We are delighted that you are considering applying to work as a Foundation Doctor within the Northern Foundation School.
Foundation Recruitment
Entry at F1 level each August is via the annual national FP applications process overseen by the UK Foundation Programme Office. Applicants must apply through the Oriel recruitment system.
Key Dates for August 2024 Recruitment Cycle
- Registration opens on Oriel between 12th September - 20th September 2023
- Application window (including Pre-allocation) opens on Oriel from 20th September (09:00 BST) - 4th October (12:00 noon BST) 2023
- National allocation to Foundation School is 7th March 2024
- The FP Preferencing window opens on 7th March 2024
- Match to programme will be confirmed for all applicants on tbc
The list of Posts available for August 2024 can be found by clicking here
Please find a Summary of the UK FP 2024 Information here
Please see the UKFP Competition Ratios for 2021/2022/2023 here
Please note: It is important to note that placements offered as part of each programme may be subject to change at any point, including the formal recruitment cycle. This can be for a variety of reasons including clinical reconfiguration of services or a change in training or supervision capacity of a particular department. We do try to minimise the number of changes which are made however as the indicative programmes are uploaded to Oriel almost a year in advance of the programme starting, this is sometimes unavoidable. We will inform candidates of any changes to their allocated programme as soon as we possibly can in line with the Code of Practice guidance from NHS Employers.
Linked Applications
The Northern Foundation School honours linked applications however once both applicants are allocated to the Foundation School then the link is broken. The link does not allocate you to a specific Local Education Provider or programme.
Approved special circumstances pre-allocate you to a Foundation School but not to a Local Education Providers or programme within the Foundation School so you should rank all of the programmes by the specified deadlines.
If you have any further queries, please email Foundation recruitment
Foundation Priority Programmes
The Northern Foundation School offer 49 Priority Programmes in total. 6 of these programmes offer the Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education and are offered at the following Local Education Providers (LEP):
- County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
- Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust
- North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust
- Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust
- The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
The remaining 43 priority programmes are all with North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust and all programmes include a £7,000 financial incentive in F1 and F2 as part of the Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme (TERS).
Specialised Foundation Posts
Entry for 2-Year Specialised FP posts in our region is also via the annual national FP applications process overseen by the UK Foundation Programme Office. Applications for SFPs can only be made via the national Foundation Programme website and the applicants must apply through the Oriel recruitment system. The application window is the same as the application window for FP and applicants will be invited to express an interest in applying for SFP during completion of the national application on Oriel.
Applicants choosing to apply for SFP will need to submit separate applications (up to a maximum of two) in addition to their FP application form. Once the national application process has closed (on the 4th October) the Northern Foundation School will begin their local recruitment processes to shortlist and interview applicants for SFPs.
Further information on the white space questions when applying for SFP
The Northern Foundation School requests that the white space questions on Oriel are answered (more details on the SFP page). Please click here for a copy of the questions that are on Oriel.
Key Dates for August 2024 Specialised Foundation Programmes
Shortlisted applicants will be invited to interview which will be held on 28th/29th November 2023 (provisionally). The interviews will be held virtually via MS TEAMS. Full details of the interview process and timings will be communicated to shortlisted applicants when they are invited to interview. There are no alternative interview dates.
It is the applicant’s responsibility to allow enough time to register, enrol and apply within the application window. The foundation school cannot be held responsible for those who miss a deadline if they have chosen to leave completing their FP/SFP application until the last minute.
All SFP offers will be made in the Jan – Feb offer period. Successful applicants will have the opportunity to accept/decline offers on Oriel by the stated deadlines. Applicants applying for SFP who are not successful in obtaining an SFP offer by the close of SFP recruitment will automatically transfer to standard FP recruitment. Full details of the national application process and timeline, including the 2024 national person specification can be found on the UKFPO website.
Ranking your SFP Preferences
Please rank all of the programmes you wish to be considered for, in order of preference, under the "Preference" column by using the drag and drop function on Oriel. Any programmes you do not wish to be considered for should remain in the "Not Wanted" column. The more programmes you preference, the greater the likelihood of being offered a programme of your choice, if you are successful at interview. We recommend you rank as many of our SFP Posts as possible to increase your opportunity for a place, but this is entirely your choice. Please note: SFP preferences can be altered up to 13th October (12.00 noon BST) 2023
For all recruitment enquiries, please email Foundation recruitment
F2 Stand alone Recruitment
There will be national F2 stand alone recruitment ran by the UKFPO. These posts are available for applicants who hold or are eligible for full registration with the General Medical Council (GMC). Stand-alone programmes provide an opportunity for overseas graduates who qualify with full registration to enter the training system in the UK. Doctors who are already working as part of a recognised two-year foundation programme are not eligible to apply for F2 Stand-alone posts. The details of specific programmes and posts available within each foundation school are not yet confirmed. These will be available to applicants on Oriel during the programme preferencing window . For further information please visit the UKFPO website.
Inter-Foundation School Transfers
If a F1 trainee's circumstances have changed and there are specific reasons as to why a current F1 trainee needs to transfer to a different programme for their F2 year, they may be eligible to apply for a transfer based on set criteria. Please refer to the Inter-Foundation School Transfer (IFST) guidance available on the UKFPO website.