Sign Off and ARCP
The following information relates to the current South West Foundation Schools sign off process, this will be updated as and when it is necessary
An Annual Review of Competence Progression (ARCP) is the process by which foundation doctors are signed off for Foundation Year 1 (F1) and Foundation Year 2 (F2).
South West Foundation Schools – ARCP checklists for Foundation Doctors
The South West Foundation Schools checklists have been written in accordance with the UKFPO published checklist. It sets out the criteria that must be reached to get a satisfactory ARCP outcome (1 or 6).
The checklists (accessible below) lists the criteria that will be considered by the ARCP panel. The list for F1 is slightly different from the one for F2.
F1 ARCP evidence required
F2 ARCP evidence required
The UKFPOs Foundation Programme Curriculum Resource Guide provides weblinks to a number of online resources which may be used as additional evidence on the teaching mapping document to demonstrate learning where formal teaching sessions have been missed.
Aide memoirs for portfolio checks
Below are aide memoirs for portfolio checks in preparation for ARCP panels.
Curriculum assessment
- ALS (ILS if unable to do ALS)certificate or equivalent evidence linked to FPC2 (see curriculum page 93 for requirements).
- PSA certificate should be linked to FPC 4 (F1s)
- FPC 9 should have evidence of QI activity F1s (e.g., data collection) and a full QIP F2s (e.g. upload presentation given of QIP)(see the Curriculum Page 101 for requirements)
- FPC 10 should have evidence of delivering a teaching session during FY1 and FY2 – e.g., DCT or LEADER assessment
- FPC 11 Evidence of engagement with quality assurance activity (you could upload evidence of the completion of GMC survey or end of post survey or participant in Foundation Quality panel)
Other portfolio evidence
- Teaching log – minimum 30 hours core teaching; minimum 60 hours total (please see the UKFP guidance on what counts as Core and Non-Core)
- The school does not specify any e-learning that can count towards Core teaching. Also, whilst there is no national cap on the amount of e-Learning we would expect to see a variety of opportunities utilized for non-Core teaching.
- SIM The Curriculum page 83 recommends 3 x SIM sessions over the 2 levels of Foundation Training. 1 session could include life support in a simulated session (for example ALS or ILS would count as 1 session)
- Three summary narratives
- Evidence of regular reflection
- Evidence of contemporaneous portfolio activity demonstrating competence in both physical and mental health across, acute, non-acute and community settings
- Form R All Time Out of Training (TOOT) e.g. Compassionate Leave, Parental Leave, Sickness Absence, Jury Service, Industrial Action and any other statutory reason should be recorded on your form R.
- Study Leave record form
Notes:
The following continue to be recommended as good professional practice but are no longer a mandatory requirement in the curriculum for ARCP evidence (HORUS has not yet been fully updated):
- Initial CS and ES meeting records
- PDPs (please remember, a PDP is required for study leave requests)
South West Foundation Schools– Guidance for curriculum linking
All Foundation Doctors: Enhanced Form R for Revalidation
The GMC introduced revalidation for all practising doctors who have full registration (includes all F2s and specialty doctors). Licensed doctors are required to demonstrate on a regular basis that they are up to date and fit to practise and will have to revalidate, usually every five years. The Postgraduate Dean is the Responsible Officer for making recommendations to the GMC that residents should be revalidated.
Over each 5-year period, you need to collect supporting information to show you are meeting the GMC's professional standards. As a Foundation Doctor, you will be gathering this information anyway in order to meet the requirements of your training programme. The Postgraduate Dean, as your Responsible Officer, will use the outcomes of your ARCP process to inform their recommendation to the GMC.
In addition, you are required to make a self-declaration of your scope of practice and whether you have been involved in any conduct, capability or formal Serious Untoward Incidents/Significant event investigations or named in complaints. This declaration is called an Enhanced Form R and you need to provide one for your ARCP panel. The Responsible Officer will use the information that you submit on your Form R, in conjunction with that declared to us by your employer, in the revalidation decision.
The Enhanced Form R will be available within your Horus e-portfolio under Forms.
For more information on Revalidation please see the GMC website.
ARCP Panel
ARCP panels will be set up locally by your employing trust in accordance with published guidance contained in the Gold Guide for Postgraduate Training.
Doctors who have been awarded an adverse outcome and a minimum random 10% of the cohort will be invited to attend a face-to-face post ARCP feedback meeting.
2026 ARCP dates
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All trainee portfolios must be completed by
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5pm (BST) Thursday 28th May 2026 |
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ARCP Panel dates
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Monday 1st – Friday 12th June 2026 |
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Final ARCP outcomes
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by 26th June 2026 |
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Appeals Deadline
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5pm (BST) Friday 10th July 2026 |
ARCP outcomes
You will receive one of the following outcomes which will be recorded on an ARCP outcome form in your e-portfolio.
| F1 ARCP review panel outcome: | F2 ARCP review panel outcome: |
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Outcome 1: Satisfactory completion of F1 |
Outcome 6: Satisfactory completion of F2 - Recommendation for the award of the Foundation Achievement of Competence Document (FACD) |
| Outcome 3: Inadequate progress – additional training time required | |
| Outcome 4: Released from training programme | |
| Outcome 5: Incomplete evidence presented – additional training time may be required | |
ARCP Appeals
Please refer to our South West Foundation Schools Appeals Guidance
Less Than Full Time (LTFT)/ Out of Synch Foundation Doctors ARCP Timeline Guidance
Whilst the checklist and curriculum requirements for out of synch/LTFT Foundation Doctors still applies in all respects, the timeline contained within it will not apply. You should achieve your portfolio requirements over the whole of your F1 or F2 training time up to your own confirmed portfolio closure day.
If your indicative completion date is more than 12 months from your last ARCP or if you have not yet had an ARCP (you are F1 training on a LTFT basis) a panel will still conduct a review annually but a further panel will need to convene when you are approaching your next critical progression point (end of F1 or F2 for Foundation Doctors). Your own portfolio closure date will relate to the next critical progression point.
Your trust will confirm your ARCP date and portfolio closure date separately and individually, in accordance with published guidance contained in the Gold Guide for Postgraduate Training.
- For example, if you are not due to complete your Foundation year until November
In this scenario:
- you would have an ARCP review in June where the panel would review your portfolio so far and award an ARCP ‘Other Outcome’ indicating whether your portfolio is on course for successful completion.
- You should not ask your Educational Supervisor to complete your End of Year supervisor report for the June ARCP - this would need to wait until, your last August to November placement.
- you will still need an End of Placement report from both your CS and ES in the previous April to August Placement.
- You should then continue to add to your portfolio in the August to November period completing SLE’s, attending teaching and updating your Summary Narrative to evidence a contemporaneous portfolio.
Further Information
Further documents designed to assist Foundation Doctors with the sign-off process can be accessed below - we hope all these documents will help F1s (in particular) gain an idea of what will be required so that portfolios can be built throughout the year to satisfy requirements.
Foundation Doctors Supervision Help sheet - a useful guide of what you and your supervisor need to do and when.
The Foundation Programme is both time and outcome-based. Foundation Doctors must complete 12 months in approved Foundation Year 1 (F1) placements and 12 months in approved Foundation Year 2 (F2) placements as well as meeting the other requirements of the programme. The GMC guidance for absence states that if Foundation Doctors miss any time they were due to be on duty this will count as an absence whether it was a weekday, weekend or night shift. The maximum number of days a Foundation Doctor can be absent when they were due to be on duty is 20.
Should Foundation Doctors feel they need additional support, for example, because of problems in their personal life, health or performance as a doctor, South West Postgraduate Medical Education has produced a help sheet to offer guidance for anyone experiencing difficulties and to help point them to where they can find help. A copy of this document is accessible below:
Foundation Doctors Support Help Sheet