandatory.
Pre-reg funding application form (PDF)
Pre-reg funding application form (Word)
FAQs
Q. I took on a pre-registration trainee. Is there any payment available to help fund the costs of training?
Yes. A grant is payable to pharmacy contractors who provide the pre-registration training experience needed by pharmacy graduates and certain undergraduates for admission to GPhC’s Register of Pharmacists (see Drug Tariff (Part XIII)). Pharmacy contractors who have undertaken to provide pre-registration training should submit a claim to NHS England at the start of the training period. If the training ends prematurely, you must inform the local NHS England team immediately in writing so that the grant is not overpaid.
Q. Do I have to pay all the pre-registration training grant to the trainee?
No. The pre-registration training grant is a contribution to the cost of providing the training.
Q. How will the payment for the pre-registration training grant appear on my Schedule of Payment?
The pre-registration trainee payment appears on page 2 of the Schedule of Payments under the heading ‘Details of Local Amounts Authorised by Area Team’. It will be shown as Pre-registration trainee and the trainee name would appear alongside.
Q. I have been approached by a pharmacy graduate who unfortunately has failed the pre-registration assessment twice. The General Pharmaceutical Council requires the graduate to undertake a six month period of supervised employment, prior to taking the registration assessment. Does this qualify for the pre-registration training grant?
No. The grant is available only for periods of recognised pre-registration training experience.
Q. I have been approached by a pharmacy graduate who has completed part of the pre-registration training year, but needs to change training site (pharmacy premises approved by GPhC as being a site which can provide pre-registration students with the opportunity to develop and demonstrate the knowledge, skills and behaviours that patients and the public expect from a fully qualified pharmacist). Can I take on the trainee and receive the pre-registration training grant?
It depends. There are strict rules on changing pre-registration training sites. The General Pharmaceutical Council should be contacted to determine whether the training will be recognised as part of pre-registration training. Provided GPhC confirms that this constitutes a period of approved pre-registration training, NHS England should accept the application from the pharmacy contractor for payment of the pre-registration training grant for the remaining period of recognised pre-registration training, but it may be sensible to confirm with NHS England before you agree to employ the trainee.
Q. I heard there was going to be a centralised scheme for pre-registration pharmacist recruitment - can you tell me more about it?
Health Education England (HEE) is introducing a new centralised recruitment and selection for pre-registration pharmacists posts from 2017 onwards. This process will utilise the IT system ORIEL which is already in place for the recruitment of dentists, doctors and healthcare scientists. It will apply to all hospital pre-registration pharmacist posts and will be optional for community pharmacy pre-registration posts. Further information about the proposed process is available here.
In August and September 2016 HEE asked community pharmacy employers for their expressions of interest to sign up to the scheme. HEE has now finalised the list of employers that will be employing pre-registration pharmacists through the national recruitment scheme for England this year and cannot accept any further expressions of interest at this stage. New expressions of interest from employers for the 2018 recruitment round (2019 trainee cohort) will be invited in the autumn of 2017. Further information regarding this will be available closer to the time.
All employers within the scheme must be committed to providing a high quality training experience, and HEE requires employers who sign up to commit to complying with:
GPhC
- Initial Standards in Education and Training in respect of pre-registration pharmacist training
- Registered Pharmacy Premises for Pre-registration Pharmacist Training
- Guidance on Tutoring for Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians
HEE
With regards to the HEE Quality standards and framework, the expectations are that the criteria are implemented through HEE local offices and processes are expected to be proportionate for the training location. HEE will work with community pharmacy employers to shape these processes moving forward.
