About us

What is a Foundation School?

Foundation Schools co-ordinate the training programme management together with the UKFPO and local education providers. They bring together local medical schools, local education and training boards, trusts and other organisations involved in training doctors.
 
Foundation training is a two year programme acting as the bridge between undergraduate medical education and further training to become a general practitioner or specialist. Foundation schools oversee the training of the foundation doctors in that school.

London Trusts

North London - Acute

North London - Community & Psychiatry

South London - Acute

South London - Community & Psychiatry

Prospectus 2024

London Foundation School Prospectus 2024 

Individual Placement Descriptors

Each of our affiliated trusts provide us with Individual Placement Descriptors (IPDs) for each of the posts within our programmes detailing:

  • Site of the job
  • Main duties of the placement
  • Typical working pattern
  • Employer Information

The IPDs for each Trust can be accessed below:

North London Trusts

South London Trusts

​Foundation Doctor School Reps

Sub Region/ Group Grade First Name Surname Email Address
North East London F1 Alisha Kassam alisha.kassam@nhs.net
North East London F2 Rimsha Khan rimsha.khan2@nhs.net
North East London F2 Francis Elechi francis.elechi@nhs.net
North Central London F1 Kinan Wihba k.wihba@nhs.net
North Central London F2 Zina Al-Kaisy Z.alkaisy1@nhs.net
North West London F1 Federica Re federica.re1@nhs.net
North West London F2 Melissa Matthews Melissa.Matthews11@nhs.net
South East London F1 Alexander Martindale alexander.martindale@nhs.net
South East London F2 John Gillespie john.gillespie3@nhs.net
South West London F1 Diego Agustín Abelleyra Lastoria diego.abelleyralastoria@stgeorges.nhs.uk
South West London F2 Ellinor Raby e.raby1@nhs.net
IMG Pan London F1 Maria Mankaruis Maria.mankaruis@gstt.nhs.uk
IMG Pan London F2 Nina Seylanova nina.seylanova@nhs.net
SFP North London SFP F1 Federica Re federica.re1@nhs.net
SFP North London SFP F2 Melissa Matthews Melissa.Matthews11@nhs.net
SFP South London SFP Diego Agustín Abelleyra Lastoria diego.abelleyralastoria@stgeorges.nhs.uk

For information on your local trust representatives you should speak to your local Post Graduate team. 

How Foundation Doctor Representatives Are Selected

The London Foundation School is keen to ensure that the views of foundation doctors are adequately represented at all of the relevant local/national meetings. During August, foundation doctors are invited to express their interest in being a representative on various committees/groups by submitting a 100 word statement explaining why they wish to take part and how they would ensure that they represented the views of their peers.

London Foundation School Recruitment

Decile Scores

Decile scores are published on the recruitment site Recruitment (Medical-Foundation)

2024 Group Preferencing Talk - Friday 8th March 2024

Please use the below link to access the 2024 Group Preferencing talk which took place on Friday 8th March 2024.

2024 Group Preferncing Talk

You will need to ensure you are using an NHS.Net account to view this link.

A copy of the presentation slide can be found here: 2024 Group Preferencing Talk Slides

Programme Fair 2024

The 2024 London Foundation Programme Fair will take place on Friday 15th March 2024 at the Kia Oval.

The timetable for the day, can be found below:

2024 London FS Programme Fair 

Time 

Event 

Room 

09:15 

AM Session Start 

England Suite 

09:15 - 09:55 

Arrival of Medical Students ^ 

England Suite 

10:00 - 11:00 

FSD Talk Session 1 * 

India Room 

11:15 - 12:15 

FSD Talk Session 2 * 

India Room 

12:30 

AM Session Finish 

England Suite 

13:00 

PM Session Start 

England Suite 

13:00 - 13:40 

Arrival of Medical Students ^ 

England Suite 

13:45 - 14:45 

FSD Talk Session 3 * 

India Room 

15:00 - 16:00 

FSD Talk Session 4 * 

India Room 

16:00 

PM Session Finish 

England Suite 

^Please ensure that you arrive on time for your session and only attend the AM or PM sessions you have booked. 

*Please only attend the FSD talk session you are booked onto; you may use the time when you are not in your booked talk to visit the trusts stands.  

Venue Details: The Kia Oval, Kennington, London, Greater London, United Kingdom, SE11 5SS

Please use the Alec Stewart Gate Alec Stewart Gate Directions

Nearest train stations

  • Vauxhall (0.3 miles)
  • Elephant & Castle (1 mile)
  • London Waterloo (1.3 miles)

Nearest tube stations

  • Oval (0.1 miles)
  • Vauxhall (0.3 miles)
  • Kennington (0.6 miles)

Nearest airports

  • London City Airport (7.2 miles)
  • London Heathrow Airport (14.6 miles)
  • London Gatwick Airport (22.7 miles)

Nearest motorways

  • M4 JCT 1 (7.1 miles)
  • M1 JCT 1 (7.7 miles)
  • M4 JCT 2 (7.7 miles)

Parking

  • Car on site (50 spaces) 

On the 7th March 2024, once you have been allocated to the London Foundation School, you will receive an email with a form to register your attendance to the Programme Fair and Foundation School Director Talks.

Arrangements for managing doctors with special circumstances (including pre-allocation)

Updated 13th September 2024

Congruent with UKFPO 2024 entry criteria

Personal Circumstances approval for F1 doctors

The national pre-allocation (Personal Circumstances) process allows some applicants to apply to be pre-allocated to a Foundation School on the grounds of Personal Circumstances on the basis of the following criteria: 

Criterion 1: You are a parent or legal guardian of a child or children under the age of 18, who reside primarily with you or for whom you have significant caring responsibilities.

Criterion 2: Significant Caring Responsibilities (as defined by the Equality Act 2010)

Criterion 3: You have a health condition or disability for which ongoing follow up for the condition in the specified location is an absolute requirement.

Criterion 4: Extraordinary circumstances (e.g. athlete, armed forces reserves, house adapted for a disability)

Criterion 5: a) educational circumstances

                    b) widening participation

Additional information is on the Foundation Programme website.

Approved personal circumstances results in applicants being pre-allocated to a specific foundation school for their foundation training, provided they meet the national allocation criteria and they complete medical school successfully.

Approval of a personal circumstances application does not guarantee allocation to a specific Trust or programme within the foundation school, although there is provision to allocate to a programme group via the national process.

An applicant pre-allocated to a foundation school on the grounds of personal circumstances will not be permitted to link their application to another individual in the application process.

Implications for those allocated to the London Foundation School

Generally foundation schools do not offer pre-allocation of specific programmes within the foundation school to those with personal circumstances.

The London FS, however, covers a wide geographical area.  In order to reduce the chance of a distant allocation, individuals pre-allocated with criteria 1, 2, 3 and 4 will be able to preference the programme group geographically linked to their home address.

The London Foundation School includes 5 programme groups (they may cover wider geographical areas than the descriptors suggest owing to the need to make them fairly similar):

North West London

North Central London

North East London

South London West

South London East

All other applicants will be reviewed looking for a specific and overwhelming need to be offered a specific site/area e.g. F1 on dialysis.

Late Special Circumstances

Applicants who wish to change their allocated foundation programmes will only be able to do so on the basis of having approved personal circumstances, subject to their being a suitable vacancy available, or following an approved swap for the F2 year (see swaps guidance).

F1

Late applications for F1 personal circumstances will be reviewed to confirm their eligibility as soon as they are received.  

Applicants applying for late personal circumstances approval whose home address is outside the London region are encouraged to apply for a foundation school transfer to the foundation school nearest to their home address, as this would provide them with the greatest opportunity of being allocated to a location within a reasonable commute of their home address. 

If a vacancy within the nearest foundation school was not available the applicant would retain their place within London and we would endeavour to identify a vacancy at a trust within a reasonable commute, however, the London FS is unable to guarantee this.

Please refer to the foundation school transfer guidance and application form under “key documents” of the UKFPO website.

New applications for personal circumstances for the F2 year

Some F1 doctors may be eligible to apply for new personal circumstances for F2 owing to a significant change in their circumstances since starting their F1 year:

  • Any changes made would be for the location of the F2 year, and would not affect the existing F1 programme.
  • If F2 personal circumstances are approved, and it is agreed that the allocated trust is not within a reasonable commute, the location of the linked  F2 Trust may be adjusted, subject to available programmes.
  • Please note that subsequent reallocation is subject to capacity and therefore it is not always possible to provide a programme at a site within a reasonable commute.
  • If you feel you need to make an application for Personal Circumstances please contact the School team here.

Change in Exceptional Circumstances

If you are due to start FY1 in August 2024, or are a current trainee due to start FY2 in August 2024, and you have experienced an exceptional change in circumstances since you applied to the foundation training programme which affects your ability to complete training in your current location, please let us know via completion of the following form: 

For London foundation doctors please complete this form: 

https://forms.office.com/e/y6LpeVCBgp       

Please also ensure that you submit your additional supporting information via our applicant support portal here: https://lasepgmdesupport.hee.nhs.uk/support/tickets/new?form_7=true 

We are only able to consider an exceptional change in circumstances that can be evidenced and will not consider any requests for programme swaps between doctors who have had no change to their personal circumstances.  

The criteria are those in the guidance for IFSTs 2024 on the UKFPO website: 

  1. Parental responsibilities. 
  2. Primary carer responsibilities. 
  3. Medical condition or disability for which ongoing follow-up for the condition in the specified location is an absolute requirement. 
  4. Unique circumstances (these must be unique, not other circumstances which do not meet the requirements for the other criteria). 

The forms are open from Wednesday 5th April 2024 at 12pm and will close at 5pm on Monday 15th April 2024 with all submissions being reviewed by the foundation school directors shortly after.  

There are very limited numbers of alternative programmes available so it is highly unlikely we will be able to place successful applicants in their preferred alternative location, but we will do all we can to take your circumstances into account. 

London Foundation School Staff

The Directors

Dr Alice Carter - Associate Dean, London Foundation School Director
Dr Celia Bielawski - Deputy Director (North Central London)
Dr Nick Rollitt - Deputy Director (North East London)
Dr Fionnuala Crummy - Deputy Director (North West London)
Dr Channa Jayasena - Academic Lead (North London)
Dr Amelia Hughes - Deputy Director (South East London)
Dr Mark Cottee - Deputy Director (South West London)
Dr Claire Mallinson - Academic Lead (South London)

The London Foundation Team

Mark Bellaera - Service Delivery Manager
Simon Rosan - Operations Manager & Foundation School Manager
Tarek Hussain - Officer (North Central & East London trusts)
Andrew Goodhand - Officer (North West London trusts)
Adeola Teluwo - Officer (South London trusts)
Tencho Pavlov - Senior Administrator
David Jarvis - Administrator
Launa Broadley - Administrator
Paige Arnold - Administrator

Contact Details

NHS England
Workforce, Training and Education
10 South Colonnade,
Canary Wharf,
London,
E14 4PU

Telephone: 020 7866 3216

Trust and Foundation doctor enquiries need to be submitted via the London and South East PGMDE Support Portal (PSP):

https://lasepgmdesupport.hee.nhs.uk/support/home

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