Study Leave, Teaching and Maxcourse Guidance and Information

Study Leave

  • F2s have a total of 30 study leave days over 12 months. Please refer to the Foundation School Study Leave Policy
  • 1 full study leave day on the regional teaching programme equates to 6 hours of teaching and a half day equates to 3 hours of teaching.
  • Ensure you are familiar with the study leave policy and follow this when booking study leave for regional teaching and other courses
  • All approved study leave must be recorded on the study leave record document attached, so that a cumulative record of the number of days taken can be kept. You will be required to include this in your ARCP evidence documentation
  • Below is a summary of how some of the study leave is pre-allocated as set out in the school policy:

Summary table for use of F2 study leave time

Use of total study leave time 

5 days for teaching: minimum 24 hours from regional teaching programme plus additional 6 hours foundation teaching (30 hours total) 

1 day simulation training (may be delivered in 2 half days) 

5 days Tasters (which can be taken in F1 for Taster and/or 1 day career planning) 

GP learning sets: (Cornwall trainees must attend 2 hour sessions every fortnight during their 4 month placement. All other trusts must attend 5 x 2.5 hours sessions over their 4 month placement). Trainees required to attend these sessions will be contacted directly

ALS (2 days) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This means trainees not doing GP will have more days’ available study leave

Record of teaching hours

  • ALL teaching attended must be recorded on the mandatory teaching log found in your HORUS ePortfolio
  • You should record all types of teaching that you wish to count to the total: regional teaching, local foundation teaching, departmental teaching, and eLearning modules
  • For all teaching that cannot be verified easily by the postgraduate team, you are required to evidence your attendance by completing an additional achievement form in your portfolio; Course / seminar / other learning attended.

GP Learning Sets

  • Study leave must be booked to attend the GP Learning Sets
  • No Regional Teaching should be booked on GP Learning set days by trainees in GP unless it meets the criteria stated below. 
  • F2s should only miss GP Learning sets in exceptional circumstances.  Sick leave and annual leave are acceptable reasons for non-attendance.  ANY other reason should be discussed with their ES or FPD in advance and recorded on their eportfolio as to the reason why (using a general form).  Examples of reasons that may be acceptable:
    • specialty interview
    • specialty exam
    • another Regional Teaching day ONLY if agreed by their ES or FPD and a clearly documented discussion takes place in advance as to why the regional teaching day was of greater benefit to the trainee
  • If a GP learning set is missed for a legitimate reason for an exam or interview, they can claim the allocated Study Leave back

 

The requirement for successful outcome at ARCP in June 2021 will be as follows:

  • Minimum total accrued teaching of 60 hours (you can do more – see Appendix 2)
  • Minimum of 30 hours CORE teaching from the foundation-specific programme (local trust foundation teaching, simulation and regional programme only)
  • All other types of teaching is NON-CORE: GP Learning sets, department teaching, grand round, eLearning etc
  • Minimum 4 days’ attendance from regional teaching programme (24 hours)
  • Maximum 6 modules of eLearning (6 hours) 

Maxcourse - creating your account.

Create your own personal log in for MAXCOURSE by following the link to the website:-      New user?   Start here     .

You will need to use your NHS email address to create your user ID. Below is a link to the help section which will take you through the steps you need to complete to set up your account:

CREATE A NEW USER HELP

IMPORTANT POINT to note: you will encounter a Communications page. Due to GDPR compliance, you will not be opted in to receive any form of newsletters or general emails, you have to select the check boxes to opt in yourself. However, if you decide not to receive any communication then you are at risk of missing out on useful information SUCH AS COURSE CONFIRMATIONS/CANCELLATIONS.

Account Approval

Once you have completed your registration the foundation school team will need to approve your account before you are able to use it. To be able to approve your account you will need to enter the following as a minimum:

Car Sharing

Car sharing is strongly encouraged and there is an option on Maxcourse for you to indicate you wish to participate.  Please see CAR SHARE HELP PAGE.

Expenses

Regional teaching days are free. You can claim travel expenses if required.

Travel Time

You cannot claim back any travel time. When a study leave day is booked this covers travel time and the event.

APPENDIX 1

F2 Regional Teaching 2020/2021

Due to restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic regional teaching from August 2020 will be delivered in a different format to accommodate social distancing rules. This will be reviewed as the year progresses and will be adjusted as the government guidance allows.

Many sessions will be delivered via Microsoft Teams alone or a combination of local face to face sessions that will also be streamed on Microsoft Teams.

All sessions will continue to be advertised and booked through Maxcourse where it will be made clear in what format the session will be delivered.

Trainees should not attend any virtual teaching whilst on the ward. As study leave will be used the trainee must find somewhere quiet to participate in the training.

Half day sessions will equate to 3 hours of teaching and full day sessions will equate to 6 hours of teaching.

Trainees must not record any teaching session on Microsoft Teams for Clinical Governance reasons. Any trainee being found to be recording the sessions will be asked to stop.

For virtual/remote teaching to be successful facilitators will need trainees to be fully engaged throughout the session. You are encouraged to have your video and microphones on unless requested otherwise by the facilitator.

The Foundation School expects trainees to behave in accordance with their professional capabilities as set out in the Foundation Curriculum and GMC Good Medical Practice. An attendance register will be taken at the start and end of every session. 

APPENDIX 2

The requirement to attend a MINIMUM of 60 hours teaching applies to F1s and F2s

F1s

CORE TEACHING (defined as teaching delivered specifically  to foundation trainees and is available to ALL trainees in the trust)

Core teaching for F1s Min 30 hours required  this will be the weekly F1 teaching provided by each trust and simulation training.

NON CORE Teaching

Non-Core teaching for F1s could include but is not limited to

  • Departmental teaching
  • Grand rounds
  • E learning MAX 6 HOURS

The total or Core and Non-core teaching should total 60 hours or more by ARCP.

F2S

CORE TEACHING (defined as teaching delivered specifically  to foundation trainees and is available to ALL trainees in the trust)

Core teaching for F2s Min 30 hours required 

This must include a minimum of 24 hours from the Regional Teaching sessions
The remaining 6 hours can be added by additional regional teaching or from sessions provided by each trust in the form of local Foundation Specific training and simulation training.

NON CORE Teaching

Non-Core teaching for F2s could include but is not limited to

  • Departmental teaching
  • Grand rounds
  • GP learning sets
  • E learning MAX 6 HOURS


The total or Core and Non-core teaching should total 60 hours or more by ARCP.

 

What Cannot Count towards the 60 hours


The following cannot contribute to the 60 hours:

  • statutory and mandatory training (simulation training for this purpose is NOT mandatory training – see above Non-Core references)
  • induction sessions
  • ILS/ALS/equivalent
  • bedside teaching
  • completion of SLEs