Background

This ‘year-end’ summary report presents a board-level overview of education and training delivered by your trust for the educational year, August 2024 to July 2025. It should be used to help support education and training, and its associated financial governance. The report describes educational strengths and challenges, including areas where further support may be required to meet education and training standards. Information on NHS England WTE funding is presented to detail monies sent for education and training purposes, including that for the remuneration of supervisors’ time as part of the NHS Education Funding Agreement 2024-27. The report concludes with priorities for the 2025-26 training cycle.

Further detail supporting this summary is contained within the Self-Assessment Report (SAR) and the ongoing Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) submitted by your organisation. The end of year position was confirmed with the trust’s senior leadership at the 2025 Annual Dean’s Quality Meeting (ADQM), the purpose of which is to provide an annual forum to discuss the standards of education and training delivered.

The role of the Postgraduate Dean

The function of the Postgraduate Dean remains in statute as NHS England integrates with the Department of Health and Social Care. The Postgraduate Dean remains responsible for the quality of all clinical learning environments and has responsibility for both monitoring and providing onward assurance to the wider NHS and to system and professional regulators. This includes:

• A management responsibility for the delivery and governance for medical education in NENC
• A statutory accountability to the General Medical Council for assuring the quality of all medical training placements for ongoing approval by the GMC.
• The PGD is the Responsible Officer (RO) for NHS England Education North East which is the Designated Body for revalidation.
• Sharing governance processes with other system partners including the Medical Schools and Higher Education Institutes, who hold responsibility for the oversight of undergraduate education of healthcare students across all professions including their placements in LEPs and for which NHS England WTE provides funding.

Revalidation and the Lead Employer Trust

The Postgraduate Dean is the Responsible Officer for all Resident Doctors employed by the Lead Employer Trust. All revalidation and fitness to practice concerns for Resident Doctors should be communicated to the Postgraduate Dean as soon as possible, either through direct contact and or by the revalidation Live Flow process. The PGD must lead any fitness to practice decision-making processes concerning Resident Doctor’s and is available for RO to RO communications regarding doctors employed by other designated bodies, whose RO is commonly their Medical Director (e.g. Trainers at Foundation Trusts).

We work closely with the Lead Employer Trust who is the employer of all Resident Doctors in the region and manages both their contract of employment and any Maintaining High Professional Standards (MHPS) concerns that may arise. The Postgraduate Dean and the LET must therefore be informed of any concerns relating to the conduct and/or health of individual Resident Doctors.    

Quality overview and statement of assurance

NHS England WTE thanks Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust for the engagement and hard work which has enabled the North East and North Cumbria to collectively deliver the highest rated clinical training in the UK over the past decade. This shared commitment to work together has been maintained throughout the most challenging years in NHS history and is a credit to all concerned, from your clinical ‘shop floor’ to Trust Board level. We are grateful for the continuous efforts to improve education and training as we aim for excellence and look to benefit our patients.

The table below shows a high-level view of your organisation as of 31st July 2025 and a clinical service level overview is provided in the grid provided to the Trust. The background to any escalation was discussed at your 2025 ADQM and outline details are given at the end of this section.

Our quality management processes are described in Appendix 1.

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Summary View of LEP for Training Cycle August 2024 to July 2025

Overall ISF level 0

• Domain 1 Learning Environment & Culture ISF level 0*
• Domain 2 Educational Governance & Leadership ISF level 0
• Domain 3 Supporting & Empowering Learners ISF level 0
• Domain 4 Supporting & Empowering Educators ISF level 0*
• Domain 5 Delivering Curricula & Assessments ISF level 0
• Domain 6 Developing a Sustainable Workforce ISF level 0

NHS England Workforce Training and Education works with all Local Education Providers via its Training Programmes and Directorates and uses the levels of the NHS England Intensive Support Framework to describe Quality in terms of the level of activity at which it is having to work with each LEP and Programme and with the wider system, for any given issue.

With the exception of any escalated issues identified at ISF Level 1 and above at organisational level in the above table, and at clinical service level in the grid provided, NHS England WTE is currently assured of the overall quality of education and training provided by Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, and with the organisational levels of engagement and support provided over the past training year. It is important to note that the quality management of education and training is a live process and that any concerns or escalations arising after the end of July 2025 will be managed as part of the 2025-26 training cycle.

Notes on 2025 ISF Levels requiring other than routine Deanery monitoring

ISF Level 0* – Quality Directorate Overall Trainee and Trainer NTS Feedback for Northumbria Healthcare

Northumbria Healthcare NHS FT has performed consistently well in the global feedback in the annual GMC National Training Survey from Trainees and Trainers. Northumbria has recurrently ranked within the top quartile nationally. This maintaining of excellence in support given to resident doctors and trainers is formally recognised by the Deanery in the current ISF 0* rating.

Overview of the 2025 Annual Dean’s Quality Meetings

The Annual Dean’s Quality Meetings continue to provide a structure for senior level engagement between the Deanery team and Local Education Providers to discuss and resolve specific education and training issues within each LEP. This approach allows shared sighting and planning for challenges and long-term strategies for education and training in our region.

With the integration of NHS England’s functions into the Department of Health, change continues for education and training within the NHS, and with further reform expected from the publication of the 10 Year Health Plan for England and the accompanying Workforce Plan due in autumn, there remains a collective need for the North East and North Cumbria to continue the collaborative work that delivers excellent healthcare and training. It is encouraging that our collective partnerships continue to deliver some of the highest rated education and training in the UK.

Workforce, Training, and the Education Funding Agreement  

All ADQMs reviewed the multiprofessional workforce of the LEP, including measures being taken towards workforce expansion through the emerging Long Term Workforce Plan and potential workforce shortages in both clinical services and educational programmes. Strategies for maintaining and expanding the educator workforce were discussed alongside the financial challenges experienced from increasing demands on estates and facilities. Monies available to support education were discussed for all multi-professional teams and we highlighted the importance of protecting education and training spend alongside trust priorities.

The Education Funding Agreement continues to set out resources and expectations and a key priority highlighted by discussions alongside trainer and educator feedback, is the ongoing need to protect time, finance, and support for educators. For postgraduate medical education discussions focussed on the need of ongoing transparency and accountability in meeting the terms of the EFA.

With the future workforce dependant on placements, gratitude was expressed to the region’s trusts who have been able to accept additional posts given the gap between the funding tariff and the actual costs. Discussions recognised linked concerns around staff morale, with increasing attention required to support manageable workloads and to mitigate risks of burnout.

Maintaining, and in some cases, increasing education team infrastructure is regarded to be critical to support expansion and will remain challenging given the potential risks that could come from corporate staffing reductions. Within post-graduate training discussion reflected the benefits in maintaining a strong link between education and medical staffing teams.

The new exception Reporting process

The new exception reporting process for Resident Doctors in England will become effective from September 2025 and introduces several key changes aimed at enhancing transparency, fairness, and oversight. Working closely with the Lead Employer Trust, the implementation of changes was discussed to understand the approach to be taken by each of the region’s education providers.

Patient Safety

All ADQMs discussed the implementation of PSIRF (Patient Safety Incident Response Framework) as well as the completion rate for level 1 module of the National Patient Safety Syllabus. Discussion focused on the support structure for Resident Doctors involved in patient safety investigations and reporting thresholds for revalidation process. There is process variability and challenges recognised within this first full year of implementation in the notification of education directorates of all Resident Doctors and learners involved in the wider range of PSIRF responses for welfare support.

The Faculty of Patient Safety, together with the wider NENC system, continues to monitor the implementation of PSIRF, which aims to strengthen patient safety response systems and improvement through compassionate engagement and involvement of those affected, provide a collaborative approach to thematic learning and ensure considered, proportionate responses for healthcare staff involved and a system-based approach to learning.

Pharmacy

David Gibson, Lead Pharmacist for NHS England NEY WTE has been working with all LEPs regarding significant changes to the way in which Pharmacy training will be delivered. This includes all future Pharmacists becoming prescribers at time of registration, and the introduction of a Pharmacy Foundation Programme. The scale of change is large, and implementation is proceeding quickly. Many challenges, including the financial model, are being identified.

Veterans’ Health

All LEPs continue to demonstrate an ongoing commitment to supporting the Armed Forces community and to share regional ambition to deliver equitable, informed, and compassionate care to veterans, reservists, and their families. We discussed at all ADQMs the collective efforts, innovations, challenges, and opportunities for collaboration.

Reporting priorities for 2025-26

There will remain a focus on resources, and we ask all Boards and education teams to ensure that:

• Resources are allocated to support the educator workforce strategy
• Finance for education and training is protected
• That educators receive adequate job planned time for training
• That educators receive resources and support to enable them to fulfil their educational roles
• The Trust meets its obligations under the Education Funding Agreement

This strategy, together with progress toward the LTWP will be a focus of the NENC 2025-26 Self-Assessment Report (SAR) which will seek greater detail as to how educational resources are provided to the LEP clinical education teams and to the clinical educators and trainers themselves.

Changes to the apprenticeship levy are being navigated to maximise use of available funding, and consideration of the new structures, implications for fund transfers and the Level 7 age restrictions will remain in focus for the coming year.

With System wide reviews being undertaken to report on PSIRF implementation, we will be revisiting how the process of notification of individuals involved in patient safety incidents are working or being revised to ensure appropriate support provided to resident doctors and learners.

Exception reporting and how it is working will be a focus of the year ahead, including any challenges and themes.

To assist the NEY Pharmacy Programme in its work, and to help the programme develop consistently across all LEPs, we will be revisiting developments in the 2025-26 SAR paperwork to help capture progress and issues as they arise across NENC.

Finally, a huge thank you to you and all of your teams for engagement in the planning, delivery and management of health education and training across NENC in times of great change and limited resources.

Report approval 

Date approved by review lead: 1 August 2025  

NHS England authorised signature: Mr Peter Blakeman (Deputy Postgraduate Dean, Clinical Quality Director), Dr Dawn Ashley (Interim Postgraduate Dean NHS England WTE NENC), Professor Namita Kumar (Regional Postgraduate Dean NHS England WTE NEY) 

Date authorised: 5 August 2025 

Final report submitted to organisation: 5 August 2025  

Appendix 1

Overview of NHS England NENC WTE Quality Management processes

The quality of clinical education and training is defined by the standards of the NHS England Quality Framework and other specific regulatory standards such as GMC Promoting Excellence which share common language and themes. Using locally agreed and shared quality reporting processes, including the submission of a Self-Assessment Report (SAR) and Quality Improvement Plan (QIP), all LEPs and all NHS England NENC WTE Training Directorates provide board-level assurance to the Postgraduate Dean via the Quality Directorate who oversee the live monitoring and quality management of training and education issues via a monthly governance meeting, the Dean’s Executive Meeting for Quality (DEMQ).

Using the multiple standards contained in the six themes of the NHS England Quality Framework (QF), together with the five escalation levels defined by the NHS England Intensive Support Framework (ISF), ‘Quality’ is described both in terms of QF standards being met in any LEP or individual clinical environment, and also in terms of the ISF level of shared activity by which NHS England WTE Training Directorate and Programme is having to work with each LEP. This activity may involve individual clinical service groups within a LEP, the relevant WTE Training Programme, and the wider NHS including the relevant professional and educational regulators for any given issue relating to the provision, delivery, and support of clinical training.

All ISF levels and the underlying reasons for any escalation were discussed at each LEP’s ADQM and are summarised within this report. NHS England-WTE and the GMC are made aware of any escalations at ISF1 and above and the wider system is aware of escalations at ISF2 and above.

NHS England-WTE works with and provides support to each LEP throughout every training cycle and provides significant amounts of funding to each organisation through the NHS Education Funding Agreement in order to support the clinical placements, the trainers and educators employed by the LEP, as well as to support the provision of education and training related resources and facilities within the LEP.

NHS England-WTE gains assurance through the scheduled programme-led monitoring of training placements including Quality Reporting, Visits, and Meetings, and through triangulation of data and information. Relevant information is shared with and received from programmes managed at a regional or national level (e.g. Libraries, Pharmacy, Healthcare Science), and with other organisations including Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), other NHS bodies and the system regulators including the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and the professional regulators.

NHS England-WTE continues to use the escalation processes of the ISF to describe and monitor any concerns identified, and it describes concerns based on the level at which it is having to work with any individual organisation, department, programme, or the wider system to ensure consistency in the way that concerns are identified, described, and shared, and also to ensure the appropriate steps are taken to clarify, improve and resolve the concerns raised.

When there are concerns that a LEP is failing to meet required NHS England or regulator standards, either as a whole organisation, in individual training departments, or when there is system-wide concern about an organisation, NHS England-WTE works directly with the wider NHS via the System Quality Group (SQG) led by the Integrated Care Board (ICB), and also through NHS England Quality Improvement Boards and Risk Summits to discuss the issues of concern, to confirm and agree plans for improvement with the LEP, and to agree outcome measures of success with a realistic timeframe for these to be achieved.

As with its predecessor HEE, NHS England-WTE remains keen to provide support to improve training and education in all locations. Should programme-level actions fail to resolve issues then the relevant NHS England-WTE Deputy Postgraduate Deans/Directors responsible the Foundation, Specialty, and General Practice training programmes and the Director for Quality and Revalidation are available for consultation, advice and to coordinate further actions as deemed necessary, as are the Postgraduate Dean and the Postgraduate Dental Dean. All will work with the LEP at Director and Board Level to help resolve issues and concerns. 

Appendix 2

2025-26 Quality Cycle – Reporting Timeline and Planned Interactions

The annual Education and Training Cycle starts on 1 August 2025 and ends on 31 July 2026. The table below outlines key dates in the cycle and the scheduled activities and planned interactions between NHS England WTE NENC and its LEPs. The WTE NENC Quality Team is always available for consultation and should be contacted using its dedicated mailbox: england.quality.ne@nhs.net